#Battle of Poltava

[playitagin]

1709-Battle of Poltava

Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava, thus effectively ending Sweden's status as a major power in Europe.

[bookloversofbath]

The Battle of Poltava: The Birth of the Russian Empire :: Peter Englund

The Battle of Poltava: The Birth of the Russian Empire :: Peter Englund

[look-sharp-notes]

Наталия Фёдоровна Меклин(Кравцова). Родилась 8 сентября 1922 года в городе Лубны, ныне Полтавской области, в семье служащего. Жила в Харькове и Киеве. В 1940 году окончила среднюю школу и аэроклуб, в 1941 году - 1-й курс Московского авиационного института. С октября 1941 года в рядах Красной Армии. В 1942 году окончила Энгельсскую военную авиационную школу пилотов. С мая 1942 года в действующей армии. К декабрю 1944 года старший лётчик 46-го Гвардейского ночного бомбардировочного авиационного полка (325-я ночная бомбардировочная авиационная дивизия, 4-я Воздушная армия, 2-й Белорусский фронт) Гвардии лейтенант Н. Ф. Меклин совершила 840 боевых вылетов на бомбардировку важных объектов в тылу врага, скоплений его живой силы и боевой техники, нанеся ему значительный урон. Во время Белорусской операции 1944 года бомбила скопления войск противника на реке Проня и Днепр, в районе Могилёва, Минска, Гродно. 23 февраля 1945 года за мужество и воинскую доблесть, проявленные в боях с врагами, удостоена звания Героя Советского Союза. Всего выполнила 982 успешных боевых вылета.

She was born on September 8, 1922 in the city of Lubny, now Poltava region, in the family of an employee. Lived in Kharkov and Kyiv. In 1940 she graduated from high school and the flying club, in 1941 she graduated from the 1st year of the Moscow Aviation Institute. Since October 1941 in the ranks of the Red Army. In 1942 she graduated from the Engels Military Aviation Pilot School. Since May 1942 in the active army. By December 1944, the senior pilot of the 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (325th Night Bomber Aviation Division, 4th Air Army, 2nd Belorussian Front) of the Guard, Lieutenant N. F. Meklin, made 840 sorties to bomb important targets behind enemy lines, concentrations of his manpower and military equipment, causing him significant damage. During the Belarusian operation of 1944, it bombed enemy troop concentrations on the Pronya and Dnieper rivers, in the area of ​​Mogilev, Minsk, and Grodno. On February 23, 1945, for courage and military valor shown in battles with enemies, she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In total, she completed 982 successful combat missions.

[marykk1990]

My next post in support of Ukraine is:

Next site, Poltava City Park Arboretum in Poltava, Poltava Oblast. It was founded in 1962 and covers about 308 acres. The area where the park is located was where the Battle of Poltava took place in the 18th century. That was a battle between the armies of the Swedish King Charles XII and Tsar Peter I of muscovy. The modern park is considered to be a park-monument of landscape art of national importance in Ukraine.

#StandWithUkraine

#SlavaUkraïni 🇺🇦🌻

[ohsalome]

Here is famous jewish-russian poet Iosyf Brodsky reading poem dedicated to Ukrainian proclaimation of independence (translated by Artem Serebrennikov, but without his commentary).

Brodsky is considered one of the geniuses of modern russian poetry. He has a number of awards (including the Nobel Prize), and he had to flee from the Soviet Union due to the fear of state presecution. So, you know, a classic russian liberal.

Dear Charles XII, the Poltava battle*

Has been fortunately lost. To quote Lenin’s burring rattle,

“Time will show you Kuzka’s mother”*, ruins along the waste,

Bones of post-mortem bliss with a Ukrainian aftertaste.

It’s not the green flag, eaten by the isotope*,

It’s the yellow-and-blue flying over Konotop*,

Made out of canvas – must be a gift from Toronto* –

Alas, it bears no cross, but the Khokhly* don’t want to.

Oh, rushnyks* and roubles*, sunflowers in summer season!

We Katsapy* have no right to charge them with treason.

With icons and vodka, for seventy years we’ve bungled,

In our Ryazan we’ve lived like Tarzan in the jungle.

We’ll tell them, filling the pause with a loud “your mom”:

Away with you, Khokhly, and may your journey be calm!

Wear your zhupans*, or uniforms, which is even better,

Go to all four points of the compass and all the four letters.

It’s over now. Now hurry back to your huts

To be gang-banged by Krauts and Polacks right in your guts.

It’s been fun hanging together from the same gallows loop,

But when you’re alone, you can eat all that sweet beetroot soup.

