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149-461: The Counts Bobrinsky or Bobrinskoy ( Бобринские ) are a Russian noble family descending from Count Aleksey Grigorievich Bobrinsky (1762–1813), who was Catherine the Great 's natural son by Count Grigory Orlov . Empress Catherine II gave birth to her only official illegitimate son on April 11, 1762, several months before her ascension to the throne. Catherine had to conceal the pregnancy. When

298-883: A nobiliary particle before a surname (as von in German or de in French ); however, the Russian name suffix -skij which means “of” and is equal to “von” and “de” was used in many noble surnames especially topographic surnames as nobiliary particle. Russian noblemen were accorded an official salutation, or style , that varied by rank: your high born ( Russian : ваше высокородие , romanized :  vashe vysokorodie ), your high well born ( Russian : ваше высокоблагородие , romanized :  vashe vysokoblagorodie ), your well born ( Russian : ваше благородие , romanized :  vashe blagorodie ), etc. Titled nobility ( Russian : титулованное дворянство )

447-853: A Christian in the event of victory against the Visigothic Kingdom , which was said to have guaranteed the battle. Clovis regained the southwest from the Visigoths and was baptised in 508. Clovis I was the first Germanic conqueror after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire to convert to Catholic Christianity; thus France was given the title "Eldest daughter of the Church" by the papacy, and French kings called "the Most Christian Kings of France". The Franks embraced

596-425: A European counterweight between American and Soviet spheres of influence. However, he opposed any development of a supranational Europe , favouring sovereign nations . The revolt of May 1968 had an enormous social impact; it was a watershed moment when a conservative moral ideal (religion, patriotism, respect for authority) shifted to a more liberal moral ideal (secularism, individualism, sexual revolution). Although

745-552: A Western direction. In 1755 also during Elizabeth's reign, advanced secondary schools and the University of Moscow were founded with curricula that included foreign languages, philosophy, medicine and law; the material was chiefly based on imported texts from the west. Most significantly Peter III freed the nobility from obligatory civil and military service in 1762, allowing them to pursue personal interests. While some used this liberty as an excuse to lead lavish lives of leisure,

894-759: A combination of social, political and economic factors, which the Ancien Régime proved unable to manage. A financial crisis and social distress led in May 1789 to the convocation of the Estates General , which was converted into a National Assembly in June. The Storming of the Bastille on 14 July led to a series of radical measures by the Assembly, among them the abolition of feudalism , state control over

1043-569: A coup and civil war. During the May 1958 crisis , the weak Fourth Republic gave way to the Fifth Republic , which included a strengthened presidency. The war concluded with the Évian Accords in 1962 which led to Algerian independence , at a high price: between half a million and one million deaths and over 2 million internally-displaced Algerians. Around one million Pied-Noirs and Harkis fled from Algeria to France. A vestige of empire

1192-416: A fifth of the serfs were mortgaged, half by 1842. By 1859, a third of nobles' estates and two-thirds of their serfs were mortgaged to noble banks or to the state. The nobility was also weakened by the scattering of their estates, lack of primogeniture and the high turnover and mobility from estate to estate. After the peasant reform of 1861 the economic position of the nobility weakened. The influence of

1341-585: A large market for fake titles and coats of arms has developed since 1991. Supposedly original letters of nobility “from the Tsarist era” or confirmation diplomas from dubious associations can even be purchased on the Internet. Nobility was transferred by inheritance or was bestowed by a fount of honour , i.e. the sovereign of the Russian Empire , and was typically ranked as per below, with those of

1490-532: A period of economic prosperity and cultural and scientific flourishing known as the Belle Époque . France was one of the major participants of World War I , from which it emerged victorious at great human and economic cost. It was among the Allies of World War II , but it surrendered and was occupied in 1940. Following its liberation in 1944 , the short-lived Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in

1639-637: A select group became increasingly educated in Western ideas through schooling, reading, and travel. As before, these changes applied to few and represented a gradual shift in noble identity rather than a sudden or universal one. Marc Raeff in Origins of the Russian Intelligentsia has suggested this was not a noble victory but a sign the state didn't need them as much now that they had plenty of trained officials. When Catherine II ascended

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1788-413: A sizable middle class and which relied heavily on forced labor , proved an insurmountable obstacle to the development of a free market economy. Furthermore, the lower classes (an overwhelming majority of the Russian population) lived virtually isolated from the upper classes and the imperial court. Thus, most of the nobility's “western” tendencies were largely aesthetic and confined to a tiny proportion of

