Interesting facts of the history of the Russian state. Amazing and little-known facts from the history of Russia

Any famous person is surrounded by rumors: the secret of his personal life, which is interesting to everyone, is securely guarded by him, this gives rise to incredible legends. What can we say about Russian tsars or Soviet leaders, in whose hands all power was concentrated. It was not a shame to fight for this power, to kill, to impersonate the dead. We do not know until the end of the whole truth - whether Alexander I staged his death, where the library of Grozny is located, or whether Stalin was really waiting for his arrest in the first days of the war. Over time, answers to some of these questions may appear. Others will remain unanswered forever. We present the top most interesting legends about Russian rulers.

Alexander I and the Siberian elder Fyodor Kuzmich are one and the same person

The death of the Russian Emperor Alexander I occurred in 1825 in Taganrog, he died of typhoid fever. This is the official story, there is also the unofficial one. This legend was reinforced by the fact that there were not many witnesses to the death (it did not happen in Moscow, after all). Within a few weeks, dozens of different rumors appeared, talking about the different fate of Alexander, but not about death from typhoid fever. A variety of motives were named, one of the most common: Alexander decided to fake his death in order to end his life as a simple wanderer, as he repented of being guilty of the death of his father, Emperor Paul. The tsar, according to the legend, left for Siberia and became the elder Fyodor Kuzmich. It seemed that the age exactly matched, the handwriting of the elder was similar to the handwriting of the king in personal letters, and the face of Alexander I at the funeral was very different from his face during his lifetime. Moreover, historians do not have a definite answer even today, there are scientists who consider it quite possible that Alexander faked his death.

There are rumors that Alexander II, while still in the status of Tsarevich, met with the elder. And Nicholas II, also not yet ascending the throne, visited the place where Fyodor Kuzmich was buried and ordered to build a stone chapel there. Fyodor Kuzmich himself left as a legacy to the supporters of the legend only four extremely strange notes, which various people undertook to decipher. In one of them, according to the researcher V.V. Baryatinsky, it says: “when the Alexanders are silent, the Pauls do not announce.” On the other, in his own opinion: "Do you see what silence your happiness and your word doomed you to." There are many rumors about the remains of Alexander in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. According to one version, the tomb is empty there, according to another, another person was buried there, according to the third, it was empty, but after the death of Fyodor Kuzmich, his body was allegedly buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the tomb of Alexander. The examination of the remains of Alexander I, that is, the opening of the coffin, would help to understand the answer, but scientists did not receive permission for this either in Soviet times or in post-Soviet times.

Joseph Stalin and the beginning of the war

One of the most famous legends concerns his behavior in the early days of the Great Patriotic War. The attack was a complete surprise for him, recalls Marshal Georgy Zhukov: “I saw him confused only once. It was June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked our country. During the first day, he could not really pull himself together and firmly direct events. The shock produced on I. V. Stalin by the attack of the enemy was so strong that his voice even dropped, and his orders for organizing the armed struggle did not always correspond to the current situation. Zhukov also points out that at dawn of the same day, Stalin thought that the German attack was a provocation of individual German units and demanded to contact the embassy with the words "Hitler probably does not know about this." However, when Molotov returned with a declaration of war, "Stalin silently sank into a chair and thought deeply." Anastas Mikoyan also recalls the depressed state of the leader, explaining his refusal to address the people with this. At the same time, they write about Stalin's "prostration" mainly, referring to the fall of Minsk on June 28, 1941. He did not appear for three days in the Kremlin, and when members of the Politburo went to see him in Kuntsevo without an invitation, Stalin decided that they were going to arrest him.

Anastasia Nikolaevna

Many people know the legend of the "miraculous salvation" of the daughter of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II. The romantic story that a girl who escaped execution left Russia and appeared before her royal relatives formed the basis of many works of art and Hollywood films. And these stories were based on real attempts by various impostors to impersonate Anastasia. Some of them surrounded themselves with such attention and popularity that they made good money on it, others saw a good business model and tried to repeat this trick.

The rumor that one of the daughters managed to escape arose among the emigrants in the early 20s of the last century. The fact is that the Bolsheviks initially announced only the execution of the tsar, but then it became known that all family members were killed. However, there was no confirmation of this - the bodies were hidden. There was a rumor that Anastasia managed to escape from the Ipatiev house. The most famous lady who took advantage of the secret death of the royal family was Anna Anderson. She claimed that a soldier named Tchaikovsky dragged her, wounded, from the basement of the Ipatiev house. And saved. And she bore him a child. She failed to prove that she is the daughter of the tsar, although even among the academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences there are people who consider Anna Anderson (Tchaikovsky) to be the daughter of the tsar. The caravans of false Anastasius stopped the remains of members of the royal family found by scientists. The investigator leading this case Vladimir Solovyov, referring to genetic studies, indicates that Anastasia is among them.

By the way, legends circulated not only about the miraculous salvation of Anastasia, but also of other family members. One of the most original defines Alexei Nikolaevich Kosygin as Tsarevich Alexei.

