Russia's great power status obscured the inefficiency of its government, the isolation of its people, and its economic backwardness.

The Ottoman empire defeated the Russian army in the Pruth River Campaign, but the peace treaty was in the end without great consequence to Russia's position.

His wish to marry Tsar Alexander I of Russia's sister, Grand Duchess Anna, caused alarm in Austria, who were afraid of being sandwiched between two great powers allied with each other.

* Corin Redgrave: A great actor, held prisoner by Russia's dirty war, The Independent, 2 November 2002

Kerensky declared freedom of speech, released thousands of political prisoners and did his best to maintain Russian involvement in World War I, but he faced numerous challenges, most of them related to the war: there were some very heavy military losses still being experienced out on the front ; dissatisfied soldiers were deserting in larger numbers than before ( although, when they got back home, they were generally either imprisoned or sent to the front once more ); other political groups were doing their utmost to undermine him ; there was a strong movement in favour of stopping Russia's involvement in the war, which was seen to be draining the country, and many who had initially supported it now wanted out ; there was a great shortage of food and supplies, which was very difficult to remedy in wartime conditions.

* Sibir Khanate ( giving its name to Siberia as the first significant conquest during Russia's great eastern expansion across the Ural range ) * Sibirean Khanate ( giving its name to Siberia as the first significant conquest during Russia's great eastern expansion across the Ural range )

However the RMS founded Russia's first Conservatories in St Petersburg and in Moscow: the former trained the great Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( 1840 – 93 ), best known for ballets like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.

He also translated the works of some of the great poets, Russia's Lermontov and Pushkin ; Germany's Goethe and Heine ; and America's Longfellow.

This version was played on Russian radio stations to promote the release and got great reviews by Bon Jovi fans, but Olivia's version appeared on the Russian CD due to Universal Music Russia's decision.

Co-opting Russian nationalism, he attacked the infiltration of Western ideals into Russian society and portrayed Russia as a great nation that had been dismantled from within by traitors in cahoots with Western capitalists who sought the dissolution of Soviet power in order to exploit Russia's boundless resources.

* Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation ( 30 July 1999 )-for his great personal contribution to a political settlement between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO, consistent defense of Russia's position in the Balkans

Robert Vincent Daniels in his book, Russia's Transformation: Snapshots of a Crumbling System, claimed that the hallmark of the Brezhnev era was the status quo, which in turn led to the development of a great paradox ; " the contradictions of what it was and what it could be became obvious ".

" Griswold concludes by arguing that Stiglitz " distorts the history of the East Asian Miracle ", while with Russian privatization he " ignores the fact that Russia's initial reforms were timid and half baked " and that the IMF with its beliefs in bail outs and non-market exchange rates is not the " great symbol of market fundamentalism ".

Before and after Phase One, a great deal of Russia's space finances came from flights of astronauts from Europe and other countries, with one Japanese TV station paying $ 9. 5 million to have one of their reporters, Toyohiro Akiyama, flown aboard Mir.

On his return from Siberia in 1917, Chernyi enjoyed great popularity among Moscow workers as a lecturer, and was at this time one of Russia's leading individualist anarchists and one of anarchism's main ideologues.

Yury Golovkin, Russia's first ambassador to China, was his great grandson.

The great majority of Imperial Russia's and the Soviet Union's most outstanding naval officers and admiralty leadership are graduates of this school.

Ivan Afanasyevich Dmitrevsky () ( February 28, 1734, Yaroslavl-October 27, 1821, Saint Petersburg ) is generally regarded as the most influential actor of Russian Neoclassicism and " Russia's first great tragedian ".

* The first McDonald's restaurant opens in Moscow in 1990 with then-President of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR and future Russian President Boris Yeltsin attending, symbolizing Russia's transition towards a capitalist free market economy and a move towards adopting elements of western culture.

Russia's culture was a very lively and rough experiments to live in at some points.

Byzantine Empire heavily influenced Russian culture with the construction of cathedrals but Russia's size let pagan practices last for several centuries in rebellious principalities.

