r/Russianhistory

Михаил Васильевич Скопин-Шуйский — выдающийся русский государственный и военный деятель Смутного времени, один из самых талантливых полководцев XVII века. Михаил Скопин-Шуйский родился 8 (18) ноября 1586 года в семье князя Василия Скопина-Шуйского, представителя старшей ветви Рюриковичей. Его отец был первым воеводой Большого царского полка при Борисе Годунове. Дед и прадед Михаила также были воеводами, что определяло его военную карьеру с самого детства. Князь получил домашнее образование и с ранних лет стал придворным. В 1604 году, в возрасте 18 лет, он был пожалован чином стольника при дворе Бориса Годунова. В 1605 году Лжедмитрий I возвысил молодого князя, пожаловав ему чин «великого мечника». После восшествия на престол Василия IV Шуйского, четвероюродного племянника царя, Скопин-Шуйский был назначен воеводой. В 1606 году он участвовал в подавлении восстания Ивана Болотникова. 2 декабря 1606 года 20-летний князь разбил войско мятежника Болотникова под Москвой. В начале 1607 года он женился на Александре Васильевне Головиной, но брак остался бездетным. С декабря 1606 по май 1607 года Скопин-Шуйский осаждал Калугу, где укрепились болотниковцы. В 1608 году он был отправлен к шведскому королю Карлу IX для заключения союза против поляков. Михаил Васильевич проявил незаурядные административные и полководческие качества в этой миссии. В 1609 году, собрав русских ратников и воспользовавшись помощью шведского войска, он разгромил войска Лжедмитрия II в северных и поволжских городах. Скопин-Шуйский освободил от тушинцев ряд городов, включая Торжок, Тверь и Дмитров. Он был крупным полководцем, сочетавшим наступательный стиль с осторожностью и инженерными сооружениями. Под его началом русские воины быстро освоили новейшие европейские методы ведения войны. Это был любимец воинов — как соотечественников, так и иноземных наёмников. Глава шведских наёмников Якоб Делагарди стал его другом, как уверяют, с первой же встречи. В январе 1610 года он снял осаду Троице-Сергиевой лавры, разбив польские отряды. В феврале 1610 года Скопин-Шуйский победил тушинцев в битве при Дмитрове. В марте 1610 года он с войском вступил в освобождённую им Москву. В 1610 году во главе русско-шведской армии он окончательно освободил Москву от осады отрядов Лжедмитрия II. Через месяц после победы, 23 апреля (3 мая) 1610 года, произошла неожиданная смерть Скопина-Шуйского. Полководец скончался в возрасте всего 23 лет. Смерть наступила от болезни, начавшейся во время пира. Это породило слухи о том, что полководец был отравлен. Согласно наиболее распространённой версии, Скопин-Шуйский был отравлен вином, поднесённым женой брата царя — княгиней Екатериной Григорьевной Шуйской, дочерью Малюты Скуратова-Бельского. Имея от роду всего 23 года, он отличался статным видом, умом, зрелым не по летам, силою духа и воинским искусством, и ему суждено было остаться символом не сбывшейся надежды России, но он навсегда вошёл в историю как национальный герой времён польско-литовской интервенции.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Skopin-Shuisky was an outstanding Russian statesman and military commander of the Time of Troubles, one of the most talented generals of the 17th century. Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky was born on November 8 (18), 1586, in the family of Prince Vasily Skopin-Shuisky, a representative of the senior branch of the Rurikids. His father was the first voivode of the Grand Tsar's Regiment under Boris Godunov. Mikhail's grandfather and great-grandfather were also voivodes, which determined his military career from childhood. The prince received a home education and became a courtier from an early age. In 1604, at the age of 18, he was granted the rank of stolnik at the court of Boris Godunov. In 1605, False Dmitry I elevated the young prince, granting him the rank of "Grand Mechnik." After Vasily IV Shuisky, the tsar's fourth cousin, ascended the throne, Skopin-Shuisky was appointed voivode. In 1606, he participated in suppressing the rebellion of Ivan Bolotnikov. On December 2, 1606, the 20-year-old prince defeated Bolotnikov's rebel forces near Moscow. In early 1607, he married Alexandra Vasilyevna Golovina, but the marriage remained childless. From December 1606 to May 1607, Skopin-Shuisky besieged Kaluga, where the Bolotnikov forces had fortified themselves. In 1608, he was sent to Swedish King Charles IX to conclude an alliance against the Poles. Mikhail Vasilyevich displayed extraordinary administrative and military qualities during this mission. In 1609, having gathered Russian troops and using Swedish military assistance, he defeated the forces of False Dmitry II in northern and Volga cities. Skopin-Shuisky liberated a number of cities from the Tushino forces, including Torzhok, Tver, and Dmitrov. He was a major commander who combined an offensive style with caution and engineering fortifications. Under his leadership, Russian warriors quickly mastered the newest European methods of warfare. He was beloved by soldiers—both compatriots and foreign mercenaries. The head of Swedish mercenaries, Jacob De la Gardie, became his friend, reportedly from their very first meeting. In January 1610, he lifted the siege of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, defeating Polish detachments. In February 1610, Skopin-Shuisky defeated the Tushino forces in the Battle of Dmitrov. In March 1610, he entered Moscow with his army, having liberated it. In 1610, at the head of a Russian-Swedish army, he finally freed Moscow from the siege of False Dmitry II's forces. A month after his victory, on April 23 (May 3), 1610, the unexpected death of Skopin-Shuisky occurred. The commander died at the age of only 23. Death came from an illness that began during a feast. This gave rise to rumors that the commander had been poisoned. According to the most widespread version, Skopin-Shuisky was poisoned with wine brought by the wife of the tsar's brother—Princess Ekaterina Grigoryevna Shuiskaya, daughter of Malyuta Skuratov-Belsky. At only 23 years of age, he was distinguished by a stately appearance, intellect, maturity beyond his years, strength of spirit, and military skill, and though he was destined to remain a symbol of Russia's unfulfilled hope, he forever entered history as a national hero of the Polish-Lithuanian intervention period.

