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Russia

Every case set in what is now Russia, best-known first. Cities, states and old kingdoms count under the country that holds them today.

EuropeEvery country

Cases in Russia

Best-known first. Each card opens the full cited case.

Cases
36
Years
32000 BCE to 2024
Region
Europe
Main subjects
Russia and Byzantium, Literature and art, Jailed and executed, Secret societies and orders
Families
House of Romanov, House of Hohenzollern
Updated
30 October 2026
Maxim Gorky: Black and white film copy negative of Maxim Gorky, half-length portrait, facing front by Herman Mishkin, N.Y.1936 · Gorki-10, near MoscowThe 1938 Moscow trial charged Yagoda and doctors with murdering Maxim Gorky and his son; 18 defendants were sentenced to be shotMaxim Gorky died on 18 June 1936 at his dacha near Moscow. The official cause was pneumonia after a long illness.marxists.org and 3 moreMalcolm Forbes: Malcolmforbessr1990 · New York, USA; Saint Petersburg, RussiaMalcolm Forbes spent 25 years buying the tsars' Fabergé eggs, his family sold all nine to a Russian billionaire before the auction, and the US sanctioned the buyer in 2018Alexander III ordered the first imperial Easter egg from Fabergé in 1885 as a gift for his wife. After the October 1917 coup the firm was nationalised and broken up.home.treasury.gov and 5 moreKazimir Malevich: Casimir Malevich photo1935 · Leningrad, USSRKazimir Malevich's heirs sued Amsterdam over 84 works held since 1958; in April 2008 the city returned five paintingsMalevich was called back to the Soviet Union in 1927 and could not return to Berlin to retrieve the works he left there. Amsterdam says it bought the collection in 1958 from a Dr. H.stedelijk.nl and 4 moreSergei Yesenin: Esenin Moscow 19221925 · Hotel Angleterre, Leningrad, USSRSergei Yesenin was found hanged in the Hotel Angleterre in 1925, his heirs went to court for three years, and his secretary died at his graveSergei Yesenin, 30, was found hanged in his room at the Hotel Angleterre in Leningrad on 28 December 1925.calend.ru and 5 moreCatherine Palace interior - Amber Room (1)1945 · Catherine Palace, Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), Russia; KönigsbeGerman troops packed the Amber Room into 27 crates in 1941, and it has been missing since 1945The Amber Room was a set of amber wall panels made in Prussia. In 1716 King Frederick William I of Prussia gave it to Peter the Great.NBC News and 4 moreNikolai Gogol: NV Gogol1852 · Moscow, RussiaGogol burned the second part of Dead Souls nine days before he died; in 1931 his coffin was opened, and legend says the skull was missingOn the night of 24 February 1852 Nikolai Gogol burned manuscripts containing most of the second part of Dead Souls. He later called it a mistake and said the Devil had played a joke on him.weekend.rambler.ru and 3 moreVasily Grossman: Grossman V.S1964 · Moscow, RussiaThe KGB seized Vasily Grossman's novel and every draft in 1961, and the FSB gave the papers to a state archive in 2013, not to his heirsVasily Grossman was a Soviet war correspondent and novelist. On 14 February 1961 the KGB seized the manuscripts, first drafts and typed copies of his novel Life and Fate, to avoid another Pasternak affair.daily.jstor.org and 2 moreAI illustration: Boris Pasternak's wooden dacha at Peredelkino in snow, 19601960 · Peredelkino, USSREleven weeks after Boris Pasternak died, the Soviet state arrested his companion over his Doctor Zhivago royalties and sent her to a camp for eight yearsDoctor Zhivago was refused publication in the Soviet Union and first appeared in Italy in 1957. Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1958 and was forced to decline it. Royalties built up abroad.zhivagostorm.org and 3 moreLeo Tolstoy: Leo Tolstoy 1908 Portrait (3x4 cropped)1910 · Astapovo railway station, RussiaTolstoy signed a secret will in the woods to give his copyrights to the publicBy 1910 Leo Tolstoy wanted his writings to belong to everyone. His wife Sofia, with whom he had 13 children, wanted the copyrights kept in the family. His disciple Vladimir Chertkov arranged a new will.Project Gutenberg and 4 moreJulia Pastrana: Julia Pastrana1860 · MoscowJulia Pastrana's husband sold her embalmed body after she died in 1860, and it was exhibited, stolen and stored in Oslo until Mexico buried it in 2013Julia Pastrana, born in Sinaloa, Mexico, toured Europe and America with her husband and manager Theodore Lent, whom she married in Baltimore on 10 November 1855.publicdomainreview.org and 3 moreAlexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia: Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich at Peterhoflabel QS:Les,"Pedro el Grande interroga al zarév1718 · St Petersburg, RussiaPeter the Great had his son tortured to death, changed the law so he could pick any heir, and died without naming oneTsarevich Alexei, Peter the Great's son by his first wife, opposed his father's reforms and fled to Austrian protection in 1716. Peter's agents persuaded him to return in 1718 with a promise of pardon.