1937-424: A slump in grain prices, forcing the peasants to farm more land. At the same time, despite their efficiency, large peasant households split up (from 9.5 to 6.8 persons per household in central Russia, 1861–1884). The resulting land hunger increased prices 7-fold and made it easier for nobles to sell or rent land rather than farm it themselves. From 1861 to 1900 40% of noble land was sold to peasants (70% of this went to

2086-578: A standardized curriculum to be taught in her newly created public schools. While many members of the lower classes were allowed into these schools, Catherine hoped that they could become educated enough to rise through the meritocratic Table of Ranks and eventually become nobles themselves. Catherine also established the Society for the Translation of Foreign Books, “to bring enlightenment to those Russians who could not read either French or German.” It

2235-738: A stereotype there in the 1920s) and from there often to the USA , where a large part of the surviving members of the Imperial Family of Russia, the House of Romanov , and their descendants live today. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia quickly developed. Under Bolshevik rule, many nobles were persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and shot. Emperor Nicholas II and his family were banished to Yekaterinburg and murdered there. Thousands of dissidents, devout Christians, members of non-Russian peoples, communist officials and many nobles who remained in

2384-412: A surname derived from the estate he lived in. On the 5th day of his reign, Emperor Paul made his half-brother a count of the Russian Empire and promoted him to general-major. He married Baroness Anna Dorothea von Ungern-Sternberg (1769–1846) and had issue that continues to this day. The first Count Bobrinsky died on June 20, 1813, in his estate of Bogoroditsk, to the east of Tula . Bobrinsky Palace,

2533-466: A taste of the Enlightenment , of which they had experienced little. While even the most educated of the nobility still supported the autocracy that upheld the feudal system on which they depended, some considered how to make it more representative and to improve the bureaucracy. The period between Peter I and Catherine II represents gradual yet significant developments in western culture among

2682-593: A title. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the title of the nobleman in Russia gradually became a formal status, rather than a reference to a member of the aristocracy, due to a massive influx of commoners via the Table of ranks . Many descendants of the former ancient Russian aristocracy, including royalty, saw their formal standing change to merchants , burghers , or even peasants , while people descended from serfs (like Vladimir Lenin 's father) or clergy (like in

2831-636: Is a founding and leading member of the European Union and the eurozone , as well as a member of the Group of Seven , North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Francophonie . Originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire , the name France comes from the Latin Francia , or "realm of the Franks ". The name of

2980-506: Is clear that, like Peter I, Catherine the Great desired to construct a new nobility, a “new race,” which would both resemble western noblemen and prove knowledgeable in discussions of modern issues. And, according to accounts from foreign visitors, the noblemen did, in fact, resemble those of Western Europe in their dress, topics of discussion, and taste in literature and performance. She also gave away 66,000 serfs in 1762–72, 202,000 in 1773–93, and 100,000 in one day: 18 August 1795. Thus she

3129-717: Is neither the undisputed pretender to the throne nor does she - who is not a reigning monarch - have any constitutional authority to ennoble herself. Neither the Russian CILANE member association, the Union de la Noblesse Russe based in Paris, which largely consists of descendants of the “White Emigrants”, nor the Association of Baltic knighthoods , which unites the families of the Baltic-German enrolled nobility of

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3278-593: Is now France date from approximately 1.8 million years ago. Neanderthals occupied the region into the Upper Paleolithic era but were slowly replaced by Homo sapiens around 35,000 BC. This period witnessed the emergence of cave painting in the Dordogne and Pyrenees , including at Lascaux , dated to c.  18,000 BC. At the end of the Last Glacial Period (10,000 BC),

3427-520: Is the French overseas departments and territories . During the Cold War , de Gaulle pursued a policy of "national independence" towards the Western and Eastern blocs . He withdrew from NATO's military-integrated command (while remaining within the alliance), launched a nuclear development programme and made France the fourth nuclear power . He restored cordial Franco-German relations to create

3576-486: Is the world's leading tourist destination , receiving 100 million foreign visitors in 2023 . A developed country , France has a high nominal per capita income globally , and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world . It is a great power , being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an official nuclear-weapon state . France

