Facts of the history of the 20th century. An interesting fact of military history. Gunner learning to be an air siren

Bactrians - two-humped camels, were pack animals, they were involved in many military campaigns of Russian troops across the Central Asian expanses. Historians know several cases of their use in the troops of those states in which the Bactrians were not at all.

According to historical facts, war camels, the so-called Bactrians, as animals created for riding, used in cavalry, were not often observed, they used dromedaries much more often. The Russian army of the 18th-19th centuries had this detachment in only a few units, consisting of only Kalmyks.

Bactrians - two-humped camels, were pack and draft animals, they were involved in many military campaigns of Russian troops across the Central Asian expanses. Historians know several cases of their use in the troops of those states in which the Bactrians were not at all.

At the turn of 1855, a batch of camels with one or two humps on their backs was brought to the United States for use in military skirmishes with tribes of local Indians. They created the Camel Corps, numbering at the end of its activity about 66 Bactrians, located in the small town of Camp Verde in Texas. However, the drovers did not gain popularity because of their wayward temper and because they scared the horses away with their presence.

When the civil war began, and Camp Verde was captured by the southerners, the Camel Corps finished its work, some of the camels were sold, the rest fled and became wild. Voentorg stopped providing troops consisting of these exotic animals, they went wild, they caught my eye until the beginning of the 20th century.

Bactrian camels as a traction force were often exploited in 1939 by the troops of the USSR and Mongolia during a clash with Japan near Khalkhin Gol. An interesting historical fact is that camels helped to ensure victory for the Soviet-Mongolian units because the Japanese automobile tractors were not so reliable and often fell into disrepair while the animals completely completed their tasks.

Adapted to life in the desert, they move perfectly across the sands without getting tired. Ordinary cavalry would have to carry not only provisions allocated by the military trade for the military, but also fodder for the cavalry, which would be difficult, given the conditions of the area. Camels, moreover, can do without food and water for quite a long time, and during the battle they served as "living fortresses", behind which the fighters took refuge, and from the height of their growth a beautiful panorama was opened for viewing the surrounding territories.

Today, the city of Akhtubinsk has a monument erected to two Bactrians, who made up a harness of weapons, which was one of the first to fire a shot at the Reich Chancellery.

Interesting historical facts beckon with their diversity. Thanks to them, humanity has a unique opportunity to understand what happened in a particular period of development of a nation, society and states. Facts from history are not only what we were told in school. There are many secrets from this area of ​​knowledge.

1. Peter the Great had his own method to fight alcoholism in the country. Drunkards were awarded medals, which weighed about 7 kilograms, and they could not be removed from oneself.

2. In the days of Ancient Rus', grasshoppers were called dragonflies.

3.The national anthem of Thailand was written by a Russian composer.

5. Those who urinated in the pond were executed during the time of Genghis Khan.

7. Braids were a sign of feudalism in China.

8. The virginity of English women in Tudor times was symbolized by bracelets on their hands and a tightly tightened corset.

9. Nero, who was emperor in Ancient Rome married his male slave.

10. In ancient times in India, mutilation of the ears was used as a punishment.

11. Arabic numerals were not invented by Arabs, but by mathematicians from India.

13. Foot binding was considered an ancient tradition of the Chinese people. The essence of this was to make the foot smaller, and therefore more feminine and beautiful.

14. Morphine was once used to reduce coughs.

15. The ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun's parents were a sister and a brother.

16. Gaius Julius Caesar had the nickname "boots".

17. Elizabeth the First covered her own face with white lead and vinegar. So she hid traces of smallpox.

18. The hat of Monomakh was the symbol of the Russian tsars.

19. Pre-revolutionary Russia was considered the most non-drinking country.

20. Until the 18th century, Russia did not have a flag.

21.Since November 1941, there was a tax on childlessness in the Soviet Union. It was 6% of the total salary.

22. Help in clearing objects during the Second World War was provided by trained dogs.

23. Virtually no earthquake was recorded during large-scale nuclear tests in 1960-1990.

24. For Hitler, the main enemy was not Stalin, but Yuri Levitan. He even announced a reward of 250,000 marks for his head.

25. In the Icelandic "Saga of Hakon Hakonarson" it was said about Alexander Nevsky.

26. Fist fights have long been famous in Rus'.

27. Catherine II abolished flogging for the military for same-sex contacts.

28. Only Joan of Dark managed to expel the invaders from France, who called herself the messenger of God.

29. The length of the Cossack gull, which we remember from the history of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, reached about 18 meters.