Good riddance, Khokhly, it’s over for better or worse,

I’ll go spit in the Dnieper, perhaps it’ll flow in reverse,

Like a proud bullet train looking at us askance,

Stuffed with leathery seats and ages-old grievance.

Don’t speak ill of us. Your bread and wheat we don’t need,

Nor your sky, may we all choke on sunflower seed.

No need for bad blood or gestures of fury ham-fisted,

Seems that our love is up, if it at all existed.

Why should we plow our broken roots with our verbs?

You were born out of earth, its podzolic soils and its herbs.

Quit flexing your rights and laying all the blame on us,

It is your bloody soil that has become your onus.

Oh, gardens and grasslands and steppes, varenyks filled with honey!

We’ve had greater losses before, lost more people than money.

We’ll get by somehow. And if you want teary eyes –

Wait ‘til next time, guys, this provision no longer applies.

God rest ye merry Cossacks, hetmans*, and gulag guards!

But mark: when it’s your turn to be dragged to graveyards,

You’ll whisper and wheeze, your deathbed mattress a-pushing,

Not Shevchenko’s* bullshit but poetry lines from Pushkin*.

For decades the conossieurs of russian culture has defended Brodsky and denied his authorship of the poem, until this video popped up in 2015. Oh but not russians tho, they don't deny it. They're proud of it! This particular translation I've found on an english website dedicated to popularisation of russian culture :) And of course it had a xenophobic comment expressing support of Brodsky and hatered towards ukrarinians ^)

So yeah, I think we have more than enough reasons to say that any person who claims that russian invasion of Ukraine came out of nowhere and/or that it was not motivated by xenophobia and imerialism towards ukrainians, is full of bullshit.

[context/references explained under the cut, buckle up for a long lecture]

Poltava battle was one of decisive clashes between Sweden and Russia during the Great Northern War. Initially Ukraine was fighting this war on the side of the russian empire as its vassal, but before the Poltava battle we switched sides. There were several reasons for this choice, among the most important - russian emperor breaking the treaty between the Hetmanate and Muscowy. Important context - the head of then ukrainian state, Ivan Mazepa, was very close to russian emperor - you could say, he was his father figure. Mazepa educated tzar Peter in European manner and helped him start the europeisation of the Muscowy. russians see this battle as a huge personal betrayal (the fact that Peter I betrated Mazepa first is always omitted, in russian culture, unlike ukrainian, the person higher than you on hierarchy doesn't owe you shit but has absoulte power over you). That was 300 years ago and russians are still salty about it. and Mazepa is probably the second most hated ukrainian historical figure after Bandera.

"Show you Kuzka's mother" - a phrase meaning "show them hell", famously used by the ussr general secretary Michael Khrushchev adressed to american politicians in 1959.

"Eaten by isotope" - reference to the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

Konotop - a small city in Northern Ukraine, famous for the Konotop battle that happened between cossacks and muscowytes in 1659. In the modern russo-ukrainian war it became famous for witches that curse russian soldiers with erectile dysfunction. Interestingly enough, a "Konotop witch" has been a phenomena even before that, as refered in a short story of the same name by Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko, thus giving even more substance to the threat.

Toronto - canadian city, probably mentioned here due to the fact that many Ukrainians flead from the ussr to Canada, thus creating one of the biggest ukrainian diasporas in the world. Canadian ukrainians are known for being very politically active, publishing ukrainian literature at times when it was impossible to do so at home, and fighting soviet propaganda. As a result, Kremlin began a smear campaign painting all canadian ukrainians as nazis, which is effective till this day.

Khokhly - a common slur used against ukrainian. Most probably comes from old slavonic "xoxolъ" that means "bangs" and refers to the hairstyle typically worn by ukrainian men, that russians found funny.

Rushnyks - an embroidered decorative towel, used in home decor and some rituals [examples]

Roubles - russian currency.

Katsapy - common slur used against russians. They will want you to believe that the word comes from phrase "как цап" - "like a goat" and refers to the type of beard worn by russian men at old time, but this is purposeful misleading from the true origin of the word. Katsap comes from arabic "qassab", which means literally "butcher". A legend states that this comes from a single incedent when russian army, after promising to spare a city's residents if they surrendered peacefully, cut down every single person there. But different sources attribute this to different battles (some of which verifyably did not end with the city surrendering), so I don't think this can be bottled down to a single event.

Zhupans - a type of outer clothing popular in Ukraine and Poland [example, another example] Funny trivia - Word of Darkness tabletop universe used this word to describe a subtype of vampires from Eastern Europe, which is incredibly funny for me. Gimme mysterious british vampire warlocks called pullovers.

Hetmans - a military and political head-of-state in some medieval and Renaissance Eastern European countires, including Ukraine (known as Hetmanate back then).

