Grand Duchy of FinlandThe Grand Duchy of Finland, also translated as Grand Principality of Finland, was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed between 1809 and 1917 as an autonomous state within the former Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the King of Sweden, the country became autonomous after its annexation by Russia in the Finnish War of 1808–1809. The Grand Duke of Finland was the Romanov Emperor of Russia, represented by the Governor-General.
BoyarA boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were second only to the ruling princes, grand princes or tsars from the 10th to the 17th centuries. Also known as bolyar; variants in other languages include боляр or болярин; boyarin, bɐˈjærjɪn, ; boier, boˈjer; and βογιάρος.
Duchy of Courland and SemigalliaThe Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was a duchy in the Baltic region, then known as Livonia, that existed from 1561 to 1569 as a nominally vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently made part of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom from 1569 to 1726 and incorporated into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1726.
NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. He was the leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then of the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again in 1815. Napoleon's political and cultural legacy endures as a celebrated and controversial leader.
Narodnaya VolyaNarodnaya Volya (Наро́дная во́ля) was a late 19th-century revolutionary socialist political organization and left-wing terrorist group operating in the Russian Empire, which conducted assassinations of government officials in an attempt to overthrow the autocratic Tsarist system. The organization declared itself to be a populist movement that succeeded the Narodniks. Composed primarily of young revolutionary socialist intellectuals believing in the efficacy of terrorism, Narodnaya Volya emerged in Autumn 1879 from the split of an earlier revolutionary organization called Zemlya i Volya ("Land and Liberty").
Battle of MukdenThe Battle of Mukden, one of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I and the last and the most decisive major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden in Manchuria. The city is now called Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province in China. Involving 610,000 combat participants and 164,000 combatant casualties, it was the largest modern-era battle fought prior to World War I, and possibly the largest battle in world history at that point.
Almanach de GothaThe Almanach de Gotha (Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published in 1763 by C.W. Ettinger in Gotha in Thuringia, Germany at the ducal court of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, it came to be regarded as an authority in the classification of monarchies and their courts, reigning and former dynasties, princely and ducal families, and the genealogical, biographical and titulary details of Europe's highest level of aristocracy.
BarysawBarysaw or Borisov (Барысаў, baˈrɨsaw; Борисов, bɐˈrjisəf) is a city in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Barysaw District. It is located on the Berezina River and north-east from Minsk. As of 2023, it has a population of 136,409. Barysaw is first mentioned in the Laurentian Codex as being founded (as Borisov) in 1102 by the Prince of Polotsk Rogvolod Vseslavich, who had the baptismal name of Boris. During the next two centuries, it was burned and then rebuilt south of where it was before.
Battle of UlmThe Battle of Ulm on 16–19 October 1805 was a series of skirmishes, at the end of the Ulm Campaign, which allowed Napoleon I to trap an entire Austrian army under the command of Karl Freiherr Mack von Leiberich with minimal losses and to force its surrender near Ulm in the Electorate of Bavaria. In 1805, the United Kingdom, the Austrian Empire, Sweden, and the Russian Empire formed the Third Coalition to overthrow the French Empire. When Bavaria sided with Napoleon, the Austrians, 72,000 strong under Mack, prematurely invaded while the Russians were still marching through Poland.
Assassination of Archduke Franz FerdinandThe assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is considered one of the key events that led to World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range while being driven through Sarajevo, the provincial capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, formally annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908.