However, this project never gained much support ; many boyars feared that the union with the predominantly Catholic Poland – Lithuania would endanger Russia's Orthodox traditions and opposed anything that threatened the Russian culture, especially the policies aimed at curtailing the influence of the Orthodox Church, intermarriage and education in Polish schools that has already led to Polonization of the Ruthenian lands under Polish control.

In order to contain Russia's influence, he launched an invasion of Afghanistan and signed the Cyprus Convention with Turkey, whereby this strategically placed island was handed over to Britain.

This development outraged Austria-Hungary, who was Russia's chief competitor for influence in the Balkan region ( despite being an ally of the Russians and the Germans in the Three Emperors ' League ).

The bill also furthered Finnish independence by restricting Russia's influence on domestic Finnish affairs: the Provisional Government of Russia would determine only the foreign and military policies of Finland.

At the end of the conservative reign of Nicolas I ( 1825 – 55 ) a zenith period of Russia's power and influence in Europe was disrupted by defeat in the Crimean War.

High oil prices and initially weak currency followed by increasing domestic demand, consumption and investments has helped the economy grow for nine straight years, improving the standard of living and increasing Russia's influence on the world stage.

He was firmly against Korea falling into China or Russia's sphere of influence, which would cause a grave threat to Japan's national security.

As a direct result of the Russo-Japanese War ( 1904 / 05 ) Japanese influence replaced Russia's in Inner Manchuria.

The rise of Japan as an Asian power provoked Russia's anxiety, especially in light of expanding Japanese influence in Korea.

Napoleon's challenge to Russia's efforts to influence in the Ottoman Empire led to France's successful participation in the Crimean War ( 1854 – 1856 ).

More often, however, Kantemir indirectly praised Peter's influence through his satiric criticism of Russia's “ superficiality and obscurantism ,” which he saw as manifestations of the backwardness Peter attempted to correct through his reforms.

In addition, wealthy Greek phanariote aristocratic clans, which largely controlled Russia's Black Sea trade, had substantial political and commercial influence in Russia.

He worked furiously to prevent Russia's Tsar Alexander I ( who aided the liberal forces in Germany, Italy and France ) from gaining influence in Europe.

Fear of Russia's centuries-old southward expansion was a further factor in British policy: in 1878, Britain took control of Cyprus as a base for action against a Russian attack on the Ottoman Empire, and invaded Afghanistan to forestall an increase in Russian influence there.

Napoleon III's challenge to Russia's claims to influence in the Ottoman Empire led to France's successful participation in the Crimean War ( March 1854 – March 1856 ).

Though his work was largely ignored by the official Soviet cultural establishment, he achieved remarkable fame during his lifetime, and to this day exerts significant influence on many of Russia's popular musicians and actors who wish to emulate his iconic status.

Professor Landsbergis is a fierce critic of Russia's intentions to impose any kind of influence on the Baltic States and publicly questions Russia's actions vis a vis the Baltic States on both local and international media, as well as in the European Parliament.

Nesselrode's efforts to expand Russia's influence in the Balkans and Mediterranean led to conflicts with Turkey, Britain, the then Kingdom of Sardinia, the then Duchy of Savoy and France, allied in the Crimean War ( 1853 – 1856 ).

Britain and France were concerned by Russia's growing influence and were determined to support Turkey and so restrict Russia.

In the sphere of practical politics he exercised considerable influence by inspiring and encouraging the Russification policy of Alexander III, which found expression in an administrative nationalist propaganda and led to Tsarist Russia's most elaborately justified and most thoroughly carried-out programs of religious persecution, largely centered upon Russia's Jews.

The Quadruple Alliance, confirmed by a number of international conferences, ensured Russia's influence in Europe.

By 1895 Germany was competing with France for Russia's favour, and British statesmen hoped to negotiate with the Russians to demarcate spheres of influence in Asia.

Britain was to acquire the middle zone of Persia and share much of the Arab Middle East with France ; Italy — not Russia's ally Serbia — was to acquire Dalmatia along the Adriatic coast ; Japan, another ally of the entente, was to control more territory in China ; and France was to regain Alsace-Lorraine, which it had lost to Germany in the Franco-Prussian War, and to have increased influence in western Germany.