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreAlexei Navalny: Alexey Navalny 2018 (cropped)2024 · Penal Colony No. 3, Kharp, Russia; Salekhard, Russia; MoscowNavalny died in an Arctic prison colony, and the state held his body for eight days while investigators pressed his mother to agree to a secret burialAlexei Navalny died on 16 February 2024, aged 47, at Penal Colony No. 3 in Kharp, in the Russian Arctic. The authorities kept his body.globalnews.ca and 1 moreSergei Magnitsky (grave): Могила юриста Сергея Магнитского на Преображенском кладбище в Москве2009 · Moscow, RussiaRussia put a dead lawyer on trial and convicted him in 2013, and the European court ordered Russia to pay his widow and motherSergei Magnitsky worked for Hermitage Capital, the investment fund run by Bill Browder. He was arrested and held for 11 months in pre-trial detention in Moscow, where he died in November 2009, aged 37, allegedly after being beaten.csmonitor.com and 2 moreHôtel du Grand Orient [de France], rue Cadet [9e arrondissement] : [photographie de presse] / [Agence Rol]: Sujet : Hôtels particuliers -- Paris (France) Paris (France) -- Arrondis1940 · Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; Česká Lípa, Czech Republic; German units emptied the French Masonic headquarters in June 1940, the Red Army took the archives to Moscow, and France got them back in 2001On 13 June 1940 German special units raided the Paris headquarters of the Grand Orient de France and the Grande Loge de France and shipped tons of archives and rare books to Berlin.gadlu.info and 3 moreNikolai Bukharin: N.I. Bukharin (1888-1938) Crop1938 · Moscow, RussiaBukharin made his wife memorise his last letter before his arrest, and she carried it through 20 years of camps and exile until he was cleared in 1988Nikolai Bukharin married Anna Larina in 1934; she was more than 25 years younger. Their son, Yuri, was born in 1936. Bukharin expected arrest and judged it too dangerous to write his last testament down.colinshindler.com and 2 moreВременный деревянный мавзолей: Временный деревянный Мавзолей Ленина, 19241924 · Red Square, Moscow, RussiaLenin's widow opposed embalming him and gave the party his letter asking it to remove Stalin; the party put the body on display and kept the letter from the congress floorBetween 23 December 1922 and 4 January 1923 Vladimir Lenin, disabled by strokes, dictated letters to the next party congress that became known as his testament.marxists.org and 5 moreIpatjew-Haus2: Das Ipatjew-Haus in Swerdlowsk, in dem die Zarenfamilie erschossen wurde. Abgescannt von einer sowjetischen Postkarte von 1928.1918 · Yekaterinburg, Russia; Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint PeterRussia buried the last tsar's family 80 years after the shooting, the Church has not accepted the bones, and two of the children's remains have been in archive boxes since 2007On the night of 16 to 17 July 1918 Bolshevik agents shot Nicholas II, his wife, their five children and four servants in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. The bodies were reburied at a second site.meduza.io and 3 moreSavva Morozov: Морозов Савва Тимофеевич (1862-1905) ; (eng.