30. Genghis Khan defeated the Keraites, Merkits and Naimans.

31. By order of Emperor Augustus, in ancient Rome they did not build houses that were higher than 21 meters. This minimized the risk of being buried alive.

32. The Colosseum is considered the bloodiest place in history.

33. Alexander Nevsky had the military rank of "Khan".

34. In the days of the Russian Empire, it was allowed to carry edged weapons.

35. Soldiers in Napoleon's army addressed the generals as "you".

36. During the Roman war, soldiers lived in tents of 10 people.

37. Any touching of the emperor in Japan before World War II was blasphemy.

38. Boris and Gleb are the first Russian saints who were canonized in 1072.

39.In the Great Patriotic war a Red Army machine gunner with the name Semyon Konstantinovich Hitler, who was a Jew by nationality, participated.

40. In the old days in Rus', to clean pearls, they gave it to peck at a chicken. After that, the chicken was slaughtered, and the pearls were pulled out of her stomach.

41. From the very beginning, people who do not know how to speak Greek were called barbarians.

42. In pre-revolutionary Russia, name days for Orthodox people were a more important holiday than a birthday.

43. When England and Scotland came to an alliance, Great Britain was created.

44. After Alexander the Great brought cane sugar from one of his Indian campaigns to Greece, he immediately began to be called “Indian salt”.

45. In the 17th century, thermometers were filled not with mercury, but with cognac.

46. ​​The Aztecs invented the first condom in the world. It was made from a fish bladder.

47. In 1983, not a single human birth was registered in the Vatican.

48. From the 9th to the 16th century in England there was a law that every man should practice archery every day.

49. When the Winter Palace was stormed, only 6 people died.

50. About 13,500 houses were destroyed in the great and famous fire of London in 1666.

The Danish king Nils, who reigned from 1104-1134, had the smallest army ever in the world. It consisted of 7 people - his personal assistants. With this army, he ruled Denmark for 30 years, during which time Denmark also included large parts of Sweden and Norway, as well as some parts of northern Germany.

In England during the time of James I, in order to become a soldier, it was enough to drink a mug of beer at the expense of the king and take an advance payment from a recruiter - one shilling. The recruiters went around the pubs, treated them to beer, and at the bottom of the mug lay the said shilling. After a while, any Briton who was treated to a beer first looked at the mug for a long time in the light.

One of the worst embarrassments in world military history.
At the very beginning of the Spanish-American War (1898), the USS Charleston was ordered to capture the Spanish island of Guam. The operation was given only two days, given the road - nothing at all.

When the Americans approached the island, expecting desperate resistance, they fired 13 volleys at the Santa Luz fortress and waited.

The Spaniards' response was the highest degree unexpected. No cannon volleys and selective curses. Instead, they sent one small boat with an officer who politely asked to be allowed to board. The intrigued Americans gave permission.

Once on American soil, the Spaniard invited the Charleston to Guam in the most refined terms. Then he thanked for the salute that the American guests gave ... and was very sorry that they could not return the salute, because on the island, unfortunately, all the stocks of gunpowder were exhausted. But if the Americans would be so kind as to lend the islanders some gunpowder, they would be happy to greet the foreign ship properly.

It was one of the worst embarrassments in world military history. It turned out that Spain forgot to send a message to Guam that they were now at war. Therefore, on the island, by the way, they were not particularly worried about replenishing gunpowder.

German helmets on Soviet soldiers

Probably many have seen on the Internet a funny photo with the soldiers of the Red Army famously marching in German helmets.

According to the veteran of this division V.V. Voitsekhovich, in the first days after the Victory, the leadership of the regiment decided to hold a review.

Artillerymen of the 144th Rifle Regiment of the 49th Guards Rifle Division.
In the foreground is the artillery commander of the 144th Infantry Regiment Alexander Monakhov and two platoon commanders.

Medics of the 144th Rifle Regiment of the 49th Guards Rifle Division.
On the far left, the chief doctor of the regiment, Aserzon, in the center, the political officer of the division, Miralevich.

Review of the 144th Infantry Regiment of the 49th Guards Rifle Division.
At the head of the training company is its commander, a participant in the 1945 Victory Parade in Moscow, Vladimir Anfinogenov.

