Russia

  • Anna Anderson-  The Fake Anastasia

    News of the execution of the Romanov family in 1918 rocked the world.  (For more on this please see this post:  http://www.historynaked.com/assassination-tsar-nicholas-ii-romanovs/ )  However, in the face of this devastation people tried to keep the faith that someone may have made it out.  European newspaper ran stories that one or more of the Romanov children had escaped.  The one name that kept coming up was Anastasia Romanov.  However, there was no proof.  Only hope. Then in 1920, a young woman was fished out of a the water after jumping off a bridge in Berlin.  Her suicide attempt failed and the young woman had no identification and refused to tell her…

  • Weird Science – Ilya Ivanovich Ivano

    Born around 1870 in the town of Shchigry, Kursk Gubernia, Russia. Graduating from Kharkov University in 1896 Ivano became a full professor in 1907. He worked as a researcher in the Askania-Nova Natural Reserve, also for the State Experimental Veterinary Institute for the Central Experimental Station for Researching Reproduction of Domestic Animals, and for the Moscow Higher Zootechnic Institute. Around the start of the 20th century, he would perfect the artificial insemination and practical usage for horse breeding. He proved that this technology allows one stallion to fertilize up to 500 mares. The results were sensational for their time, and Ivanov’s station was frequented by horse breeders from many parts…

  • Timurlane

    After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire had fragmented into separate khanates as his descendants squabbled amongst themselves.  The empire he built was too big for any of them to rule, so it was split into pieces and divided between them.  The northwestern portion was called Golden Horde, and by 1336 the majority of it was ruled by Sultan Mohammed Oz Beg.  His domain ran from Moscow to the Aral Sea and his capital was Sarai. Also in 1336, a son was born to a Turco-Mongol tribal leader of the Barlas in Transoxiana.  Transoxiana is located at the edge of the mountains just south of the beautiful city…

  • Sister goddesses- The Zorja

    In Slavic mythology, the Zorja are two guardian goddesses, known as the Auroras. They guard and watch over the doomsday hound, Simargl. Simargl is chained to the star Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor or the “little bear”. If the chain ever breaks, the hound will devour the constellation and the universe will end. The Zorja represent the Morning Star and the Evening Star. The Zorja serve the sun god Dažbog, who in some myths is their father. Zorja Utrennjaja, the Morning Star, opens the gates to his palace every morning for the sun-chariot’s departure. She is a patroness of horses, protection, exorcism, and the planet Venus. Slavs would pray…

  • The Romanovs

    Romanov. That’s the name nearly all of us come up with when faced with the question of naming royalty in Russia. But why? The Romanovs only ruled Russia for a very brief period, and it is the female branch of the family that ruled the longest. This means that in countries, such as France or England, the name would have changed completely once the male line died out. Of course there is the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, but that’s a whole different story. In Russia though, the name went from Romanov to Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. Why the difference? It’s starts with Michael I, the first Romanov tsar of all Russia. He ruled from 1613…