Library of Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV is known primarily for his incredible cruelty, this is understandable. But at the same time he was well educated and one of the royal legends is connected with his library, which still cannot be found. This is a collection of books that once (according to legend) belonged to the Byzantine emperors and was collected over many centuries. After the fall of Constantinople, this library (Liberea) went as a dowry along with Princess Sophia Paleolog, who became the wife of Moscow Prince Ivan III. To prevent the books from burning in Moscow fires, it was decided to hide them in the basement under the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in the Moscow Kremlin. There are suggestions that Tsar Ivan IV also added the library of Yaroslav the Wise to the Byzantine part of the collection. There is a list of books, which was published in 1834 under the name "Dabelov's List", its authenticity has not been confirmed. However, it lists many Latin and Greek works that have not come down to us. The search for the library has been going on for several centuries. The first time Liberia was officially searched for was in 1724, then at the end of the 19th century, and after that in the 20th. The last time money for the search was allocated by the Moscow mayor's office in 1997. So far, the collection has not been found.

Peter III

The circumstances of the death of Peter III are vague, it can only be said with certainty that he fell victim to palace coups. Immediately after the seizure of power by the Guards on June 28, 1762, he, accompanied by a guard led by Alexei Orlov, was sent to the palace in Ropsha, which became his prison. He died just a week later. The official cause of death was hemorrhoidal colic. An autopsy also showed heart problems and signs of a stroke. However, despite this, many believe that Peter III was killed by Alexei Orlov. There is allegedly a letter from Orlov to Catherine, which says this. There is no original, a copy was made by Count Fyodor Rostopchin, but it is now believed that this is a fake. Peter was buried without honors in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, since he was not crowned. This rite was already performed posthumously by Paul and reburied his father together with his deceased mother, Catherine II, in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. As is usually the case, the dubious death of Peter led to the fact that many did not believe in such a death. This led to the emergence of impostors. The most famous of them was the leader of the peasant war Emelyan Pugachev.

Almost all peoples, nations and countries have historical facts. Today we want to tell you about various interesting facts that were in the world, which many people know about, but it will also be interesting to read again. The world is not perfect, just like a person, and the facts about which we will tell will be bad. You will be interested, as each reader will learn something informative within their interests.

After 1703, Poganye Prudy in Moscow began to be called ... Chistye Prudy.

During the time of Genghis Khan in Mongolia, anyone who dared to urinate in any body of water was executed. Because the water in the desert was valued more than gold.

On December 9, 1968, the computer mouse was introduced at a display of interactive devices in California. A patent for this gadget was received by Douglas Engelbart in 1970.

In England, in 1665-1666, the plague devastated entire villages. It was then that medicine recognized the usefulness of smoking, which supposedly destroyed the deadly infection. Children and teenagers were punished if they refused to smoke.

It wasn't until 26 years after the founding of the FBI that its agents got the right to bear arms.

In the Middle Ages, sailors deliberately inserted at least one gold tooth, even sacrificing a healthy one. What for? It turns out that for a rainy day, so that in case of death he could be honorably buried away from home.

The world's first mobile phone is the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x (1983).

Fourteen years before the sinking of the Titanic (April 15, 1912), a story by Morgan Robertson was published that foreshadowed the tragedy. Interestingly, according to the book, the ship "Titan" collided with an iceberg and sank, exactly as it actually happened.

DEAN - The head of the soldiers in the tents, in which the Roman army lived for 10 people, was called the dean.

The most expensive bathtub in the world is carved from a very rare stone called Caijou. They say that it has healing properties, and the places of its extraction are still kept secret! Its owner was a billionaire from the United Arab Emirates, who wished to remain anonymous. The price of Le Gran Queen is $1,700,000.

The English admiral Nelson, who lived from 1758 to 1805, slept in his cabin in a coffin that had been cut from the mast of an enemy French ship.

The list of gifts for Stalin in honor of the 70th anniversary was printed in advance in newspapers more than three years before the event.

How many types of cheese are produced in France? The famous cheese maker Andre Simon mentioned 839 varieties in his book “On the Cheese Business”. Camembert and Roquefort are the most famous, and the first one appeared relatively recently, only 300 years ago. This type of cheese is made from milk with the addition of cream. Already after 4-5 days of ripening, a mold crust appears on the surface of the cheese, which is a special fungal culture.

The famous inventor of the sewing machine, Isaac Singer, was married to five women at the same time. In general, from all the women he had 15 children. He named all his daughters Mary.

27 million people died in the Great Patriotic War.

One of the unusual records in car travel belongs to two Americans - James Hargis and Charles Creighton. In 1930, they covered more than 11 thousand kilometers in "reverse", driving from New York to Los Angeles, and then returning back.