Command of the 144th Regiment of the 49th Guards Rifle Division.
The photo was taken in Austria in the first days after the Victory.

Officers of the 1st Battalion of the 144th Regiment of the 49th Guards Rifle Division.
Standing from left to right: Chekalov - battalion commander; deputy on drill; battalion chief of staff; battalion orderly.
Sit commanders of companies and platoons.

The command staff of the artillery of the 144th regiment of the 49th guards rifle division.
Standing from left to right: howitzer battery platoon commander; Monakhov - howitzer battery commander; Zhaglo - the head of the regiment's artillery.
Sitting commanders of batteries and platoons.

: a huge collection of facts , . And of course, much more. This time, in order not to get hung up on something specific, I want to present a selection of 27 interesting facts about the war.


Interesting fact №1 - Prior to World War II, blacks were not recruited into the United States Air Force (USAF).

Interesting fact #2 - During the First World War, the punishment for homosexuality in the French army was execution. If the offender was an officer, he was allowed to atone for his guilt in battle, but he must be killed.

Interesting fact #3 - Alexander the Great ordered the entire army to shave their beards and shave their heads. He believed that beards and long hair gave the enemy the opportunity to grab onto them and cut off their heads.

Interesting fact #4 - By the beginning of the First World War, the American air force consisted of 50 people.

Interesting fact #5 - Every third Englishman between the ages of 17 and 35 was killed in the First World War.

Interesting Fact #6 - Only eight people were killed at the Battle of Lexington.

Interesting fact #7 - Only 16% healthy men in the American colonies took part in the American Revolution.

Interesting Fact #8 - George Custer was the youngest American officer to become a general in the Allied Army. He received this rank at the age of 23.

Interesting Fact #9 - During the Civil War, Robert Edward Lee was asked to lead the federal troops before accepting the same post in the Confederate army.

Interesting fact #10 - In 1221, Genghis Khan killed 1,748,000 people in the city of Nishapur within an hour, after the inhabitants of the city bravely defended themselves from the invaders for four days.

Interesting fact #11 - The two largest military budgets are American (651.000.000.000 dollars) and Chinese (70.000.000.000 dollars)

Interesting fact #12 - During the First World War, the so-called Battle of the Somme took place, which lasted from June 24 to mid-November 1916. The result of this event was the displacement of the front line by 10 kilometers.

Interesting fact #13 - In 1928, the heads of the world's leading powers signed the Briand-Kellogg Pact on the renunciation of war as an instrument national policy. Violation of this pact was charged against Germany during the Nuremberg trials.

Interesting fact #14 - Over the past 3500 years, mankind has not fought for no more than 230 years

Interesting fact #15 - During the War of 1812, the Americans burned the city of Toronto and the British military destroyed Washington DC.

Interesting fact #16 - Food cards were not only in the USSR. In Britain, the abandonment of their use occurred only in 1954, nine years after the end of World War II.

Interesting fact #17 - During World War II, the United States did not declare war on two states that were actually allies of the Nazis - Thailand and Finland.

Interesting fact #18 - The only communist state, a member of the Warsaw Pact, which was attacked by its own ally - Czechoslovakia in 1968 during Operation Danube

Interesting fact #19 - All U.S. military rations include Tabasco sauce

Interesting fact #20 - Military personnel around the world salute with their right hand

Interesting fact #21 - During World War II, Japanese officers who died in action were promoted posthumously.

Interesting fact #22 - The door in the atomic launch shaft rocket launcher weighs over fifty tons

Interesting fact #23 - It is known that at least 92 atomic bombs were lost in the oceans

Interesting fact #24 - A soldier is not required to salute only if he is a prisoner

Interesting fact #25 - The secret code used by the Americans during the Cold War to activate cruise missile launches is 00000000 (eight zeros)

Interesting fact #26 - For at least five years american army did not recognize the invention of the flying machine by the Wright brothers

Interesting fact #27 - The US Air Force uses half of all the fuel that the government purchases for its own needs.

We offer an exciting selection. historical facts about Russia and Russian people. Informative and interesting:

The origin of the name of our country is unknown

Since ancient times, our country has been called Rus, but it is not known for certain where this name came from. But it is known how "Rus" turned into "Russia" - this happened thanks to the Byzantines, who pronounced the word "Rus" in their own way.