Taras Shevchenko - perhaps the most influential ukrainian poet, artist, ethnografist and political figure, the metaphorical spiritual father of the country. His influence on the modern ukrainian culture is incomparable - half the things in Ukraine are named after him. He is also among the people who have the biggest number of monuments erected in the world - 1384. Taras Shevchenko's life story is extremely dramatic and deserves its own post - born in slavery, bought out of it thanks to his unique artistic talent, imprisoned for criticism of russian monarchy with an explicit ban on writing and painting, spent the second half of his life in exile. He wrote a lot about freedom and things we would call today anticolonialism and antiimperialism.

Alexander Pushkin - one of the "founding fathers" of russian literature, who is attributed with setting the standard of literary russian language. russians call him "our everything", but as far as I am aware he is hardly known outside the countries smeared by russian imperialism with the exception of some black classic literature fans due to being 1/4 black.

[davidshawnsown]

USA BASEBALL/COLLEGE SUMMER BASEBALL - and - SAVANNAH BANANAS ONE SHOT RPF - Savannahskaya Kadrovsky??!! -

(AN: 2022 turned out to be FIRST ever year and now just the only year following one of the more fun teams in college summer ball - the iconic and funny Savannah Bananas of the Coastal Plain League, which in the past few years have spun off two pro teams in theor umbrella playing their own take on baseball, Banana Ball. Now they are committed to play that form year round and leaving the CPL, but the memories of those first years of CPL play will forever go down as part of its history. I therefore present to the fans this one shot RPF featuring these guys from Savannah and the fun ways they have played baseball in these past years up to today and the first Ukraine-set fic of many featuring these guys in yellow, including a full blown RPF fic of their POV of the events in that country. To link up the fics with the wider universe I've included Scott Hatteberg, a former teammate of Eric Byrnes with the A's - and a Team USA Baseball CNT alumnus. This is dedicated to Dalton Maudin and Tanner Thomas - the two members of the Bananas organization and its constituent teams that have been bringing out weekly vlogs on Youtube, you better check them both, as well as Dalton's music there as well and on Spotify!)

SOMEWHERE IN POLTAVA OBLAST

SUNDAY MAY 22, 2022

1400H EEST

"The regiment from Savannah has done it again?!!"

That is the reaction from no less than BG Mark deRosa, the operational commander of US forces in Ukraine under the 46th Command. That regiment, the 716th Savannah, established in the spring of 2015, and led by its now newly promoted commander COL Byrnes, who took over this year from its first commandant, COL Cole, now a honorary Brigadier General and its first ever regimental colonel now retired even at a young age, had been in Ukraine since April, among the first of the collegiate units to be sent to the country to assist the war effort, fight alongside Americans in the International Legion of Territorial Defense and with Ukrainians in the Armed Forces and the National Guard, and also to give the young guys a taste of what their service to the nation entalls.

"Yeah indeed," replied COL Garza. "Those boys whose regiment carries yellow and white colors. They did it again!"

He and others on an ongoing meeting of the command staff in northern Poltava Oblast were referring to those TikTok and Twitter videos, as well as those on Telegram, featuring the boys of this young formation.

It is the sole infantry regiment among the formations of the 351st Southeastern Coastal Infantry Brigade, activated 1997 and whose numeral honors the North Carolina based Coastal Militia Rifles, a militia formation raised in 1935 which in 1936 was granted affilation with what is now the 169th Corps of the 46th Mobilization Command, US Army Reserve, affilated to the Southern Defense Command during the Second World War as a territorial defense brigade which lasted until the early 1950s. Their nickname of Bananas is a nod to the agricultural past of their home city and their full dresss honors partly its Union liberators during the Civil War and its home front efforts in both World Wars.

They began as a ROTC company in late 2015. Almost a year later, the 716th Infantry Battalion was activated, and within 5 years, evolved from a Humvee-armed unit into wheeled mechanized infantry, armed with the Stryker systems, and as a three battalion regiment, with its 2nd and 3rd battalions including minority and immigrant personnel to reflect its home city's character. One battalion each is made up of reservists and the Georgia Army National Guard, making up for a total of 5 battalions.

But these boys' Tiktok combat videos, set to popular Western pop tunes, have got the people motivated to know what is going on in the Ukrainian frontlines. They have been for weeks now in a tense battle for popularity against the Chechen National Guardsmen from Chechnya in Russia, which have been in the Ukrainian front since the onset of the invasion, as well as several of the Ukrainian frontline brigades and militia units, which have similar pop content. These so-called "Yellowshirts" after the yellow and white colors during its foundation today wear the same uniform as those deployed to Ukraine but with a yellow and white armband with the regimental DUI on it as well as the arms of their home city.

