Russian Embassy to the UK
🎨 We continue our journey through history and move into the 18th century – an age of sweeping reforms, decisive battles, palace coups and imperial expansion that transformed Russia into one of Europe's great powers. 🖼️ Alexander Kotzebue – Battle of Narva…
🎨 Today, we bring you the penultimate publication in our series exploring Russian history through art. The 19th century saw Russia confront Napoleon, expand across the Caucasus and Central Asia, sell Alaska to the United States, and undertake major reforms at home — most notably the abolition of serfdom in 1861. By the end of the century, Alexander III placed greater emphasis on conservative policies.
🖼️ Sergei Chudanov. ‘The Assassination of Paul I on the Night of March 11–12, 1801’ (2016)
The century began with the assassination of Emperor Paul I in a palace conspiracy. His son, Alexander I, ascended the throne and soon faced the challenge of Napoleonic France.
🖼️ Gioacchino Giuseppe Serangeli. ‘Farewell of Napoleon I and Alexander I after the Peace of Tilsit, July 9, 1807’ (1810)
After Russia’s defeat in the 1807 campaign, Alexander I made peace with Napoleon at Tilsit. Relations between Russia and France gradually deteriorated, eventually leading to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812.
🖼️ Adolph Northen. ‘Napoleon’s Retreat from Moscow’ (1851)
Napoleon captured Moscow, but Alexander I refused to negotiate peace. The Grande Armée was forced into a disastrous retreat, and Russia then launched its Foreign Campaign of 1813–1814, advancing into Europe and entering Paris in 1814.
🖼️ Vasily Timm. ‘The Life Guard Horse Regiment during the Uprising of December 14, 1825, on Senate Square’ (19th century)
After fighting in Europe, some Russian officers began calling for an end to serfdom and constitutional reforms. Their uprising in December 1825 — the Decembrist Revolt — failed, and its leaders were executed or exiled to Siberia.
🖼️ Adolphe Yvon. ‘The Capture of Malakhov Kurgan by General MacMahon on September 8, 1855’ (1857)
The Crimean War (1853–1856) exposed Russia’s military and technological weaknesses of the time. The fall of Sevastopol in 1855 marked a decisive defeat and highlighted the urgent need for reform.
🖼️ Boris Kustodiev. ‘The Emancipation of the Peasants (Reading the Manifesto)’ (1907)
In 1861, Alexander II abolished serfdom, granting serfs personal freedom and civil rights. But the land question remained unresolved, as peasants still had to rent or purchase land from landowners, fuelling social tensions.
🖼️ Pyotr Gruzinsky. ‘The Abandonment of the Aul by the Mountaineers’ (1872)
The Caucasian War, which began in 1817, ended in 1864 with Russia establishing control over the North Caucasus. Many highlanders subsequently left the region for the Ottoman Empire.
🖼️ Emanuel Leutze. ‘Signing of the Alaska Purchase Treaty, March 30, 1867’ (1868)
In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the United States. With only a few thousand Russian inhabitants spread across a vast territory and facing pressure from both the US and Britain, Russia decided it could no longer effectively defend the colony.
🖼️ Vasily Vereshchagin. ‘At the Fortress Wall. “Let Them Enter”’ (1871)
Russia and Britain competed for influence in Central Asia in the “Great Game”. Russian forces expanded steadily southwards, bringing local khanates and emirates under Russian control. By the mid-1880s, the conquest of Central Asia was essentially complete.
🖼️ Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky. ‘Capture of the Grivitsky Redoubt near Plevna’ (1877)
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, Russia supported the Balkan peoples fighting against the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of Plevna, Russian forces advanced towards Istanbul, but European intervention reshaped the final peace settlement.
🖼️ Ilya Repin. ‘Reception of Volost Elders by Alexander III in the Courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace’ (1885)
Following the assassination of Alexander II in 1881, his son Alexander III abandoned many of his father’s liberal policies and strengthened autocratic rule. His reign was also marked by the absence of major wars, earning him the nickname “Tsar-Peacemaker.”
© Gateway to Russia
🖼️ Sergei Chudanov. ‘The Assassination of Paul I on the Night of March 11–12, 1801’ (2016)
The century began with the assassination of Emperor Paul I in a palace conspiracy. His son, Alexander I, ascended the throne and soon faced the challenge of Napoleonic France.
🖼️ Gioacchino Giuseppe Serangeli. ‘Farewell of Napoleon I and Alexander I after the Peace of Tilsit, July 9, 1807’ (1810)
After Russia’s defeat in the 1807 campaign, Alexander I made peace with Napoleon at Tilsit. Relations between Russia and France gradually deteriorated, eventually leading to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812.