After the collapse of Rus', its individual regions began to be called Little Rus', White Rus' and Great Rus', or Little Russia, Belarus and Great Russia. It was believed that only all these parts together make up Russia. But after the revolution of 1917 and the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, Little Russia began to be called Ukraine, and Great Russia - Russia.

In Rus', grasshoppers were called dragonflies.

A long time ago, in the time of Rus', grasshoppers were indeed called dragonflies, but this name does not in any way directly refer to the flying insect dragonfly, the grasshopper got the name "dragonfly" because of the sounds it made, which sounded like a chirp or click.

Foreign invaders only once managed to conquer Russia

Many tried to conquer Russia, and these attempts repeatedly failed. Only the Mongols were able to conquer Rus', and this happened in the 13th century. The reason for this was that Rus' at that time was divided into many principalities, and the Russian princes could not unite and jointly repel the conquerors. From then to this day, it is the stupidity and greed of the rulers, internal conflicts were and remain the main source of problems for our country.

Corporal punishment in Russia

August 11, old style (24 new) 1904 in the Russian Empire was canceled Physical punishment for peasants and young artisans. It was the last social group, for which different kinds physical impact. A little earlier, in June of the same year, corporal punishment was abolished in the navy and army.

Corporal punishment fell into three broad categories:

1) mutilating (mutilating) - depriving a person of any part of the body or damaging it (blindness, cutting out the tongue, cutting off an arm, leg or fingers, cutting off ears, nose or lips, castration);

2) painful - causing physical suffering by beating with various tools (whips, whips, batogs (sticks), gauntlets, rods, cats, molts);

3) shameful (disgraceful) - highest value has the disgrace of the punished (for example, exhibiting at the pillory, branding, imposing shackles, shaving the head).

The upper strata of the population were anxious about the prohibition of corporal punishment. In July 1877, the St. Petersburg mayor Trepov, in violation of the law of 1863, ordered the political prisoner Bogolyubov to be whipped with rods. The educated Bogolyubov went mad and died from such an insult, and the famous Vera Zasulich avenged him by seriously injuring Trepov. The court acquitted Zasulich.

Official Soviet pedagogy since 1917 considered corporal punishment of children unacceptable. They were banned in all types of educational institutions, but in the family they remained a common occurrence. In 1988, the journalist Filippov conducted an anonymous survey of 7,500 children from 9 to 15 years old in 15 cities of the USSR, 60% admitted that their parents used corporal punishment on them.

Cuban Missile Crisis and Black Saturday

What we call the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Americans call the Cuban Crisis, and the Cubans themselves call the October Crisis. But the whole world calls the most important day in the Caribbean crisis one name - "Black Saturday" (October 27, 1962) - the day when the world was closest to a global nuclear war.

Russia has repeatedly helped the United States in its formation and strengthening

If not for Russia, the United States would not have arisen at all, let alone become a superpower. During the war of independence with England, the English king repeatedly turned to Russia for help in suppressing the uprising. Russia, however, not only did not help, but also founded a league of armed neutrality, which was soon joined by other countries that traded with the United States despite the protests of England. During civil war in the USA, Russia actively supported the northerners, sending squadrons to New York and San Francisco, while England and France wanted the US to disintegrate and took the side of the southerners. Finally, Russia ceded to the United States California and the Hawaiian Islands, where it had colonies, and then sold the United States and Alaska for a ridiculous price. However, in the 20th century, the United States, having become a world power, responded to Russia with black ingratitude.

The USSR could have easily won the Cold War

After the end of World War II, two superpowers remained in the world that clashed in a global confrontation - the USA and the USSR. Despite the worst starting conditions, the USSR in the 60s in many respects pulled ahead, and many believed that it would win in the fight against the capitalists. In the 70s, the capitalist world was struck by a severe crisis provoked by rising oil prices, and the US economy was on the verge of collapse. However, the Soviet leadership not only did not take advantage of the situation, but, on the contrary, actually saved its enemy by signing disarmament agreements and agreeing to sell oil for dollars. The United States, on the contrary, relied on the collapse of the USSR and victory in cold war, which, in the end, they were able to achieve 20 years later, with the complicity of traitors among the Soviet leadership.

The first Japanese in Russia

The first Japanese who came to Russia was Denbei, the son of a merchant from Osaka. His ship was nailed to the shores of Kamchatka in 1695. In 1701 he reached Moscow.