The 46th's Ukrainian operational HQ and elements of the 78th Brigade Combat Team had been watching what the boys had been doing on and off the field, while recieving word that their actions in the Soledar front have helped the local Ukrainian forces get motivated to continue the struggle in the weeks prior. Now they have been rotated out with a new assignment north of Kramatorsk City as a reserve formation ready to fight in the Donbas region. They will be on R&R before returning to their then brand new barracks located in Kovel in Volyn Oblast for equipment resupplies as well as to await the arrival of the local maintenance battalion from their home city. The town was chosen as it is a sister city to Chamblee, just northwest of Atlanta, the state capital. Just as in the other American and Canadian formations they were given a Ukrainian advisory team - in that case with officers and NCOs from the 14th Mechanized Infantry Brigade based in Volodymyr City, Volyn Oblast.

Thus the brigadier general had during the meeting phoned the now retired BG Jessie Cole, the newly appointed regimental colonel, on what the boys have had been doing in the frontlines. They were there since early April assigned there in Kovel town, with the 2nd battalion of the 72nd Atlanta based there as well and the local battalion based in Savannah from said regiment, both since early May. They chose that city to keep their ties to Georgia state and its traditions while in country as the first of the collegiate summer service units and the only regiment of its kind so far to fight for the cause of Ukraine in the opening months of the war. He had just arrived in Kramatosk that day with his wife Emily to check on the boys before joining them on the journey back to Kovel.

"I have with me one of COL Byrnes' friends and one who served with him in Oakland. This is now LTC Scott Hatteberg. This year I called for the man to return to service after retiring as a battalion XO almost two decades ago in Oakland. He will be our liason officer on behalf of the brigade, Mr. Cole, with your regiment as its new commander was a friend of his," said the brigadier general on the mobile phone.

"Understood Mark, I now will bring in Eric," Jesse responded. As usual he wore his variant yellow working dress but without the top hat he wore replacing the kepi beginning with his early retirement. The kepi had been worn alternately with the bicorne by officers of the regiment when in full dress in ceremonial events to honor the military history of its home city.

"Thanks sir."

Then Eric got on the cellphone.

"Morning, sir, Colonel Byrnes here of the 716th Infantry Regiment."

"IS THAT YOU ERIC BYRNES? This is Brigadier General Mark DeRosa of the 78th Brigade Combat Team based out of Cary, NC, I have one of your buddies in Oakland with me who is a graduate of the brigade's training program."

"Yes I am, sir. And is that guy with you, sir, Scott Hatteberg?"

"Affirmative colonel Byrnes. How's your regiment now on R&R after all those weeks in Soledar?"

"Nice so far, the American people and the people of Savannah have enjoyed the antics of the men of the 1st Battalion and also our combat videos all this time, which have awakened Americans on what we are supposed to do to aid Ukraine at this time."

"Regarding those in between combat dancing videos on TikTok and Twitter of your boys, as well as on Telegram, are they all true?!"

"Yes, DeRosa, and the people have loved it."

"Cannot believe this, but you boys are better than those Chechens. Dancing, singing, having fun in the field but fighting better than them and the Russians. And who suggested these?"

"Our first battalion commander LTC Gilliam, who has been with us since it was a battalion, and our long time A Company commander soon to be captain Bill Leroy, who's a 1LT by now alongside his faithful XO 1LT Kyle Luigs. The two began with the regiment on secondment from their colleges, last year, following their graduation, when I was appointed regimental commander to replace Jesse who retired a Brigadier General, he recommended that the two be granted permanent status due to their long service with 1st Battalion, and indeed they were permanenty assigned since then."

"1st Platoon commander?"

"1LT Jackson Olson, sir, joined the regiment early this year."

"2nd Platoon is led by whose officer?"

"1LT Dalton Cornett. All officers, NCO and enlisted here, general, were selected for permanent duty in the years after it became a regiment from being a battalion and these people and others from the past 5 years who served on secondment from their respective colleges and universities before with the local lads recruited from within the state were the once I asked, upon the urging of the regimental colonel, to join the 1st Battalion on permanent status. Some of these officers here in the battalion, DeRo, as well as NCOs and enlisted with no collegiate service here nor even direct ties, were recruited on national lines thanks to the efforts of our depot battalion personnel, while the regiment still retains its seconded personnel from the colleges and universities."

"3rd platoon commanding officer is.."

"Turner Pruitt. Was with the regiment in 2021 and is a 1LT. 2LT Bryce Madron from Cowley College's battalion, seconded from his alma mater's unit, joined the regiment on its Ukrainian deployment as the 4th platoon's commander."

"Your PAO chief?"

"CPT Biko Skalla."

"The A Company first sergeant?"

