Worshippers mark Epiphany with dip in frozen lake
(20 Jan 2020) LEAD IN:
Orthodox Christians in Russia have celebrated Epiphany by taking chilly ice baths in a frozen lake.
Believers submerge themselves in freezing water to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ.
STORY-LINE:
It's the depths of winter and the pond at Nizhny Novgorod is a frozen expanse.
But preparations are underway for this icy water to host a group of hardy Christian worshippers.
Every year, believers take part in an Epiphany ritual where they submerge themselves in the freezing lake.
But first officials must test the water to make sure it is safe.
Samples are taken for microbiological indicators, including pathogenic microflora, and also for chemical indicators that characterize organic and non organic water pollution, says Dimitry Lipschits, Head of the Department for Supervision of Communal Hygiene of Nizhny Novgorod.
People need to understand that in the first place it is necessary to use only official places for swimming, where everything is arranged beforehand and there will also be rescuers and doctors on duty.
Popular folklore says the night of the Epiphany brings the most severe frosts of winter.
But this year, unseasonably warm conditions mean this pond is not as frozen as normal.
So organisers of the ritual are building the fonts where people will enter the water as close to shore as possible.
A diver in full kit enters each of the wooden enclosures to check there are no hidden dangers lurking beneath the surface.
The bottom of the font was examined for sharp objects, sharp corners and also how it is prepared for the divers. Nothing dangerous was found, says Andrey Sikida, part of the emergency rescue team of the Nizhny Novgorod region.
At midnight on the night of the Epiphany, a priest blesses the waters of the pond.
For now, worshippers are wrapped up against the cold.
But once the water has been blessed, those taking part strip off and prepare to take an icy cold dip.
In honour of the Holy Trinity - the Christian doctrine that God is made up of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - bathers submerge themselves three times in the water.
And the people here insist the experience is not as uncomfortable as it looks.
This is Epiphany and during the Epiphany, the cold is always the same, it makes you warm, says Konstantin Loshchinsky,.
At first you feel the burst of energy, but after you do not feel cold at all. I cannot even fill the blowing of the wind.
For some, this is the first time they have taken part in the ritual after years of longing to be involved.
I decided to go into the water for the first time. I've beengaiming to do it for eight years. I wanted it and at last, decided to try. I have managed it, says Ksenya Nestrova.
In the Orthodox Christian calendar, this religious holiday celebrates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River.
Worshippers believe that water on Epiphany night has healing powers and washes away their sins.
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Дивеево - Патры: Преподобный Серафим Саровский посетил Грецию.
Тысячи наших греческих православных братьев уже смогли поклониться преподобному Серафиму Саровскому в городе Патры, куда из Серафимо-Дивеевского монастыря доставлен ковчег с частицей мощей этого великого русского святого
Серафимо-Дивеевский монастырь. Эта святая обитель Нижегородской земли хорошо известна всему православному миру. Именно здесь вот уже четверть века почивают честные мощи преподобного Серафима Саровского, одного из самых известных и почитаемых русских святых, чье житие выходит многотысячными тиражами, а практически в каждом православном храме есть почитаемая икона этого духовного подвижника. Святого старца, чья безграничная любовь ко всему миру – от некогда изувечивших его разбойников до диких животных, с которыми преподобный Серафим общался в своем отшельническом лесном уединении, – способна растопить даже самое черствое сердце. Освободив его для принятия благодатных даров Святого Духа.
«Радость моя, молю тебя, стяжи дух мирен, и тогда тысячи душ спасутся около тебя», — этим заветом преподобный делился со всеми приходящими, всегда приветствуя гостей словами: «Христос Воскресе, радость моя!». И именно сегодня, когда мира и пасхальной радости так не хватает нашему современному миру, эти наставления преподобного Серафима Саровского особенно важны для каждого из нас.
«Единственный путь, который сегодня есть перед нами, перед родом человеческим — и завтра, и послезавтра — идти дорогой жизни и стяжать дары духа. Этому научены мы и сегодняшним апостольским чтением, и дивным образом святого преподобного Серафима Саровского, великого чудотворца и заступника, молитвенника и ходатая за всех нас», — говорит Святейший Патриарх Московский и всея Руси Кирилл.
Образ преподобного Серафима дорог не только русским людям. Этого святого глубоко почитают во всем православном мире: в Грузии и Сербии, Румынии и Греции. Но если греческие святыни регулярно посещают русские земли, то принесение мощей Серафима Саровского в ноябре 2017 года в греческий город Патры, приуроченное к конференции «Глас апостола Андрея Первозванного в современном мире» стало поистине беспрецедентным событием. Во многом это было реализовано благодаря инициативе митрополита Патрского Хризостома, четырьмя годами ранее организовавшего принесение в Россию Креста святого апостола Андрея Первозванного.