3725-765: The francisca ), although these weapons may have been named because of their use by the Franks, not the other way around. In English, 'France' is pronounced / f r æ n s / FRANSS in American English and / f r ɑː n s / FRAHNSS or / f r æ n s / FRANSS in British English. The pronunciation with / ɑː / is mostly confined to accents with the trap-bath split such as Received Pronunciation , though it can be also heard in some other dialects such as Cardiff English . The oldest traces of archaic humans in what

3874-572: The 1905 Russian Revolution 3,000 manors were burnt (15% of the total). The Russian imperial nobility was multi-ethnic. Native non-Russians such as the Poles , Georgians , Lithuanians , Tatars , and Germans formed an important segment of the noble estate. The Baltic German nobility was particularly prominent. According to the 1897 |census, 0.87% of Russians were classified as hereditary nobles versus 5.29% of Georgians and 4.41% of Poles, followed by Lithuanians, Tatars, Azerbaijanis, and Germans. After

4023-512: The 1973 oil crisis , which now accounts for 75 per cent of its electricity production and results in less pollution. According to the 2020 Environmental Performance Index conducted by Yale and Columbia , France was the fifth most environmentally conscious country in the world. Like all European Union state members, France agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by 2020. As of 2009 , French carbon dioxide emissions per capita were lower than that of China. The country

4172-632: The 1995 public transport bombings , France has been targeted by Islamist organisations, notably the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015 which provoked the largest public rallies in French history, gathering 4.4 million people, the November 2015 Paris attacks which resulted in 130 deaths, the deadliest attack on French soil since World War II and the deadliest in the European Union since

4321-607: The Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror added "King of England" to his titles, becoming vassal and the equal of the king of France, creating recurring tensions. The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet was crowned king of the Franks . His descendants unified the country through wars and inheritance. From 1190, the Capetian rulers began to be referred as "kings of France" rather than "kings of

4470-591: The British Isles and Switzerland . The wars were ended by Henry IV 's Edict of Nantes , which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. Spanish troops, assisted the Catholics from 1589 to 1594 and invaded France in 1597. Spain and France returned to all-out war between 1635 and 1659. The war cost France 300,000 casualties. Under Louis XIII , Cardinal Richelieu promoted centralisation of

4619-564: The Carnac stones site (approximately 3,300 BC). In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (present-day Marseille ). Celtic tribes penetrated parts of eastern and northern France, spreading through the rest of the country between the 5th and 3rd century BC. Around 390 BC, the Gallic chieftain Brennus and his troops made their way to Roman Italy , defeated

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4768-793: The Catholic Church in France , and a declaration of rights . The next three years were dominated by struggle for political control, exacerbated by economic depression . Military defeats following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792 resulted in the insurrection of 10 August 1792 . The monarchy was abolished and replaced by the French First Republic in September, while Louis XVI

4917-609: The Charter to the Gentry . The Charter introduced an organization of the nobility: every province ( guberniia ) and district ( uezd ) had an Assembly of Nobility . The chair of an assembly was called Province/District Marshal of Nobility . In 1831 Nicholas I restricted the assembly votes to those with over 100 serfs, leaving 21,916 voters. By 1805 the various ranks of the nobility had become confused, as reflected in War and Peace . In

5066-523: The Commune and by 1900 two thirds of the nobles' arable land was rented to the peasantry). Between 1900–1914, over 20% of remaining noble land was sold but only 3% of the 155 estates over 50,000 destiny . According to the 1897 census, 71% of the top 4 ranks of the civil service were nobles. But in the civil service as a whole, noble membership declined from 49.8% in 1755 to 43.7% in the 1850s and to 30.7% in 1897. There were 1.2 million nobles, about 1% of

5215-609: The Consulate seized power in a coup led by Napoleon . Napoleon became First Consul in 1799 and later Emperor of the French Empire (1804–1814; 1815). Changing sets of European coalitions declared wars on Napoleon's empire . His armies conquered most of continental Europe with swift victories such as the battles of Jena-Auerstadt and Austerlitz . Members of the Bonaparte family were appointed monarchs in some of

5364-853: The European Union  (green) France , officially the French Republic , is a country located primarily in Western Europe . Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America , Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies , and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean , giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in

5513-666: The February Revolution of 1917 and still occupied many positions in politics and state administration (e.g. Prince Georgy Lvov ), was suppressed and abolished in the October Revolution by the new Soviet government run by the Bolsheviks with a decree of November 10/November 23, 1917. All classes of nobility ceased to exist as a class defined by state law. The vast majority of wealthy and high-ranking nobles left Russia as " White émigrés " or fell victim to