In the winter of 1702, after an audience on January 8 with Peter I in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, Denbey received an order to become a translator and teacher of the Japanese language in the Artillery Order. Denbey personally told what he could to Peter I about Japan and thus gave impetus to Russian efforts to explore Kamchatka and the Kuriles and attempts to open trade with Japan.

Since 1707, Denbey lived at the palace of the prince and at one time the governor of the Siberian province, Matvey Gagarin. It is known that at the insistence of an associate of Peter I, Jacob Bruce, Denbey was baptized and took the name Gabriel Bogdanov (which blocked his way back to Japan, where Christianity was forbidden). The school of translators from Japanese founded by him operated in Moscow until 1739, after which it was transferred to Irkutsk, where it existed until 1816.

Prior to Denbey, only one Japanese is known in Russia. During the reign of Boris Godunov, a Japanese of the Christian faith visited Russia. He was a young Catholic from Manila, who, together with his spiritual mentor Nicholas Melo of the Order of St. Augustine, traveled to Rome along the route Manila - India - Persia - Russia. But the Time of Troubles turned out to be tragic for them: they were captured by foreign Catholics, and Tsar Boris Godunov exiled them to the Solovetsky Monastery. After six years of exile, he was executed as a supporter of False Dmitry I in 1611 in Nizhny Novgorod. In Russia, he was considered an Indian, not a Japanese.

Favorite commander of Catherine II

Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov was a favorite of Empress Catherine. She celebrated and showered awards on the Russian Macedonian, and he happened to allow himself what was unacceptable to others, knowing in advance that Catherine would always forgive any trick or eccentricities of the great commander. Here are some interesting cases:

Once, at a court ball, Catherine decided to pay attention to Suvorov and asked him:
- What to treat dear guest? - Bless, queen, vodka! “But what will my ladies-in-waiting say when they talk to you?” “They will feel that a soldier is talking to them!”

Once, in a conversation, the empress said that she planned to send Suvorov to serve in Finland in the future. Suvorov bowed to the Empress, kissed her hand and returned home. Then he got into the mail coach and left for Vyborg, from where he sent a message to Catherine: “I am waiting, mother, for your further commands.”

It is known that Suvorov dressed very lightly even in severe frosts. Catherine II gave Suvorov a fur coat and ordered him to wear it. What to do? Suvorov began to carry the donated fur coat with him everywhere, but he kept it on his knees.

After the pacification of the Poles in 1794, Suvorov sent a messenger with a message. The “message” is the following: “Hurrah! Warsaw is ours! Catherine's response: "Hurrah! Field Marshal Suvorov! And this is at the time of lengthy reports about the capture of cities. How did you send an SMS. But, nevertheless, he failed to surpass Field Marshal Saltykov in lapidarity, who, after the battle with the Prussians at Kunersdorf during the Seven Years' War, simply sent the hat of the Prussian king found on the battlefield to St. Petersburg.

Kutuzov is not a pirate, he does not need an eye patch!

In recent years, images of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in 1812, Field Marshal His Serene Highness Prince M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, with a bandage over his right eye, began to be massively replicated. The "one-eyed" Kutuzov can be seen on the covers of books and magazines, in the paintings of contemporary artists and on various souvenirs, as well as on busts and monuments.

Such images do not correspond to historical accuracy, since Kutuzov never wore eye patches. There is not a single memoir or epistolary evidence of Kutuzov's contemporaries describing a field marshal with a bandage over his right eye. Moreover, Kutuzov did not need to hide his eye under a bandage, since he saw with this eye, although not as well as with his left.

“Fate appoints Kutuzov to something great,” Masso, the chief surgeon of the Russian army, said with amazement, who examined Kutuzov’s “mortal wound” in the head in 1788 near Ochakovo. The bullet passed right through from temple to temple behind both eyes. The verdict of the doctors was unequivocal - death, but Kutuzov not only did not die, but did not even lose his sight, although his right eye was a little skewed. The surprise of doctors and the whole world that Kutuzov remained alive and after 6 months was again in the ranks was boundless, like 14 years before, when he was first "mortally wounded." In 1774, near Alushta, as well as near Ochakov, Kutuzov was wounded in the head, and the bullet passed almost in the same place. Then doctors all over Europe considered Kutuzov's recovery a miracle, and many believed that the news of the general's injury and cure was a fairy tale, because. it was impossible to survive after such a wound.