🖼️ Adolph Northen. ‘Napoleon’s Retreat from Moscow’ (1851)
Napoleon captured Moscow, but Alexander I refused to negotiate peace. The Grande Armée was forced into a disastrous retreat, and Russia then launched its Foreign Campaign of 1813–1814, advancing into Europe and entering Paris in 1814.
🖼️ Vasily Timm. ‘The Life Guard Horse Regiment during the Uprising of December 14, 1825, on Senate Square’ (19th century)
After fighting in Europe, some Russian officers began calling for an end to serfdom and constitutional reforms. Their uprising in December 1825 — the Decembrist Revolt — failed, and its leaders were executed or exiled to Siberia.
🖼️ Adolphe Yvon. ‘The Capture of Malakhov Kurgan by General MacMahon on September 8, 1855’ (1857)
The Crimean War (1853–1856) exposed Russia’s military and technological weaknesses of the time. The fall of Sevastopol in 1855 marked a decisive defeat and highlighted the urgent need for reform.
🖼️ Boris Kustodiev. ‘The Emancipation of the Peasants (Reading the Manifesto)’ (1907)
In 1861, Alexander II abolished serfdom, granting serfs personal freedom and civil rights. But the land question remained unresolved, as peasants still had to rent or purchase land from landowners, fuelling social tensions.
🖼️ Pyotr Gruzinsky. ‘The Abandonment of the Aul by the Mountaineers’ (1872)
The Caucasian War, which began in 1817, ended in 1864 with Russia establishing control over the North Caucasus. Many highlanders subsequently left the region for the Ottoman Empire.
🖼️ Emanuel Leutze. ‘Signing of the Alaska Purchase Treaty, March 30, 1867’ (1868)
In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the United States. With only a few thousand Russian inhabitants spread across a vast territory and facing pressure from both the US and Britain, Russia decided it could no longer effectively defend the colony.
🖼️ Vasily Vereshchagin. ‘At the Fortress Wall. “Let Them Enter”’ (1871)
Russia and Britain competed for influence in Central Asia in the “Great Game”. Russian forces expanded steadily southwards, bringing local khanates and emirates under Russian control. By the mid-1880s, the conquest of Central Asia was essentially complete.
🖼️ Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky. ‘Capture of the Grivitsky Redoubt near Plevna’ (1877)
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, Russia supported the Balkan peoples fighting against the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of Plevna, Russian forces advanced towards Istanbul, but European intervention reshaped the final peace settlement.
🖼️ Ilya Repin. ‘Reception of Volost Elders by Alexander III in the Courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace’ (1885)
Following the assassination of Alexander II in 1881, his son Alexander III abandoned many of his father’s liberal policies and strengthened autocratic rule. His reign was also marked by the absence of major wars, earning him the nickname “Tsar-Peacemaker.”
© Gateway to Russia
❤13🫡1
🗓 Every year on 9 August, the world marks the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
For Russia, this date carries particular significance. The country has long been home to some 200 nationalities, speaking 270 languages, including 47 recognised Indigenous small-numbered peoples.
Russia has laws and government programmes in place to protect the rights and preserve the cultural identity of indigenous peoples. These include support for their way of life, native languages, traditional lands and livelihoods, as well as measures in education, healthcare and cultural heritage.
One such initiative is the Programme for Supporting National Literatures of the Peoples of the Russian Federation, launched in 2016. It covers all literary languages of the peoples of Russia, as well as more than 10 written languages and 22 dialects and sub-dialects, helping to preserve and promote the country’s rich linguistic and literary heritage.
Find out more about the programme in our cards.
For Russia, this date carries particular significance. The country has long been home to some 200 nationalities, speaking 270 languages, including 47 recognised Indigenous small-numbered peoples.
Russia has laws and government programmes in place to protect the rights and preserve the cultural identity of indigenous peoples. These include support for their way of life, native languages, traditional lands and livelihoods, as well as measures in education, healthcare and cultural heritage.
One such initiative is the Programme for Supporting National Literatures of the Peoples of the Russian Federation, launched in 2016. It covers all literary languages of the peoples of Russia, as well as more than 10 written languages and 22 dialects and sub-dialects, helping to preserve and promote the country’s rich linguistic and literary heritage.
Find out more about the programme in our cards.
