The former World Chess Champion G. Kasparov described Hungarian female chess player PolgΓ‘r as a "circus puppet" and said that women chess players should stick to having children. Later in September 2002, in the Russia versus the Rest of the World Match, PolgΓ‘r defeated Garry Kasparov. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judβ¦
The Beryozka or Berezka Dance Ensemble is a troupe of female dancers in Russia, wearing long gowns and move in very small steps on very low half-toe with the body held in a certain corresponding position, so the dancers appear as floating or moving on wheels. youtu.be/gwbcTYQ84dU
Anastasia, daughter of the last Tsar of Russia, supposedly escaped execution during the Russian Revolution. The story inspired books and imposters. Scientific analysis (incl. DNA analysis) now confirms she died in 1918. Remains included the imperial family and all four grand duchesses. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graβ¦
There is a lake in Russia nicknamed the βSiberian Maldivesβ where Russians pose for photos due to its bright turquoise colour. The lake is not that colour naturally it is turquoise due to toxic waste runoff from a local power plant and is very hazardous bbc.com/news/world-europeβ¦
Tumbleweeds aren't native to America. They arrived through a contaminated flax shipment from Russia and are reportedly very tasty as a boiled vegetable or in salads. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalβ¦
There's a lake in Russia which we think might have been formed in 1908 by the Tunguska event, but we're not sure because there are no accurate pre-1908 maps of the area. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakβ¦
When the US faced civil war, Russia was the most supportive nation to the Union, sending its Pacific and Atlantic fleets to US ports, as well as many Russian officers to volunteer, serving up to the rank of Brigadier General. history.navy.mil/researchβ¦
Today I learned of Oprichniki, a force led by Ivan the Terrible which wore black clothing and rode black horses. They rode with severed dogs heads as they terrorized Russia and Ivan carried a canine head made of iron jaws which opened and snapped shut as he galloped. Some believe this force was his wife's idea. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprβ¦
Emergency fuel shipments to Siberian cities cost Russia an estimated $500 million per year - and according to economists, it would be cheaper for Russia to fly labourers into Siberia to extract the natural resources and then fly them out again, instead of keeping Siberian cities functioning smithsonianmag.com/travelβ¦
Today I learned of Onfim Wuz, a medieval Russian boy whose doodles and notes on a birch bark, remained preserved in the clay soil of Novgorod, Russia lithub.com/onfim-wuz-hereβ¦
The oldest Jewish state in the world isn't Israel: it's Birobidzhan, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia, founded in 1934. npr.org/2016/09/07/492962β¦
Czar Nicholas II of Russia and King George V of England got large dragon tattoos on their arms while they were touring Japan. The two monarchs, first cousins, went on to lead their respective nations in WWI. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicβ¦
Tanks were originally called 'Tanks' because the British military spread a lie about them being water carriers ordered by Russia, thus the name 'Tank.' youtu.be/C6uzyDaT20Y?t=22β¦
The USA and Russia are technically 2.4 miles (3.8 km) apart from each other because of the Diomede Islands. Little Diomede is part of Alaska, USA and Big Diomede is part of Russia. Big Diomede is a day ahead of Little Diomede because of the International Date Line. earthobservatory.nasa.govβ¦
Today I learned about Belka and Strelka - two Russian dogs that became the first living creatures to make it to the orbit and back safely in 1960. They became very folk heroes, spawning cartoons, electronica/dance music, and even Russia's first 3D animated film. airspacemag.com/daily-plaβ¦
The indigenous Chukchi of Chukotka, Russia, managed to successfully prevent the Russian Empire from conquering them to which the Russian government offered citizenship and a treaty that would exempt them from paying tribute. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuβ¦
The eruption of the Huaynaputina volcano in Peru in 1600, had significant effects on Earth's climate (Little Ice Age), decreasing temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, causing floods, famines and cold waves. The climate disruption caused social upheaval in many countries such as Russia. en.wikipedia.org/w/index.β¦
Around 1000 years after the great pyramids were built, most mammoth populations had died out. However, in Wrangel Island in Russia, there were around 500-1000 mammoths still alive! bbc.co.uk/programmes/artiβ¦
