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• 
  

• 
  Arkhangelsk
  Arkhangelsk (Russian: Архангельск; IPA: [ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk]), formerly known in English as Archangel, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over 40 kilometers (25 mi) along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval Russia, until 1703. It is served by the Talagi Airport and a smaller Vaskovo Airport. The city is located at the northern end of a 1,133-kilometer (704 mi) long railroad, connecting it to Moscow via Vologda and Yaroslavl. Population: 348,716 (2010 Census preliminary results); 356,051 (2002 Census); 415,921 (1989 Census).
  The area where Arkhangelsk is situated was known to the Vikings as Bjarmaland. Ohthere of Hålogaland told from his travels circa 800 of an area by a river and the White Sea with many buildings. This was probably the place later known as Arkhangelsk. According to Snorri Sturluson, there was a Viking raid on this area in 1027, led by Thorir Hund.
  
  wn.com/Arkhangelsk
• 
  Belarus
  Belarus (ⁱ/bɛləˈruːs/ bel-ə-ROOSS; Belarusian: Беларусь, Russian pronunciation: [bʲɛlaˈrusʲ] Russian: Беларусь, Белоруссия, Belarus', Belorussiya), officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mogilev (Mahilyow) and Vitebsk (Vitsebsk). Over forty percent of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing.
  Until the 20th century, the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Belarus became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union and was renamed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). The borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939 when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were incorporated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland. The nation and its territory were devastated in World War II, during which Belarus lost about a third of its population and more than half of its economic resources. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. In 1945 the Belorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR.
  
  wn.com/Belarus
• 
  Belgorod
  Belgorod (Russian: Бе́лгород; IPA: [ˈbʲelgərət]) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, situated on the Seversky Donets River just 40 kilometers (25 mi) north of the Ukrainian border. Population: 356,426 (2010 Census preliminary results); 337,030 (2002 Census); 300,408 (1989 Census).
  Belgorod is served by Belgorod International Airport (EGO)
  The name Belgorod in Russian literally means "a white city", name being a compound of "белый" (bely, "white, light") and "город" (gorod, "town, city"). The city was thus named after the region being rich in limestone. Etymologically, it corresponds to other Slavic city names of identical meaning: Belgrade, Białogard, Biograd', Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi etc.
  The settlement was first mentioned in 1237, when it was ravaged by the hordes of Batu Khan. It is unclear whether this Belgorod was located at the same place where the current city is. In 1596, it was re-founded by the order of Feodor Ioannovich as one of numerous forts set up to defend Southern borders from the Crimean Tatars.
  
  wn.com/Belgorod
• 
  Bolkhov
  Coordinates: 53°26′N 36°00′E / 53.433°N 36°E / 53.433; 36
  Bolkhov (Russian: Болхов) is a town and the administrative center of Bolkhovsky District of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Nugr River (Oka's tributary), 56 kilometers (35 mi) away from Oryol. Population: 11,421 (2010 Census preliminary results); 12,148 (2002 Census); 13,071 (1989 Census); 12,800 (1969); 20,703 (1897).
  The town existed since the 13th century. After the Mongol invasion of Russia, it became the seat of a local princely dynasty, whose descendants may be traced until the 19th century. In the 16th century, it became one of the fortified posts for defending Moscow from the Tatars on the south. It was there that the army of Vasily IV was defeated by False Dmitry II in 1608.
  Bolkhov preserves four churches dating from the turn of the 18th century, including the five-domed Trinity Monastery Cathedral (1688-1706) and the graceful Trinity church with an elongated belfry. By far the largest church in the city is the Saviour's Transfiguration Cathedral, built in 1841-51 to a design by one of Konstantin Thon's disciples.
  
  wn.com/Bolkhov
• 
  Bryansk
  Bryansk (Russian: Брянск; IPA: [brʲænsk]) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located 379 kilometers (235 mi) southwest of Moscow. Population: 415,640 (2010 Census preliminary results); 431,526 (2002 Census); 452,160 (1989 Census).
  The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk (appears variously as Дъбряньск, Дьбряньск, and in other spellings). Its name is derived from "дъбръ", a Slavic word for "ditch", "lowland", or "dense woodland"; the area was known for its dense woods, of which very little remains today. Local authorities and archaeologists, however, believe that the town had existed as early as 985 as a fortified settlement on the right bank of the Desna River.
  Bryansk remained poorly attested until the Mongol invasion of Rus'. It was the northernmost of the Severian cities in the possession of the Chernigov Rurikids. After Mikhail of Chernigov was murdered by the Mongols and his capital was destroyed, his son moved his seat to Bryansk. In 1310, when the Mongols sacked the town again, it belonged to the Principality of Smolensk.
  
  wn.com/Bryansk
• 
  Bulgaria
  Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5
  Bulgaria ⁱ/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.
  Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.
  
  wn.com/Bulgaria
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  Dmitrov
  Dmitrov (Russian: Дми́тров; IPA: [ˈdmʲitrəf]) is a town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located 65 kilometres (40 mi) to the north of Moscow on the Yakhroma River and the Moscow Canal. Population: 61,454 (2010 Census preliminary results); 62,219 (2002 Census); 65,237 (1989 Census).
  Dmitrov was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1154 deep in the woods at the site where his son Vsevolod was born. Its name is explained by the fact that Vsevolod's patron saint was Saint Demetrius.
  In the 13th century, the town marked a point where converged the borders of Muscovy, Tver, and Pereslavl-Zalessky. The town itself belonged to the princes of Galich-Mersky, located much to the north, until 1364, when it was incorporated into Muscovy. Both Dmitry Donskoy and his grandson Vasily II granted Dmitrov as an appanage to their younger sons, so the town was a capital of a tiny principality. In 1374, it achieved town status.
  The reign of Ivan III's son Yury Ivanovich (1503–1533) inaugurated the golden age of Dmitrov. It is during his reign that the black-domed Assumption Cathedral in the kremlin and a smaller monastery cathedral of Sts. Boris and Gleb were built. Thereafter, the town passed to Yuri's brother, Andrey of Staritsa. In 1569, it was seized from Vladimir of Staritsa, added to the Oprichnina and consequently declined. The town suffered further damage during the Time of Troubles, when it was ransacked by the Poles.
  
  wn.com/Dmitrov
• 
  Dmitrovsk
  Coordinates: 52°30′28″N 35°08′38″E / 52.5078°N 35.1439°E / 52.5078; 35.1439
  Dmitrovsk (Russian: Дмитровск) is a town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Obshcheritsa River near its confluence with the Nerussa, 100 kilometers (62 mi) southwest of Oryol. Population: 5,651 (2010 Census preliminary results); 6,492 (2002 Census); 6,974 (1989 Census).
  It was founded in 1711 as the village of Dmitriyevka (Дми́триевка). After a church was built there, it obtains the status of a selo and is renamed Dmitrovka (Дмитровка). It was granted town status in 1782, and renamed Dmitrovsk-Orlovsky (Дмитровск-Орловский) in 1929. In 2005 it received its present name of Dmitrovsk.
  
  wn.com/Dmitrovsk
• 
  Finland
  Coordinates: 65°N 27°E / 65°N 027°E / 65; 027
  Finland ⁱ/ˈfɪnlənd/ ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
  Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities, and an autonomous region of the Åland Islands. About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area, which consists of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.
  
  wn.com/Finland
• 
  Friesland
  Friesland ( pronunciation (help·info), West Frisian: Fryslân, Dutch: Friesland; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfris.lɑnt]) is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient, larger region of Frisia.
  Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân. Nevertheless, Friesland remains in common usage, being the Dutch (and English) name for the province.
  Friesland has 646,000 inhabitants (2010) and its capital is Leeuwarden (West Frisian: Ljouwert), with 91,817 inhabitants, in the centre of the province.
  
  
  Fryslân distinguishes itself from the other eleven provinces by having its own language, West Frisian, which is also spoken in a small adjacent part of the province of Groningen, to the east. Closely related languages, East Frisian ("Seeltersk", which is different from "East Frisian (Ostfriesisch)", a collection of Low German dialects of East Frisia) and North Frisian, are spoken in the Saterland and in North Friesland areas in Germany, respectively.
  
  wn.com/Friesland
• Karachev
  Coordinates: 53°07′N 34°59′E / 53.117°N 34.983°E / 53.117; 34.983
  Karachev (Russian: Карачев) is an old town (first chronicled in 1146) in Karachevsky District of Bryansk Oblast, Russia. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of one of the Upper Principalities, until its rulers moved their seat to Peremyshl. Its old architecture was heavily damaged during the World War II. Population: 19,715 (2010 Census preliminary results); 20,175 (2002 Census); 22,446 (1989 Census).
  Near Karachev, there is a 300-meter tall radio mast used for CHAYKA radio navigation system.
  