Two hundred years ago, not only men, but also women participated in the famous Spanish bullfights. This happened in Madrid, and on January 27, 1839, a very significant bullfight took place, because only representatives of the weaker sex took part in it. The most famous as a matador was the Spaniard Pajuelera. Women were banned from bullfighting in the early 20th century, when Spain was ruled by the Fascists. Women were able to defend their right to enter the arena only in 1974.

The first computer to include a mouse was the Xerox 8010 Star Information System minicomputer, introduced in 1981. The Xerox mouse had three buttons and cost $400, which equates to nearly $1,000 in 2012 inflation-adjusted prices. In 1983, Apple released its own one-button mouse for the Lisa computer, which was reduced to $25. The mouse gained wide popularity due to its use in Apple Macintosh computers and later in Windows for IBM PC compatible computers.

Jules Verne wrote 66 novels, including unfinished ones, as well as more than 20 novels and short stories, 30 plays, several documentary and scientific works.

When, in 1798, Napoleon was heading for Egypt with his army, he captured Malta along the way.

During the six days that Napoleon spent on the island, he:

Abolished the power of the Knights of the Order of Malta
- Carried out administration reform with the creation of municipalities and financial management
-Abolished slavery and all feudal privileges
- Appointed 12 judges
-Laid the foundations of family law
-Introduced primary and general public education

David Baird, 65, ran his own marathon to raise money for research into prostate and breast cancer. For 112 days, David traveled 4115 kilometers, while pushing a wheelbarrow in front of him. And so he crossed the Australian continent. At the same time, he was on the move for 10-12 hours a day, and for the entire time of jogging with a wheelbarrow he covered a distance equal to 100 traditional marathons. This courageous man, having visited 70 cities, collected donations from Australian residents in the amount of about 20 thousand local dollars.

In Europe, lollipops appeared in the 17th century. At first they were actively used by doctors.

The group "Aria" has a song called "Will and Reason", few people know that this is the motto of the Nazis in fascist Italy.

A Frenchman from the town of Landes - Sylvain Dornon made his way from Paris to Moscow, moving on stilts. Having set off on March 12, 1891, covering 60 kilometers every day, the brave Frenchman reached Moscow in less than 2 months.

The capital of Japan, Tokyo, is currently the largest city in the world with a population of 37.5 million people.

Rokossovsky is a marshal of the USSR and Poland at the same time.

Despite the popular belief that the transfer of Alaska to the United States of America was carried out by Catherine II, the Russian Empress has nothing to do with this historic deal.

One of the main reasons for this event is the military weakness of the Russian Empire, which became apparent during the Crimean War.

The decision to sell Alaska was made during a special meeting that took place in St. Petersburg on December 16, 1866. It was attended by all the top leadership of the country.

The decision was taken unanimously.

Some time later, the Russian envoy in the US capital, Baron Eduard Andreyevich Stekl, suggested that the American government buy Alaska from the Republic of Ingushetia. The proposal was approved.

And in 1867, for 7.2 million gold, Alaska came under the jurisdiction of the United States of America.

In 1502–1506 Leonardo da Vinci painted his most significant work - the portrait of Mona Lisa, the wife of Messer Francesco del Giocondo. Many years later, the picture received a simpler name - "La Gioconda".

Girls in ancient Greece got married at the age of 15. For men, the average age for marriage was a more respectable period - 30 - 35 years. The father of the bride himself chose a husband for his daughter and gave money or things as a dowry.

The most interesting historical facts about different updated: September 4, 2018 by: website

Interesting historical facts beckon with their diversity. Thanks to them, humanity has a unique opportunity to understand what happened in a particular period of development of a nation, society and states. Facts from history are not only what we were told in school. There are many secrets from this area of ​​knowledge.

1. Peter the Great had his own method to fight alcoholism in the country. Drunkards were awarded medals, which weighed about 7 kilograms, and they could not be removed from oneself.

2. In the days of Ancient Russia, grasshoppers were called dragonflies.

3. The national anthem of Thailand was written by a Russian composer.

5. Those who urinated in the pond were executed during the time of Genghis Khan.

7. Braids were a sign of feudalism in China.

8. The virginity of English women in Tudor times was symbolized by bracelets on their hands and a tightly tightened corset.

9. Nero, who was an emperor in ancient Rome, married his male slave.

10. In ancient times in India, mutilation of the ears was used as a punishment.

11. Arabic numerals were not invented by Arabs, but by mathematicians from India.

13. Foot binding was considered an ancient tradition of the Chinese people. The essence of this was to make the foot smaller, and therefore more feminine and beautiful.

14. Morphine was once used to reduce coughs.

15. The ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun's parents were a sister and a brother.

16. Gaius Julius Caesar had the nickname "boots".

17. Elizabeth the First covered her own face with white lead and vinegar. So she hid traces of smallpox.

18. The hat of Monomakh was the symbol of the Russian tsars.

19. Pre-revolutionary Russia was considered the most non-drinking country.

20. Until the 18th century, Russia did not have a flag.

21.Since November 1941, there was a tax on childlessness in the Soviet Union. It was 6% of the total salary.

