Free Republic

Sixteen vessels have already left Ukrainian ports to deliver about 500,000 tonnes of agricultural products to nine countries. Six vessels entered the ports for loading purposes. By the end of August, at least 10 more vessels are expected to arrive. The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) on Facebook, referring to Ukrainian Infrastructure Deputy Minister Yurii Vaskov, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “We can speak of the provisional results: during this time, 16 vessels left Ukrainian ports to deliver about 500,000 tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural products to nine countries. Meanwhile, six vessels have already entered Ukrainian...

A letter from Catherine the Great supporting mass immunization against smallpox sold at auction Wednesday in London. In the letter, dated April 20, 1787, the Russian empress instructs a governor-general of what is now Ukraine to make immunizing the public a priority and says that “such inoculation should be common everywhere.” Grandma Loves Me To The Moon And Back Casual Crew Neck Shirts & Tops White/XXL The letter sold at the MacDougall’s auction house along with a portrait of the empress painted by Dmitry Levitsky, for a total of ₤951,000. MacDougall’s said the letter reveals “the statecraft and foresight shown...

The first glimpse of the upcoming limited series shows us Mirren as the legendary monarch, who was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796, making her the country's longest-ruling female leader. The series will show us Catherine toward the end of her rule in the 18th century, when she begins a steamy relationship with Grigory Potemkin (Jason Clarke), a military leader. "When I was young I dreamed of freedom, I dreamed of breaking chains," Catherine can be heard saying in the trailer. "But as you get older, your choices narrow. So instead I gave us an empire, but I knew...

Fate of Russia's lost art treasure revealed after 60-year cover-up John Ezard, arts correspondent Saturday May 22, 2004 The Guardian (UK) Steven Spielberg would have called it Indiana Jones and the Eighth Wonder, and supplied a happy ending. In a damp cellar, guarded by deadly snakes and senile but savage SS men, the holy grail of Russian art treasures would triumphantly have been liberated. According to evidence disclosed today in Guardian Weekend, the truth is more squalid. Peter the Great's 18th century Amber Room, rated as the world's prime missing art treasure, valued at £150m, perished in the chaos of...

Kambalny volcano erupts for first time since reign of Catherine the Great By The Siberian Times reporter 25 March 2017 An 8 km high plume was recorded from the southernmost major stratovolcano on the Kamchatka peninsula. The eruption is believed to be the first since 1769, and tourist organisations have been warned not to venture towards the 2,156 metre high volcano. It is on Russia's famed Land of Fire and Ice, the Kamchatka peninsula, in the extreme east of the country. A source at the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) told IA Kamchatka: 'Currently, the eruption of the volcano...

FARMINGTON -- While the state has yet to officially cancel any events involving horses that might have been exposed to a local recent equine herpes outbreak, owners and arenas are taking precautions. Because of the outbreak, contestants at the Davis County Sheriff's Mounted Posse Junior Queen Contest had to cowgirl up Thursday night without their mares. Instead of competing on horses, as is typically the case, contestants were asked to trot around the arena with stick horses as their show ponies. The only horses in the arena were in this bucket. "It's kind of weird, but you can't really help...

How Voltaire praised the 'enlightened despot' Catherine the Great Satirist's heartfelt letters to the woman he admired are bought for Russia Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow Friday June 2, 2006 The Guardian They are the heartfelt correspondence from the great acerbic wit of the European Enlightenment to the last Russian empress, in which he praises her authoritarian style and mocks the extravagances of her French counterparts. For years, the letters from Voltaire to Catherine the Great have been hidden away in a private collection - the contents a mystery. But now, courtesy of a Moscow art dealer, they will be...