  wn.com/Karachev
• 
  Kerch
  Kerch (Ukrainian: Керч, Russian: Керчь, Crimean Tatar: Keriç, Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ, Ancient Greek: Παντικάπαιον Pantikapaion, Turkish: Kerç) is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.
  Archeological digs at Mayak village near the city ascertained that the area had already been inhabited in 17th–15th centuries BC.
  Kerch as a city starts its history in 7th century BC, when Greek colonists from Miletus founded a city-state named Panticapaeum on Mount Mithridat near the mouth of the Melek-Chesme river. Panticapaeum subdued nearby cities and by 480 BC became a capital of the Kingdom of Bosporus. Later, during the rule of Mithradates VI Eupator, Panticapaeum for a short period of time became the capital of much more powerful and extensive Kingdom of Pontus.
  The city located at the intersection of trade routes between the steppe and Europe grew rapidly. The city's main exports were grain and salted fish, wine-making was also common. Panticapaeum minted its own coins. According to a few extant documents the Melek-Chesme river (small and shallow nowadays) was navigable in the Bosporan times, and sea galleys were able to enter the river. A large portion of the city's population was ethnically Scythian, later Sarmatian, as the large royal barrow at Kul-Oba testifies.
  
  wn.com/Kerch
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  Kozelsk
  Kozelsk (Russian: Козе́льск) is a town in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River (Oka's tributary), 72 kilometers (45 mi) southwest of Kaluga. Population: 18,203 (2010 Census preliminary results); 19,907 (2002 Census); 19,735 (1989 Census).
  The town of Kozelsk was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1146 as a part of Principality of Chernigov. Kozelsk became famous in the spring of 1238, when its seven-year-old prince Vasily, son of Titus, had to defend the town against the army of Batu Khan. The latter dubbed it an "evil town" because its citizens had been fighting the attackers for seven weeks in a row, killing around 4,000 enemy soldiers during the siege. The citizens of Kozelsk were greatly outnumbered and almost all of them died in battle.
  In 1446, Kozelsk was temporarily under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1494, the town was finally annexed by the Muscovy. In 1607, one of Ivan Bolotnikov's units was located in Kozelsk and showed resistance to the tsarist army.
  
  wn.com/Kozelsk
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  Kronstadt
  Kronshtadt (Russian: Кроншта́дт), also spelled Kronstadt, Cronstadt (German: Krone for "crown" and Stadt for "city"; Finnish: Retusaari), is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: 42,999 (2010 Census preliminary results); 43,385 (2002 Census).
  It is also St. Petersburg's main seaport. In March 1921 it was the site of the Kronstadt rebellion.
  Traditionally, the seat of the Russian admiralty and the base of the Russian Baltic Fleet were located in Kronstadt guarding the approaches to Saint Petersburg. The historic centre of the city and its fortifications are part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.
  Kronstadt has been a place of pilgrimage for Orthodox Christians for many years due to the holy memory of Saint John of Kronstadt. Bus and water tours to Kronstadt are taken daily from Saint Petersburg
  
  wn.com/Kronstadt
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  Kursk
  Kursk (Russian: Курск; IPA: [ˈkursk]) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history. Population: 414,595 (2010 Census preliminary results); 412,442 (2002 Census); 424,239 (1989 Census).
  Archaeology indicates that the site of Kursk was settled in the 5th or 4th century BCE.^{[citation needed]} The settlement was fortified and included Slavs at least as early as the 8th century CE.^{[citation needed]}
  The first written record of Kursk is dated 1032.^{[citation needed]} It was mentioned as one of Severian towns by Prince Igor in The Tale of Igor's Campaign: "As to my Kurskers, they are famous knights—swaddled under war-horns, nursed under helmets, fed from the point of the lance; to them the trails are familiar, to them the ravines are known, the bows they have are strung tight, the quivers, unclosed, the sabers, sharpened; themselves, like gray wolves, they lope in the field, seeking for themselves honor, and for their prince, glory."
  
  wn.com/Kursk
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  Leeuwarden
  Leeuwarden (pronounced [ˈleˑˌwɑrdə(n)] ( listen), Stadsfries: Liwwadden, Frisian: Ljouwert, pronounced [ˈʎɔːw(ə)t]) is the capital city of the Dutch province of Friesland. It is situated in the northern part of the country.
  The area has been occupied since the 10th century (although recently, remains of houses dating back to the 2nd century AD were discovered during a dig near the Oldehove), and was granted a town charter in 1435. Situated along the Middelzee, it was an active trade centre, until the waterway silted up in the 15th century. In 1901 the city had a population of 32,203.
  Famous natives of Leeuwarden include stadtholder William IV of Orange, graphic artist M. C. Escher, and dancer-spy Mata Hari, as well as the theologian Dr. N.H. Gootjes.
  During World War II, after extensive occupation by the German forces, on 15 April 1945, the Royal Canadian Dragoons, disobeying direct orders, charged into the heavily defended city and defeated the Germans, who were driven out by the next day.
  
  wn.com/Leeuwarden
• 
  Livny
  Livny (Russian: Ливны) is a town in Oryol Oblast, Russia. Population: 50,430 (2010 Census preliminary results); 52,841 (2002 Census); 51,696 (1989 Census).
  The town apparently originated in 1586 as Ust-Livny, a wooden fort on the bank of the Livenka River, although some believe that a town had existed on the spot previous to the Mongol invasion of Rus'.^{[citation needed]} The fortress was important in guarding the southern border of the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the case of a Crimean Tatar raid along the Muravsky Trail.
  Thirty years later, Ivan the Terrible sent prince Masalsky to build a town of Livny under the umbrella of a garrison stationed in the fort. It was pillaged and burnt by the Tatars on many occasions. In 1606, the citizens of Livny raised a rebellion against Boris Godunov, killing his governor and proclaiming their allegiance to False Dmitry I. Two years later, Ivan Bolotnikov chose it as a base of his military operations against Vasily IV.
  In 1618, the wooden town was burnt by the Cossacks of Petro Konashevych. The Crimeans again attacked the town in 1661, burning it to the ground. As soon as the Tatar attacks ceased, the period of prosperity was ushered. In the 19th century, Livny rivaled Yelets as the main trade center of the area.
  
  wn.com/Livny
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  Malgobek
  Malgobek (Russian: Малгобéк; Ingush: МагIалбике) is a town in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia, located 45 kilometers (28 mi) northwest of the republic's capital city of Magas. Population: 31,076 (2010 Census preliminary results); 41,876 (2002 Census); 20,364 (1989 Census).
  In 1934, the selo of Voznesenskoye was granted work settlement status.^{[citation needed]} It served then recently discovered oilfields, on the territory of former Ingush villages of Malgobek-Balka (Малгобек-Балка) and Chechen-Balka (Чечен-Балка).^{[citation needed]} Town status was granted to it in 1939.^{[citation needed]}
  During World War II, Malgobek was occupied by the German forces from September 12, 1942 to January 3, 1943, when it was recaptured by the Red Army. In October 2007, Malgobek was conferred the status of City of Military Glory by President Vladimir Putin for heroically stopping the German forces at its borders.
  In the 1990s, the town's population doubled due to an influx of refugees from the neighboring war-torn Chechen Republic.
  
  wn.com/Malgobek
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  Moscow
  Moscow ( /ˈmɒskaʊ/ or /ˈmɒskoʊ/; Russian: Москва́, tr. Moskva; IPA: [mɐˈskva] ( listen)) is the capital and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific center of Russia and the continent. Moscow is the northernmost megacity on Earth, the most populous city in Europe, and the 6th largest city proper in the world. Its population, according to the results of the 2010 Census, is 11,503,501. Based on Forbes 2011, Moscow has the largest community of billionaires in the world.
  Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia. In the course of its history the city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Soviet Union. Moscow is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, an ancient fortress that is today the residence of the Russian President and of the executive branch of the Government of Russia. The Kremlin is also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in Moscow.
  
  wn.com/Moscow
• 
  Mtsensk
  Mtsensk (Russian: Мценск) is a town in Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Zusha River (Oka's tributary) 49 kilometers (30 mi) northeast of Oryol. It stands on the Moscow–Simferopol highway. Population: 43,216 (2010 Census preliminary results); 47,807 (2002 Census); 48,400 (1989 Census); 28,000 (1970).
  It was first mentioned in Hypatian Codex in 1147 C.E. as Mchensk (Мьченск) of the Principality of Chernigov.^{[citation needed]} In 1320, Mtsensk was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the early 16th century, it became a part of the Russian state. It was granted town status in 1778.^{[citation needed]}
  Administratively, it is incorporated as the town of oblast significance of Mtsensk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.Municipally, the town of oblast significance of Mtsensk is incorporated as Mtsensk Urban Okrug.
  
  wn.com/Mtsensk
• 
  Nalchik
  Nalchik (Russian: На́льчик; IPA: [ˈnalʲtɕɪk]; Kabardian: Налшык; Balkar: Нальчик) is the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, situated at an altitude of 550 meters (1,800 ft) in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about 100 kilometers (62 mi) northwest of Beslan in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. It covers an area of 131 square kilometers (51 sq mi). Population: 240,095 (2010 Census preliminary results); 274,974 (2002 Census); 234,547 (1989 Census).
  The territory of modern-day Nalchik was inhabited by native Balkars and Kabardians as far back as 1743, but the modern city dates from the early 19th century when the expanding Russian Empire built a fort there in 1818; this date is seen at the top of the city's coat of arms. A military settlement was founded on the site in 1838. Nalchik remained relatively unimportant until after the Russian Revolution of 1917, when it was given the status of a city in 1921. It was promoted to become the administrative center of the Kabardian autonomous oblast.
  
  wn.com/Nalchik
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  Netherlands
  The Netherlands (ⁱ/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] ( listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
  
  wn.com/Netherlands
• Novosil
  Coordinates: 52°58′N 37°03′E / 52.967°N 37.05°E / 52.967; 37.05
  Novosil (Russian: Новоси́ль) is a town and the administrative center of Novosilsky District of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Zusha River 70 kilometers (43 mi) east of Oryol. Population: 3,661 (2010 Census preliminary results); 4,017 (2002 Census); 4,198 (1989 Census).
  Novosil was first mentioned in 1155 as a fortress called Itil and was the seat of a branch of the Rurikid family in the Middle Ages. Novosil's town status was officially corroborated in 1777.
  