22. Help in clearing objects during the Second World War was provided by trained dogs.

23. Virtually no earthquake was recorded during large-scale nuclear tests in 1960-1990.

24. For Hitler, the main enemy was not Stalin, but Yuri Levitan. He even announced a reward of 250,000 marks for his head.

25. In the Icelandic "Saga of Hakon Hakonarson" it was said about Alexander Nevsky.

26. Fist fights have long been famous in Russia.

27. Catherine II abolished flogging for the military for same-sex contacts.

28. Only Joan of Dark managed to expel the invaders from France, who called herself the messenger of God.

29. The length of the Cossack gull, which we remember from the history of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, reached about 18 meters.

30. Genghis Khan defeated the Keraites, Merkits and Naimans.

31. By order of Emperor Augustus, in ancient Rome they did not build houses that were higher than 21 meters. This minimized the risk of being buried alive.

32. The Colosseum in history is considered the bloodiest place.

33. Alexander Nevsky had the military rank of "Khan".

34. In the days of the Russian Empire, it was allowed to carry edged weapons.

35. Soldiers in Napoleon's army addressed the generals as "you".

36. During the Roman war, soldiers lived in tents of 10 people.

37. Any touching of the emperor in Japan before World War II was blasphemy.

38. Boris and Gleb are the first Russian saints who were canonized in 1072.

39. A Red Army machine gunner with the name Semyon Konstantinovich Hitler, who was Jewish by nationality, participated in the Great Patriotic War.

40. In the old days in Russia, to clean pearls, they gave it to peck at a chicken. After that, the chicken was slaughtered, and the pearls were pulled out of her stomach.

41. From the very beginning, people who do not know how to speak Greek were called barbarians.

42. In pre-revolutionary Russia, name days for Orthodox people were a more important holiday than birthdays.

43. When England and Scotland came to an alliance, Great Britain was created.

44. After Alexander the Great brought cane sugar from one of his Indian campaigns to Greece, he immediately began to be called “Indian salt”.

45. In the 17th century, thermometers were filled not with mercury, but with cognac.

46. ​​The Aztecs invented the first condom in the world. It was made from a fish bladder.

47. In 1983, not a single human birth was registered in the Vatican.

48. From the 9th to the 16th century in England there was a law that every man should practice archery every day.

49. When the Winter Palace was stormed, only 6 people died.

50. About 13,500 houses were destroyed in the great and famous fire of London in 1666.

We offer a fascinating selection of historical facts about Russia and Russian people. Informative and interesting:

The origin of the name of our country is unknown

Since ancient times, our country has been called Rus, but it is not known for certain where this name came from. But it is known how "Rus" turned into "Russia" - this happened thanks to the Byzantines, who pronounced the word "Rus" in their own way.

After the collapse of Russia, its individual regions began to be called Little Russia, White Russia and Great Russia, or Little Russia, Belarus and Great Russia. It was believed that only all these parts together make up Russia. But after the revolution of 1917 and the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, Little Russia began to be called Ukraine, and Great Russia - Russia.

In Russia, grasshoppers were called dragonflies.

A long time ago, in the time of Russia, grasshoppers were indeed called dragonflies, but this name does not in any way directly refer to the flying insect dragonfly, the grasshopper was called the “dragonfly” because of the sounds it made, which sounded like a chirp or click.

Foreign invaders only once managed to conquer Russia

Many tried to conquer Russia, and these attempts repeatedly failed. Only the Mongols were able to conquer Russia, and this happened in the 13th century. The reason for this was that Russia at that time was divided into many principalities, and the Russian princes could not unite and jointly repel the conquerors. Since then and to this day, it is the stupidity and greed of the rulers, internal conflicts that have been and remain the main source of problems for our country.

Corporal punishment in Russia

On August 11, according to the old style (24 according to the new one), 1904, corporal punishment for peasants and underage artisans was abolished in the Russian Empire. This was the last social group for which various types of physical influence were still used. A little earlier, in June of the same year, corporal punishment was abolished in the navy and army.

Corporal punishment fell into three broad categories:

1) self-mutilating (mutilating) - depriving a person of any part of the body or damaging it (blindness, cutting out the tongue, cutting off an arm, leg or fingers, cutting off ears, nose or lips, castration);

2) painful - causing physical suffering by beating with various tools (whips, whips, batogs (sticks), gauntlets, rods, cats, molts);

3) shameful (disgraceful) - the most important is the disgrace of the punished (for example, putting up at the pillory, branding, imposing shackles, shaving the head).

The upper strata of the population were anxious about the prohibition of corporal punishment. In July 1877, the St. Petersburg mayor Trepov, in violation of the law of 1863, ordered the political prisoner Bogolyubov to be whipped with rods. The educated Bogolyubov went mad and died from such an insult, and the famous Vera Zasulich avenged him by seriously injuring Trepov. The court acquitted Zasulich.