-Morozov Savva Timofeevich)1905 · Cannes, France, and Orekhovo-Zuevo, RussiaSavva Morozov's mother pushed him out of the family mills, he was found shot in Cannes, and his insurance went to a Bolshevik actressSavva Timofeyevich Morozov ran the Nikolskaya Manufactory, the family textile company whose 12 enterprises built the town of Orekhovo-Zuevo. His mother chaired its board.gw2ru.com and 3 moreSophia Schliemann wearing Treasure A, Troy: Heinrich Schliemann's wife, Sophia, wearing gold jewelry from Treasure A, ca 18731890 · Hisarlik (Troy), Turkey; Berlin, Germany; Moscow, RussiaSchliemann smuggled Priam's Treasure out of the Ottoman Empire and gave it to Berlin, the Red Army took it in 1945, and Moscow kept it secret for 50 yearsOn 31 May 1873 Heinrich Schliemann found a hoard of gold at Troy and called it Priam's Treasure. His Ottoman permit required the finds to be divided. He smuggled them to Greece.smb.museum and 2 moreIvan III of Russia: Ivan III of Russia 31509 · Moscow, RussiaIvan III crowned his grandson Dmitry as heir in 1498, then made his son Vasily heir and kept the grandson under guard until he died in 1509Ivan III's eldest son, Ivan the Young, married Elena, daughter of Stephen the Great of Moldavia, on 12 January 1483. Their son Dmitry was born that October.azbyka.ru and 2 moreThe Soviet Union 1971 CPA 4069 stamp (Shah Diamond, 16th Century): USSR stamp: The Shah Diamond, 16th Century. Series: Diamond Fund1829 · Tehran, Iran; St Petersburg and Moscow, RussiaA Tehran mob killed Russia's envoy in 1829, and the Shah paid for it with a diamond carved with the names of three kingsThe Shah Diamond weighs 88.7 carats.gemdat.org and 3 moreAlexander III of Russia: Tsar Alexander III c. 18851825 · Taganrog, Russia; crisis in Saint Petersburg, RussiaAlexander I sealed his brother's renunciation of the throne in envelopes, Russia swore allegiance to the wrong heir, and the guards revoltedUnder Paul I's succession law, the heir after Alexander I was his next brother, Grand Duke Constantine, who commanded the army in Poland.ru.wikisource.org and 4 morePorträt der Praskovia Kovalyova-Zhemchugovalabel QS:Len,"Porträt der Praskovia Kovalyova-Zhemchugova": Portrait of Praskovia Kovalyova-Zhemchugova (1768-1803), Russian opera singer1803 · Saint Petersburg and Moscow, RussiaRussia's richest count married his serf actress in secret, she died weeks after their son's birth, and the boy inherited about 150,000 serfsPraskovia Kovaleva was born in 1768, the daughter of a serf blacksmith on the Sheremetev lands in Yaroslavl province. At seven she was taken to the family estate at Kuskovo and trained for its serf theatre.ru.wikisource.org and 5 moreCatherine the Great: Portrait of Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796)1796 · Saint Petersburg, RussiaCatherine the Great tried to pass over her son Paul for the throne, and Paul made a law that no ruler could choose an heir againOn 5 February 1722 Peter the Great made it law that the ruler could name any successor. Anna confirmed it in 1731 and Peter III in 1761.ru.wikisource.org and 2 moreTvorozhnikov: Vasily Mirovich Standing over the Body of Ivan VI at Schlusselburg Fortress1764 · Shlisselburg Fortress (Oreshek), Leningrad Oblast, RussiaRussia's infant emperor Ivan VI was deposed at 15 months, held prisoner for 23 years, and killed by his guards under standing orders in 1764Empress Anna of Russia named her great-nephew Ivan Antonovich her heir by manifesto in October 1740, when he was about eight weeks old. She died days later and the baby was proclaimed emperor, with Duke Biron as regent.Wikisource (primary text) and 3 moreБегство Кучума из города Кашлык: The conquest of Siberia by Yermak (1580—1585). The miniature depicts the fall of Qashliq to Yermak, and the flight of Khan Kuchum (23-25 October 151605 · Irmen River on the Ob, near Novosibirsk, RussiaSiberia's last khan lost his capital to Cossacks in 1582 and his family to Moscow in 1598; his descendants served the tsars as Princes SibirskyKuchum, a Shaybanid descendant of Genghis Khan, took the throne of the khanate of Sibir in 1563 from Yadegar, a vassal of Moscow. In October 1582 the Cossack Yermak captured his capital, Qashliq.sipec.aoyama.ac.jp and 2 moreTsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia (1552–1553): Facial Chronicle - b.21, p. 5051591 · Uglich, Yaroslavl Oblast, RussiaTsarevich Dmitry died at Uglich in 1591, a man using his name took the throne in 1605, and Moscow hanged his widow's small son in 1614Dmitry, son of Ivan IV and Maria Nagaya, was born on 19 October 1582. After Ivan's death he and his mother were sent to Uglich on 24 May 1584. He died there on 15 May 1591, aged 8.Wikisource (primary text) and 5 moreIvan the Terrible: Ivan grozny frame1581 · Aleksandrova Sloboda (Aleksandrov), Vladimir Oblast, RussiaIvan the Terrible struck his heir on the head in November 1581, and his dynasty ended with his surviving son in 1598Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich was born on 28 March 1554, the son of Ivan IV and his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna. Ivan