  
  
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  Oka River
  Oka (Russian: Ока́, IPA: [ɐˈka]) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir, and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its total length, as far upstream as to the town of Kaluga. Its length exceeds 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The Russian capital Moscow sits on one of the Oka's tributaries—the Moskva River.
  Max Vasmer connects the name of the river to the Gothic аƕа, Old High German aha, Latin aqua, which all mean either "water" or "river" (cf. Aa River).Oleg Trubachev traces the origin of the name to the Baltic languages: it was the Baltic tribe of Galindians that lived in the western part of the Oka basin prior to the arrival of the Slavs.
  Historically, the river gave its name to the Upper Oka Principalities, situated upstream from Tarusa. One of the largest Russian cities, Nizhny Novgorod, was founded to protect the Oka's confluence with the Volga. The Qasim Khanate, a Muslim polity, occupied the middle reaches of the Oka (around the city of Kasimov) in the 15th and 16th centuries.
  
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  Oryol
  Oryol or Orel (Russian: Орёл; IPA: [ɐˈrʲɵl]) is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately 360 kilometers (220 mi) south-southwest of Moscow. Population: 317,854 (2010 Census preliminary results); 333,310 (2002 Census); 336,862 (1989 Census). It is served by the Oryol Yuzhny Airport.
  While there are no historical records, archaeological evidence proves that a fortress settlement existed between the Oka and Orlik Rivers as early as the 12th century, when the land was a part of the Principality of Chernigov. The name of the fortress is unknown; it may not have been called Oryol at the time. In the 13th century the fortress became a part of the Zvenigorod district of the Karachev Principality. In the early 15th century, the territory was conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The city was soon abandoned by its population, after being sacked either by Lithuanians or the Golden Horde. The territory became a part of the Tsardom of Russia in the 16th century.
  
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  Oryol Oblast
  Oryol Oblast (Russian: Орло́вская о́бласть, Orlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Oryol. Population: 786,935 (2010 Census).
  It is located in the southwestern part of the Central Federal District, in the Mid-Russian Highlands. Kaluga and Tula Oblasts border it in the north, Bryansk Oblast is located to the west, Kursk Oblast—to the south, and Lipetsk Oblast is to the east. From north to south, it extends for more than 150 kilometers (93 mi), and from west to east—for over 200 kilometers (120 mi). In terms of area, at 24,700 square kilometers (9,500 sq mi) it is one of the smallest federal subjects.
  The climate is temperate. The average January temperature is −8 °C (18 °F) and the average July temperature is +18 °C (64 °F). Rainfall averages 490 to 590 mm, and snow cover averages 126 days.
  There are 4,800 square kilometers (1,900 sq mi) of black earth soils (chernozems) in the oblast, which amounts to three-quarters of the world chernozem reserves.
  
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  Pskov
  Pskov (Russian: Псков; IPA: [pskof] ( listen), ancient Russian spelling "Плѣсковъ", Pleskov) is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about 20 kilometers (12 mi) east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: 203,281 (2010 Census preliminary results); 202,780 (2002 Census); 203,789 (1989 Census).
  The name of the city, originally spelled "Pleskov", may be loosely translated as "[the town] of purling waters". Its earliest mention comes in 903, which records that Igor of Kiev married a local lady, St. Olga. Pskovians sometimes take this year as the city's foundation date, and in 2003 a great jubilee took place to celebrate Pskov's 1,100th anniversary.
  The first prince of Pskov was Vladimir the Great's younger son Sudislav. Once imprisoned by his brother Yaroslav, he was not released until the latter's death several decades later. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the town adhered politically to the Novgorod Republic. In 1241, it was taken by the Teutonic Knights, but Alexander Nevsky recaptured it several months later during a legendary campaign dramatized in Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 movie.
  
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  Razgrad
  Razgrad (Bulgarian: Разград [razˈɡrad] ( listen)) is a city in northeastern Bulgaria, administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Razgrad Province. As of February 2011, it has a population of 33,238 inhabitants.
  Razgrad was built upon the ruins of the Ancient Roman town of Abritus on the banks of the Beli Lom river. Razgrad Province has one of the densest Turkish populations in Bulgaria, with 27% of the municipality (which also includes 22 villages) 's citizens declaring to be Turks in 1998. An absolute majority of 69% are Bulgarians, with the remaining 4% being composed for the most part of Roma.
  Some of Razgrad's landmarks include the Varosha architectural complex from the 19th century, the ethnographic museum and several other museums, the characteristic clock tower in the centre built in 1864, the St Nicholas the Miracle Worker Church from 1860, the Momina cheshma sculpture, the Mausoleum Ossuary of the Liberators (1879–1880) and the Ibrahim Pasha Mosque from 1530. The mosque is said to be the third largest one in the Balkans (excluding Istanbul) and its reconstruction has still not been completed, having begun in Socialist times.
  
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  Russia
  Russia ⁱ/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
  
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  Rzhev
  Rzhev (Russian: Ржев; IPA: [ˈrʐɛf]) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located 49 kilometers (30 mi) southwest of Staritsa and 126 kilometers (78 mi) from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: 62,026 (2010 Census preliminary results); 63,729 (2002 Census); 69,808 (1989 Census).
  Rzhev rivals Toropets as the oldest town in the region. Rzhevians usually point out that their town is mentioned in the Novgorod laws as early as 1019. Their neighbors from Toropets, on the other hand, give more credence to Rzhev's first mention in a major chronicle under 1216, when it was in possession of Mstislav the Bold, Prince of Toropets. Whatever the truth may be, it is clear that medieval Rzhev was bitterly contested by three regional powers—the Novgorod Republic, the Principality of Smolensk, and the Grand Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal.
  Following the Mongol invasion, Rzhev passed to a lateral branch of the Smolensk dynasty, which made the town its capital. Later the princes divided the town in two parts, which are still called the Prince-Dmitry's Side and Prince-Theodor's Side. In the mid-14th century, they had a hard time repelling attacks from Algirdas of Lithuania and Grand Princes of Tver, who bought all the villages around the town. Finally, they left for Moscow, where their descendants (the Rzhevsky family) have become comic characters of many a joke. In the meantime, the town was occupied for a short space by Tver, Poland-Lithuania, and finally by the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
  
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  Tikhvin
  Tikhvin (Russian: Ти́хвин) is a town and the administrative center of Tikhvinsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River in the east of the oblast, 200 kilometers (120 mi) east of St. Petersburg. Tikhvin is also an industrial and cultural center of the district, as well as its transportation hub. Population: 58,843 (2010 Census preliminary results); 63,338 (2002 Census); 71,352 (1989 Census).
  The name of the town originates from a combination of two words from the Veps language: "tikh" and "vin" mean "road" and "market" respectively; i.e., road to the market. The town is located on an ancient commercial river way.
  The first mention of Tikhvin dates from 1383, when a chronicle reported that a wooden Church of the Dormition was built here. Later, in 1495-1496, Y. K. Saburov, a clerk in the Novgorod Cadastre, mentioned the "...Tikhvin parish and in it, a wooden church..."
  Its location at the intersection of trade routes which connected the Volga River with Lake Ladoga and the Baltic Sea ensured its rapid development. At the beginning of the 16th century it was already a widely-known commerce and trade center. In 1507-1515, funded by prince Vasili III of Moscow, on the spot of the burnt wooden church, Dmitry Syrkov of Novgorod constructed the monumental stone Cathedral of Dormition, which stands to this day.
  
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  Tsardom of Russia
  The Tsardom of Russia (also known as Tsardom of Muscovy; officially Русское царство (Tsardom of Rus') or, in hellenized form, Российское царство) was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 until Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.
  From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km² (Holland's size) a year. The period includes the upheavals of the transition from the Rurik to the Romanov dynasties, drawn-out military conflict with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as well as the Russian conquest of Siberia, leading up to the 42-year reign of Peter the Great, who ascended in 1682 and transformed the Tsardom into a major European power, after a military victory over Sweden and Poland implemented substantial reforms and proclaimed the Russian Empire (Российская Империя) in 1721 making it a recognized European power.
  While Ivan assumed the title of "Tsar and Grand Duke of the entire Rus'" (Царь и Великий князь всея Руси), officially renaming the Grand Duchy of Moscow to Tsardom of Russia, the state remained partly referred to as Muscovy (Moscovia) throughout Europe, predominantly in its Catholic part. The two names "Russia" and "Muscovy" appear to have co-existed as interchangeable during the later 16th and throughout the 17th century with different maps and sources using different names.
  