Anyone know anything about these?

This map is interesting for several reasons, not just because it depicts the Treaty of Aigun. Although it comes from the Library of Congress in 1960, it uses the USSR to represent Russia in the 19th century. There are also a few other unusual details that stand out including using the term Manchuria.

Explanation by request in the comment section

On This Day, June 27, 1954, the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union became the world's first nuclear power station to generate electricity for a public power grid.

Located in Obninsk, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Moscow, the plant marked the beginning of the peaceful use of nuclear energy for electricity generation.

The reactor, known as AM-1 ("Atom Mirny," meaning Peaceful Atom), produced approximately 5 megawatts of electrical power, enough to demonstrate that nuclear energy could be used to supply electricity beyond scientific research.

Although modest by modern standards, the Obninsk plant proved that electricity generated from nuclear fission could be delivered to homes, businesses, and industries, opening the door to a new era of energy production.

The success of Obninsk inspired countries around the world to invest in nuclear power. Today, hundreds of nuclear reactors operate across dozens of countries, providing approximately 10% of the world's electricity and nearly one-quarter of global low-carbon electricity.

The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant continued operating for nearly 48 years before being permanently shut down on April 29, 2002. It has since been preserved as a historic site, recognizing its importance in the history of science and engineering.

While nuclear power remains a subject of global debate due to concerns about radioactive waste, safety, and accidents, it also plays a significant role in reducing carbon emissions and meeting the world's growing energy demands.

В первую очередь стол крестьянина на Руси состоял из репы, серого хлеба, кислого кисель и различных каш. Подробнее об этом в новом разборе https://youtube.com/shorts/7JWG672kdZc?feature=share

Elizabeth was the second child and daughter of Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, a daughter of Queen Victoria. She was also the elder sister of Alexandra Fyodorovna, the last empress of Russia. Elizabeth was affectionately called Ella by her family.

In the winter of 1878, diphtheria swept through the Hesse household, killing both Elizabeth's youngest sister and her mother, Princess Alice. Elizabeth was not in Hesse at the time and was the only member of the family not affected by this outbreak.

Orphaned at the age of 14, she was partly brought up by her grandmother, Queen Victoria. Having had an English mother and then living in England, she and her sister Alexandra were most comfortable speaking English, and most of the letters exchanged between Tsar Nicholas, Tsaritsa Alexandra, and the Grand Duchess Elizabeth are written in English.

Elizabeth once caught the eye of her elder cousin William II, but she flatly rejected him and instead married Grand Duke Sergei of Russia in June 1884.

She and her husband, Grand Duke Sergei, adopted and raised the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovitch and his sister Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna after their mother died during Dmitri's birth.

Of her conversion to Orthodoxy, Metropolitan Anastassy recalls:

The grand duchess, of her own volition decided to unite herself to the Orthodox Church. When she made the announcement to her spouse, according to the account of one of the servants, tears involuntarily poured from his eyes. The Emperor Alexander III himself was deeply touched by her decision. Her husband blessed her after Holy Chrismation with a precious icon of the Savior, "Not Made by Hands" (a copy of the miraculous icon in the Chapel of the Savior), which she treasured greatly throughout the remaining course of her life. Having been joined to the Faith in this manner, and thereby to all that makes up the soul of a Russian, the grand duchess could now with every right say to her spouse in the words of the Moabite Ruth, "Your people have become my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16). Like many converts to the Orthodox Faith, the Grand Duchess had to deal with the negative reaction of her family.

"Once the decision was reached, it proved a difficult task to make it known to her relatives. She writes to them at this time that she is "intensely happy," but that it pains her to cause grief to her beloved family. And yet her determination was firm, "I am sure God's blessing will accompany my act which I do with such fervent belief, with the feeling that I may become a better Christian and be one step nearer to God." Explaining the reasons for her decision, she writes in a letter: "Above all one's conscience must be pure and true... many will -- I know -- scream about (it), yet I feel it brings me nearer to God... You tell me that the outer brilliance of the church charmed me... in that you are mistaken -- nothing in the outer signs attracted me -- no -- the service, the service, the outer signs are only to remind us of the inner things." The Kaiser is thought to have been behind the claim that her husband had forced her to convert, but Elizabeth explained that it would be "lying before God" to "remain outwardly a Protestant." Of all her family, Queen Victoria showed the most understanding, and provided her with moral support for her decision.

