Some facts about Russia..

Since I have to study for my Russian exam, I thought: Why not write about Russia's history on here?
I bet there are some things you've always wondered about...for example:

Saint Peterburg- Stalingrad- Leningrad - Petrograd- Wolgograd....5 different cities?

Actually these names describe only 2 cities. Saint Peterburg used to be called "Petrograd" from 1914- 1924. This was because they wanted to be less European and change the name "Peterburg" to a more Russian version. "Grad" ("Град") is the Russian word for "Berg",which again is the german word for "mountain." In 1924 after Lenin had died, they changed the name to "Leningrad" in order to honor him. The funny thing about that is that Stalin and Lenin had always been enemies. Lenin followed the actualy theories of Karl Marx, while Stalin changed these ideas to his own benefits. The fight between them ended with Lenin's death, and as Stalin saw how much Lenin had influenced the public he decided to use this admiration for Lenin. He gave speeches about him, had his body preserved so that Russians could come and see him (btw. you can still do this today in Moskow), and namend Peterburg after him.

From 1925 (one year after Lenin's death!) until 1961, Wolgograd was called "Stalingrad" in order to honor Stalin. In 1961, Chruschtschow, who wanted to reverse everything bad that had happened under Stalin, renamed the city "Wolgograd."

Czardom, empire, USSR, Russia

From 1547 - 1721 Russia was czardom. It had been ruled by czars who had hardly any contact to Europe.
In 1721, Peter the Great decided to call himself not "czar" but "emperor". Peter had been traveling through Europe all his life, and was fascinated (even a bit obsessed) by it. He founded the city Saint Peterburg, which was built in a very European style. He hated the old orthodox Russian church, the old Russian aristocracy and the Russian's original architectural style. So he also wanted to change the whole system of ruling his country. He wanted Russia to become more modern...more European. That's how the czardom became the empire.
In 1917 during the revolution of February the emperors were first deported and later killed by the Bolsheviks. This was the end of the Russian czardom and the first steps to a newly formed government - "the USSR")
From 1921 to 1991 Russia was part and head of the Soviet Union. Russians lived through periods of great economic success, stagnation, censorship, freedom of speech....through ups and downs. Some presidents wanted to reverse everything bad Stalin had done; others wanted to step into his shoes and rule like a dictator. Gorbachev was the last president of the Soviet Union. While he is celebrated in the West, he is condemned in Russia. According to Russians, the great economic crisis after the breakdown of the Soviet Union was his fault. Many believe that the Soviet Union should have never stopped existing and that everything got worse after the breakdown.