5662-855: The First French Empire . The collapse of the empire initiated a period of relative decline, in which France endured the Bourbon Restoration until the founding of the French Second Republic which was succeeded by the Second French Empire upon Napoleon III 's takeover. His empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. This led to the establishment of the Third French Republic , and subsequent decades saw

5811-1103: The Hercynian uplift in the Paleozoic Era , the Armorican Massif , the Massif Central , the Morvan , the Vosges and Ardennes ranges and the island of Corsica were formed. These massifs delineate several sedimentary basins such as the Aquitaine Basin in the southwest and the Paris Basin in the north. Various routes of natural passage, such as the Rhône Valley , allow easy communication. The Alpine, Pyrenean and Jura mountains are much younger and have less eroded forms. At 4,810.45 metres (15,782 ft) above sea level, Mont Blanc , located in

5960-405: The House of Plantagenet , rulers of the County of Anjou , established its dominion over the surrounding provinces of Maine and Touraine , then built an "empire" from England to the Pyrenees , covering half of modern France. Tensions between France and the Plantagenet empire would last a hundred years, until Philip II of France conquered, between 1202 and 1214, most continental possessions of

6109-406: The Madrid train bombings in 2004 . Opération Chammal , France's military efforts to contain ISIS , killed over 1,000 ISIS troops between 2014 and 2015. The vast majority of France's territory and population is situated in Western Europe and is called Metropolitan France . It is bordered by the North Sea in the north, the English Channel in the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and

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6258-402: The Mediterranean Sea in the southeast. Its land borders consist of Belgium and Luxembourg in the northeast, Germany and Switzerland in the east, Italy and Monaco in the southeast, and Andorra and Spain in the south and southwest. Except for the northeast, most of France's land borders are roughly delineated by natural boundaries and geographic features: to the south and southeast,

6407-469: The North Sea . Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 km (248,573 sq mi) and have a total population of 68.4 million as of January 2024 . France is a semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris , the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Metropolitan France was settled during the Iron Age by Celtic tribes known as Gauls before Rome annexed

6556-482: The Order of the Archangel Michael (founded in 1988) or the Ladies' Order of Saint Anastasia (founded in 2010) to their members. She even goes so far as to raise such people “to the nobility.” In 2007, she is said to have ennobled the former head of the Russian domestic secret service Federal Security Service (FSB), Nikolai Patrushev , who is considered one of Vladimir Putin's closest confidants (and one of his possible successor candidates). Patrushev himself described

6705-482: The Pamir Mountains , accompanied by a photographer and a linguist. His observations were published and are now available in an archive in the State Historical Museum . Another part of his collections of utensils and folk art, including the Bobrinski bucket , is at the Hermitage Museum . After the revolutions of 1917, he settled at his villa in Seis am Schlern . The Ismaili peoples among whom he travelled respect his work and reputation. The 150th anniversary of his birth

6854-459: The Popular Front government (e.g., annual leave , eight-hour workdays , women in government ). In 1940, France was invaded and quickly defeated by Nazi Germany . France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north, an Italian occupation zone and an unoccupied territory, the rest of France, which consisted of the southern France and the French empire. The Vichy government , an authoritarian regime collaborating with Germany, ruled

7003-428: The Russian Civil War or the Red Terror by the Bolsheviks. Countless nobles died in the civil war after the October Revolution - in the White Army units there were entire regiments that consisted exclusively of noble officers. Others emigrated, especially to Switzerland , preferably to Geneva , to Poland , Germany and France , where Paris became the center of Russian emigrants (the “princely taxi drivers” were

7152-488: The Seven Years' War (1756–1763). Its European territory kept growing, however, with acquisitions such as Lorraine and Corsica . Louis XV's weak rule, including the decadence of his court, discredited the monarchy, which in part paved the way for the French Revolution . Louis XVI (r. 1774–1793) supported America with money, fleets and armies , helping them win independence from Great Britain . France gained revenge, but verged on bankruptcy—a factor that contributed to

7301-421: The Thirty Years' War and further increased its influence during the reign of Louis XIV . The French Revolution of 1789 overthrew the Ancien Régime and produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man , which expresses the nation's ideals to this day. France reached its political and military zenith in the early 19th century under Napoleon Bonaparte , subjugating part of continental Europe and establishing