Official Soviet pedagogy since 1917 considered corporal punishment of children unacceptable. They were banned in all types of educational institutions, but in the family they remained a common occurrence. In 1988, the journalist Filippov conducted an anonymous survey of 7,500 children from 9 to 15 years old in 15 cities of the USSR, 60% admitted that their parents used corporal punishment on them.

Cuban Missile Crisis and Black Saturday

What we call the Caribbean Crisis, the Americans call the Cuban Crisis, and the Cubans themselves call the October Crisis. But the whole world calls the most important day in the Caribbean crisis one name - "Black Saturday" (October 27, 1962) - the day when the world was closest to a global nuclear war.

Russia has repeatedly helped the United States in its formation and strengthening

If not for Russia, the United States would not have arisen at all, let alone become a superpower. During the war of independence with England, the English king repeatedly turned to Russia for help in suppressing the uprising. Russia, however, not only did not help, but also founded a league of armed neutrality, which was soon joined by other countries that traded with the United States despite the protests of England. During the American Civil War, Russia actively supported the northerners by sending squadrons to New York and San Francisco, while England and France wanted the US to disintegrate and took the side of the southerners. Finally, Russia ceded to the US California and the Hawaiian Islands, where it had colonies, and then sold the US and Alaska for a ridiculous price. However, in the 20th century, the United States, having become a world power, responded to Russia with black ingratitude.

The USSR could have easily won the Cold War

After the end of World War II, two superpowers remained in the world that clashed in a global confrontation - the USA and the USSR. Despite the worst starting conditions, the USSR in the 60s pulled ahead in many respects, and many believed that it would win in the fight against the capitalists. In the 70s, the capitalist world was struck by a severe crisis provoked by rising oil prices, and the US economy was on the verge of collapse. However, the Soviet leadership not only did not take advantage of the situation, but, on the contrary, actually saved its enemy by signing disarmament agreements and agreeing to sell oil for dollars. The United States, on the contrary, relied on the collapse of the USSR and victory in the Cold War, which, in the end, they were able to achieve 20 years later, with the complicity of traitors among the Soviet leadership.

The first Japanese in Russia

The first Japanese who came to Russia was Denbei, the son of a merchant from Osaka. His ship was nailed to the shores of Kamchatka in 1695. In 1701 he reached Moscow.

In the winter of 1702, after an audience on January 8 with Peter I in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, Denbey received an order to become a translator and teacher of the Japanese language in the Artillery Order. Denbey personally told what he could to Peter I about Japan and thus gave impetus to Russian efforts to explore Kamchatka and the Kuriles and attempts to open trade with Japan.

Since 1707, Denbey lived at the palace of the prince and at one time the governor of the Siberian province, Matvey Gagarin. It is known that at the insistence of an associate of Peter I, Jacob Bruce, Denbey was baptized and took the name Gabriel Bogdanov (which blocked his way back to Japan, where Christianity was forbidden). The school of translators from Japanese founded by him operated in Moscow until 1739, after which it was transferred to Irkutsk, where it existed until 1816.

Prior to Denbey, only one Japanese is known in Russia. During the reign of Boris Godunov, a Japanese of the Christian faith visited Russia. He was a young Catholic from Manila, who, together with his spiritual mentor Nicholas Melo of the Order of St. Augustine, traveled to Rome along the route Manila - India - Persia - Russia. But the Time of Troubles turned out to be tragic for them: they were captured by foreign Catholics, and Tsar Boris Godunov exiled them to the Solovetsky Monastery. After six years of exile, he was executed as a supporter of False Dmitry I in 1611 in Nizhny Novgorod. In Russia, he was considered an Indian, not a Japanese.

Favorite commander of Catherine II

Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov was a favorite of Empress Catherine. She celebrated and showered awards on the Russian Macedonian, and he happened to allow himself what was unacceptable to others, knowing in advance that Catherine would always forgive any trick or eccentricities of the great commander. Here are some interesting cases:

Once, at a court ball, Catherine decided to pay attention to Suvorov and asked him:
- What to treat the dear guest? - Bless, queen, vodka! “But what will my ladies-in-waiting say when they talk to you?” “They will feel that a soldier is talking to them!”

Once, in a conversation, the empress said that she planned to send Suvorov to serve in Finland in the future. Suvorov bowed to the Empress, kissed her hand and returned home. Then he got into the mail coach and left for Vyborg, from where he sent a message to Catherine: “I am waiting, mother, for your further commands.”

It is known that Suvorov dressed very lightly even in severe frosts. Catherine II gave Suvorov a fur coat and ordered him to wear it. What to do? Suvorov began to carry the donated fur coat with him everywhere, but he kept it on his knees.

After the pacification of the Poles in 1794, Suvorov sent a messenger with a message. The “message” is the following: “Hurrah! Warsaw is ours! Catherine's response: "Hurrah! Field Marshal Suvorov! And this is at the time of lengthy reports about the capture of cities. How did you send an SMS. But, nevertheless, he failed to surpass Field Marshal Saltykov in lapidarity, who, after the battle with the Prussians at Kunersdorf during the Seven Years' War, simply sent the hat of the Prussian king found on the battlefield to St. Petersburg.