IV's testament of about 1572 named him heir.ru.wikisource.org and 3 morePolish: Hołd pruski The Prussian Homagelabel QS:Lde,"Die Preußische Huldigung"label QS:Lfr,"L’hommage prussien"label QS:: Polish: Hołd pruski The Prussian Homagelabel QS:Lde,"Die P1568 · Kraków, Poland; Königsberg and Tapiau, Prussia (now KaliningOn Luther's advice the last Grand Master in Prussia dropped his vows in 1525, made the Order's state his hereditary duchy, and marriedAlbrecht of Brandenburg-Ansbach, a Hohenzollern, was elected Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in December 1510 and invested on 13 February 1511. In 1523 he asked Martin Luther for advice on the Order's statutes.deutsche-biographie.de and 2 moreTwin burial model - Sungir - Vladimir Palaty: Twin burial model. Sungir 2, 3.The building of the formet provincial administration – Palaty. Vladimir.32000 BCE · Sungir, near Vladimir, RussiaTwo disabled boys at Sungir were buried head to head with 10,000 ivory beads, and DNA showed they were not brothersSungir was found in 1955 in a clay pit near Vladimir and excavated over 16 seasons to 1977. It holds a man of about 40 and, in a second grave, two boys of about 10 and 12 laid head to head.cam.ac.uk and 3 morePanorama of Malbork Castle, part 4: Picture taken in Malbork after Wikimania 2010 conference. Panorama of Malbork Castle, Żuławy region, Poland.1467 · Marienburg (Malbork), Poland; Königsberg (Kaliningrad), RussThe Teutonic Knights could not pay their mercenaries, so the mercenaries sold the Order's capital, Marienburg, to the King of Poland in 1457Marienburg on the Nogat became the seat of the Teutonic Order on 14 September 1309, when Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen moved there. Ludwig von Erlichshausen was elected Grand Master on 21 March 1450.deutsche-biographie.de and 2 moreGutenberg Bible, New York Public Library, USA. Pic 01: Gutenberg Bible on display at the New York Public Library1455 · Mainz, Germany; Leipzig, Germany; Moscow, RussiaGutenberg's investor sued him in 1455 while the Bible was being printed, and Soviet officers carried one of the Bibles to Moscow in 1945Johannes Fust lent Johannes Gutenberg 800 gulden in 1449 and another 800 about four years later for their "work of books." Gutenberg printed the Bible between 1452 and 1454.gutenberg-gesellschaft.de and 2 moreChistyakovP SofVitovNaSvGRM: At the wedding of Vasilii the Dark Sofia Vitovtovna pulls the belt from Prince Vasilii Kosoi. Original title: see [1]1425 · Moscow, RussiaMoscow's grand prince was blinded by his cousin in 1446, after his mother tore a disputed gold belt from another cousin at his weddingDmitry Donskoy's will of 1389 left Vladimir and its land to his elder son Vasily I, and said that if Vasily died, Moscow and Vladimir would pass to the eldest of the other brothers.ru.wikisource.org and 3 moreYaropolk murder: Murder of Yaropolk972 · Kyiv and Ovruch, Ukraine; Novgorod, RussiaSviatoslav split Rus' among three sons, and within eight years one had died in battle with his brother and another was killed on the third brother's ordersYaropolk, son of Sviatoslav I, ruled Kyiv from 970. His brother Oleh held the Derevlian land and his half-brother Volodymyr held Novgorod. Sviatoslav died in 972, and Yaropolk became ruler of all Rus'.encyclopediaofukraine.com and 3 moreSiberian Ice Maiden inside her wooden sarcophagus (reconstruction, Anokhin Museum): Siberian Ice Maiden inside her wooden sarcophagus (reconstruction, Anokhin Museum)400 · Ukok Plateau, Altai Republic, RussiaArchaeologists flew the Ukok princess to Novosibirsk in 1993, the Altai people blamed her removal for an earthquake, and she came home to a museum mausoleum in 2012In summer 1993 a team from the Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences opened a frozen burial mound on the Ukok Plateau near the Mongolian border.culturalsurvival.org and 2 moreUthman Koran Taschkent a: A qur'an from the 9th century. It is an alleged 7th century original of the edition of the third caliph Uthman (see en:Uthman Qur'an) but this is disputedLegend · 656 · Samarkand and Tashkent, Uzbekistan; St Petersburg, Russia; UTradition says Caliph Uthman was killed while reading this Quran; Russia took it as a trophy, and Lenin gave it backTradition holds that Caliph Uthman ordered the standard text of the Quran and was killed in 656 while reading one of the copies. UNESCO's register repeats this tradition.cambridge.org and 3 more