❤11👍3🫡1
⚡️ Russian MFA Spox Maria Zakharova: On the night of 8 to 9 August, the Kiev neo-Nazis, suffering defeat on the battlefield, once again decided to take it out on civilians, attacking residential areas of Belgorod with drones. The strikes killed six civilians and injured 27 people, including boys aged four and nine [...]
On the morning of 10 August, the neo-Nazi Kiev regime sent drones against residential buildings and industrial facilities in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan. Thirteen people were killed and 39 injured [...]
The daily atrocities of the Kiev regime against civilians in other regions of Russia continue, resulting in casualties, including among children, women and elderly people.
❗️ The enemy carries out these militarily senseless strikes deliberately, for terrorist purposes.
We strongly condemn the latest vile attacks by the Ukrainian forces. We call on responsible members of the international community, relevant international organisations and independent media to give a firm assessment of Kiev's terrorist crimes.
We will regard silence as complicity and encouragement of further attacks on Russia's civilian population.
On the morning of 10 August, the neo-Nazi Kiev regime sent drones against residential buildings and industrial facilities in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan. Thirteen people were killed and 39 injured [...]
The daily atrocities of the Kiev regime against civilians in other regions of Russia continue, resulting in casualties, including among children, women and elderly people.
❗️ The enemy carries out these militarily senseless strikes deliberately, for terrorist purposes.
We strongly condemn the latest vile attacks by the Ukrainian forces. We call on responsible members of the international community, relevant international organisations and independent media to give a firm assessment of Kiev's terrorist crimes.
We will regard silence as complicity and encouragement of further attacks on Russia's civilian population.
🤬5🙏4🫡2
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
#KievRegimeCrimes
⚡️ Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rodion Miroshnik:
PHOTO FACTS & EVIDENCE of crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces over the week of August 3-9, 2026:
▪️ August 3 – a UAV strike hit a beach in Arkhipo-Osipovka, Krasnodar Region. Eight civilians were killed, including four children. Another 58 were injured, including 12 minors.
▪️ August 3 – a UAV struck a civilian car in Novaya Nelidovka, Belgorod Region. Two civilians were injured.
▪️ August 4 – a UAV struck an apartment building in Novaya Kakhovka, Kherson Region. One civilian was injured.
▪️ August 4 – a UAV struck an industrial area in Novoselki, Moscow Region. Ten civilians were injured.
▪️ August 4 – a UAV struck an apartment building in Shebekino, Belgorod Region.
▪️ August 5 – a UAV struck a hospital in Donetsk, DPR. One woman was killed, two others were injured.
▪️ August 8 – an FPV drone struck a private house in Dunayka, Belgorod Region. The house was completely destroyed by fire.
▪️ August 8 – a UAV struck the Megapolis wholesale market in Kakhovka, Kherson Region. The trading facilities were completely destroyed by fire.
▪️ August 8 – a UAV struck a civilian freight vehicle in Rzhevka, Belgorod Region.
▪️ August 9 – a massive UAV attack targeted residential areas of Belgorod, Belgorod Region. Six civilians were killed, another 27 were injured, including two children.
⚡️ Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rodion Miroshnik:
PHOTO FACTS & EVIDENCE of crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces over the week of August 3-9, 2026:
▪️ August 3 – a UAV strike hit a beach in Arkhipo-Osipovka, Krasnodar Region. Eight civilians were killed, including four children. Another 58 were injured, including 12 minors.
▪️ August 3 – a UAV struck a civilian car in Novaya Nelidovka, Belgorod Region. Two civilians were injured.
▪️ August 4 – a UAV struck an apartment building in Novaya Kakhovka, Kherson Region. One civilian was injured.
▪️ August 4 – a UAV struck an industrial area in Novoselki, Moscow Region. Ten civilians were injured.
▪️ August 4 – a UAV struck an apartment building in Shebekino, Belgorod Region.
▪️ August 5 – a UAV struck a hospital in Donetsk, DPR. One woman was killed, two others were injured.
▪️ August 8 – an FPV drone struck a private house in Dunayka, Belgorod Region. The house was completely destroyed by fire.
▪️ August 8 – a UAV struck the Megapolis wholesale market in Kakhovka, Kherson Region. The trading facilities were completely destroyed by fire.
▪️ August 8 – a UAV struck a civilian freight vehicle in Rzhevka, Belgorod Region.
▪️ August 9 – a massive UAV attack targeted residential areas of Belgorod, Belgorod Region. Six civilians were killed, another 27 were injured, including two children.
🙏5❤1🤬1🫡1