"SFC Malachi Mitchell."

"Acknowleged colonel, will have to bring in LTC Scott Hatteberg. I am damn proud of all of them for their efforts to help Ukraine's ongoing fight by any means. And regarding retired MSGT Bill Lee, your honorary regimental sergeant major for a few months now, he's at home in Connecticut, but has come to Savannah when the regiment was around for months before the departure to Ukraine, I've been told."

"Mark, Bill Lee was appointed by the regiment to serve in a honorary capacity due to his age, but his strength and fitness was still the same when he served with the 1st Boston and the Montreal City Fusiliers. And sir, he sent you an email yesterday thanking you all in the 78th for the support given to his secondary home of Savannah and the 716th Infantry. He was there in the sendoff ceremony last March. He still takes time to visit Grayson Barracks to visit our depot battalion and those recruits who have finished basic training."

"Was a pleasure. Tell him we are forever grateful for his service with the 846th Command and the 169th Corps and we also congratulate him for his appointment as honorary sergeant major."

"Noted, sir."

Then Scott got the phone to talk to Eric, whom he formerly served with.

"Scott Hatteberg here, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army. Just been returned to service after retirement. Now a part of the 78th Brigade Combat Team. It's because I was a part of the collegiate training unit under that platoon years before. You still remember me from those years?" he started up the chat.

"Yes Scott, this is Eric, I still remember those days in the Oakland barracks and training fields together with others. Glad you're back in uniform again. How's your regiment going?"

"Been a tough few weeks in Soledar, but boy, these were tough but happy days for the boys in yellow. Fighting against Russians and the Chechen allies at the front, but we never waivered, we never gave up hope in the fight with our Ukrainian allies."

"You guys going back to Kovel after this to recharge for the trip home and then to prepare to return here for the summer offensives?"

"You bet we are, Scott."

"I am thankful to you for having been a part of those years I spent in Oakland, as well as to General DeRosa for giving me this chance to coordinate jointly our efforts as well as with the other US and Canadian forces fighting with our Ukrainian allies. I'm sure this is the start of a great partnership together, especially that the general has given me this assignment to coordinate our efforts to help Ukraine fight its way to victory."

"You're welcome Scott, make sure there will be new videos coming out from you guys in the weeks to come." "Yes sir, there's more where they came from, colonel. BTW who was behind all of these aside from those in battalion and company leadership?"

"MAJ Frongillo, part of regimental staff. He's the one who came out with that idea."

"Well, congrats to him as well. I expect more from Zack in the coming weeks as well as to the PAO team led by Biko. Who's the main videographer of the regiment?"

"SFC Breaux. He's in charge of the video and film duties for Public Affairs. Also, I have to inform you that two of the guys in A Company - CPL Maudin who joined last year and was a part of 1st Platoon and CPL Thomas, a newbie of 2nd Platoon and a direct entry corporal with the unit - have been putting in superb combat videos and vlogs on Telegram and Youtube. They and many of the 1st and 2nd platoon boys whose stories have become the living witness to the ongoing war have inspired many not just to continue helping Ukraine but also to encourage others to dedicate themselves in service to the nation. If you check Telegram and Instagram, their English posts have opened many to the reality of the war they are fighting in and many of the young men and women are already following their journey so far."

"All the best for you guys, sir, Hatteberg out."

"Byrnes out sir."

"I'm sure there's more of that coming up," Scott stated to the gathered personnel from brigade command after watching the video of elements of A Company and the battalion staff dancing with their regimental commander and regimental colonel from his cellphone. And that was after Jesse spoke on video to those who have followed their journey so far on Tiktok and Twitter, as well as on the regiment's Telegram channel, expressing his gratitude and that of COL Byrnes to everyone who have supported them in every way possible on their journey to fight Russians in Ukrainian lands together with elements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as to those who have already given their time to support the country in her time of need. That short dance clip stunned everyone watching and confirmed everyone of what the online world had been talking about. He finishes with "I am certain the regiment has been going good in the PAO side of things and am glad to report that their regimental depot battalion CO has emailed me that their efforts, as well as the stories they shared online, has led up to a massive recruitment effort there in the city not just for this regiment but for the other military units in Savannah. And many who are trying to join the 716th are coming from all over the country!"

"That's incredible news," BG Maxwell stated.

"So are you sure that these new recruits, after finishing basic training and getting assigned here on their own wishes, will be serving in Ukraine with the regiment soon?" asked SGM Pollock.

"Affirmative, they will be there soon."

And when asked by COL Bianco on whose concept it was, the LTC replied that it was an officer of regimental staff, MAJ Traczuk, who helped the sergeant first class pitch that idea to Public Affairs and it was based on the post-exercise recreation and fun the boys had stateside since it was a battalion.