A tame and friendly Beluga whale speculated to be an escaped Russian spy was released from a harness in Norway by villagers in 2019 and has lived there ever since. Russia didn't confirm or deny this claim, but said the nearby naval base made it a possibility. He's still alive and well. nationalgeographic.com/maβ¦
Today I learned about the Moskva, an ice breaking ship from Russia that saved 2,000 trapped Beluga whales who didn't leave at first, but followed the ships classical music. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosβ¦
, In Jan 2015 Masha a tabby cat from Obninsk, Kaluba Russia, rescued an abandoned baby from freezing to death by staying beside & give him warmth while continue meowing to alert human in the vicinity. It didn't took long someone hear & noticed and baby boy was saved & brought to a hospital. honesttopaws.com/masha-thβ¦
To prevent a rodent infestation, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia owns around 70 cats. The cats spend their days mostly in the basement and are taken care of by the museum staff. The museum has a small kitchen and a pet clinic dedicated to the well-being of the cats. telegraph.co.uk/travel/deβ¦
In the middle ages in Russia there was a custom of a community gathering together to build an entire church in a single day in order to ward of plagues and epidemics. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneβ¦
Today I learned about Madame Popova who operated a murder-for-hire service in Russia that specialized in liberating married women from their cruel husbands for a fee. She murdered over 300 victims, by using poison, her own hands, a weapon, or hiring an assassin. murderpedia.org/female.P/β¦
Cats in Kazan, Russia were so good at catching mice, they were shipped to St. Petersburg in 1745 to deal with a rodent infestation. A statue dedicated to the cats can be found in Kazan today. visit-tatarstan.com/en/plβ¦
Russia first tried to sell Alaska to the tiny state of Liechtenstein, who declined the offer, before selling it to America. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaβ¦
In Russia the first day of school is called "Knowledge Day" falls on Sept 1st and is a national holiday. Kids and parents celebrate by bringing their kids to school carrying balloons and presents for their teachers, it's especially special for first graders. realrussia.co.uk/Blog/knoβ¦
Dikson is the northernmost port in Russia, and inhabitants informally call their settlement "Capital of the Arctic", taken from a popular Soviet song. It is so far north that no civil twilight appears from December 8 to January 5 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dikβ¦
Today I learned about the SΓ‘mi people, an indigenous Finno-Ugric people inhabiting the far-north of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia; aka and called SΓ‘pmi. SΓ‘mi people have been oppressed by the colonial empires of Europe for their recent history. This included many cultural and ethnic genocides. nordnorge.com/en/tema/theβ¦
Despite its rapid population decline since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the settlement of Tiksi in Russia remains the world's most northerly settlement with a population of over 5,000 and many of its apartment blocks have been abandoned en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikβ¦
Russia uses 1,000 miniature nuclear generators to power Arctic lighthouses. Known as Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, they are similar to the nuclear power supplies used on manned Lunar missions & Mars rovers. Several have gone missing or been vandalized for parts in the last 2 decades. bellona.org/news/nuclear-β¦
Russia had fair elections in 1917 and the Bolsheviks lost to the Socialist Revolutionary Party, but the Bolsheviks shortly stripped the Constituent Assembly of it's power and implemented their own one-party rule. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusβ¦
Today I learned of the Kolyma Highway. A 1200+ mile long modern road in Russia that an estimated quarter of a million people died building. Because of permafrost, interment into the fabric of the road was deemed more practical than burying the bodies in new holes, resulting in the nickname The Road of Bones. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R50β¦
Princess Sophie (of a minor German principality) married a Russian princeβ soon after he was crowned emperor, she overthrew him and crowned herself Empress Catherine the Great. She annexed much of Poland (then ruled by her former lover), helped modernized Russia & started colonizing Alaska. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catβ¦
The USA navy operates more aircraft carriers than all other navies combined - the USA operates 12, while all other nations operate 11 (China, the UK, and Italy each operate 2, while Russia, France, Spain, India, and Thailand operate one apiece) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisβ¦
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