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Background: Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. While some progress has been made on the economic front, recent years have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir PUTIN and an erosion in nascent democratic institutions. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya.



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By vkramer515
August 27th 2007

No Rest

 Europe » Russia » Centre » Kaluga
Wow, what a weekend I had! It is a good thing I got over my cold because there was no resting this past weekend and with so much stuff to do here in the Moscow and Kaluga regions, I do not need to fly anywhere else. On Wednesday, Freddie called me to see if I wanted to go to the Moscow Air Show on Saturday. I had actually been thinking about it, but did not want to venture it on my own as I was not that interested in it, but when he offered, I accepted. I told him I would [View Full Entry]

vkramer515 - Vince Kramer | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
1698 Words | 2 Comment(s) | 25 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 28th 2007 | 104 Views | [diary=196599]

Talking with one of our Service Men
For Sale
Watching the Show

By vkramer515
February 21st 2007

Weekend Trip

 Europe » Russia » Centre » Kaluga
This past weekend, I know my blogs are not in order, I went to Kaluga with Dima. We used my driver, but what was funny, Dima did not know how to get to Lena's (his girlfriend) flat so we he had Misha take us to the train station where we got on a bus because he knew which bus and which stop...lol I found it funny that I pay my driver to sit at the train station while we pay to get on a public bus to get around Kaluga. The other part that was funny. Lena goes to school there [View Full Entry]

vkramer515 - Vince Kramer | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
258 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 3 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: February 21st 2007 | 68 Views | [diary=131479]

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