Portal:Russia/DYK
Instructions
These "Did you know..." subpages are randomly displayed using {{Random portal component}}.
- DYKs at this list must have successfully already appeared at Template:Did you know.
- Click on a "Create ..." link at the bottom of the list.
- Update the parameter
|max=at the portal main page. (Only include completed sets of 3.)
Additions
- Any Russia-related WP:DYKs that have previously appeared at Template:DYK may be added to the next available subpage.
- All hooks must first have appeared on the Main Page in the Did you know section.
- Note: each hook and selected fact requires a link cited at its respective subpage to the time it appeared on the Main Page in Template:Did you know, or the associated WP:DYK archive at Wikipedia:Recent additions.
Automatic suggestions
* ... that Romanian-born Helen O'Brien escaped advancing Russians on the King's horse, opened Eve, and worked as a spy for MI5 and MI6?
* ... that Romanian-born '''[[Helen O'Brien]]''' escaped advancing Russians on the King's horse, opened '''[[Eve (nightclub)|Eve]]''', and worked as a spy for MI5 and MI6?
* ... that a young Ukrainian photographer, Valeria Shashenok, posts satirical TikTok videos about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine?
* ... that a young Ukrainian photographer, '''[[Valeria Shashenok]]''', posts satirical TikTok videos about the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]?
* ... that the first Russian feature film, Stenka Razin, depicts the historical Cossack leader throwing a princess into the Volga?
* ... that the first Russian feature film, '''''[[Stenka Razin (film)|Stenka Razin]]''''', depicts [[Stenka Razin|the historical Cossack leader]] throwing a princess into the [[Volga]]?
* ... that the tanker MV Millennial Spirit sailed under a Moldovan flag, was crewed entirely by Russians, and was mistaken for a Romanian ship?
* ... that the tanker '''[[MV Millennial Spirit|MV ''Millennial Spirit'']]''' sailed under a Moldovan flag, was crewed entirely by Russians, and was mistaken for a Romanian ship?
* ... that the 1917 Leeds Convention in Britain passed resolutions calling for the end of the First World War and praising the February Revolution in Russia?
* ... that the 1917 '''[[Leeds Convention]]''' in Britain passed resolutions calling for the end of the First World War and praising the [[February Revolution]] in Russia?
* ... that one of Ukraine's largest power plants was mostly destroyed by Russians in March 2024?
* ... that '''[[Zmiivska thermal power plant|one of Ukraine's largest power plants]]''' was mostly destroyed by Russians in March 2024?
DYK list
DYK 1
- ... that Soviet sniper Roza Shanina's (pictured) declaration "I shall return after the battle" would be paraphrased in a book title?
- ... that Emperor Nicholas II of Russia was billed 3,250 rubles for the Rosebud egg, the first Fabergé egg he presented to his empress consort Alexandra Fyodorovna?
- ... that after Peter the Great's reform of the Russian military, serf recruits were, and their children born after the recruitment were liberated, with the boys being sent to specially created Garrison schools?
DYK 2
- ... that the Imperial Russian Navy operated the Satakundskaya Flotilla (pictured), a gunboat unit on a Finnish lake during World War I, without ever actually firing a gun?
- ... that the Soviet Union Red Army's T-10 tank was originally named IS-10 for Iosif Stalin (Joseph Stalin), but renamed in the climate of de-Stalinization, after Stalin's death in 1953?
- ... that klezmer musician Josef Gusikov became world-famous playing his invention — a xylophone made out of wood and straw?
DYK 3
- ... that Kirill Eskov (pictured) named a genus from the Linyphiidae spider family discovered by him in 1988 after Kikimora, a female spirit in Slavic mythology?
- ... that Japan and Poland are the world's largest krill fishing nations since Russia abandoned its operations in 1993?
- ... that the Russian musical group Terem Quartet performs classical works on folk instruments in a humorous, virtuosic style?
DYK 4
- ... that Maria Yakunchikova (pictured) was a Russian painter who lived in Paris and was active primarily in western Europe?
- ... that the Greek colony of Phanagoria in present-day Russia was the seat of the last Bosporan kings, the capital of Great Bulgaria, and the residence of the exiled Emperor Justinian II?
