Russian Rulers
The Mysterious Fate of the Romanov Family's Prized Easter Egg Collection
In 2010, an American scrap-metal dealer visited an antiques stall somewhere in the United States and purchased a golden egg sitting on a three-legged stand. The egg was adorned with diamonds and sapphires, and it opened to reveal a clock. Intending to sell the object to a buyer ...read more
Why Catherine the Great's Enemies Turned Her into a Sex Fiend
She ruled over all of Russia for more than three decades, expanding its borders and making it one of the most powerful players in global politics. But that power is what made Catherine the Great the victim of notorious misogynistic myths ever since. Nymphomania, bestiality, ...read more
Much Ado About Lenin
After the demise of the USSR in 1991, many felt that Lenin—and his tomb—deserved to meet the same fate. Russian President Boris Yeltsin called for the closing of the tomb and reburial of the body in a Lenin family plot in St. Petersburg, but failed to push the measure through. ...read more
5 Romanovs You Should Know
1. Michael (1613-1645) The first Romanov to be crowed czar, Michael is remembered for the sense of stability he brought to Russia during one of its darkest periods. For more than 20 years during the so-called Time of Troubles, the country had suffered a devastating series of ...read more
8 Things You Didn’t Know About Catherine the Great
1. Catherine the Great’s name wasn’t Catherine, and she wasn’t even Russian. The woman whom history would remember as Catherine the Great, Russia’s longest-ruling female leader, was actually the eldest daughter of an impoverished Prussian prince. Born in 1729, Sophie von ...read more
The Russo-Japanese War begins
Following the Russian rejection of a Japanese plan to divide Manchuria and Korea into spheres of influence, Japan launches a surprise naval attack against Port Arthur, a Russian naval base in China. The Russian fleet was decimated. During the subsequent Russo-Japanese War, Japan ...read more
St. Petersburg founded by Peter the Great
After winning access to the Baltic Sea through his victories in the Great Northern War, Czar Peter I founds the city of St. Petersburg as the new Russian capital. The reign of Peter, who became sole czar in 1696, was characterized by a series of sweeping military, political, ...read more
Romanov remains identified using DNA
British forensic scientists announce that they have positively identified the remains of Russia’s last czar, Nicholas II; his wife, Czarina Alexandra; and three of their daughters. The scientists used mitochondria DNA fingerprinting to identify the bones, which had been excavated ...read more
Peter the Great dies
On February 8, 1725, Peter the Great, emperor of Russia, dies and is succeeded by his wife, Catherine I. The reign of Peter, who became sole czar in 1696, was characterized by a series of sweeping military, political, economic, and cultural reforms based on Western European ...read more
Czar Nicholas II crowned
Nicholas II, the last czar, is crowned ruler of Russia in the old Ouspensky Cathedral in Moscow. Nicholas was neither trained nor inclined to rule, which did not help the autocracy he sought to preserve in an era desperate for change. Born in 1868, he succeeded to the Russian ...read more
Leonid Brezhnev is elected Soviet president
Leonid Ilych Brezhnev, first secretary of the Soviet Communist Party since 1964, is elected president of the Supreme Soviet, thereby becoming both head of party and head of state. A member of the Soviet Communist Party since 1931, Brezhnev was Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s ...read more
Woman claiming to be Anastasia Romanov arrives in the U.S.
On February 6, 1928, a woman calling herself Anastasia Tschaikovsky and claiming to be the youngest daughter of the murdered Russian czar Nicholas II arrives in New York City. She held a press conference on the liner Berengaria, explaining she was here to have her jaw reset. It ...read more
Romanov family executed, ending a 300-year imperial dynasty
In Yekaterinburg, Russia, Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed by the Bolsheviks, bringing an end to the three-century-old Romanov dynasty. Crowned in 1896, Nicholas was neither trained nor inclined to rule, which did not help the autocracy he sought to preserve among a ...read more