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  Tuapse
  Tuapse (Russian: Туапсе́; Adyghe: ТIуапсэ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: 63,233 (2010 Census preliminary results); 64,238 (2002 Census); 63,081 (1989 Census).
  Tuapse is a sea port and the northern center of a resort zone which extends south to Sochi.
  Tuapse is a large center (native land) for the Shapsugs tribe with other areas in Circassia, with about 10,000 speakers of the language living in Tuapse. The name of the town is itself Adyghe (literally meaning "two waters") since Tuapse was part of historical Circassia and it became a part of Russia during the rule of Tsar Alexander I in 1801-1825. In early Greek sources the town was also attested as Topsida.
  The modern settlement dates back to 1838, when the Russian fort of Velyaminovsky was established in the area after this region became a part of Russia in 1829 by Treaty of Adrianople. During the Crimean War, the Ottomans seized the fort and held it for two years (1857–1859). The village of Velyaminovskoye (Вельяминовское) was established here in 1864; it is the village that later became Tuapse. Urban status was granted to Tuapse in 1896.
  
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  Tver
  Tver (Russian: Тверь; IPA: [tvʲerʲ]) is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 (2010 Census preliminary results); 408,903 (2002 Census); 450,941 (1989 Census).
  Located north of Moscow, Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian Empire, with a population of 60,000 on January 14, 1913. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa Rivers. The city was known as Kalinin (Кали́нин) from 1931 to 1990.
  The first written record of Tver is dated 1135.^{[citation needed]} Originally a minor settlement of Novgorodian traders, it passed to the Grand Prince of Vladimir in 1209. In 1246, Alexander Nevsky granted it to his younger brother Yaroslav Yaroslavich (d. 1271), from whom a dynasty of local princes descended. Four of them were killed by the Golden Horde and were proclaimed saints by the Russian Orthodox church.
  Formerly a land of woods and bogs, the Principality of Tver was quickly transformed into one of the richest and most populous Russian states. As the area was hardly accessible for Tatar raids, there was a great influx of population from the recently devastated South. By the end of the century, it was ready to vie with Moscow for supremacy in Russia. Both Tver and Moscow were young cities, so the outcome of their rivalry was far from being certain.
  
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  Ukraine
  Ukraine (ⁱ/juːˈkreɪn/ yew-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, transliterated: Ukrayina, [ukrɑˈjinɑ]; Russian: Украина; Crimean Tatar: Ukraina) is a country in Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after the Russian Federation.
  According to a popular and well established theory, the medieval state of Kievan Rus was established by the Varangians in the 9th century as the first historically recorded East Slavic state which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages until it disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers—the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. A chaotic period of incessant warfare ensued, with several internationally recognized attempts at independence from 1917 to 1921, following World War I and the Russian Civil War. Ukraine emerged from its own civil war, and on December 30, 1922 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian SSR's territory was enlarged westward during the civil war shortly before, and after World War II, and further south in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations.
  
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  Velikiye Luki
  Velikiye Luki (Russian: Вели́кие Лу́ки; lit. great meanders) is a town on the meandering Lovat River in the southern part of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is the second largest town in Pskov Oblast; population: 98,778 (2010 Census preliminary results); 104,979 (2002 Census); 113,745 (1989 Census).
  It was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1166. After the construction of a fortress in 1211, Velikiye Luki gained strategic importance, defending the approaches to Pskov and Novgorod. It was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow by Ivan the Great in 1478. It was granted town status in 1777.^{[citation needed]} At the beginning of the 20th century, it evolved into an important railway hub following the construction of the railway connecting Moscow with Riga.
  During World War II, in 1941 and 1942, intensive fighting took place in the vicinity between German and Soviet forces. During the Battle for Velikiye Luki (in late 1942), a German force of about 20,000 was surrounded in the town which had been turned into a fortress. After months of heavy fighting, the German defenders were finally wiped out in January 1943. As a result of this siege, the town suffered almost total destruction.
  
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  Veliky Novgorod
  Veliky Novgorod (Russian: Вели́кий Но́вгород; IPA: [vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət]) is one of the most important historic cities in Russia which serves as the administrative center of Novgorod Oblast. It is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city lies along the Volkhov River just downstream from its outflow from Lake Ilmen. Population: 218,724 (2010 Census preliminary results); 216,856 (2002 Census); 229,126 (1989 Census).
  Novgorod is among the oldest cities of Russia, founded in the 9th or 10th century. The Sofia First Chronicle first mentions it in 859; the Novgorod First Chronicle mentions it first under the year 862 when it was allegedly already a major station on the trade route from the Baltics to Byzantium.^{[citation needed]}
  Archaeological excavations in the middle to late 20th century, however, have found cultural layers dating back only to the late 10th century, the time of the Christianization of Rus' and a century after it was allegedly founded, suggesting that the chronicle entries mentioning Novgorod in the 850s or 860s are later interpolations.
  
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  Vladikavkaz
  Vladikavkaz (Russian: Владикавкáз; IPA: [vlədʲɪkɐfˈkas], lit. ruler of the Caucasus; Ossetic: Дзæуджыхъæу, Dzæwdžyqæw, lit. Dzaug's settlement) is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania in southern Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, situated on the Terek River. Population: 311,635 (2010 Census preliminary results); 315,068 (2002 Census); 300,198 (1989 Census). Vladikavkaz is one of the most populous cities in the North Caucasus.
  The city is an industrial and transportation center. Manufactures include processed zinc and lead, machinery, chemicals, clothing, and food products.
  The city was founded in 1784 as a fortress during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus and was for many years the main Russian military base in the region. The Georgian Military Highway, crossing the mountains, was constructed in 1799 to link the city with Georgia to the south, and in 1875 a railway was built to connect it to Rostov-on-Don and Baku in Azerbaijan. Vladikavkaz has become an important industrial center for the region, with smelting, refining, chemicals and manufacturing industries.
  
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  Vladivostok
  Vladivostok (Russian: Владивосток; IPA: [vlədʲɪvɐˈstok] ( listen); Chinese: 海參崴; pinyin: Hǎishēnwǎi) is a city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, not far from Russia's borders with China and North Korea. The population of the city, according to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, is 592,069, down from 594,701 recorded in the 2002 Census.
  The city is the home port of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the largest Russian port on the Pacific Ocean.
  In 2012, Vladivostok will host the 24th Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. In preparation for the event, the infrastructure of the city is being renovated and improved. Two giant cable-stayed bridges are currently under construction in Vladivostok, namely the Zolotoy Rog bridge over the Golden Horn Bay in the center of the city, and the Russky Island Bridge from the mainland to Russky Island, where the summit will take place. The latter bridge will become the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world upon completion.
  
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  Volokolamsk
  Volokolamsk (Russian: Волокола́мск) is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, 129 kilometers (80 mi) northwest of Moscow. Population: 23,386 (2010 Census preliminary results); 16,656 (2002 Census); 18,226 (1989 Census).
  Volokolamsk was first mentioned in the Voskresensk Chronicle under the year 1135. The town was built by Novgorodian merchants on a five-kilometer portage (Russian: Волок) on a waterway from Novgorod to Moscow and Ryazan. Hence, the name Volokolamsk (Volok on the Lama = Volokolamsk). The town remained the southernmost enclave of Republic of Novgorod until 1398.
  In 1178, Volok on the Lama was burnt by Vsevolod the Big Nest, who added it to Vladimir-Suzdal lands. His son Yaroslav II restored it to Novgorod in 1231. After the Mongol invasion of Russia, the town was divided into two parts, one of them assigned to Novgorod and another one — to the Grand Dukes of Vladimir. The Principality of Tver failed to take it in 1273.
  
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  Voronezh
  Voronezh (Russian: Воро́неж; IPA: [vɐˈronʲɪʂ]) is a city and the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on both sides of the Voronezh River, 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway (connecting European Russia with Ural and Siberia, as well as Caucasus and Ukraine), as well as the center of the Don Highway (Moscow—Rostov-on-Don). Population: 889,989 (2010 Census preliminary results).
  The Voronezh River was first mentioned in the Hypatian Codex in 1177, but human settlement on the site is attested since the Stone Age by archeological finds. Recent findings may push the city's foundation date as far back as the 4th century CE. The current official version, however, states that the present city was founded in 1585 by Feodor I as a fort protecting the Russian state from the raids of Crimean and Nogay Tatars. The city is named for the river, itself named for an earlier city destroyed by the Mongol invasion, whose name in turn was borrowed from a place name in the Principality of Chernigov, derived from the Slavic personal name Voroneg.
  
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  Voronezh Governorate
  Coordinates: 51°40′N 39°13′E / 51.667°N 39.217°E / 51.667; 39.217
  Voronezh Governorate (Russian: Воронежская губерния, Voronezhskaya guberniya) was an administrative division (a guberniya) of the Russian Empire, which existed from 1725 until 1779 and from 1796 until 1928. Its seat was located in Voronezh. The governorate was located in the south of the European part of the Russian Empire. In 1928, the governorate was abolished, and its area was included into newly established Central Black Earth Oblast.
  On December 29 [O.S. December 18], 1708 the Tsar Peter the Great's edict established the new administrative division of Russian Empire. It was divided into seven governorates one of which, located in the South of Russia, was Azov Governorate. The governorate bordered Kiev Governorate in the west, Moscow Governorate in the north, and Kazan Governorate in the east. The southern border of the governorate was and not well-defined. The areas south of the governorate were controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Formally, Azov was the administrative center of the governorate, but in practice, the seat of the governor was located in Tambov until 1715 and in Voronezh after 1715. In 1725, the governorate was renamed Voronezh Governorate.
  
