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Curated playlist

Russian people of German descent

  • Nicholas IINicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, carried a large dragon tattooed on his right forearm. The artist was Hori Chiyo, and the tattoo was a souvenir of the young heir's visit to Japan. That same journey nearly ended in disaster. At…
  • Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyHearing his voice on an Edison recording in 1890, Tchaikovsky said, "This trill could be better."
  • Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of RussiaGrand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was born on the 18th of June 1901, and her father needed a long walk before he could bring himself to visit her. Tsar Nicholas II had hoped for a son, someone who would become heir to the…
  • Fabian Gottlieb von BellingshausenA historian concluded Bellingshausen reached Antarctica three days before Britain's Edward Bransfield.
  • Peter II of RussiaPeter II of Russia died at fourteen on the morning of his wedding day. Smallpox killed him as his bride waited.
  • Alexander BlokAlexander Blok wrote a poem likening Bolshevik soldiers to the Twelve Apostles of Christ.
  • Catherine the GreatCatherine the Great seized Russia's throne by overthrowing her own husband. The coup came in July 1762.
  • Vladimir NabokovNovelist Vladimir Nabokov also named butterfly species, and later genetic research backed his theory.
  • Helena BlavatskyA 1885 report accused Helena Blavatsky of faking paranormal phenomena. It was retracted in 1986.
  • Nicholas RoerichPainter Nicholas Roerich was held in Tibet for five months while the world thought he was lost.
  • Wassily KandinskyWassily Kandinsky quit a law career at age 30 to enroll in an art academy in Munich. He became a pioneer of abstraction.
  • Alexander ScriabinComposer Alexander Scriabin died in 1915 from a pimple on his lip. It turned septic within days, and he was 43.
  • Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)Maria Feodorovna, born Princess Dagmar of Denmark, was buried twice, and the second burial came almost 78 years after she died. At the 2006 ceremony in Saint Petersburg, where she was laid beside her husband, the crowd around the coffin…
  • Alfred SchnittkeAlmost completely paralyzed, composer Alfred Schnittke wrote his Ninth Symphony with his left hand.
  • Richard SorgeRichard Sorge arrived in Japan as a Nazi journalist while spying for Moscow. German diplomats trusted him for years.
  • Afanasy FetPoet Afanasy Fet died in 1892 with a paper knife in his hand and a suicide note on the table.

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