7450-423: The United States . In New York, the Russian Nobility Association in America , was founded in 1933. The number of descendants of noble families still living in Russia today is difficult to estimate after more than 70 years of communism, but with around 100 million inhabitants in 1917 it could be at least 50-60,000. While most of the descendants of the princely and comital houses have lived in western countries since

7599-470: The official language of France and Europe's aristocracy. France became rivals of the House of Habsburg during the Italian Wars , which would dictate much of their later foreign policy until the mid-18th century. French explorers claimed lands in the Americas, paving expansion of the French colonial empire . The rise of Protestantism led France to a civil war known as the French Wars of Religion . This forced Huguenots to flee to Protestant regions such as

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7748-556: The tsar did so in 1861. Of Russia's nobles, 62.8% were szlachta from the nine western gubernii in 1858 and still 46.1% in 1897. Obrok or cash rent was most common in the north while barshchina or labor rent was found mainly in the southern Black Earth Region. In the reign of Nicholas I (1825–1855) the latter brought three times the income of cash rent (though this needed less administration). In 1798 Ukrainian landlords were banned from selling serfs separately from land. In 1841 landless nobles were banned also. Descended from

7897-462: The 1870s. In the 20th century, the premises suffered enormous damage from the Bolsheviks , who demolished the wings of the palace in 1929, and from the Wehrmacht , who blew up the chateau in December 1941. The palace was restored in the 1960s and now functions as a museum. Aleksey's son Count Aleksey Alekseyevich Bobrinsky (1800–1868) is remembered as the founder of the sugar-processing industry in Imperial Russia. After brief and uneventful career at

8046-459: The 1970s France faced an economic crisis and allowed new immigrants (mostly from the Maghreb , in northwest Africa) to permanently settle in France with their families and acquire citizenship. It resulted in hundreds of thousands of Muslims living in subsidised public housing and suffering from high unemployment rates. The government had a policy of assimilation of immigrants, where they were expected to adhere to French values and norms. Since

8195-402: The 200 years of the Crusades, in such a fashion that the Arabs referred to crusaders as Franj . French Crusaders imported French into the Levant , making Old French the base of the lingua franca ("Frankish language") of the Crusader states . The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the southwest of modern-day France. From the 11th century,

8344-420: The 4th century, a period of revival and prosperity. In 312, Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity . Christians, who had been persecuted, increased. But from the 5th century, the Barbarian Invasions resumed. Teutonic tribes invaded the region, the Visigoths settling in the southwest, the Burgundians along the Rhine River Valley, and the Franks in the north. In Late antiquity , ancient Gaul

8493-438: The Alps on the France–Italy border , is the highest point in Western Europe. Although 60% of municipalities are classified as having seismic risks (though moderate). The coastlines offer contrasting landscapes: mountain ranges along the French Riviera , coastal cliffs such as the Côte d'Albâtre , and wide sandy plains in the Languedoc . Corsica lies off the Mediterranean coast. France has an extensive river system consisting of

8642-457: The Atlantic Ocean. Other water courses drain towards the Meuse and Rhine along the northeastern borders. France has 11,000,000 km (4,200,000 sq mi) of marine waters within three oceans under its jurisdiction, of which 97% are overseas. France was one of the first countries to create an environment ministry, in 1971. France is ranked 19th by carbon dioxide emissions due to the country's heavy investment in nuclear power following

8791-436: The Bobrinsky family seat in Bogoroditsk , was designed by Ivan Starov and constructed in the 1770s and 1780s, starting in 1773. The nearby Kazanskaya church was completed by 1778. The park was laid out by the palace's administrator, Andrey Bolotov (1738–1833), who is better known as one of the first Russian economists. It was Bolotov who established the Children's Theatre in Bogoroditsk. The palace and estate were renovated in

8940-423: The Bobrinskys, he emigrated to France following the revolutionary nationalization of their family enterprises. He is buried in the cemetery at Montmartre . Apart from politics, Count Aleksey Alexandrovich was a noted historian and archaeologist, Chairman of the Imperial Archaeological Commission (1886), Vice-President of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1889), and Chairman of the Free Economic Society (1894). He led