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  Vyazma
  Vyazma (Russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, the city defended western approaches to the city of Moscow. Population: 57,103 (2010 Census preliminary results); 57,545 (2002 Census); 59,022 (1989 Census); 44,000 (1970).
  It is served by Vyazma Airport.
  Vyazma was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1230, although it is believed that it is a much older settlement. The town was named after the river, whose name was from Russian vyaz' 'bog, swamp.' At that time, the town belonged to a lateral branch of the Rurikid House of Smolensk. In 1403, the local princes were expelled by Lithuanians to Moscow, where they took the name of Princes Vyazemsky. The most notable among them were Pyotr Vyazemsky, an intimate friend of the poet Alexander Pushkin and a poet himself, and Sophie Viazemski, a French writer, for a time married to Jean-Luc Godard.
  
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  Vyborg
  Vyborg (English pronunciation: /ˈviːbɔrɡ/;Russian: Вы́борг [ˈvɨbərk];Finnish: Viipuri [ˈʋiːpuri]; Swedish: Viborg; German: Wiborg; Estonian: Viiburi) is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, 130 kilometers (81 mi) to the northwest of St. Petersburg and 38 kilometers (24 mi) south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland. Population: 80,013 (2010 Census preliminary results); 79,224 (2002 Census); 80,924 (1989 Census).
  The Hanseatic city lies in the boundary zone between the East Slavic/Russian and Finnish/Scandinavian worlds and has changed hands several times in history, most recently in 1944 when it was taken by the Soviet Union from Finland during World War II.
  The area where Vyborg is located used to be a trading center on the Vuoksi River's western branch, which has dried up. The area was inhabited by the Karelians, a Finnish tribe which gradually came under the domination of Novgorod and Sweden.
  
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  Yelets
  Yelets (Russian: Еле́ц) is a city in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Bystraya Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don. Population: 108,404 (2010 Census preliminary results); 116,726 (2002 Census); 120,261 (1989 Census).
  Yelets is the oldest center of the Central Black Earth Region. It was mentioned in historical documents as early as 1146, when it belonged to the Princes of Ryazan.^{[citation needed]} The town's position at the very south of Russian lands made it an easy prey for Turkic conquerors. The Mongols burned it in 1239, Uzbeg Khan ravaged it in 1316, Timur sacked it in 1395, and the Tatars devastated it in 1414.
  In 1483, the Principality of Yelets was absorbed by the Grand Duchy of Moscow, while the local Rurikid rulers (last heard of in the 19th century) entered the service of Ivan III. In 1591, Boris Godunov revived the largely deserted town by establishing a fortress there. In 1618, the fortress was captured "by subterfuge" by 20,000 Cossacks under Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny, allied with Władysław IV of Poland. They dismantled a large part of town fortifications.
  
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  Yelnya
  Yelnya (Russian: Е́льня) is a town and the administrative center of Yelninsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna River 82 kilometers (51 mi) from Smolensk. Population: 10,095 (2010 Census preliminary results); 10,798 (2002 Census); 9,868 (1989 Census).
  The name of the town probably related to the Russian 'yel' (fir tree) or yelan' (land cleared from forest).
  The settlement was first mentioned in the historical documents in 1150 when according to the order of knyaz Rostislav of Smolensk the settlement was to pay tax of four grivnas and a fox skin.
  The settlement shared the history of the Smolensk lands—it paid duty to the Golden Horde, then was captured by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The settlement was returned to Russia with the rest of the Smolensk Voivodeship at the close of the Russo-Polish War (1654-1667). In 1776, the settlement officially received town status and became a center of an uyezd.
  In 1804, the Russian composer Mikhail Glinka was born in the village of Novospasskoye of Yelninsky Uyezd. In 1982, the house was restored and became a museum of Glinka. The Glinka Festival is held annually in Yelninsky District.
  
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  Zvenigorod
  Zvenigorod (Russian: Звени́город) is an old town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: 16,395 (2010 Census preliminary results); 12,155 (2002 Census); 15,805 (1989 Census).
  The community has existed since the 12th century, although its first written mention is dated 1338.^{[citation needed]} The town's name is based either on a personal name (cf. Zvenislav, Zvenimir) or on a hydronym (cf. the Zvinech, Zvinyaka, Zveniga Rivers); the derivation from "town of ringing (bells)" is a folk etymology.
  Zvenigorod rose to prominence in the late 14th century after it was bequeathed by Dmitry Donskoy to his second son Yuri, who founded his residence on the steep bank of the Moskva River. The local kremlin, called Gorodok, contains the only fully preserved example of 14th-century Muscovite architecture, the Assumption Cathedral (1399). The cathedral's interior features frescoes by Andrei Rublev.
  Zvenigorod is primarily remembered for internecine wars waged by Yuri's sons for control of Moscow during the reign of their cousin Vasily II (1425–1462). After their party was defeated, the town was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
  
  wn.com/Zvenigorod

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  Afanasy Fet
  Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet (Russian: Афана́сий Афана́сьевич Фет; IPA: [ɐfɐˈnasʲɪj ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪt͡ɕ ˈfʲet] ( listen)), later known as Shenshin (Russian: Шенши́н; IPA: [ʂɨnˈʂɨn] ( listen)); 5 December [O.S. 23 November] 1820 — 3 December [O.S. 21 November] 1892), was a Russian poet regarded as one of the finest lyricists in Russian literature.
  The circumstances of Afanasy Fet's birth have been the subject of controversy, and some uncertainties still remain. Even the exact date is unknown and has been cited as either October 29 (old style), or November 23 or 29, 1820.
  Brief biographies usually maintain that Fet was the son of the Russian landlord Shenshin and a German woman named Charlotta Becker, an that at the age of 14 he had to change his surname from his father's to that of Fet, because the marriage of Shenshin and Becker, registered in Germany, was deemed legally void in Russia. Detailed studies reveal a complicated and controversial story.
  
  wn.com/Afanasy_Fet
• Alexander Kasyanov
  wn.com/Alexander_Kasyanov
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  Alexey Stakhanov
  Alexey Grigoryevich Stakhanov (Russian: Алексе́й Григо́рьевич Стаха́нов; 3 January 1906 – 5 November 1977) was a miner in the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor (1970), and a member of the CPSU (1936). He became a celebrity in 1935 as part of a movement that was intended to increase worker productivity and demonstrate the superiority of the socialist economic system.
  Stakhanov was born in Lugovaya near Oryol. In 1927, he began working in a mine called "Tsentralnaya-Irmino" in Kadievka (Donbass). In 1933, Stakhanov became a jackhammer operator. In 1935, he took a local course in mining. On 31 August 1935, it was reported that he had mined a record 102 tonnes of coal in 5 hours and 45 minutes (14 times his quota). On 19 September, Stakhanov was reported to have set a new record by mining 227 tonnes of coal in a single shift. His example was held up in newspapers and posters as a model for others to follow, and he even appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
  In 1936–1941, Stakhanov was a student of the Industrial Academy in Moscow. In 1941–1942, he was appointed director of mine No. 31 in Karaganda. Between 1943 and 1957, Stakhanov worked in the Ministry of Coal Industry of the USSR. In 1957–1959, he was deputy director of the Chistyakovantratsit trust, and after that, assistant chief engineer at the mine management office No. 2/43 of the Torezantratsit trust until his retirement in 1974.
  
  wn.com/Alexey_Stakhanov
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  Anna Petrovna Kern
  Anna Petrovna Kern, née Poltoratskaya (11 February 1800 – 27 May 1879), was a Russian socialite and memoirist, best known as the addressee of what is probably the best known love poem in the Russian language, written by Pushkin in 1825.
  Anna was born in Oryol at the mansion of her grandfather, the local governor. She was brought up in Livny, Russia. On 8 January 1817 she was married by her parents to the 56-year-old General Kern, whom she professed to detest thoroughly.
  After they settled in Saint Petersburg, Anna flirted with a number of Romantic poets, but her chief claim to fame was a love affair with Alexander Pushkin in the summer of 1825, during her stay with relatives in Trigorskoe, a manor adjacent to Mikhailovskoe, where the great poet was living in exile.
  "Lately, our land has been visited by a beauty, who sings the Venetian Night in a heavenly way, in the manner of the gondolier's cantillation", Pushkin wrote to his friend Pyotr Pletnev. Kern was one of many liaisons in Pushkin's life and she would not have become the most famous of his mistresses were it not for the poem that Pushkin put between the pages of the second canto of Eugene Onegin which he presented to her on the day of their parting.
  