COL Bloomquist added, "You have a tough job ahead of you, colonel. But soon you will learn more about those boys."

"Got that, one day I will check them before they leave for home to welcome a new batch of summer enlistees who will be serving this time, given that the regiment is forward deployed to Ukraine, with the 4th and 5th battalions based stateside."

These boys from Savannah, who were selected from every corner of the nation to fight in this ongoing war, are not just contributing to the fight for Ukraine's independence, they are dancing their way to victory.

"And one thing's for sure," adds the lieutenant colonel from Salem in Oregon, "Dalton and Tanner, and the rest of their company, will lead more young people in realizing Ukraine and democracy all over the world are both worth fighting for, and we have to help defend Ukraine and our allies no matter what it takes. I'm sure you all watched their appeal to the people of Savannah and the nation lately. Now that I've been appointed liason to this unit and those units preparing to serve in Ukraine whose personnel are either ROTC or college regiment personnel, I will do my best to coordinate our efforts towards this goal."

@kiinghanalister @travisdermotts @lukeexplorer

[tinyshe]

Through the centuries, papakha (or papaha) has been among essential attributes of the Cossacks. Its value is famously mentioned in Poltava by Alexander Pushkin. Considered inviolable, Cossack hats could only be given away upon death. For this reason, knocking it off a man’s head would be viewed as a grave insult and a challenge to a duel. However, an owner’s act of throwing his hat down would signify a bet on his own life.

In the Russian Empire, a military regulation allowed for mass heroism decorations to be attached to hats driving their value even further up. Actively serving Cossacks also used to carry small icons sewn into lining, which allowed them to pray anywhere, be it in a field, at a battle front, or during a march. During peacetime, the hat played a very important role in a Cossack’s civic life. The hat denoted legal rights of a man as the elder of his family. Hats of fallen Cossacks would be returned to their homes to be placed in the prayer corner signalling protection from God thereon. Papakha hats served a major role in matchmaking and weddings as well.

[more here]

[theirishaesthete]

Then and Now

  In the middle of the 16th century, one Hans Fock moved from the north German city of Lübeck to Estonia, which was then coming under the control of Sweden. Around 100 years later, Queen Christina, shortly before her abdication, elevated Fock’s descendants to the Swedish peerage. After Sweden’s decisive defeat by Peter the Great at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 and the subsequent annexation of…

[pwlanier]

Nikolai Georgievich Zhashkov (1911-1973).

Luzhniki. 1911.

Cardboard, oil. 20x28 cm.

On the back - the author's signature, year and title.

Decorated in a frame.

Zhashkov Nikolai Georgievich (1911-1973) - landscape painter. He was born in the Ryazan region, then moved to Moscow, later to Odintsovo. In 1933, he was enrolled in the MHU in memory of 1905. After graduating from school, he worked as a graphic designer and at the same time studied at the evening department of MKhPI. Member of the Moscow Association of Artists. Since 1954, a member of the Studio of Military Artists named after M.B. Grekova. As a co-author, he participated in the creation of the "Battle of Poltava" diorama.

Alters

[exclamania-news-network]

{Two hundred Swedish soldiers from the battle of Poltava. Fifty six vote for John, the rest vote for Nef.}

[EXTREMELY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER]

[Put actual EFFORT in it. Spam my fucking inbox. And not wið copypasted messages, ohhh no. Make EACH message unique. Give each soldier a gimmick, a personality, a funny hat if you want. Don't just say random numbers.]

[chester84cats]

Tumblr Sexy Man of History

Round 1 Poll 1/4

The Contestants

Peter the Great

Peter was tsar, emperor of Russia, in the late 1600s into the early 1700s. Third Tsar from the Romanov family, he made radical reforms catapulting Russia into the modern era, as the Russian Orthodox Church was resistant to change. Peter's mother, Natalya Naryshkina, was raised to be open to Western practices, and she passed this along to Peter. Some of the reforms he made were creating Russia's first Navy, investing in the military, making tax reforms, requiring noblemen to shave unless they pay a beard tax and wear western clothing, securing a warm-water port, and creating education centers and hospitals. He died in 1725 after he fell ill after rescuing some sailors from drowning in freezing water.

Standing at an impressive 6'7" and with a fiery temper fueled by brandy, Peter was an intimidating figure to even stand beside, much less face when you had slighted him. Several members of an attempted revolt learned this the hard way, as Peter beheaded them himself and ordered hundreds more to be hung.

