Russian Revolution

The set of 20 Fabergé carvings is worth an estimated $1.2 million. 

Miniature Fabergé Animals That Enchanted the Romanovs and Other Royals Are Up for Sale

Crafted around 1900, the charismatic carvings were inspired by Japanese decorative pendants

Rasputin with his acolytes in 1914

What Really Happened During the Murder of Rasputin, Russia's 'Mad Monk'?

Aristocrats plotted to kill the Siberian peasant, who wielded undue influence over Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra. But the conspiracy backfired, hastening the coming Russian Revolution

Mikhail Gorbachev died on August 30, 2022, at age 91.

The Contradictory Legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev

The Soviet leader, who died on August 30 at age 91, attempted to enact "revolution from above"

In the not-so-distant past, the Russian and American governments talked up the shared crucibles of their two mid-19th century leaders as a way of improving diplomatic relations.

Before Lincoln Issued the Emancipation Proclamation, This Russian Czar Freed 20 Million Serfs

The parallels between the U.S. president and Alexander II, both of whom fought to end servitude in their nations, are striking

A collage of Vladimir Putin placing his hand on Joseph Stalin's shoulder. Richard Cohen's new book Making History details the links between the two Russian leaders.

Vladimir Putin's Rewriting of History Draws on a Long Tradition of Soviet Myth-Making

Much like Joseph Stalin, the Russian president has used propaganda, the media and government-sanctioned books to present an ahistorical narrative

The debate over how to remember Ukraine's World War II history, as well as its implications for Ukrainian nationalism and independence, are key to understanding the current conflict.

The 20th-Century History Behind Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

During WWII, Ukrainian nationalists saw the Nazis as liberators from Soviet oppression. Now, Russia is using that chapter to paint Ukraine as a Nazi nation

Occupying forces murdered all the inhabitants of 629 razed Belarusian villages, in addition to burning down another 5,454 villages and killing at least a portion of their residents. Pictured: A statue of Khatyn survivor Iosif Kaminsky in front of a Belarusian village destroyed in 1941

How the 1943 Khatyn Massacre Became a Symbol of Nazi Atrocities on the Eastern Front

Decades after the murder of 149 residents of a Belarusian village, the tragedy has taken on layers of meaning far removed from the attack itself

Ocean X recovered 900 bottles of alcohol from a 102-year-old shipwreck.

Tsar Nicholas II's Last Shipment of Booze Recovered From the Baltic Sea

Salvagers hope that some of the 900 bottles of cognac and Benedictine are still drinkable

Peterhof Palace.

From Nazi Prisons to Cat Sanctuaries, Explore the Many Lives of These Russian Palaces

Follow the footsteps of doomed royals and revolutionaries through these architectural marvels

An American infantry camp in Siberia, Russia, December 1918

The Forgotten Story of the American Troops Who Got Caught Up in the Russian Civil War

Even after the armistice was signed ending World War I, the doughboys clashed with Russian forces 100 years ago

Tsar Nicholas II and his family

DNA Analysis Confirms Authenticity of Romanovs' Remains

Will Russia's fallen royal family finally receive a full burial from the Orthodox Church?

The Russian Imperial Family on the steps of the Catherine Palace

A Century Ago, the Romanovs Met a Gruesome End

Helen Rappaport’s new book investigates if the family could have been saved

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A shot from the famed 1965 film version of Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago"

How Boris Pasternak Won and Lost the Nobel Prize

Today in 1958, the "Doctor Zhivago" author won the Nobel Prize, but the Soviets made sure he never got it

A 35-foot-tall statue of Lenin speechifying from atop an armored car stands outside Finland Station in St. Petersburg.

What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution?

We journey through Vladimir Putin’s Russia to measure the aftershocks of the political explosion that rocked the world a century ago

Photographs by Olga Ingurazova

William Maples holds a bone fragment during a presentation about the Romanov Investigations, circa 1992.

William R. Maples Popularized Forensic Anthropology Long Before CSI

Maples worked on a number of high-profile cases that helped to bring the field of forensic anthropology to prominence

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna shot her own mirror selfie in 1913. The picture,taken five years before she was killed, shows a young woman of 13 looking herself in the eye, stabilizing the camera on a chair in front of a mirror.

Take a Peep at This Gallery of Historic Selfies

People have been photographing themselves almost since the dawn of the technology

Maria Bochkareva

The Women Warriors of the Russian Revolution

Soldier Maria Bochkareva proposed all-female battalions, in part to shame men into continuing the fight

Alexander Kerensky, as Minister of War, meets with other military officials.

In a Czar-less Russia, Winning Was Easy. Governing Was Harder.

Now without a sovereign, Russia’s provisional government sought to maintain peace at home while waging a world war

Nicholas II with guards outside the imperial palace.

The Abdication of Nicholas II Left Russia Without a Czar for the First Time in 300 Years

Events in Saint Petersburg 100 years ago brought the end to the Romanov dynasty

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