«Четыре года назад не только тысячи, а миллионы русских православных людей смогли приложиться ко Кресту апостола Андрея, а сегодня христиане Греции получили возможность поклониться мощам величайшего русского святого», — заявил митрополит Патрский Хризостом (Склифас), архиерей Элладской Православной Церкви.
Сегодня, глядя на то, с каким воодушевлением и искренним почитанием тысячи греков встретили мощи преподобного Серафима Саровского, понимаешь: единство православных народов – не книжный образ или красивые слова. И это единство необходимо укреплять на всех уровнях: от церковного до геополитического.
Тюренков Михаил
Братья и сестры! Просим Ваших святых молитв!
Да снизойдет на Вас Божия благодать!
Приход храма Святого праведного Иоанна Кронштадтского Чудотворца. Волгоград. Россия.
Братья и сестры! Просвещайтесь, распространяйте, подписывайтесь -
St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church, Tucson, AZ - Slavic Festival 2008
St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church in Tucson, AZ host a yearly Slavic Festival to celebrate the culture, music, food and traditions of the Slavic Nations: Ukraine, Ruthenians, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Macedonia. These videos were taken during the 2008 Festival.
Seventh Sunday of Matthew : GOSPEL REFLECTIONS by SEMINARIAN BEN
Seventh Sunday of Matthew : GOSPEL REFLECTIONS by SEMINARIAN BEN
Russian Federation | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:05:32 1 Etymology
00:07:19 2 History
00:07:28 2.1 Early history
00:09:14 2.2 Kievan Rus'
00:12:33 2.3 Grand Duchy of Moscow
00:14:49 2.4 Tsardom of Russia
00:19:10 2.5 Imperial Russia
00:24:38 2.6 February Revolution and Russian Republic
00:26:13 2.7 Soviet Russia and civil war
00:27:46 2.8 Soviet Union
00:31:41 2.8.1 World War II
00:36:03 2.8.2 Cold War
00:40:19 2.9 Russian Federation
00:47:10 3 Politics
00:47:19 3.1 Governance
00:49:28 3.2 Foreign relations
00:54:06 3.3 Military
00:57:02 3.4 Political divisions
00:59:52 4 Geography
01:01:04 4.1 Topography
01:04:56 4.2 Climate
01:07:07 4.3 Biodiversity
01:08:19 5 Economy
01:15:44 5.1 Energy
01:18:19 5.2 External trade and investment
01:19:12 5.3 Agriculture
01:21:22 5.4 Transport
01:26:09 5.5 Science and technology
01:32:23 5.6 Space exploration
01:34:41 5.7 Water supply and sanitation
01:35:25 5.8 Corruption
01:38:01 6 Demographics
01:43:21 6.1 Largest cities
01:43:29 6.2 Ethnic groups
01:43:55 6.3 Language
01:45:19 6.4 Religion
01:55:31 6.5 Health
01:57:25 6.6 Education
01:59:19 7 Culture
01:59:27 7.1 Folk culture and cuisine
02:02:48 7.2 Architecture
02:06:16 7.3 Visual arts
02:09:16 7.4 Music and dance
02:12:01 7.5 Literature and philosophy
02:15:32 7.6 Cinema, animation and media
02:19:16 7.7 Sports
02:26:13 7.8 National holidays and symbols
02:30:11 7.9 Tourism
02:33:06 8 See also
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I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Russia (Russian: Росси́я, tr. Rossiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə]), officially the Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə]), is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and North Asia. At 17,125,200 square kilometres (6,612,100 sq mi), Russia is by a considerable margin the largest country in the world by area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, and the ninth most populous, with about 146.77 million people as of 2019, including Crimea. About 77% of the population live in the western, European part of the country. Russia's capital, Moscow, is one of the largest cities in the world and the second largest city in Europe; other major cities include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both with Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. However, Russia recognises two more countries that border it, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which are internationally recognized as parts of Georgia.
The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde in the 13th century. The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities and achieved independence from the Golden Horde. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, wh ...
Russia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Russia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
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In case you don't find one that you were looking for, put a comment.