He angy

Charles XII

Charles was the king of Sweden for a similar yet shorter time frame as Peter was tsar. Charles had gained a reputation as being invincible in battle as he and his army overcame battle after battle. Though outnumbered 4 to 1 by Peter's army at the Battle of Narva, Charles and his army prevailed. This further boosted their egos and lowered their opinion of Peter's forces,which would prove to be a fatal mistake. When they faced off again at the Battle of Poltava, they learned quickly that Peter had learned since their last meeting. Charles XII lost in the greatest Swedish military catastrophe in history.

A huge factor to the belief that he was invincible was the fact that Charles would regularly go into battle with his men. While noble, this eventually resulted in his death, as he was shot in the head in a battle in 1718.

Maybe it was because his big forehead was a big target.

[vintage-ukraine]

Art gallery in the Poltava Battle Museum, 1914

[kilowogcore]

Well Poozers, here it is, the only time I'm pro'bly ever gonna post the likeness of that monster on my feed.

Yeah, Charles XII of Sweden knows what he did! Battle a' Poltava? More like Battle a' Pole-Up-Your-Butt! Loosen up an' have a drink or twelve, Chuck!

[lightdancer1]

Wrapped up the next in the series of books about Baltic Europe:

This book is the first book in a series where the second one is one I read before finding it. The second one was a fascinating read in an independent context and I intend to reread with the eyes of the first to see how they work together. This book, as the title indicates, covers the Baltic region from 1492 to 1772. This was the period in which Sweden went from a semi-pagan backwater that had a great deal of snow and dried fish to a military juggernaut that for a time was the wunderkind of Europe.

Eventually the Swedes were drawn into a great war with Poland-Lithuania and Russia that saw, as noted in the previous review, the demise of the last bid for an independent Ukrainian state collapse at the Battle of Poltava. This marked in turn a resurgence of the Russia that in the earlier part of the book under Ivan the Terrible, in the coverage of earlier history came close to securing the control of the Baltic it would in the 18th Century in the 16th. Ivan the Terrible went madder than he already was and sunk his country in a nightmarish hellscape of despotism and created the Time of Troubles in the wake of it, leading to Sweden stepping in to fill the void.

One thing this book also underscores is that states and rulers could and did attain a kind of greatness, the Swedes and the Russians in particular marking this. In a marginal region where nature held sway over all and darkness and decay lurked with a mild shift in weather, let alone by war, the realities of this greatness were to take those marginal conditions make them worse.

It serves, like a history of the Balkans, as a counterpoint to the idea first of Europe as a monolithic mass of civilization and second to the reality that European state power cost Europeans in the areas that were dominated rather than dominating as much as it did people anywhere else in the world. There is nothing in the geography of Europe that spared peoples and cultures the iron fist of imperialism, including imperialism from other Europeans.

Beyond that it's also the history of how the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the last great medieval pagan state, fell into becoming provinces of first the Baltic German military orders and then the Romanov dynasty. Latvians and Estonians were subjects and never masters of their own state, Lithuanians had a much harder fall from a much greater standpoint. And so too, by the end of the book, does Poland-Lithuania as it ends with the first Partition and the re-establishment for a time of Swedish absolutism.

Norway, meanwhile, spends most of the book as the rural hinterland of Denmark and has yet to make its rise as a modern state. This too should serve as a reminder that geography is never a stable thing, that all states are artificial, and awareness of a nationality does not make a nation or the desire for a state.

9/10.

[nato-ua-alen]

💛💙🌻🤙destroyed russian equipment and Poltava Day/знищена рос-фашистська техніка та День Полтави Cossack dayи in Poltava. Led by the Cossacks, the Liberation War against the magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth turned Poltava more than 350 years ago into the military-administrative center of the Poltava Regiment as part of the Hetman's Ukraine. In the general socio-political rise of the Left Bank of the Dnieper at that time, the city was distinguished by the construction of the Khrestovozdvizhensky Monastery, the appearance of notable works of Cossack chronicles by Samiil Velichka and Grigory Hrabyanka, and the poetry of Ivan Velichkovsky. Colonel Martyn Pushkar, in addition to his victory during the Khmelnytskyi region, was distinguished by an unsuccessful uprising against Ivan Vyhovskyi. In 1709, a battle took place near the city that finally established Russia's strategic advantage in the Northern War, and the allied plans of Ivan Mazepa and Charles XII were undermined. After becoming part of the Russian Empire, Poltava Province became the spiritual capital of Little Russia, its ethnic and national center. Козацька доба Полтави Очолена козацтвом Визвольна війна проти магнатів Речі Посполитої перетворила Полтаву понад 350 років тому на військово-адміністративний центр Полтавського полку в складі Гетьманської України. У загальному соціально-політичному піднесенні Лівобережжя Дніпра того часу місто вирізнялося побудовою Хрестовоздвиженського монастиря, появою визначних творів козацького літописання Самійла Величка і Григорія Грабянки, поезій Івана Величковського. Полковник Мартин Пушкар, окрім звитяги під час Хмельниччини, відзначився невдалим повстанням проти Івана Виговського. Поблизу міста 1709 року відбулася баталія, що остаточно закріпила стратегічну перевагу Росії у Північній війні, та було підірвано союзницькі плани Івана Мазепи та Карла XII. Увійшовши до складу Російської імперії, Полтавська губернія стала духовною столицею Малої Русі, її етнічно-національним центром. Слава Україні ! Слава Її Воїнам ! ЗСУ Супер Герої !                    Смерть ворогам ! 🔥 🇺🇦🇦🇴 🥷🏻 ⚔ 💀 www.FightForUa.org YT.TG.#nato_ua_alen https://BuyMeaFighterJet.com #ukrainewar2013_2022🇱🇹🇺🇦 #StupidityKills TG | FB | INST | TW | YT | TUMBLR Donate with the caption "for free dissemination of information"/už nemokamą informacijos sklaidą“ SEB LT167044060008192042 Paypal len.anatolijus@gmail.com