Kutuzov is not a pirate, he does not need an eye patch!

In recent years, images of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in 1812, Field Marshal His Serene Highness Prince M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, with a bandage over his right eye, began to be massively replicated. The "one-eyed" Kutuzov can be seen on the covers of books and magazines, in the paintings of contemporary artists and on various souvenirs, as well as on busts and monuments.

Such images do not correspond to historical accuracy, since Kutuzov never wore eye patches. There is not a single memoir or epistolary evidence of Kutuzov's contemporaries describing a field marshal with a bandage over his right eye. Moreover, Kutuzov did not need to hide his eye under a bandage, since he saw with this eye, although not as well as with his left.

“Fate appoints Kutuzov to something great,” Masso, the chief surgeon of the Russian army, said with amazement, who examined Kutuzov’s “mortal wound” in the head in 1788 near Ochakovo. The bullet passed right through from temple to temple behind both eyes. The verdict of the doctors was unequivocal - death, but Kutuzov not only did not die, but did not even lose his sight, although his right eye was a little skewed. The surprise of doctors and the whole world that Kutuzov remained alive and after 6 months was again in the ranks was boundless, like 14 years before, when he was first "mortally wounded." In 1774, near Alushta, as well as near Ochakov, Kutuzov was wounded in the head, and the bullet passed almost in the same place. Then doctors all over Europe considered Kutuzov's recovery a miracle, and many believed that the news of the general's injury and cure was a fairy tale, because. it was impossible to survive after such a wound.

In fact, at the beginning of the XIX century. it was not customary to wear an eye patch after the wound had healed (even if the eye was completely absent). For the first time, the "one-eyed" Kutuzov appeared in 1944 in the feature film "Kutuzov". Then the bandage on Kutuzov's right eye was put on by the directors of the musical comedy film "Hussar Ballad" (1962) and the performance of the same name (1964) and ballet (1979).

The image of Kutuzov, brilliantly played by Igor Ilyinsky, gave rise to a stable legend that Kutuzov wore a patch on his injured eye. The replication of this legend in recent years has taken on such a massive character that it has begun to lead to a distortion of historical reality.

Jesters of Empress Anna Ioannovna

The niece of Peter I ruled the Russian Empire for 10 years. The stern disposition of the Russian landowner did not prevent her from having fun.

It is known that Empress Anna Ioannovna was very fond of jesters and dwarfs. There were six of them at her court. Three of them were demoted aristocrats. So, she forced princes Mikhail Golitsyn and Nikita Volkonsky, as well as Count Alexei Apraksin, to play the role of a jester. The illustrious clowns were supposed to grimace in the presence of the empress, sit on top of each other and beat with their fists until they bleed or portray brood hens and cackle. In the last year of her reign, the Empress arranged the wedding of her jesters - the 50-year-old Prince Golitsyn and the ugly Kalmyk Anna Buzheninova, who received her surname in honor of the Empress's favorite dish. Representatives of different nationalities of both sexes were discharged from all over the country to participate in wedding celebrations: Russians, Tatars, Mordvins, Chuvashs, etc. They were supposed to dress up in their national clothes and have musical instruments. It was winter. By order of Anna Ioannovna, an ice House was built on the Neva, in which everything - walls, doors, windows, furniture, utensils - was made of ice. This is where the wedding ceremony took place. Numerous candles were burning in ice candlesticks, and even the marriage bed for the "young" was arranged on an ice bed.

Peter I and guards

In winter, slingshots were placed on the Neva, so that after dark they would not let anyone into or out of the city. Once, Emperor Peter I decided to check the guards himself. He drove up to one of the sentries, pretended to be a spree merchant and asked to be let through, offering money for the pass. The sentry refused to let him through, although Peter had already reached 10 rubles, a very significant amount at that time. The sentry, seeing such stubbornness, threatened that he would be forced to shoot him.

Peter left and went to another sentry. The same one let Peter in for 2 rubles.

The next day, an order was announced for the regiment: hang the corrupt sentry, and drill the rubles he received and hang it around his neck.

Promote a conscientious sentry to corporal and welcome him with ten rubles.

Thai national anthem

The Thai national anthem was written in 1902 by the Russian composer Pyotr Shchurovsky.

Nicholas I gave his officers the choice between a guardhouse and listening to Glinka's operas as punishment.

On November 27, 1842, the first performance of M. I. Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" took place, which brought a number of sensitive sorrows to the author. The public and high society did not like the opera, Emperor Nicholas I defiantly left after Act IV, without waiting for the end. He did not like the music of the opera so much that he ordered the offending officers of the capital to choose between the guardhouse and listening to Glinka's music as a punishment. So the emperor additionally expressed his displeasure with the composer's work. Such were the customs, alas. Thank God that Nikolai himself did not send the composer to the guardhouse.