- ... that Philippe Égalité's Château du Raincy near Paris contained an outcrop of houses scored to resemble traditional Russian log huts?
DYK 5
- ... that Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna (pictured) kept her morganatic marriage secret from her father, Nicholas I of Russia, until his death in 1855?
- ... that Ivan Argunov, one of the founders of the Russian school of portrait painting, spent his entire life as a serf?
- ... that the finds at the village of Gnezdovo near Smolensk include an early folding razor, the first pivoted scissors found in Eastern Europe, and the earliest inscription in the Old Russian language?
DYK 6
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- ... that 17th-century Russian diplomat Pyotr Ivanovich Potemkin (pictured) is reputed to have insisted on lying in bed during an audience with the King of Denmark, who was himself confined to his bed, to demonstrate equality between Russia and Denmark?
- ... that the site of the early Viking hill fort of Alaborg, Russia, was turned into a quarry for construction of a highway during the years of Stalinism?
- ... that in the late 1900s the illegal paramilitary Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party assassinated hundreds of Russian officials, policemen and secret agents responsible for repression in partitioned Poland?
DYK 7
- ... that Tsar Alexander II of Russia (pictured) signed the Ems Ukaz, a decree banning official use of the "non-existent" Ukrainian language, whilst enjoying a spa at Bad Ems, Germany?
- ... that Maria Fyodorovna was the tallest Russian tsarina ever, and experienced difficulties while dancing with her husband, Emperor Paul, as a result?
- ... that the Russian victory in the Battle of Wesenberg in 1268 put an end to the attacks of the Teutonic Knights on Russia for thirty years?
DYK 8
- ... that Count Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov (pictured) ended his love affair with the 60-year-old Empress Catherine II of Russia in order to marry her 16-year-old lady-in-waiting?
- ... that Sergei Yushenkov and Yuri Shchekochikhin, key members of the Kovalev Commission charged with investigating the Russian apartment bombings both died in apparent assassinations?
- ... that the Samara flag, presented as a gift from Russia to the Bulgarian volunteers in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, is the only flag awarded a Bulgarian Medal for Bravery?
DYK 9
- ... that Russian actor Yevgeny Samoylov (pictured), known for his work with Vsevolod Meyerhold and Alexander Dovzhenko in the 1930s, celebrated his 90th birthday in 2002 acting on the stage of the Maly Theatre?
- ... that despite holding the graves of Rudolf Nureyev, Andrei Tarkovsky and Ivan Bunin, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery is not officially recognized as a landmark?
- ... that Alexander Kazhdan, the editor of the three-volume Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, started his career as a provincial teacher in Ivanovo and Tula?
DYK 10
- ... that Russian Jewish painter Marc Chagall created the windows of the St Stephan church (pictured) in Mainz as a sign of Jewish-German reconciliation?
- ... that forces of the Russian and Austrian Empires attempted to defeat an isolated French division in the Battle of Dürenstein on 11 November 1805, three weeks after the Battle of Ulm and three weeks before the Battle of Austerlitz?
- ... that Ostap Veresai, a 19th century blind Ukrainian kobzar, performed at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia?
DYK 11
- ... that Russian painter Alexandre Jacovleff (pictured) participated in trans-Saharan and trans-Asian (from Syria to China) expeditions organized by the French car manufacturer Citroën?
- ... that the obedience to orders and dogged resistance of the Russian infantry at the Battle of Golymin in 1806 greatly impressed Napoleon and his army?
- ... that Boris Grekov was a Soviet historian who set out to debunk Mikhail Grushevsky's theory that Kievan Rus was a predecessor state of Ukraine rather than of Russia and Belarus?
DYK 12
- ... that the Russian Association of Scouts was founded by Colonel Oleg Pantyukhov?
- ... that Russian Indologist Gerasim Lebedev was the founder of the first European-style drama theatre in India and also the first printing house in Europe equipped with Indic scripts of Bengali and Devanagari?
- ... that neoclassical Staszic Palace in Warsaw was temporary redesigned in a Russo-Byzantine style when Poland was partitioned?
