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Regalia Of The Russian Tsars
Regalia of the Russian tsars are the insignia of tsars and emperors of Russia, who ruled from the 13th to the 19th century. Over the centuries, the specific items used by Tsars changed greatly; the largest such shift occurred in the 18th century, when Peter the Great reformed the state to align it more closely with Western European monarchies. After the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks sold the majority of the Romanovs' regalia, but the most important items, including the key coronation regalia, were placed in the Kremlin Armoury. Since 1967, they have been available for public viewing through the Diamond Fund permanent exposition. Oldest Russian regalia From the 13th to the end of the 14th century, the main insignia of knyaz power were the decorated barmas and the knyaz belts. A barma is a neckpiece or mantle made of gold encrusted with gems and diamonds. Such treasured items were hereditary and closely connected to the knyazs' names; as such, they were always mentioned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monomakh's Cap
Monomakh's Cap (), also called the Golden Cap (), is a chief relic of the Muscovite Grand Princes and Russian Tsars. It is a symbol-crown of the Russian autocracy, and is the oldest of the crowns currently exhibited at the Imperial treasury section of the Kremlin Armoury. Monomakh's Cap is an early 14th-century gold filigree skullcap composed of eight sectors, elaborately ornamented with a scrolled gold overlay, inlaid with precious stones (ruby and emerald) and pearls, and trimmed with sable. The cap is surmounted by a simple gold cross with pearls at each of the extremities. Origin The main hypothesis sees the Cap as originating in ancient Moscow. One alternative account classifies it as of Central Asian origin (from the ethnological or cultural point of view); this has led some modern scholars to view the crown as a gift from Uzbeg Khan of the Golden Horde () to his brother-in-law, Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan Kalita () during Mongol- Tatar yoke era after the Mongol invasi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Russia
The history of Russia begins with the histories of the East Slavs. The traditional start date of specifically Russian history is the establishment of the Rus' people, Rus' state in the north in the year 862, ruled by Varangians. In 882, Prince Oleg of Novgorod seized Kiev, uniting the northern and southern lands of the Eastern Slavs under one authority, moving the governance center to Kiev by the end of the 10th century, and maintaining northern and southern parts with significant autonomy from each other. The state Christianization of Kievan Rus', adopted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Slavs, Slavic and Scandinavians, Scandinavian cultures that defined Russia, Russian culture for the next millennium. Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated as a state due to the Mongol invasion of Rus', Mongol invasions in 1237–1240. After the 13th century, Moscow emerged as a significant political and cultural force, drivi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russo-Kazan Wars
The Russo-Kazan Wars were a series of short, intermittent wars fought between the Grand Principality of Moscow and the Khanate of Kazan between 1437 and 1556. Most of these were wars of succession in Kazan, in which Muscovy intervened on behalf of the dynastic interests of its main ally, the Crimean Khanate. For most of the period, neither side sought to conquer the other, until Ivan the Terrible decided to annex Kazan upon the successful 1552 siege, which was followed by a rebellion lasting until 1556. General Before it separated from the Golden Horde, the Kazan region was part of Volga Bulgaria (c. 630–1240) and then the Bulgar Ulus of the Golden Horde (c. 1240–1438). They adopted Islam in 921, several decades before the Christianisation of Kievan Rus' was boosted by the conversion of Volodimer in 988. In the 1430s, the Khanate of Kazan emerged on the mid-Volga, breaking away from the Golden Horde, and roughly comprising the area of former Volga Bulgaria. Charles J. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan IV Of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. Ivan's reign was characterised by Russia's transformation from a medieval state to a fledgling empire, but at an immense cost to its people and long-term economy. Ivan IV was the eldest son of Vasili III by his second wife Elena Glinskaya, and a grandson of Ivan III. He succeeded his father after his death, when he was three years old. A group of reformers united around the young Ivan, crowning him as tsar in 1547 at the age of 16. In the early years of his reign, Ivan ruled with the group of reformers known as the Chosen Council and established the ''Zemsky Sobor'', a new assembly convened by the tsar. He also revised the legal code and introduced reforms, including elements of local self-government, as well as establishing the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue. The robin egg blue or sky blue color of the Persian turquoise mined near the modern city of Nishapur, Iran, has been used as a guiding reference for evaluating turquoise quality. Like most other opaque gems, turquoise has been devalued by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics into the market. Names The word ''turquoise'' dates to the 17th century and is derived from the Old French ''turquois'' meaning "Turkish" because the mineral was first brought to Europe through the Ottoman Empire.Turquoise . minerals.usgs.gov However, according to [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garnet
Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, defining distinct species. These species fall into two primary solid solution series: the pyralspite series (pyrope, almandine, spessartine), with the general formula [Mg,Fe,Mn]3Al2(SiO4)3; and the ugrandite series (uvarovite, grossular, andradite), with the general formula Ca3[Cr,Al,Fe]2(SiO4)3. Notable varieties of grossular include Grossular#Hessonite, hessonite and tsavorite. Etymology The word ''garnet'' comes from the 14th-century Middle English word ''gernet'', meaning 'dark red'. It is borrowed from Old French ''grenate'' from Latin language, Latin ''granatus,'' from ''granum'' ('grain, seed'). This is possibly a reference to ''mela granatum'' or even ''pomum granatum'' ('pomegranate', ''Punica granatum''), a plant whose fruits conta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an area of with a population of . The country has a hemiboreal climate and is administratively divided into Regions of Belarus, six regions. Minsk is the capital and List of cities and largest towns in Belarus, largest city; it is administered separately as a city with special status. For most of the medieval period, the lands of modern-day Belarus was ruled by independent city-states such as the Principality of Polotsk. Around 1300 these lands came fully under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; this period lasted for 500 years until the Partitions of Poland, 1792-1795 partitions of Poland-Lithuania placed Belarus within the Belarusian history in the Russian Empire, Russian Empire for the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Russia
Little Russia, also known as Lesser Russia, Malorussia, or Little Rus', is a geographical and historical term used to describe Ukraine. At the beginning of the 14th century, the patriarch of Constantinople accepted the distinction between what it called the eparchies of ''Megalē Rosiia'' () and ''Mikrà Rosiia'' (). The jurisdiction of the latter became the metropolis of Halych in 1303. The specific meaning of the adjectives "Great" and "Little" in this context is unclear. It is possible that terms such as "Little" and "Lesser" at the time simply meant geographically smaller and/or less populous, or having fewer eparchies. Another possibility is that it denoted a relationship similar to that between a homeland and a colony (just as "Magna Graecia" denoted a Greek colony). The name went out of use in the 15th century as distinguishing the "Great" and "Little" was no longer necessary since the Russian Orthodox Church based in Moscow was no longer tied to Kiev. However, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Russia
Great Russia, sometimes Great Rus' ( , ; , ; , ), is a name formerly applied to the territories of "Russia proper", the land that formed the core of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and later the Tsardom of Russia. This was the land to which the ethnic Russians were native and where the ethnogenesis of (Great) Russians took place. The name is said to have come from the Greek language, Greek or (). From 1654 to 1721, Russian Tsars adopted the word – their official title included the wording (literal translation): "The Sovereign of all Rus (region), Rus': the Great, the Little, and Belarus, the White". The term is mentioned in the opening lines of the State Anthem of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: "Unbreakable Union of freeborn Republics Great Russia has welded forever to stand!" (or lit. "An unbreakable union of free republics, Great Russia has sealed forever"). Similarly, the terms Great Russian language (, ) and Great Russians (, ) were employed by ethnographers an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crown (heraldry)
A crown is often an emblem of a sovereign state, usually a monarchy (see The Crown), but also used by some republics. A specific type of crown is employed in heraldry under strict rules. Indeed, some monarchies never had a physical Crown (headgear), crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium. Crowns are also often used as symbols of religious status or veneration, by divinities (or their representation such as a statue) or by their representatives, e.g. the Black Crown of the Karmapa, Karmapa Lama, sometimes used a model for wider use by devotees. A crown can be a charge (heraldry), charge ''in'' a coat of arms, or set ''atop'' the shield to signify the status of its owner, as with the coat of arms of Norway. Physical and heraldic crowns Sometimes, the crown commonly depicted and used in heraldry differs significantly from any specific physical crown that may be used by a monarchy. As a display of rank If the bearer of a coat of arms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reforms Of Peter I Of Russia
The government reforms of Peter I aimed to modernize the Tsardom of Russia (later the Russian Empire) based on Western European models. Peter ascended to the throne at the age of 10 in 1682; he ruled jointly with his half-brother Ivan V. After Ivan's death in 1696, Peter started his series of sweeping reforms. At first he intended these reforms to support the Great Northern War of 1700-1721; later, more systematic reforms significantly changed the internal structure and administration of the state. Background During the Great Northern War (1700–1721), which dominated most of Peter's reign, Russia, along with a host of allies, seized control of the Baltic Sea from Sweden and gained considerable influence in Central and Eastern Europe. The war, one of history's costliest at the time, consumed significant financial and economic resources, and the administrative system Peter had inherited from his predecessors strained to gather and manage resources. During his Grand Embassy (, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