"Thank God you are Russian"

In 1826, a “Russian contemporary” described the appearance of the sovereign, Emperor Nicholas I: “Tall, lean, had a wide chest ... a quick look, a sonorous voice, suitable for a tenor, but he spoke somewhat pattering ... Some kind of genuine severity was visible in the movements” .

"Genuine severity" ... When he commanded the troops, he never shouted. There was no need for this - the king's voice could be heard a mile away; tall grenadiers looked just like children next to him. Nikolai led an ascetic life, but if we talk about the luxury of the court, magnificent receptions, they stunned everyone, especially foreigners. This was done in order to emphasize the status of Russia, which the sovereign cared about incessantly.

General Pyotr Daragan recalled how, in the presence of Nikolai Pavlovich, he spoke French, grazing. Nikolai, suddenly making an exaggeratedly serious face, began to repeat every word after him, which brought his wife to a fit of laughter. Daragan, crimson with shame, ran out into the waiting room, where Nikolai caught up with him and, kissing him, explained: “Why are you burring? No one will take you for a Frenchman; thank God that you are Russian, and monkeying is no good.”

Historical events and facts are very informative and interesting. They give us a unique opportunity to understand what is happening in a given period of development of human society, nations and countries. Almost all peoples have interesting historical facts. Russia has a lot of them. This is easily explained by the rich centuries-old past of our country. Widespread legends about rulers, about scientific and technological progress, about art and culture have always attracted and continue to attract citizens of other states. The following are examples of such historical facts.

About rulers

From the beginning in 1825, the rulers in our country alternate according to the principle "bald - hairy". This pattern has persisted to this day.

About television

In 1992, the chiming clock on television on New Year's Eve was delayed by one minute.

About money

The double-headed eagle on the coins is not the coat of arms of the country, but the emblem of the Bank of Russia.

Scientific and historical fact

This man, the only one in the world, lives in Russia - He spent more than 800 hours in space, moving at high speed. According to the theory of relativity, time slows down at high speeds. It has been calculated that the astronaut returned to Earth 0.02 seconds younger.

About laws

In 1994, the government passed a law prohibiting dogs from barking between 11 pm and 7 am. This law is valid even now, but only on the territory of Moscow. It is also noteworthy that the legislative act does not spell out what punishment the violator will suffer.

Facts from geography

The Russian Federation is almost twice as large as the United States. St. Petersburg metro is the deepest in the whole world. connects the capital and the city of Vladivostok and is the longest railway line in the world. Siberian taiga - 8% of the earth's land.

Technique

There are more Kalashnikov assault rifles in the world than all other weapons models combined.

On the rulers and laws of tsarist Russia

Interesting historical facts about Russia are not always accurate and scientifically verified. For example, according to some historians, Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son.

In Russia, the equality of men and women was proclaimed 2 years earlier than in the United States.

Peter the Great had his own way of dealing with drunkenness in the country. He ordered to give medals, which weighed more than 7 kg, to all the guilty. They were obliged not to remove it for seven days.

Racketmaker - the department that was in charge of receiving petitions under Peter the Great.

An interesting one is rich in facts from the life of the tsarist army: Nicholas the First, as a punishment for delinquent officers, provided a choice between keeping watch out of turn and listening to the opera.

Denbey is the first Japanese who came to Russia. In 1695 he arrived in Kamchatka, and in 1701 he reached Moscow. Peter the Great obliged him to teach Japanese to Russian children in schools.

"Here lies Suvorov" - the inscription on the plate near the monument to the commander.

Boris and Gleb are the first Russians canonized as saints (1072).

Interesting historical facts in pre-revolutionary Russia

About the army and navy

In the Russian imperial fleet, the command "Cover yourself!" meant to wear a hat.

In the army of imperial times there was the rank of cornet, and in the modern one - ensign, in the army of imperial times - the rank of lieutenant, and in the modern one - lieutenant.

Facts from geography

1740 is the coldest winter in Russia.

After 1703 Poganye Prudy in Moscow began to be called ... Chistye Prudy!

About science

M. V. Lomonosov is the founder of Moscow State University, but he himself never visited this university.

About the people

In ancient Russia, grasshoppers were called dragonflies.

In Russia, the "original" is a stick used to beat a witness to a crime.

An interesting historical fact is that the Thai anthem was written in 1902 by a Russian composer.

Interesting about the politics of the USSR. historical truth

What was called the Cuban Crisis in the USSR was called the Cuban Crisis in the United States, and the October Crisis in Cuba itself.

An interesting historical fact is that legally the war between Germany and the USSR ended on January 21, 1955. The decision was made by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The Red Army and White Guards fought on the same side in 1931, at the request of the Governor-General of the Chinese province Sheng Shicai, they suppressed the uprising of the Turkic population.

Unusual historical facts of the USSR

In the Second World War, the machine gunner Semyon Konstantinovich Hitler fought in the Red Army.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR used tractors in battles due to a shortage of combat vehicles.