  wn.com/Anna_Petrovna_Kern
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  Anton Denikin
  Anton Ivanovich Denikin (Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин; December 16 [O.S. December 4] 1872 – August 8, 1947) was Lieutenant General of the Imperial Russian Army (1916) and one of the foremost generals of the White movement in the Russian Civil War.
  Denikin was born in Szpetal Dolny village, now part of the Polish city Włocławek (then part of the Russian Empire). His father, Ivan Efimovich Denikin, had been born a serf in the province of Saratov. Sent as a recruit to do 25 years of military service, Ivan Denikin became an officer in the 22nd year of his army service, in 1856. He retired from the army in 1869 with the rank of major. In 1869 Ivan Denikin married a poor Polish seamstress, Elżbieta Wrzesińska — his second wife. Anton Denikin, the couple's only child, learned to speak two languages (Russian and Polish) at the same time. His father's commitment to Russian patriotism and the Orthodox religion led to Anton Denikin's decision to become a soldier.
  The Denikins lived very close to poverty, the retired major's small pension being their only source of income. After his father's death in 1885, Denikin's family financial situation got even worse. Anton Denikin began tutoring younger schoolmates so that the family could earn additional income. In 1890 Denikin began a course at the Kiev Junker School, a military college from which he graduated in 1892. The twenty-year-old Denikin joined an artillery brigade, in which he served for three years.
  
  wn.com/Anton_Denikin
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  Artem Mikoyan
  Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan (Armenian: Արտյոմ (Artyom) Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան or Անուշավան Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան Hovhannyesi Mikohan or Anowshavan Hovhannyesi Mikohan; Russian: Артём Ива́нович Микоя́н) (5 August [O.S. 23 July] 1905 — December 9, 1970) was a Soviet aircraft designer of Armenian descent. In partnership with Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich he designed many of the famous MiG military aircraft.
  Mikoyan was born in Sanahin, Armenia. His older brother, Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan, would become a senior Soviet politician. He completed his basic education and took a job as a machine-tool operator in Rostov, then worked in the "Dynamo" factory in Moscow before being conscripted into the military. After military service he joined the Zukovsky Air Force Academy, where he created his first plane, graduating in 1937. He worked with Polikarpov before being named head of a new aircraft design bureau in Moscow in December 1939.^{[clarification needed]} Together with Gurevich, Mikoyan formed the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau, producing a series of fighter aircraft. In March 1942, the bureau was renamed OKB MiG (Osoboye Konstruktorskoye Büro), ANPK MiG (Aviatsionnyy nauchno-proizvodstvennyy kompleks) and OKO MiG. The MiG-1 proved to be a poor start, the MiG-3 went into production but only occasionally could it fight in its intended high-level interceptor role. Further MiG-5, MiG-7 and MiG-8 Utka did not progress beyond research prototypes.
  
  wn.com/Artem_Mikoyan
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  Christian Rakovsky
  Christian Rakovsky (August 13 [O.S. August 1] 1873 – September 11, 1941) was a Bulgarian socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat; he was also noted as a journalist, physician, and essayist. Rakovsky's political career took him throughout the Balkans and into France and Imperial Russia; for part of his life, he was also a Romanian citizen.
  A lifelong collaborator of Leon Trotsky, he was a prominent activist of the Second International, involved in politics with the Bulgarian Social Democratic Union, Romanian Social Democratic Party, and the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Rakovsky was expelled at different times from various countries as a result of his activities, and, during World War I, became a founding member of the Revolutionary Balkan Social Democratic Labor Federation while helping to organize the Zimmerwald Conference. Imprisoned by Romanian authorities, he made his way to Russia, where he joined the Bolshevik Party after the October Revolution, and, as head of the Rumcherod, unsuccessfully attempted to generate a communist revolution in the Kingdom of Romania. Subsequently, he was a founding member of the Comintern, served as head of government in the Ukrainian SSR, and took part in negotiations at the Genoa Conference.
  
  wn.com/Christian_Rakovsky
• Denis Boytsov
  Denis Boytsov (Russian: Денис Бойцов, born February 14, 1986 in Oryol, Russia) is a Russian heavyweight boxer .
  Boytsov has had a decorated amateur career, including the following accomplishments:
  His record was 115-15.
  As a teenager he suffered from heart and spine problems.^{[citation needed]}
  Boytsov turned pro in 2004 in Germany and won his first 20 bouts with 18 KO's. Later his opponents included Vincent Maddalone and Israel Carlos Garcia. As of February 2009 Boytsov is undefeated.
  He has drawn comparisons to Mike Tyson in some circles with his aggressive crowd-pleasing style. He has exceptional punching power combined with fast hand speed.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Denis_Boytsov
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  Denis Menchov
  Denis Nikolayevich Menchov (Russian: Денис Николаевич Меньшов, pronounced as Menshov), born 25 January 1978 in Oryol, is a professional Russian road bicycle racer for Team Katusha. He is a general classification rider, a climber, and a very good time trialist. In 2005 he won the Vuelta a España, which he won for a second time in 2007. Menchov also won the centenary Giro d'Italia in 2009, and finished second in the Tour de France in 2010.
  Menchov started his professional career in 2000 with the Banesto team of José Miguel Echevarri. His first success came in 2001, when he won the Tour de l'Avenir, a stage race for young professionals. A year later he won a stage in the Dauphiné Liberé. In 2003, Menchov had his breakthrough when he finished 11th in the Tour de France, and won the youth competition (maillot blanc). 2004 was his last year at Banesto and his most successful. He won Vuelta al País Vasco, a stage in Vuelta a Aragón, a stage in Paris–Nice and stage five in the 2004 Vuelta a España, from Zaragoza to Morella.
  
  wn.com/Denis_Menchov
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  False Dmitry II
  False Dmitry II (Russian: Лжедимитрий II, other transliterations: Dmitriy, Dmitri, Dmitrii), also called the rebel of Tushino, was the second of three pretenders to the Russian throne who claimed to be Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. The real Dmitry had died under uncertain circumstances, most likely an assassination attempt in 1591, at the age of nine, at his widowed mother's appanage residence in Uglich.
  The second False Dmitry first appeared on the scene circa July 20, 1607, at Starodub. He is believed to have been either a priest's son or a converted Jew, and was relatively highly educated for the time. He spoke both the Russian and Polish languages and was something of an expert in liturgical matters. He pretended at first to be the Muscovite boyar Nagoy, but confessed under torture that he was Tsarevich Dmitry, whereupon he was taken at his word and joined by thousands of Cossacks, Poles, and Muscovites.
  In the course of the year Jerzy Mniszech, father of Marina Mniszech, widow of the first Dimitry, 'reunited' him with Marina, who miraculously recognized her late husband in this second Dimitry (subsequently quieting her conscience by privately marrying this impostor, who in no way resembled her first husband, False Dmitry I). This brought him the support of the magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth who had supported False Dmitry I. Adam Wiśniowiecki, Roman Różyński, and Jan Sapieha decided to support the second pretender as well, supplying him with some early funds and 7500 soldiers, among them Aleksander Józef Lisowski, leader of the infamous mercenary band later known as Lisowczycy.
  
  wn.com/False_Dmitry_II
• Fedor Baranov
  Fedor Ilyich Baranov (Russian: Фёдор Ильич Баранов) (1 April 1886 – 30 July 1965) was a founder of fisheries science, even attributed as being the "Grandfather of fisheries population dynamics". He is best known for setting the foundations for quantitative fisheries science (including the Baranov catch equation) as well as for his contributions to development of fishing technology.
  Baranov graduated as a marine engineer from St. Petersburg Polytechnical Institute in 1909. He had a keen interest in fishing, and made his career in this area, first in improving fishing techniques but soon also in setting the foundations for the theory of fishing and fishery production. In 1915, Baranov was appointed as a professor at the Department of Commercial Fisheries of the Moscow Agricultural Academy. Baranov was the first head of the Department of Industrial Fisheries, an institute created as a part of the Moscow Institute of Fisheries (Moskovskiy Tekhnicheskiy Institut Rybnoy Promyshlennosti i Khozyaystva, Mosrybvtuz) in 1930; he worked there until his retirement in 1959.
  
  wn.com/Fedor_Baranov
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  Felix Dzerzhinsky
  Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (Polish: Feliks Dzierżyński [ˈfɛliks dʑerˈʐɨɲski], Russian: Фе́ликс Эдму́ндович Дзержи́нский; 11 September [O.S. 30 August] 1877 – 20 July 1926) was a Soviet state and Communist Party leader, and a prominent member of Polish and Russian revolutionary movements. He was the head of several Polish Communist revolutionary, famous as the first director of the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka, known later by many names during the history of the Soviet Union. The agency became notorious for torture and mass summary executions, performed especially during the Red Terror and the Russian Civil War.
  Felix Dzerzhinsky was born into a purported Polish szlachta (noble) family of the Samson coat of arms on 11 September 1877. His father, Edmund-Rufin Dzerzhinsky graduated from the Saint Petersburg University and worked as a gymnasium teacher of physics in Taganrog, Russia. In 1882 Felix's father died and the family moved to their Dziarzhynava estate near Ivyanets and Rakaw, Russian Empire (today Belarus). As a youngster Dzerzhinsky was fluent in three languages: Polish, Russian and Hebrew. He attended the Russian gymnasium at Vilnius 1887–95. One of the older students at this gymnasium was his future archenemy, Józef Piłsudski. Years later, as Marshal of Poland, Piłsudski generously recalled that Dzerzhinsky "distinguished himself as a student with delicacy and modesty. He was rather tall, thin and demure, making the impression of an ascetic with the face of an icon. ... Tormented or not, this is an issue history will clarify; in any case this person did not know how to lie."
  
