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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.



Links: Volga Travel Blogs (48) | Volga Travel Photos | Map of Volga | Russia Travel Forum | Volga Map | Russia Facts | Map of Russia

Areas in Volga: Kazan | Nizhny Novgorod | Perm | Samara | Saratov | Ufa | Ulyanovsk

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By CCooper8
September 16th 2008

Drunk

 Europe » Russia » Volga » Nizhny Novgorod
Two drunkards in one day. How can things get more exciting? I recall at home once trying to define what 'being drunk' meant. Some of us thought that being drunk was simply having a buzz. I firmly disagreed then, and I still stick with my definition. Drunk, is being on a russian bus and getting your butt thrown off of it. Literally. So the night was young. Our plan was to hit up the banya, basically the Russian version of really hot, steamy room with naked men everywhere. And we have birch branches to hit each other with. Well, it turns [View Full Entry]

CCooper8 - Cody Cooper | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
765 Words | 2 Comment(s) | 2 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 16th 2008 | 36 Views | [diary=324369]

Nizhnii

By CCooper8
September 16th 2008

Nizhnii Novgorod

 Europe » Russia » Volga » Nizhny Novgorod
Hey everyone, guess what. Unfortunately, I am still winning against Russia. They tried to off me a couple times. On the metro, on the train, in a massive McDonald's, the internet cafe lady tried to kill me by staring, the toilets try to kill you from squatting so much, and the food is similar to someone punching you in the stomach, having the food come out, and then trying to eat it again. All in all, I am really enjoying my time!! So what to say... first off the internet here has a monthly limit of data that we are allowed [View Full Entry]

CCooper8 - Cody Cooper | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
829 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 3 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 16th 2008 | 38 Views | [diary=324367]

Harley and Company
Luggage Mountain

By CCooper8
September 14th 2008

I am alive!

 Europe » Russia » Volga » Nizhny Novgorod
Hey everyone. Lots have been going on and plenty to talk about. The internet here is wack so I am beginning to figure out a system of when to use it. So expect some amazing posts tomorrow or the next day. In the mean time I hope everyone is well. [View Full Entry]

CCooper8 - Cody Cooper | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
50 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 14th 2008 | 28 Views | [diary=323379]


The hotel lobby bodyguard guy keeps staring at me as if I were a dirty American and this were Soviet Russia. If you stare back he just stares harder. I find the best approach is to offer him food and then he smiles. Food makes everyone smile. Normally when you take an escalator down to the subway its about a 5 minute ride one way. Rather creepy how far down you go, and how fast. Everyone stands on the right side so those in a hurry can run down the left. Andrew really wanted to run down the Escalator and since [View Full Entry]

CCooper8 - Cody Cooper | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
820 Words | 2 Comment(s) | 4 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 1st 2008 | 72 Views | [diary=318447]

Summer Palace
Harley Seducing the Cat
Palace Entrance

Well I have officially been in Russia for 2 days and 3 nights now. We arrived around supper time on Wednesday and were promptly told that we were in the most beautiful city in Russia then stuffed into a bus for a ride to our hotel. At first the city was really butt ugly. It wasn't until you got downtown that you could really appreciate it's beauty, especially when the sun comes out. Which happens only 60 days out of the year. The first night was rather uneventful. We met our director Harley and he is a short, quiet man, balding [View Full Entry]

CCooper8 - Cody Cooper | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
895 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 7 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 29th 2008 | 53 Views | [diary=317642]

S6300695
The Hermitage
Bronze Horseman

By CCooper8
August 28th 2008

Who is poking me?

 Europe » Russia » Volga » Nizhny Novgorod
How many planes can one person be on in one day is the question I asked myself as I entered my fourth plane from Frankfurt, Germany to Saint Petersburg, Russia. Most of the plane rides were uneventful. The German airport sucks and we had to go through security twice and get our passpors stamped twice all because someone left some unattended bagged in the only hallway that leads to our Gate. Chicago was interesting with business men making private part jokes loudly in the bathroom and I got ambushed by an Indian family as I ate my last meal in the [View Full Entry]

CCooper8 - Cody Cooper | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
534 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 28th 2008 | 27 Views | [diary=317253]


By CCooper8
August 25th 2008

Leaving for Russia

 Europe » Russia » Volga » Nizhny Novgorod
It is August 25, 2008. I leave for Russia tomorrow. I am starting this blog for a number of reasons. Most important I think is it will hopefully be an easy way for everyone back home to keep up on what I am doing and quite frankly I fully plan on embarassing myself and enjoying every moment of foreign international travel that I possibly can. So if nothing else this should be an entertaining read I hope. Tonight the guys in the house threw me one last little party before I left. Jeremiah made some wonderful fondue stuff and everyone came [View Full Entry]

CCooper8 - Cody Cooper | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
366 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 26th 2008 | 25 Views | [diary=316024]


We are back to Europe, after 3 days in the train. There were almost no tourists, only one Canadian guy that we met also in hostel in Irkutsk. So there was not much fun, only in the evenings when we were drinking vodka together. There was no one to join us. And I finished reading "Dr. Zhivago", Zuzana "The picture of Dorian Gray". This city is nice, its Kremlin is Unesco heritage. There is also a mosque. I would post here some pics, but yet again we do not have the card reader with. Maybe later today. So the city lives [View Full Entry]

DifferentWorld - Roman&Zuzana | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
310 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 0 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 18th 2008 | 57 Views | [diary=313391]


By Grybaziggy
August 9th 2008

Change

 Europe » Russia » Volga » Perm
Sleeping with Rosie
Sleeping with Rosie
Although this was something I said I would not allow, Rosie sleeps with us and it's actually kind of nice. Especially because she sleeps on Sveta's side of the bed. Although not always, as you can s... [more]
We've decided to call our kitten Rosie -- as in the "we can do it" Rosie the Riveter -- instead of Tara. Rosie's easier to say, and we orignially chose "Tara" because it sort of sounds like terror and the kitten was scared of everything. But now she's ok with her new home, except the vacuum cleaner and when Sveta collapses the sofa on her paw. I've also changed my hairstyle. Ealier this week, I made my way to a hair salon near our building. Despite my completing a month of language lessons, I can't talk. So I sat in the [View Full Entry]

Grybaziggy - Chris Rasmussen | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
697 Words | 3 Comment(s) | 3 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 9th 2008 | 69 Views | [diary=310135]

Balcony practice
new hair

By Grybaziggy
August 4th 2008

Дикая Кошкa

 Europe » Russia » Volga » Perm
Frozen in fear
Frozen in fear
The kitten gets photgraphed
Sveta and I added a kitten to our household. We call her Tara, short for "terror" or "terrified." Yesterday, there was a lot of running and hiding and, when I would grab at her, hissing. I'm not sure if Tara's acclimated herself to 7 Yursha Street, but today it's clear that the initial terror has been replaced by intense form of hyperactivity. Tera enjoys climbing the wall rug and attacking the curtains. Unlike her predecessor, she seems to have come with an inborn knowledge of what a cat box is and how to use it. And we are grateful. Somewhat surprisingly, [View Full Entry]

Grybaziggy - Chris Rasmussen | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe
538 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 5 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 4th 2008 | 70 Views | [diary=308136]

Not mother
Cat bed
Looks like Nellie


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