DYK 13
- ... that the Blue Bridge (pictured), the widest in St. Petersburg, Russia, derives its name from a 19th-century tradition of color-coding the bridges across the Moika River?
- ... that the Singer's Bridge, designed by architect Vasily Stasov, was called the Yellow Bridge and is the third-widest bridge in Saint Petersburg, Russia?
- ... that the phenomenon of Renting-A-Russian sometimes refers to getting a male Russian ice dancer to country hop to pair with a female figure skater from another country?
DYK 14
- ... that St. Michael's Castle (pictured) was built like a medieval fortress for the personal protection of the Russian Emperor Paul I, who ironically was assassinated in his bedroom shortly after moving in to his new castle?
- ... that the Polish 4th Rifle Division was the only Polish military unit that fought in the Russian Civil War and returned to Poland undefeated?
- ... that the First Engineer Bridge in St. Petersburg, Russia, named after the nearby Engineer Castle, is one of the most decorative of the city's more than 500 bridges?
DYK 15
- ... that Rastrelli's Monument to Peter the Great (pictured) in Saint Petersburg includes a message by emperor Paul I that is a subtle mockery of Catherine the Great's inscription on the Bronze Horseman?
- ... that the Union of Salvation, a Russian secret society of revolutionary Decembrists, was organized according to a complex Masonic style system of rituals and vows?
- ... that in Star Wars: Storm in the Glass, the Russian parody of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, a bottle of vodka resides on almost every table shown in the movie?
DYK 16
- ... that the Armenian oil magnate Alexander Mantashev (pictured) handpicked 50 talented young Armenians and sent them to study at the best universities of continental Europe?
- ... that St. Cyril's Monastery in Kiev, Ukraine was closed by the Tsarist Government and its living quarters were converted into a hospital and later an insane asylum, which lasted until the mid-late 20th century?
- ... that Grand Duchess Kira Kirillovna of Russia was urged by her mother-in-law to testify in the case of Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia?
DYK 17
- ... that Russian painter Konstantin Makovsky (pictured) left the Imperial Academy of Arts without a formal diploma, after having refused to paint on a set topic in Scandinavian mythology?
- ... that the cornerstone for the first museum of space exploration, the Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics in Kaluga, Russia, was laid by Yuri Gagarin?
- ... that some of the earliest Russians in Bulgaria were the Old Believer Nekrasov Cossacks known as Lipovans?
DYK 18
- ... that the Annenschule (pictured) high school in Saint Petersburg, Russia was transformed into a Soviet work school after the Russian Revolution, but now houses a lyceum?
- ... that the largest wave of Russian settlers in Bulgaria, the White Guards, arrived following the events surrounding the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War?
- ... that Russian billionaire, politician and philanthropist Alexander Lebedev started his career as a KGB agent working in London?
DYK 19
- ... that Yakov Kreizer (pictured) was the first Soviet general awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union title during World War II?
- ... that Soviet actor Pavel Luspekayev played in the classic Russian Ostern movie White Sun of the Desert with both feet amputated?
- ... that Radishchev Museum in Saratov founded by Russian painter Alexey Bogolyubov was the first museum in the country opened to the general public?
DYK 20
- ... that as a teenager, Russian novelist Fyodor Mikhaylovich Reshetnikov (pictured) was convicted of stealing mail and sentenced to three months in a monastery?
- ... that the first foreigner decorated in World War Two with the highest Soviet medal, Hero of the Soviet Union, was a Czechoslovak soldier, Otakar Jaroš after the Battle of Sokolovo in 1943?
- ... that the Polish Second Army was the second major formation of the Peoples' Army of Poland fighting alongside the Soviet Union in the Second World War?
DYK 21
- ... that in the 1815 Secret Treaty of Vienna, Britain and Austria sided with their former enemy France against former allies Prussia and Russia?
- ... that the Russian group Occupy Pedophilia filmed themselves committing more than a hundred anti-gay attacks between 2012 and 2014?
- ... that during the French naval visit to Kronstadt, which started on 23 July 1891, Emperor Alexander III of Russia stood to attention for the singing of La Marseillaise (scene depicted), despite his disapproval of France?