  wn.com/Felix_Dzerzhinsky
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  Fritz Noether
  Fritz Alexander Ernst Noether (October 7, 1884 in Erlangen – September 10, 1941 in Orel, Russia) was a German-born mathematician.
  Fritz Noether's father Max Noether was a mathematician and professor in Erlangen. The notable mathematician Emmy Noether was his elder sister; the mathematician Gottfried Noether was his son.
  Fritz Noether was also an able mathematician. Not allowed to work in Germany for being a Jew, he moved to the Soviet Union, where he was appointed to a professorship at the University of Tomsk. In November 1937, during the Great Purge, he was arrested at his home in Tomsk by the NKVD and sentenced to a 25-year imprisonment for being a "German spy". While in prison, he was accused of "anti-Soviet propaganda", sentenced to death, and shot.
  In 1988 the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union decided that he had not been guilty of any crime.
  Segal, Sanford L., Mathematicians under the Nazis page 60
  
  wn.com/Fritz_Noether
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  Gennady Zyuganov
  Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (Russian: Генна́дий Андре́евич Зюга́нов; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (since 1993), Chairman of the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union (UCP-CPSU) (since 2001), deputy of the State Duma (since 1993), and a member of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (since 1996).
  Zyuganov was born in Mymrino, a farming village in Oryol Oblast, south of Moscow. The son and grandson of schoolteachers, he followed in their footsteps: after graduating from a secondary school, his first job was working there for one year as a physics teacher in 1961.
  In 1962, he enrolled into the Department of Physics and Mathematics of Oryol Pedagogical Institute. From 1963 to 1966, he served in a Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Intelligence unit of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Zyuganov joined the Communist Party in 1966.
  He returned to the teachers' college in 1966. Three years older than most members of the sophomore class, he was already a party member; a position of prestige, and a popular college athlete. On his return, he also married his wife, Nadezhda. He completed his degree in 1969.
  
  wn.com/Gennady_Zyuganov
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  Ivan Bolotnikov
  Ivan Isayevich Bolotnikov (Russian: Ива́н Иса́евич Боло́тников) (1565-1608) was the leader of a popular uprising in Russia in 1606–1607 known as the Bolotnikov rebellion (Восстание Ивана Болотникова). The uprising was part of the Time of Troubles in Russia.
  
  wn.com/Ivan_Bolotnikov
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  Ivan the Terrible
  Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Russian:  Ива́н Четвёртый, Васи́льевич​ (help·info), Ivan Chetvyorty, Vasilyevich; 25 August 1530 – 28 March [O.S. 18 March] 1584), known in English as Ivan the Terrible (Russian:  Ива́н Гро́зный​ (help·info), Ivan Grozny; lit. Fearsome), was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres, approximately 4,046,856 km² (1,562,500 sq mi). Ivan managed countless changes in the progression from a medieval state to an empire and emerging regional power, and became the first ruler to be crowned as Tsar of all Russia.
  Historic sources present disparate accounts of Ivan's complex personality: he was described as intelligent and devout, yet given to rages and prone to episodic outbreaks of mental illness. On one such outburst Tsar beat and unpremeditatedly killed his groomed and chosen heir Ivan Ivanovich. This led Tsardom to be passed to Tsar's younger son: the weak and intellectually disabledFeodor I of Russia. Ivan's legacy is complex: he was an able diplomat, a patron of arts and trade, founder of the Russia's first Print Yard, but he is also remembered for his paranoiac suspiciousness and cruel persecution of nobility.
  
  wn.com/Ivan_the_Terrible
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  Ivan Turgenev
  Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (Russian: Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́нев; IPA: [ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲeɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf]; November 9 [O.S. October 28] 1818 – September 3, 1883) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches, is a milestone of Russian Realism, and his novel Fathers and Sons is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century fiction.
  Turgenev was born into a wealthy landed family of the Russian aristocracy in Oryol, Russia, on November 9, 1818 (October 28 OS). His father, Sergei Nikolaevich Turgenev, a colonel in the Imperial Russian cavalry, was a chronic philanderer. Ivan's mother, Varvara Petrovna Lutovinova, was a wealthy heiress, who had had an unhappy childhood and suffered in her marriage. Ivan's father died when Ivan was sixteen, leaving him and his brother Nicholas to be brought up by their abusive mother. Ivan's childhood was a lonely one, in constant fear of his mother who beat him often. After the standard schooling for a son of a gentleman, Turgenev studied for one year at the University of Moscow and then moved to the University of Saint Petersburg from 1834 to 1837, focusing on Classics, Russian literature, and philology. He then studied, from 1838 until 1841, at the University of Berlin to study philosophy, particularly Hegel, and history. He returned to Saint Petersburg to complete his master's exam. Turgenev was impressed with German society and returned home believing that Russia could best improve itself by incorporating ideas from the Age of Enlightenment. Like many of his educated contemporaries, he was particularly opposed to serfdom. In 1841, Turgenev started his career in Russian civil service and spent two years working for the Ministry of Interior (1843-1845).
  
  wn.com/Ivan_Turgenev
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  Joseph Stalin
  Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин; born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Джугашвили; 18 December 1878 – 5 March 1953) was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 and later held the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953. While the office of the General Secretary was officially elective and not initially regarded as the top position in the Soviet state, Stalin managed to use it to consolidate more and more power in his hands after the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924 and gradually put down all opposition groups within the Communist Party. This included Leon Trotsky, a socialist theorist and the principal critic of Stalin among the early Soviet leaders, who was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929. Whereas Trotsky was an exponent of permanent revolution, it was Stalin's concept of socialism in one country that became the primary focus of Soviet politics.
  
  wn.com/Joseph_Stalin
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  Leonid Andreyev
  Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (Russian: Леони́д Никола́евич Андре́ев, 21 August [O.S. 9 August] 1871 – September 12, 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. He is one of the most talented and prolific representatives of the Silver Age period in Russian history. Andreyev's style combines elements of realist, naturalist and symbolist schools in literature.
  Born in the Oryol province of Russia within a middle class family, Andreyev originally studied law in Moscow and in Saint Petersburg. He became police-court reporter for a Moscow daily, performing the routine of his humble calling without attracting any particular attention. At this time he wrote poetry and made a few efforts to publish it but was refused by most publishers. In 1898 his first short story, "Bargamot and Garaska" ("Баргамот и Гараська"), was published in the "Kurier" newspaper in Moscow. This story came to the attention of the burgeoning Maxim Gorky who recommended that Andreyev concentrate on his literary work. Andreyev eventually gave up his law practice, fast becoming a literary celebrity, and the two writers remained friends for many years to come. Through Gorky, Andreyev became a member of the Moscow Sreda literary group, and published many of his works in Gorky's Znanie collections.
  
  wn.com/Leonid_Andreyev
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  Maria Spiridonova
  Maria Alexandrovna Spiridonova (Russian: Мари́я Алекса́ндровна Спиридо́нова; October 16, 1884, Tambov – September 11, 1941, Medvedevsky Forest near Oryol) was a figure in Russian revolutionary circles at the beginning of the 20th century.
  She joined the Socialist-Revolutionary Party during her training to become a nurse. In January, 1906, Spiridonova assassinated Police Inspector General G.N. Luzhenovsky who had ordered the brutal police suppression of a peasant uprising during Russian Revolution of 1905. She shot General Luzhenovsky in the face with a revolver at the provincial railway station of Borisoglebsk. Following the assassination, and after her arrest, she was subjected to horrendous physical and sexual abuse at the hands of soldiers. Some of the outrages committed against her included being dragged face down on cobbled steps, stripped and whipped, having cigarettes stubbed out on her breasts and further beating.
  Sections of Russian society aired their indignation at her cruel treatment, and with the help of admiring popular support, she was spared the death sentence and instead was sent to prison in exile.
  
  wn.com/Maria_Spiridonova
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  Mikhail Bakhtin
  Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin (Russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Бахти́н, pronounced [mʲɪxʌˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ bʌxˈtʲin]) (November 17, 1895, Oryol – March 7, 1975, Moscow) was a Russian philosopher, literary critic, semiotician and scholar who worked on literary theory, ethics, and the philosophy of language. His writings, on a variety of subjects, inspired scholars working in a number of different traditions (Marxism, semiotics, structuralism, religious criticism) and in disciplines as diverse as literary criticism, history, philosophy, anthropology and psychology. Although Bakhtin was active in the debates on aesthetics and literature that took place in the Soviet Union in the 1920s, his distinctive position did not become well known until he was rediscovered by Russian scholars in the 1960s.
  Bakhtin had a difficult life and career, and few of his works were published in an authoritative form during his lifetime. As a result, there is substantial disagreement over matters that are normally taken for granted: in which discipline he worked (was he a philosopher or literary critic?), how to periodize his work, and even which texts he wrote (see below). He is known for a series of concepts that have been used and adapted in a number of disciplines: dialogism, the carnivalesque, the chronotope, heteroglossia and "outsidedness" (the English translation of a Russian term vnenakhodimost, sometimes rendered into English—from French rather than from Russian—as "exotopy"). Together these concepts outline a distinctive philosophy of language and culture that has at its center the claims that all discourse is in essence a dialogical exchange and that this endows all language with a particular ethical or ethico-political force.
  