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.8

1099 – Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch. 1283 – Roger of Lauria, commanding the Aragonese fleet, defeats an Angevin fleet sent to put down a rebellion on Malta. 1497 – Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India. 1579 – Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan. 1663 – Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal charter to Rhode Island. 1709 – Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava, thus effectively ending Sweden's status as a major power in Europe. 1716 – The Battle of Dynekilen forces Sweden to abandon its invasion of Norway. 1730 – An estimated magnitude 8.7 earthquake causes a tsunami that damages more than 1,000 km (620 mi) of Chile's coastline. 1758 – French forces hold Fort Carillon against the British at Ticonderoga, New York. 1760 – British forces defeat French forces in the last naval battle in New France. 1775 – The Olive Branch Petition is signed by the Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies of North America. 1776 – Church bells (possibly including the Liberty Bell) are rung after John Nixon delivers the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. 1808 – Promulgation of the Bayonne Statute, a royal charter Joseph Bonaparte intended as the basis for his rule as king of Spain. 1822 – Chippewas turn over a huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom. 1853 – The Perry Expedition arrives in Edo Bay with a treaty requesting trade. 1859 – King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway. 1864 – Ikedaya Incident: The Choshu Han shishi's planned Shinsengumi sabotage on Kyoto, Japan at Ikedaya. 1874 – The Mounties begin their March West. 1876 – The Hamburg massacre prior to the 1876 United States presidential election results in the deaths of six African-Americans of the Republican Party, along with one white assailant. 1879 – Sailing ship USS Jeannette departs San Francisco carrying an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole. 1889 – The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published. 1892 – St. John's, Newfoundland is devastated in the Great Fire of 1892. 1898 – The death of crime boss Soapy Smith, killed in the Shootout on Juneau Wharf, releases Skagway, Alaska from his iron grip. 1912 – Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro leads an unsuccessful royalist attack against the First Portuguese Republic in Chaves. 1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22. 1933 – The first rugby union test match between the Wallabies of Australia and the Springboks of South Africa is played at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town. 1937 – Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan sign the Treaty of Saadabad. 1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico in what became known as the Roswell UFO incident. 1948 – The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF). 1960 – Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union. 1962 – Ne Win besieges and blows up the Rangoon University Student Union building to crush the Student Movement. 1966 – King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi is deposed by his son Prince Charles Ndizi. 1968 – The Chrysler wildcat strike begins in Detroit, Michigan. 1970 – Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American self-determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975. 1972 – Israeli Mossad assassinate Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani. 1980 – The inaugural 1980 State of Origin game is won by Queensland who defeat New South Wales 20–10 at Lang Park. 1980 – Aeroflot Flight 4225 crashes near Almaty International Airport in the then Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (present day Kazakhstan) killing all 166 people on board. 1982 – A failed assassination attempt against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein results in the Dujail Massacre over the next several months. 1988 – The Island Express train travelling from Bangalore to Kanyakumari derails on the Peruman bridge and falls into Ashtamudi Lake, killing 105 passengers and injuring over 200 more. 1994 – Kim Jong-il begins to assume supreme leadership of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il-sung. 2003 – Sudan Airways Flight 139 crashes near Port Sudan Airport during an emergency landing attempt, killing 116 of the 117 people on board. 2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program. 2014 – Israel launches an offensive on Gaza amid rising tensions following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers. 2021 – President Joe Biden announces that the official conclusion of U.S. involvement in the War in Afghanistan will be on August 31, 2021. 2022 – Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is shot twice and killed while giving a speech in Nara.