Archive for August, 2015

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The best pictures of Soviet cosmonauts

Posted in Aerospace, Aviation, Best pictures, Famous news stories, Historical articles, History, Science, Space, Technology, Travel on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of Soviet cosmonauts show four famous figures in the history of space exploration.
The first picture is of Yuri Gagarin.

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Yuri Gagarin by Wilf Hardy

The second picture is of Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov who made the first space walk, a 12-minute extra-capsule adventure.

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Alexey Leonov making the first space walk by Wilf Hardy

The third picture is of Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman into space, her husband Andrian Nikolayev, and Vostock 6.

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Valentina Tereshkova was the first female cosmonaut in space and circumnavigated earth in Vostok 6. Also inset is her husband, Andrian Nikolayev, who flew in Vostok 3. Picture by Robert Brook

Many more pictures of space can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of great Soviet composers

Posted in Best pictures, Communism, Famous Composers, Historical articles, History, Music on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of great Soviet composers show three giants of twentieth-century Russian music during the Soviet era.
The first picture is of Dmitri Shostakovich, whose Seventh Symphony, the “Leningrad”, was composed during the Siege of Leningrad.

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Portrait of Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer and pianist

The second picture is a photograph of Nikolai Myaskovsky, the ‘father of the Russian symphony’, who composed twenty-seven symphonies.

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Nikolai Myaskovsky

The third picture is of Sergei Prokofiev, the finest ballet composer since Tchaikovsky and one of the greatest of twentieth-century symphonists.

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Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer, pianist and conductor

Many more pictures of composers can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of the Siege of Leningrad

Posted in Best pictures, Communism, Famous battles, Historical articles, History, War, World War 2 on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of this terrible siege show scenes from what remains one of the greatest war crimes against a civilian population during wartime. The Siege of Leningrad lasted from September 1941 to January 1944 and claimed well over two million lives.
The first picture shows the German army fighting the Soviet army in Leningrad.

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The German army fighting the Soviet army in the Peterhof Gardens in Leningrad, October 1941 by Achille Beltrame

The second picture shows a train bringing relief to the besieged city of Leningrad.

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A Russian train brings supplies to Leningrad after two years of siege in World War II

The third picture shows German prisoners taken by the Red Army.

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The frostbitten survivors amongst the German troops who laid siege to Leningrad eventually surrendered to the Russians

Many more pictures of the Second World War can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of the Battle of Stalingrad

Posted in Best pictures, Communism, Famous battles, Historical articles, History, War, World War 2 on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of the Battle of Stalingrad show various scenes from this titanic struggle between the Red Army and the German invaders in 1942.
The first picture shows German tanks entering Stalingrad.

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"It seemed like the end when the German tanks entered Stalingrad. But it was only the beginning.".

The second picture shows the intense hand-to-hand fighting in the bombed-out buildings and streets of Stalingrad which lasted for three months.

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Savage and bitter hand-to-hand fighting during the defence of Stalingrad by Dan Escott

The third picture shows the defeated German army in retreat after the Battle of Stalingrad.

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German soldiers after the battle of Stalingrad by Severino Baraldi

Many more pictures of the Second World War can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Stalin

Posted in Best pictures, Communism, Famous battles, Historical articles, History, Politics, Revolution, World War 2 on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of Stalin show the self-possession of this small-town provincial Georgian who became a ruthless dictator and mass-murderer.
The first picture shows a young Joseph Stalin.

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Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), Soviet Bolshevik leader

The second picture shows Stalin during the Second World War discussing strategy with Zhukov, the General who never lost a battle.

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General Georgi Zhukov arguing with Stalin about military tactics by Severino Baraldi

The third picture is a portrait of Stalin.

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Marshal Stalin by Dan Escott

Many more pictures of Communists and Communism can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Red Square, Moscow

Posted in Architecture, Best pictures, Communism, Dance, Famous landmarks, Historical articles, History, Politics on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of Red Square show spectacular images of Moscow’s most famous public space.
The first picture is a bird’s-eye view of Red Square.

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Red Square, Moscow

The second picture shows the Communist Party’s traditional May Day parade in Red Square.

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May Day in Red Square, Moscow. Missiles are on display while Soviet gymnasts form letters to create the word LENIN

The third picture shows Russian State Cossack Dancers in Red Square.

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Russian State Cossack Dancers in Red Square

Many more pictures of Moscow can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Trotsky

Posted in Best pictures, Communism, Famous crimes, Famous news stories, Historical articles, History, Politics, Revolution on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of Trotsky show the revolutionary, his unsuspecting welcome to the murderer and his assassination.
The first picture shows Trotsky in the 1905 Revolution.

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Trotsky was a prominent figure in the "first Russian Revolution" of 1905

The second picture shows Trotsky greeting his assassin, Ramon Mercader.

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Trotsky was feeding his pet rabbits when Ramon Mercader, the man he thought was his friend and supporter, came to kill him

The third picture shows the assassination of Trotsky in Mexico.

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The End of an Exile. (Top) Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky and Ramon Mercader; (main pic) As Trotsky sat reading, Mercader took an ice pick and raised it murderously above his head

Many more pictures of political assassinations can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Lenin

Posted in Best pictures, Communism, Historical articles, History, Politics, Revolution on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of Lenin show Soviet propaganda as well as the Russian revolutionary communist planning the Revolution.
The first picture shows Lenin and his supporters at a secret meeting.

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Lenin takes control of the Russian Revolution by John Keay

The second picture shows a powerful Soviet propaganda portrait of Lenin.

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Lenin (1870-1924), Russian Bolshevik revolutionary

The third picture shows a disguised Lenin being challenged by a Provisional Government soldier in Petrograd.

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Lenin disguised himself with a brown wig and wrapped a bandage around his face to escape arrest in Petrograd during August 1917

Many more pictures of the Russian Revolution can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of the murder of the Romanovs at Ekaterinburg

Posted in Best pictures, Famous crimes, Famous news stories, Historical articles, History, Prehistory, Revolution, Royalty on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of the final days of the Romanovs during the Russian Revolution are images of this doomed royal family as well as its dynasty.
The first picture shows the royal family after their arrest.

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Tsar Nicholas II and his family were put under close arrest in August 1917 by Richard Hook

The second picture shows the murder of the Russian royal family.

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Tsar Nicholas II with this family at Ekaterinburg moments before their murder by the Bolsheviks, by Neville Dear

The third picture shows the legendary Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, best known as
Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II, believed by some to have escaped from the murder scene.

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Did Anastasia die? The woman who claimed to be Anastasia told how two of the soldiers took pity on her and smuggled her out of Russia

Many more pictures of the Russian Revolution can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Czar Nicholas II of Russia

Posted in Best pictures, Historical articles, History, Politics, Revolution, Royalty on Monday, 31 August 2015

The best pictures of Czar Nicholas II of Russia are formal portraits of the last of the Romanovs.
The first picture is a head and shoulders portrait of Nicholas II.

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Czar Nicholas II

The second picture is a fine portrait of Nicholas II.

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Portrait of Tzar Nicolas II, by Matzkewitsch

The third picture is a Vanity Fair cartoon.

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HIM The Czar Nicholas II KG, The little father, 21 October 1897, Vanity Fair cartoon by Jean Baptiste Guth

Many more pictures of the Romanovs can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.