  wn.com/Mikhail_Bakhtin
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  Nikolai Getman
  Nikolai Getman (Russian: Николай Гетман, Ukrainian: Микола Гетьман), an artist, was born in 1917 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and died at his home in Orel, Russia, in August 2004. He was a prisoner from 1946 to 1953 in forced labor camps in Siberia and Kolyma, where he survived as a result of his ability to sketch for the propaganda requirements of the authorities. He is remembered as one of few artists who has recorded the life of prisoners in the Gulag in the form of paintings (see also drawings by Eufrosinia Kersnovskaya).
  Getman had a difficult childhood in Ukraine, often close to starvation, but from the very beginning was able to develop his natural artistic talents. After graduating from technical college in 1937, he attended the Kharkiv Art College in order to become a professional artist. Three years later he was called up to join the Red Army, where he served until the end of World War II. Shortly after his return, he was arrested for participating in anti-Soviet propaganda as a result of a caricature of Stalin one of his friends had drawn on a cigarette box. He was convicted in January 1946 and sent to the Gulag prison camps in Siberia.
  
  wn.com/Nikolai_Getman
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  Nikolai Leskov
  Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (Russian: Никола́й Семёнович Леско́в; 16 February [O.S. 4 February] 1831 — 5 March [O.S. 21 February] 1895) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and journalist who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is credited with creating a comprehensive picture of contemporary Russian society using mostly short literary forms. His major works include The Enchanted Wanderer (1873), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1865) (which was later made into an opera), The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea (1881), and the novel The Cathedral Clergy (1872).
  
  wn.com/Nikolai_Leskov
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  Olga Kameneva
  Olga Davidovna Kameneva (Russian: Ольга Давыдовна Каменева, Ukrainian: Ольга Давидiвна Каменева; 1883 - 11 September 1941) (née Bronstein [Бронштейн]) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician. She was the sister of Leon Trotsky and the first wife of Lev Kamenev.
  Olga Kameneva was born in Yanovka, Kherson Province, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine), a small village 15 miles from the nearest post office. She was one of two daughters of a wealthy but illiterate farmer, David Leontyevich Bronstein (or Bronshtein, 1847 - 1922), a Jewish colonist, and Anna Bronstein (1850 - 1910). Although the family was of Jewish extraction, it was not religious and the languages spoken at home were Russian and Ukrainian, not Yiddish.
  Olga Bronstein joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1902 and soon married Lev Kamenev, a fellow Marxist revolutionary. In 1908, after Lev Kamenev's release from prison, the Kamenevs left Russia for Geneva and then Paris, where Lev Kamenev became one of Vladimir Lenin's two deputies. The couple helped Lenin edit the main Bolshevik magazine Proletariy. In January 1914 the Kamenevs moved to St. Petersburg so that Lev could be in immediate control of the Bolsheviks' legal newspaper Pravda and their Duma faction.
  
  wn.com/Olga_Kameneva
• 
  Pyotr Stolypin
  Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin (Russian: Пётр Арка́дьевич Столы́пин, 14 April [O.S. 2 April] 1862 – September 18 [O.S. September 5] 1911) served as the leader of the third Duma, from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to counter revolutionary groups and by the implementation of noteworthy agrarian reforms. Stolypin's reforms aimed to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of market-oriented smallholding landowners. He is considered one of the last major statesmen of Imperial Russia with clearly defined public policies and the determination to undertake major reforms.
  Stolypin was born in Dresden, Saxony, on 14 April 1862. His family was prominent in the Russian aristocracy, and Stolypin was related on his father's side to the poet Mikhail Lermontov. His father was Arkady Dmitrievich Stolypin (1821–99), a Russian landowner, descendant of a great noble family, a general in the Russian artillery, and later Commandant of the Kremlin Palace. His mother was Natalia Mikhailovna Stolypina (née Gorchakova; 1827–89), the daughter of the Commanding General of the Russian infantry during the Crimean War and later the Governor General of Warsaw Prince Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov.
  
  wn.com/Pyotr_Stolypin
• 
  Stanislav Lebamba
  Stanislav Marselyevich Lebamba (Russian: Станислав Марсельевич Лебамба; born April 21, 1988 in Oryol) is a Russian professional football player. Currently, he plays in the Russian First Division for FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny. His father is from Congo and his mother Russian.
  
  wn.com/Stanislav_Lebamba
• 
  Timofey Granovsky
  Timofey Nikolayevich Granovsky (9 March 1813 – 4 October 1855) was a founder of mediaeval studies in the Russian Empire.
  Granovsky was born in Oryol, Russia. He studied at the universities of Moscow and Berlin, where he was profoundly influenced by Hegelian ideas of Leopold von Ranke and Friedrich Karl von Savigny. He felt that the Western history was superior to his own country's and became the first Russian to deliver courses on the medieval history of Western Europe (1839). Due to the strict censorship of the period, Granovsky assumed that lecturing provided a surer way of disseminating Western ideals in Russia than writing. The best regarded of his printed works is an innovator to disprove the historicity of Vineta.
  His readings in the Moscow University were immensely popular and brought him in touch with other Westernizers. One of these, Alexander Herzen, described Granovsky's lectures as "a draught of freedom in Nicholas I's Russia".
  Granovsky is portraited in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Possessed as Stepan Trofimovich.
  
  wn.com/Timofey_Granovsky
• 
  Valerian Safonovich
  Valerian Ivanovich Safonovich (Russian: Валерья́н Ива́нович Сафоно́вич; 1798, Podolia Governorate — April 8, 1867, Oryol) — was a Russian statesman and politician who served as ruler of Oryol Governorate from 1854 to 1861.
  Educated in Moscow University. Worked in the Ministry of the Interior in 1842—1854.
  After Nikolay Krusenstern’s transmission from Oryol to Odessa in 1854, Safonovich was appointed ruler of Oryol Governorate (governor). In 1861 he retired from the service.
  
  
  
  
  wn.com/Valerian_Safonovich
• 
  Vasily Kalinnikov
  Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov (Russian: Василий Сергеевич Калинников; January 13 [O.S. January 1] 1866 – January 11, 1901 [O.S. December 29, 1900]) was a Russian composer of two symphonies, several additional orchestral works and numerous songs, all of them imbued with characteristics of folksong. His symphonies, particularly the First, were frequently performed in the early 20th century.
  His younger brother Viktor Kalinnikov (1870–1927) was also a composer, mainly of choral music.
  Kalinnikov was a policeman's son. He studied at the seminary at Oryol, becoming director of the choir there at fourteen. Later he went to the Moscow Conservatory but could not afford the tuition fees. On a scholarship he went to the Moscow Philharmonic Society School, where he received bassoon and composition lessons from Alexander Ilyinsky. He played bassoon, timpani and violin in theater orchestras and supplemented his income working as a music copyist.
  In 1892, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky recommended Kalinnikov to be the director of the Maly Theater, and later that same year to the Moscow Italian Theater. However, due to his worsening tuberculosis, Kalinnikov had to resign from his theater appointments and move to the warmer southern clime of the Crimea. He lived at Yalta for the rest of his life, and it was there that he wrote the main part of his music, including his two symphonies and the incidental music for Alexey Tolstoy's Tsar Boris. Exhausted, he died of tuberculosis on January 11, 1901, just before his 35th birthday.
  
  wn.com/Vasily_Kalinnikov
• Yakov Kasman
  Yakov Kasman (b. February 24, 1967) is a Russian classical pianist, professor of piano, and artist-in-residence at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
  Since his American debut as the silver medalist at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1997, Yakov Kasman has performed concerts in the United States, Russia, and Asia, and appeared as a soloist with more than fifty orchestras.
  Kasman became an American citizen in 2006.
  He has performed piano concertos and recitals at numerous summer festivals including Brevard, the Peninsula, Las Vegas, Lake Placid, Sewanee and the Grand Teton winter festival. Active as a chamber musician, he has collaborated with the Manhattan, Parissi, Charleston, Shanghai, Tokyo and Talich String Quartets. He regularly gives master classes and serves as competition juror.
  Kasman and appeared as soloist with more than fifty orchestras. The list includes:
  Kasman has 14 CD recordings with Calliope and Harmonia Mundi.
  
  wn.com/Yakov_Kasman
• 
  Yakov Sverdlov
  Yakov Mikhaylovich Sverdlov (Russian: Я́ков Миха́йлович Свердло́в); known under pseudonyms "Andrei", "Mikhalych", "Max", "Smirnov", "Permyakov" 3 June [O.S. 22 May] 1885 – 16 March 1919) was a Bolshevik party leader and president of the Russian Soviet Republic.
  He was born in Nizhny Novgorod to Jewish parents. His father was an engraver. His brother was adopted by Maxim Gorky and became better-known as Zinovy Peshkov. He joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1902, and then the Bolshevik faction, supporting Vladimir Lenin. He was involved in the 1905 revolution.
  After his arrest in June 1906, for most of the time until 1917 he was either imprisoned or exiled. During the period 1914–1916 he was in internal exile in Turukhansk, Siberia, along with Joseph Stalin.
  After the 1917 February Revolution he returned to Petrograd from exile and was re-elected to the Central Committee. He played an important role in planning the October Revolution.
  A book written in 1990 by the Moscow playwright Edvard Radzinsky claims that Sverdlov had a role in the killing of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. According to this book, Sverdlov ordered their execution on 16 July 1918, which took place in the city of Yekaterinburg. This book as well as other Radzinsky's books were characterized as "folk history" (Russian term for pseudohistory) by journalists and academic historians.
  
  wn.com/Yakov_Sverdlov

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