Soviet (council)Soviets (singular: soviet; sovét, sɐˈvjet, literally "council" in English) were political organizations and governmental bodies of the former Russian Empire, primarily associated with the Russian Revolution, which gave the name to the latter state of the Soviet Union. Soviets were the main form of government in the Russian SFSR, the Makhnovshchina, and to a much lesser extent were active in the Russian Provisional Government. It could also refer to any workers' council that is socialist, such as the Irish soviets.
OstashkovOstashkov (Оста́шков) is a town and the administrative center of Ostashkovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, on a peninsula at the southern shore of Lake Seliger, west of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: The island of Klichen was first mentioned in a letter sent by Grand Duke Algirdas of Lithuania to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1371. After the island was pillaged by Novgorod pirates several years later, two of Klichen's surviving inhabitants, Ostashko and Timofey, moved to the mainland, where they founded the villages Ostashkovo and Timofeyevo, respectively.
Volga trade routeIn the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route connected Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea and the Sasanian Empire, via the Volga River. The Rus used this route to trade with Muslim countries on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, sometimes penetrating as far as Baghdad. The powerful Volga Bulgars (cousins of today's Balkan Bulgarians) formed a seminomadic confederation and traded through the Volga river with Viking people of Rus' and Scandinavia (Swedes, Danes, Norwegians) and with the southern Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) Furthermore, Volga Bulgaria, with its two cities Bulgar and Suvar east of what is today Moscow, traded with Russians and the fur-selling Ugrians.
Novgorod RepublicThe Novgorod Republic (Новгородская республика) was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries in northern Russia, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east. Its capital was the city of Novgorod. The republic prospered as the easternmost trading post of the Hanseatic League, and its people were much influenced by the culture of the Byzantines. The state was called Novgorod and Great Novgorod (Veliky Novgorod) with the form Sovereign Lord Novgorod the Great (Gosudar Gospodin Veliky Novgorod) becoming common in the 15th century.
Ivan the TerribleIvan IV Vasilyevich (Иван IV Васильевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, was Grand Prince of Moscow and Sovereign of all Russia from 1533, and the first crowned Tsar of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. Ivan IV was the eldest son of Vasili III by his second wife Elena Glinskaya, and a grandson of Ivan III and Sophia Palaiologina. He succeeded his father after his death, when he was three years old. A group of reformers united around the young Ivan, crowning him the tsar of Russia in 1547 at the age of 16.
VolgaThe Volga (Во́лга) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment area of . It is also Europe's largest river in terms of average discharge at delta – between and – and of drainage basin. It is widely regarded as the national river of Russia. The hypothetical old Russian state, the Rus' Khaganate, arose along the Volga 830 AD. Historically, the river served as an important meeting place of various Eurasian civilizations.
ZubtsovZubtsov (Зубцо́в) is a town and the administrative center of Zubtsovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Volga and Vazuza Rivers, south of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 8,100 (1998 est.). Zubtsov was first mentioned in a chronicle in 1216. Due to its location on the Volga, it controlled one of the versions of the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. In the Middle Ages, it was a border fortress of Principality of Tver.