The Grand Duchess was received by Chrismation on Lazarus Saturday, 1891, and then during that Holy Week she was able to receive Holy Communion with her husband for the first time.

Tragically, Elizabeth's husband was assassinated with a bomb on February 18, 1905, while on duty in the Kremlin, by Social-Revolutionary (SR) Ivan Kalyayev.

"Grand Duchess Elisabeth heard the explosion and felt the shock; she rushed outside and saw the dismembered body of her husband strewn around the square. She knelt in the snow and helped collect the remains and, almost incredibly found the strength to arrange for the transportation to a hospital of the grand duke's coachman, who had been severly wounded. Visiting the dying man later, she told him that the grand duke was well and safe, and had in fact sent her, enabling the man to die peacefully." "The lofty spirit with which she took the tragedy astounded everyone: she had the moral strength even to visit in prison her husband's assassin, Kaliaev, hoping to soften his heart, with her Christian forgiveness. 'Who are you?' he asked upon meeting her. 'I am his widow,' she replied, 'why did you kill him?' 'I did not want to kill you,' he said. 'I saw him several times before when I had the bomb with me, but you were with him and I could not bring myself to touch him.' 'You did not understand that by killing him you were killing me,' she said. Then she began to talk of the horror of his crime before God. The Gospel was in her hands and she begged the criminal to read it and left it in his cell. Leaving the prison, the Grand Duchess said: 'My attempt was unsuccessful, but, who knows, perhaps at the last minute he will understand his sin and repent.' "

Afterwards, Grand Duchess Elizabeth became a nun, giving away her jewelry and selling her most luxurious possessions. With the proceeds she opened the Martha and Mary Home in Moscow to foster the prayer and charity of devout women. For many years she helped the poor and orphans in this Moscow home. Here there arose a new vision of a diaconate for women, one that combined intercession and action in the heart of a disordered world. In April 1909 Elizabeth and seventeen women were dedicated as Sisters of Love and Mercy. Their work flourished: soon they opened a hospital and a variety of other philanthropic ventures arose.

In 1918, the Communist government exiled her to Yekaterinburg and then to Alapaevsk, where she was violently killed by the local Bolsheviks on July 18, 1918, along with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich Romanov; the Princes Ioann Konstantinovich, Konstantin Konstantinovich, Igor Konstantinovich, and Vladimir Pavlovich Paley; Grand Duke Sergei's secretary, Fyodor Remez; and Nun Barbara Yakovleva, a sister from the Grand Duchess Elizabeth's convent who had refused to leave her Abbess. They were herded into the forest, pushed into an abandoned mineshaft, into which grenades were then hurled. An observer heard them singing Church hymns as they were pushed into the mineshaft. After the Bolsheviks left, he could still hear singing for some time. The last thing Elizabeth did as she lay dying in the mineshaft was to bandage the wounds of Prince Ioann with her handkerchief. Later the White Army briefly recaptured this area, and her relics were recovered and the account of the person who witnessed it recorded. Her relics were first taken by the White Army to Beijing and placed in the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov, and then they were taken to Jerusalem and placed in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, which she and her husband had helped to build.

She was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1981, and by the Russian Orthodox Church as a whole in 1992 as New-Martyr Elizabeth. Her principal shrine in Russia is the Ss. Mary and Martha Convent she founded in Moscow. Most of her relics remain in Gethsemane, but in in 2004, a reliquary containing portions of her relics, as well as those of the Nun-Martyr Barbara, were taken to Russia, and visited 61 dioceses of the Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, and were venerated by over 10 million people.[8] A portion of these relics were given to the Ss. Mary and Martha Convent, and remain there.[9] She is also one of the 10 20th-century martyrs from across the world who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London.

Her feast day is celebrated on July 5 (she was martyred on July 18, according to the New Calendar, which was July 5 on the Old Calendar). She is also commemorated on the feast of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, celebrated on the Sunday nearest to January 25, which was the date of the martyrdom of Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev, the first of the new martyrs.

Troparion, Tone 4:

Causing meekness, humility and love to dwell in thy soul, Thou didst earnestly serve the suffering, O holy passion-bearer Princess Elizabeth; Wherefore, with faith thou didst endure sufferings and death for Christ, with the martyr Barbara. With her pray for all who honor you with love. Kontakion, Tone 4:

Taking up the Cross of Christ, Thou didst pass from royal glory to the glory of heaven, Praying for thine enemies, O holy martyr Princess Elizabeth; And with the martyr Barbara thou didst find everlasting joy. Therefore, pray ye in behalf of our souls.

https://orthodoxwiki.org/Elizabeth_the_New_Martyr

It has “imperatorskiy” written at the back.

It was sent to Turkey from Soviets and used in the Turkish war of national liberation.

It has a serial No of 255, then, upside down 83.

I am confused about its real serial number. Is it 25583 or 83255?

Why two numbers are upside down? When was it produced?

Source: Armored Units of the Russian Civil War: Red Army by David Bullock (Osprey New Vanguard series).