During the entire period of the Cold War, the world twice stood on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe due to failures in computer systems in the USSR and the USA. A nuclear war was averted only thanks to the experienced military leaders of both superpowers.

During the Great Patriotic War, mines were neutralized by dogs specially trained for this, they were the main assistants to sappers.

In the USSR, the main opponent of the Nazis, according to Hitler, was the announcer Yuri Levitan, and not Stalin, as many believe.

Entertaining science and technology in the USSR

In the village of Baikonur, in the Kazakh SSR, a wooden spaceport was built in the 1950s. This was done in order to mislead enemy states. This spaceport is located more than 350 km from this village.

During the Second World War, a flying tank was designed in the USSR based on the design of the A-40 tank, but the project was closed due to a lack of powerful tugs.

The laser pistol was invented in the Soviet Union in 1984.

The Americans offered the USSR to launch the first to space not dogs, but black.

GAZ-21 has a wide range of models, including a right-hand drive model with an automatic transmission.

The T-28 tank could overcome "lunar landscapes". This was the name of the territory, seriously affected by the hostilities.

A scientific and historical fact: a space device that the Soviet Union wanted to launch into space to explore Mars showed during tests that there is no life on Earth. After this incident, he was sent for revision.

About famous people

The list of gifts for Stalin's seventieth birthday was published in newspapers for more than three years.

Rokossovsky is a marshal of the USSR and Poland at the same time.

Khrushchev subjected to ridicule and sharp criticism of the paintings painted by artists in the direction of avant-garde. At the same time, he often used obscene language.

Vladimir Putin, when he served in the KGB, had the call sign "Mol".

About laws

In the Soviet Union there was a tax on childlessness.

About sport

Lev Yashin - famous football goalkeeper, took bronze at the USSR ice hockey championship in 1953.

The main prize in Sportloto has been won only twice in the history of this game.

Music and TV

Evgeny Leonov in cartoons voiced such a character as Winnie the Pooh.

The group "Aria" has a song called "Will and Reason", few people know that this is the motto of the Nazis in fascist Italy.

Facts from geography

In the early 1920s, the city of Novosibirsk had two time zones. On the left bank of the Ob River, the difference with the capital was 3 hours, and on the right bank, 4 hours.

In the 20s and 30s of the twentieth century, Vladikavkaz was the center of both the Ingush and North Ossetian republics.

About the meaning of words

The word "zek" means "a prisoner of the Red Army".

"Unknown" world history

This or that historical fact does not always sound plausible and understandable for a contemporary. Examples are shown below.

During the time of Genghis Khan in Mongolia, anyone who dared to urinate in any body of water was executed. Because the water in the desert was valued more than gold.

In England, in 1665-1666, the plague devastated entire villages. It was then that medicine recognized the usefulness of smoking, which supposedly destroyed the deadly infection. Children and teenagers were punished if they refused to smoke.

Ancient Egyptian beauties evenly distributed pieces of fat through their hair. In the sun, they melted and evenly covered the hair with a greasy, shiny layer, which was considered very fashionable.

The famous inventor of the sewing machine, Isaac Singer, was married to five women at the same time. In general, from all the women he had 15 children. He named all his daughters Mary. Probably not to be mistaken...

Interesting historical facts of the funeral theme: the English admiral Nelson, who lived from 1758 to 1805, slept in his cabin in a coffin that was cut out of the mast of an enemy French ship. His "feat" was repeated by a French actress who taught her texts while lying in a coffin. She often took this prop on tour, which made those around her very nervous. In the Middle Ages, sailors deliberately inserted at least one gold tooth, even sacrificing a healthy one. What for? It turns out that for a rainy day, so that in case of death he could be honorably buried away from home.

Approximately half of New Yorkers speak more than one language other than their native American English by the age of 5.

In 2007, about 46 million tourists visited New York, leaving more than $28 billion in the city!

The whole story lasted only 38 minutes. So many "fought" Zanzibar and England in 1896. England won.

A few more myths. Or is it true?

Historians claim that on Cocos Island, located 300 miles south of Costa Rica, pirates hid a treasure worth two billion dollars. Archaeologists are searching.

The most incomprehensible mystery of mankind is death. What happens to a person after he dies? Modern scientists are conducting large-scale and multi-million dollar research in this area. So far, there is only a 100% conclusion that human consciousness continues to exist after physical death.

Official figures from the British Admiralty claim that as a result of shipwrecks, an eighth of all gold and silver mined on earth rests on the seabed. Today, on the black market, you can buy an old map with the coordinates of the treasure. Is this true or a scam? In 1985, using such a map, Mel Fisher found the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora off the coast of Florida, which sank in the distant 1622. From the bottom of the ship, he managed to raise valuables worth 450 (!) Million dollars.

In some countries, every movement of citizens is tracked by special services with the help of Internet tracking programs. Sensors are built into modern phones, TVs, computers. Global espionage is on the rise. Is it true? Who knows...