Actually, in early XIX V. it was not customary to wear an eye patch after the wound had healed (even if the eye was completely absent). For the first time, the "one-eyed" Kutuzov appeared in 1944 in the feature film "Kutuzov". Then the bandage on Kutuzov's right eye was put on by the directors of the musical comedy film "Hussar Ballad" (1962) and the performance of the same name (1964) and ballet (1979).

The image of Kutuzov, brilliantly played by Igor Ilyinsky, gave rise to a stable legend that Kutuzov wore a patch on his injured eye. The replication of this legend in recent years has taken on such a massive character that it has begun to lead to a distortion of historical reality.

Jesters of Empress Anna Ioannovna

Niece of Peter I Russian Empire 10 years. The stern disposition of the Russian landowner did not prevent her from having fun.

It is known that Empress Anna Ioannovna was very fond of jesters and dwarfs. There were six of them at her court. Three of them were demoted aristocrats. So, she forced princes Mikhail Golitsyn and Nikita Volkonsky, as well as Count Alexei Apraksin, to play the role of a jester. The illustrious clowns were supposed to grimace in the presence of the empress, sit on top of each other and beat with their fists until they bleed or portray brood hens and cackle. IN Last year of her reign, the empress arranged the wedding of her jesters - the 50-year-old Prince Golitsyn and the ugly Kalmyk girl Anna Buzheninova, who received her last name in honor of the empress's favorite dish. Representatives of different nationalities of both sexes were discharged from all over the country to participate in wedding celebrations: Russians, Tatars, Mordvins, Chuvashs, etc. They were supposed to dress up in their national clothes and have musical instruments. It was winter. By order of Anna Ioannovna, an ice House was built on the Neva, in which everything - walls, doors, windows, furniture, utensils - was made of ice. This is where the wedding ceremony took place. Numerous candles were burning in ice candlesticks, and even the marriage bed for the "young" was arranged on an ice bed.

Peter I and guards

In winter, slingshots were placed on the Neva, so that after dark they would not let anyone into or out of the city. Once, Emperor Peter I decided to check the guards himself. He drove up to one of the sentries, pretended to be a spree merchant and asked to be let through, offering money for the pass. The sentry refused to let him through, although Peter had already reached 10 rubles, a very significant amount at that time. The sentry, seeing such stubbornness, threatened that he would be forced to shoot him.

Peter left and went to another sentry. The same one let Peter in for 2 rubles.

The next day, an order was announced for the regiment: hang the corrupt sentry, and drill the rubles he received and hang it around his neck.

Promote a conscientious sentry to corporal and welcome him with ten rubles.

Thai national anthem

The Thai national anthem was written in 1902 by the Russian composer Pyotr Shchurovsky.

Nicholas I gave his officers the choice between a guardhouse and listening to Glinka's operas as punishment.

On November 27, 1842, the first performance of M. I. Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" took place, which brought a number of sensitive sorrows to the author. The public and high society did not like the opera, Emperor Nicholas I defiantly left after Act IV, without waiting for the end. He did not like the music of the opera so much that he ordered the offending officers of the capital to choose between the guardhouse and listening to Glinka's music as a punishment. So the emperor additionally expressed his displeasure with the composer's work. Such were the customs, alas. Thank God that Nikolai himself did not send the composer to the guardhouse.

"Thank God you are Russian"

In 1826, a “Russian contemporary” described the appearance of the sovereign, Emperor Nicholas I: “Tall, lean, had a wide chest ... a quick look, a sonorous voice, suitable for a tenor, but spoke somewhat patteringly ... Some kind of genuine severity was visible in the movements” .

"Genuine severity" ... When he commanded the troops, he never shouted. There was no need for this - the king's voice could be heard a mile away; tall grenadiers looked just like children next to him. Nikolai led an ascetic life, but if we talk about the luxury of the court, magnificent receptions, they stunned everyone, especially foreigners. This was done in order to emphasize the status of Russia, which the sovereign cared about incessantly.

General Pyotr Daragan recalled how, in the presence of Nikolai Pavlovich, he spoke French, grazing. Nikolai, suddenly making an exaggeratedly serious face, began to repeat every word after him, which brought his wife to a fit of laughter. Daragan, crimson with shame, ran out into the waiting room, where Nikolai caught up with him and, kissing him, explained: “Why are you burring? No one will take you for a Frenchman; thank God that you are Russian, and monkeying is no good.”