May Day, Labour Day, Workers’ Day, Day of the International Solidarity of Workers.

Today in HistoryÂ

2004 - Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.

1960 - Cold War: U-2 Crisis – Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking off a diplomatic crisis.

1945 - Soviet troops raise the Soviet Flag over the Reichstag, in Berlin

1975 - Alexei Smertin, Russian footballer is born
1918 - Gersh Budker, Russian physicist is born (d. 1977)

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Halloween began to gain popularity in Russia in the late 1990’s as part of a larger trend of adopting foreign holidays in Russia.

1981 - Irina Denezhkina, Russian writer is born

1892 - Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player is born (d. 1946)

1884 - Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian painter dies (b. 1858)

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2003 - Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko becomes the first person to marry in space when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas, while he was 240 miles over New Zealand, on the International Space Station

1937 - Anatoly Sobchak, Russian politician is born

1905 - Russian and Japanese peace negotiations begin in Portsmouth

1865 - Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer is born (d. 1936)

1839 - Aleksandr Grigorievich Stoletov, Russian physicist is born (d. 1896)

1737 - Anton Losenko, Russian painter is born (d. 1773)

in ancient Latvia - Labrenca Diena was held

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Today the liturgical feast day of the great martyr Saint Panteleimon is observed in Russian Orthodox Church

Today in History

1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.

1975 - Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer dies (b. 1906)

1938 - Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian politician is born

1896 - Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist is born (d. 1934)

1871 - Leonid Andreyev, Russian writer is born (d. 1919)

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The Orthodox church observes Procession of the Cross today

1997 - Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist dies (b. 1915)

1949 - Kurmanbek Bakiyev, President of Kyrgyzstan is born

1924 - Georges Charpak, Ukrainian-born physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate is born

1914 - Germany declares war on Russia at the opening of World War I

1812 - Yakov Kulnev, Russian general dies in battle (b. 1763)

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Today marks the Liturgical Feat of the Commemoration of Justin Martyr by the Orthodox church.

1076 - Mstislav of Kiev (d. 1132) is born

1928 - Georgi Dobrovolski, cosmonaut is born

1965 - Larisa Lazutina, Russian cross-country skier is born

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Today is Freedom Day in Belarus;

Today in History

2006 - Protesters demanding a re-election in Belarus following the rigged Belarusian presidential election, 2006 clash with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin was among several protesters arrested.

1992 - Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returns to Earth after a 10-month stay aboard the Mir space station.

1982 - Sergey Yakovlev, russian musical artist and painter is born

1976 - Wladimir Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer is born

1949 - The extensive deportation campaign known as March deportation was conducted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to force collectivisation by way of terror. The Soviet authorities deported more than 92,000 people from Baltics to remote areas of the Soviet Union.

1918 - The Belarusian People’s Republic was established.

1917 - The Georgian Orthodox Church restores its autocephaly abolished by Imperial Russia in 1811.

1479 - Vasili III, Grand Prince of Moscow is born (d. 1533)

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Today in History

2001 - The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.

1994 - Aeroflot Flight 593 crashes in Siberia when the pilot’s fifteen-year old son accidentally disengages the autopilot, killing 75.

1971 - Alexander Selivanov,  ice hockey player is born

1934 - Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician is born

1931 - Yevgenij Grishin, Russian speed skater is born (d. 2005)

1931 - Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player is born

1915 - Vasily Zaitsev,  World War II hero is born (d. 1991)

1887 - Prince Felix Yussupov, assassin of Rasputin is born (d. 1967)

1801 - Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death in his bedroom at St. Michael’s Castle.

In ancient Latvia - Lieldienas held in honor of Mara and other pagan goddesses.

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Today in History

1980 - Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater is born

1980 - On Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, 50 people are killed at an explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket on its launch pad during a fueling operation.

1969 - Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukrainian chess player is born

1965 - Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.

1946 - The diplomatic relations between Switzerland and the Soviet Union were established.

1874 - Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian philosopher is born (d. 1948)

1844 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer is born (d. 1908)

1746 - Anna Leopoldovna, regent of Russia dies (b. 1718)

1584 - Tsar Ivan IV of Russia dies (b. 1530)

In ancient Latvia - Bindus Diena was observed

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Today in History

2006 - Victor Sokolov, Russian dissident journalist and priest dies (b. 1947)

1949 - Natalia Kuchinskaya, Russian gymnast is born

1940 - Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia. Finnish troops and remaining population are immediately evacuated.

1921 - Ülo Jõgi, Estonian freedom fighter is born (d. 2007)

1918 - Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint-Petersburg held this status for 215 years.

1894 - Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter dies (b. 1840)

1863 - Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist is born (d. 1945)

In ancient Latvia - Gregoru Diena observed.

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