The History of the West. Through the Eyes of Bears and Balalaikas. Konstantin Khait
White Man’s Burden” is a poem by Rudyard Kipling, perceived as a manifesto justifying the superiority of the white race by the necessity to bring civilization to backward peoples incapable of self-organization, and to take upon themselves the associated hardships and costs.
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Winston Churchill was a British politician, diplomat, officer, and writer, one of the most outstanding and well-known political figures of England of all time. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he served as a junior officer during several colonial wars. During World War I, he was the First Lord of the Admiralty (Naval Minister), and during World War II, he was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He became famous as an uncompromising opponent of fascism and communism.
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John Watson is a literary character created by the English writer Arthur Conan Doyle, a friend and assistant to the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes. According to the literary biography, he served in the army in British India for a long time.
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Part of the present-day South African Republic, captured by the British during the Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer wars in the late 19th century.
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The British Parliament Act of 1931, according to which major British colonies (dominions) received partial autonomy with a large scope of authority in internal politics and self-governance.
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That is, the British Isles themselves.
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It is also worth noting that Poland, as a separate state, reappeared on the maps as a result of the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1918—20. For Europeans of the interwar.
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President Franklin Roosevelt’s program provided for the employment of the unemployed, who lost their jobs during the Great Depression, in public works, primarily related to the development of transportation infrastructure. It was then that the foundation of the United States road network was laid.
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In the United States of the 1930s, there was Prohibition – a complete ban on alcohol.
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The sudden attack by Japanese aviation on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor was the reason for the United States’ entry into World War II.
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Grenade throwing was part of the physical training program for Soviet schoolchildren, and parachute towers were a typical attraction in amusement parks.
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The “Golden Billion” refers to the population of the most economically developed countries in the world.
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With the siege and capture of the fortress of La Rochelle – the stronghold and actual capital of the French Protestants, Cardinal Richelieu ended the long series of religious wars in France of the 16th—17th centuries.
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In the village of Shushenskoye, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin – the leader and head of the All-Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), the future initiator of the October Revolution, served his political exile.
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That is, for the times of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
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Oliver Cromwell – English political figure, leader of the Parliament’s army in the civil war against King Charles I. After the execution of Charles, he became the Lord Protector, the formal and actual head of the English Republic.
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The Crimean War of 1853—56 was a military conflict involving Russia on one side and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), France, and England on the other. Russia’s defeat ended its military dominance in Europe, which began in the 18th century and became indisputable after the Napoleonic Wars.
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The Russo-Japanese War of 1904—05 was another military conflict lost by Russia for dominance in the Far East and possession of several territories in present-day China and Korea.
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As a result of the Franco-Prussian War, which France lost completely and which made a catastrophic impression on French public opinion.
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The English queen who ruled Great Britain for most of the 19th century. After the death of her husband, Prince Albert, she withdrew from affairs, transferring real power to the parliament and government. Victoria’s reign marked the beginning of significant liberalization in England and Europe in general.
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The alliance of England, France, and Russia, which opposed Germany and Austria in World War I.
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Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Younger (1856—1929), quite popular in the army, but extremely unsuccessful in starting.
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Karl Gerd von Rundstedt (1875—1953) – Generalfeldmarschall of the Wehrmacht, commander-in-chief of the western front of the German army.
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The Hundred Days (between March 1 and July 7, 1815) – the period of Napoleon Bonaparte’s restoration to the French throne, beginning with his return from exile on Elba and ending with the Battle of Waterloo.
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A muzzle-loading rifle with a flintlock required from several tens of seconds to several minutes to reload, depending on the shooter’s experience and training.
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Albrecht von Wallenstein – a great Czech and German military leader of the 17th century, for a long time commanded the Catholic army of the Holy Roman Empire in the Thirty Years’ War. Under his command, the Catholics achieved most of their victories; Wallenstein’s resignation and subsequent assassination are associated with the overall defeat of the Catholics in the war.
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Henri de Turenne (1611 – 1675) – a great French military leader of the 17th century, the main commander of Louis XIV.
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Mehmed II (1432 – 1481) – Turkish sultan, an outstanding military leader, conqueror of Byzantium.
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Types of smokeless powder based on nitroglycerin, their production became possible due to the rapid development of chemistry in the 19th century.
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Outstanding Marshals of Napoleon.
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Horatio Nelson (1758 – 1805) – English admiral of the early 19th century, victor in decisive battles against the French fleet at Aboukir and Trafalgar, national hero of Great Britain.
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A city in Bessarabia, now the capital of Moldova.
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A large-scale diplomatic conference of 1814 – 1815, organized by the victorious countries in the Napoleonic Wars to decide the fate of post-war Europe.
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Since the beginning of the 16th century in Britain, five dynasties have changed, with three of these changes being violent. Many founders of dynasties had no legal rights to the throne, or their rights were subject to justified doubt.
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Alexander I (1777 – 1825) – Emperor of All Russia (from 1801), Grand Duke of Finland (from 1809), King of Poland (from 1815) from the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov dynasty.
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A battle between Napoleon’s French army and the Austro-Russian forces, ending in a crushing defeat for the latter and Austria’s exit from the war with the French.
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The Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 between Russia and France became Russia’s actual capitulation, forced, after the victories of the French army, to join the Continental Blockade and enter into an alliance with Napoleon.
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Nicholas I, being the third son of Paul I, ascended the throne only due to the childlessness of Alexander I and the abdication of Constantine.
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Turkey, severely weakened in the 17th-1