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Today marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Field Marshal Prince Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, Minister of War and commander of the First Western Army during the Napoleonic invasion of Russia.

I have been working on a translation of Barclay's account of the 1812 campaign for some time, and have made it available for purchase on the Kindle store. As far as I am aware this is the first time the work has been translated into English. Paperback version coming soon!

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So tumblr informs me that I have interacted with over 20 blogs that originated from the Internet Research Agency. My only surprise is that the number was so low.

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To be fair, whenever a headline poses a question like that, the answer is most likely going to be in the negative.

Why does Catholic, the largest church, not simply eat the other churches?

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You're welcome! The structure of Soviet political organs is incredibly convoluted with many layers of governance... Despite its autocratic character :p

so… is there anyone on this fantastic website who can explain the differences between the supreme soviet, the central executive committee and the council of people’s commissars? also what is a presidium

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Not strictly a Soviet historian so I may be wrong, but my understanding is: Supreme Soviet was the highest legislative organ of the USSR from 1938 to 1991 with two chambers: The Soviet of the Union based on population and the Soviet of the Nationalities based on representation from republics. Central Executive Committee was the highest governing body of the USSR between its founding in 1922 and 1938 (preceding the Supreme Soviet) and acted on behalf of the Congress of Soviets. The Council of People's Commissars was the government (I.e. Executive body) set up and headed by Lenin from the October Revolution until his death. The Presidium was the official name of the Politburo around the 1950s and 1960s

so… is there anyone on this fantastic website who can explain the differences between the supreme soviet, the central executive committee and the council of people’s commissars? also what is a presidium

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oh oh i know this one

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i made this one for a friend but i feel like the rest of the world deserves to see it

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I’ve been reading about Napoleon’s maréchals and it’s been life changing

From left to right: lannes, murat, & ney

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Building a model of the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed at Mosfilm

(Dmitri Kessel. 1967?)

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From Wellington's dispatch to Minister of War Lord Bathurst after Waterloo. The fact that the aforementioned wound deprived Uxbridge of his leg is not considered consequential enough to include in the report.

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In what universe is St Petersburg an Asian city?

Most probably answered this before but hey ho, what's the best place in the world for architecture ? And add a fancy gif please

That is an impossible hing to answer. There are too many places by city or country. In Europe is it Barcelona, Athens, Rome, Paris, Budapest, London or Berlin. In Asia is it St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hanoi, Chandigarh, or Istanbul. In Africa is it Marrakesh, Cairo or Cape Town. In America is it NYC, Mexico DF, Brasilia or Chicago. Can’ decide.

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D.Shostokovich Leningrad (1941) Д.Шостакович Ленинград (1941)

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you’ve heard of elf on the shelf, now get ready for

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Ivan the Terrible and the Souls of His Victims, Mikhail Petrovich Klodt (1835-1914)

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This is satire, right?

Analysis of Tolstoy’s War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian novelist known for his renowned works: War and Peace and Anna Karina. His philosophy of life was one of Christian anarchism, a philosophy that lays mistrust on all legal and political institutions of the state and a philosophy that adheres to nonviolence and pacifism.

War and Peace is a philosophical and literary work, a masterpiece that espouses Tolstoy’s Christian view of life. The novel war and peace contains a chronicle of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. Tolstoy’s rhetoric is persuasive and convincing. The aesthetic aspects of the work are minimal. The novel engages in the trivialities of life. War and Peace has become an idiom meaning something that is long and dense.

The main characters in the novel are Anna Pavlona and Prince Vasily. The novel is set up on the banks of an aristocratic family. Russia is invaded by Napoleon and the citizens of Russia face a troublesome situation. Pavlona and Vasily discuss the harmful effects of war.

The novel idealizes Christian beliefs and convictions. The novel’s background is based on the Sermon of the mount. The novel renders the Christ’s homily: ‘blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth’. Christian anarchism is very prominent in the novel. Tolstoy distrusts all institutions of the state. Tolstoy comments on the temptations of Jesus after fasting in the wilderness for forty days. Satan shows Christ all the kingdoms of the earth and said: all I will bequeath you, if you worship me and Christ’s answer was: ‘you shall worship only God alone’.

The novel is a sublime epic. One can’t praise the literary quality of the novel too highly. But still, the novel merits some praise. There is depth of psychological insight into the minds of the characters. Tolstoy uses many allusions from Christian religions. The novel is an intellectual and psychological catharsis. One can get a sense of pathos in the novel. The novel is a classic work of realism. Tolstoy’s own autobiographical self enters into the characters mind. The novel is lyrical and sublime. The novel chronicles the 18 the century history of the life of Russian people. Russia is going through a series of historical transformations. War and Peace form allegories of a narrative. The novel is an eclectic symposium of syncretism of the cultural life of Russian aristocracy. The story of the novel is not particularly interesting. There is no suspense. The novel follows a chronological order going from the beginning to the end.  

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given today’s release of bin laden files, i think it’s safe to say that there’s a decent chance that another terrorist leader in hiding, al baghdadi, is out there playing jrpgs now