This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Russia (Russian: Росси́я, tr. Rossiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə]), officially the Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə]), is a country in Eurasia. At 17,125,200 square kilometres (6,612,100 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world by area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, and the ninth most populous, with about 144.5 million people as of 2018, excluding Crimea. About 77% of the population live in the western, European part of the country. Russia's capital, Moscow, is the largest metropolitan area in Europe proper and one of the largest cities in the world; other major cities include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both with Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait.
The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde in the 13th century. The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east.Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the world's first constitutionally socialist state. The Soviet Union played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II, and emerged as a recognized superpower and rival to the United States during the Cold War. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the world's second largest economy, largest standing military in the world and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, twelve independent republics emerged from the USSR: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Baltic states regained independence: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania; the Russian SFSR reconstituted itself as the Russian Federation and is recognized as the continuing legal personality and a successor of the Soviet Union. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic.
Russia's economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russia's extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the leading producers of oil and natural gas globally. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has b ...
Crucifixion | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Crucifixion
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
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This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden beam and left to hang for several days until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation.The crucifixion of Jesus is a central narrative in Christianity, and the cross (sometimes depicting Jesus nailed onto it) is the main religious symbol for many Christian churches.
Russia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Russia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Russia (Russian: Росси́я, tr. Rossiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə]), officially the Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə]), is a country in Eurasia. At 17,125,200 square kilometres (6,612,100 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world by area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, and the ninth most populous, with about 144.5 million people as of 2018, excluding Crimea. About 77% of the population live in the western, European part of the country. Russia's capital, Moscow, is the largest metropolitan area in Europe proper and one of the largest cities in the world; other major cities include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both with Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait.
The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde in the 13th century. The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east.Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the world's first constitutionally socialist state. The Soviet Union played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II, and emerged as a recognized superpower and rival to the United States during the Cold War. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the world's second largest economy, largest standing military in the world and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, twelve independent republics emerged from the USSR: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Baltic states regained independence: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania; the Russian SFSR reconstituted itself as the Russian Federation and is recognized as the continuing legal personality and a successor of the Soviet Union. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic.
Russia's economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russia's extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the leading producers of oil and natural gas globally. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons ...
Russia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:06:32 1 Etymology
00:08:41 2 History
00:08:51 2.1 Early history
00:10:56 2.2 Kievan Rus'
00:14:52 2.3 Grand Duchy of Moscow
00:17:32 2.4 Tsardom of Russia
00:22:40 2.5 Imperial Russia
00:29:11 2.6 February Revolution and Russian Republic
00:31:01 2.7 Soviet Russia and civil war
00:32:50 2.8 Soviet Union
00:37:29 2.8.1 World War II
00:41:28 2.8.2 Cold War
00:46:28 2.9 Russian Federation
00:52:03 3 Politics
00:52:13 3.1 Governance
00:54:43 3.2 Foreign relations
01:00:35 3.3 Military
01:04:04 3.4 Political divisions
01:07:27 4 Geography
01:08:51 4.1 Topography
01:13:30 4.2 Climate
01:16:04 4.3 Biodiversity
01:17:30 5 Economy
01:26:22 5.1 Corruption
01:29:29 5.2 Agriculture
01:32:05 5.3 Energy
01:35:09 5.4 Transport
01:40:52 5.5 Science and technology
01:48:14 5.6 Space exploration
01:50:29 5.7 Water supply and sanitation
01:51:21 6 Demographics
01:57:01 6.1 Largest cities
01:57:11 6.2 Ethnic groups
01:57:41 6.3 Language
01:59:20 6.4 Religion
02:11:26 6.5 Health
02:13:42 6.6 Education
02:15:56 7 Culture
02:16:06 7.1 Folk culture and cuisine
02:20:06 7.2 Architecture
02:24:14 7.3 Visual arts
02:27:49 7.4 Music and dance
02:31:04 7.5 Literature and philosophy
02:35:14 7.6 Cinema, animation and media
02:39:41 7.7 Sports
02:47:57 7.8 National holidays and symbols
02:52:37 7.9 Tourism
02:56:04 8 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.7925987386990176
Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-C
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Russia (Russian: Росси́я, tr. Rossiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə]), officially the Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə]), is a country in Eurasia. At 17,125,200 square kilometres (6,612,100 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world by area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, and the ninth most populous, with about 144.5 million people as of 2018, excluding Crimea. About 77% of the population live in the western, European part of the country. Russia's capital, Moscow, is the largest metropolitan area in Europe proper and one of the largest cities in the world; other major cities include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both with Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U.S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. However, Russia recognises two more countries that border it, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which are internationally recognized as parts of Georgia.
The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde in the 13th century. The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on th ...