9089-504: The Christian Gallo-Roman culture , and ancient Gaul was renamed Francia ("Land of the Franks"). The Germanic Franks adopted Romanic languages . Clovis made Paris his capital and established the Merovingian dynasty , but his kingdom would not survive his death. The Franks treated land as a private possession and divided it among their heirs, so four kingdoms emerged from that of Clovis: Paris, Orléans , Soissons , and Rheims . The last Merovingian kings lost power to their mayors of

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9238-551: The FSB employees in an interview as “our new nobility” because of their sense of dedicated service. The aristocratic associations are therefore faced with the question of how to deal with such “new aristocrats”, who usually have no biographical or cultural connection to the traditional nobility, but are often historically connected to the CPSU or the KGB and are often influential. Some of these associations have taken this line and recognize such “nobility” as legitimate. Most, however, reject it, because Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna

9387-405: The Franks is related to the English word frank ("free"): the latter stems from the Old French franc ("free, noble, sincere"), and ultimately from the Medieval Latin word francus ("free, exempt from service; freeman, Frank"), a generalisation of the tribal name that emerged as a Late Latin borrowing of the reconstructed Frankish endonym * Frank . It has been suggested that

9536-420: The Franks". Later kings expanded their directly possessed domaine royal to cover over half of modern France by the 15th century. Royal authority became more assertive, centred on a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility , clergy, and commoners . The nobility played a prominent role in Crusades to restore Christian access to the Holy Land . French knights made up most reinforcements in

9685-402: The French government's longtime historical association with the Catholic Church , Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural grandeur. Charlemagne's son, Louis I kept the empire united, however in 843, it was divided between Louis' three sons, into East Francia , Middle Francia and West Francia . West Francia approximated the area occupied by modern France and

9834-542: The Pyrenees and the Alps and the Jura, respectively, and to the east, the Rhine river. Metropolitan France includes various coastal islands, of which the largest is Corsica . Metropolitan France is situated mostly between latitudes 41° and 51° N , and longitudes 6° W and 10° E , on the western edge of Europe, and thus lies within the northern temperate zone. Its continental part covers about 1000 km from north to south and from east to west. Metropolitan France covers 551,500 square kilometres (212,935 sq mi),

9983-408: The Revolution. Some of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and scientific breakthroughs, such as the naming of oxygen (1778) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists. French explorers took part in the voyages of scientific exploration through maritime expeditions. Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason is advocated as

10132-461: The Romans in the Battle of the Allia , and besieged and ransomed Rome. This left Rome weakened, and the Gauls continued to harass the region until 345 BC when they entered into a peace treaty. But the Romans and the Gauls remained adversaries for centuries. Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans, who called this region Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), which evolved into Provence in French. Julius Caesar conquered

10281-437: The Russian nobility was a gradual process rooted in the strict guidelines of Peter the Great and the educational reforms of Catherine the Great . While cultural westernization was mostly superficial and restricted to court, it coincided with the efforts of Russian autocrats to link Russia to Western Europe in more fundamental ways – socially, economically and politically. However, Russia's existing economic system, which lacked

10430-426: The Russian nobility who fled Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution played a significant role in the White Emigre communities which settled in Europe , in North America , and in other parts of the world. In the 1920s and 1930s, several Russian nobility associations were established outside Russia, including groups in France (the Union de la Noblesse Russe (UNR) is a member organization of CILANE ), Belgium , and

10579-402: The Russian tsar's crown. Some see Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia as the legitimate heir to the throne, but she is not recognized by the other remaining branches of the Romanov family. In particular, she has come to terms with the new Russian elite around President Vladimir Putin and awards some historical dynastic orders of the Tsars and sometimes even newly created orders such as

10728-845: The Soviet Union later fell victim to the “ purges ” under Stalin . However, a significant number of the (mostly untitled) small nobility, who had inconspicuous names, had previously served as civil servants and mostly owned little land, came to terms with the circumstances. Some of them even took part in building the new state - such as Lenin himself, Foreign Minister Georgy Chicherin as well as intelligence chief Felix Dzerzhinsky and his successor Vyacheslav Menzhinsky , both of whom came from Polish noble families; also Stalin's secret service chief Vsevolod Merkulov , Marshals Mikhail Tukhachevsky and Konstantin Rokossovsky . Occasionally, members of prominent aristocratic families also adapted to

10877-557: The Tsar, either for as long as they performed service or for their lifetime. By the 18th century, these estates had become private property. They made up the Landed army ( Russian : поместное войско , romanized :  pomestnoe voisko )—the basic military force of Russia. Peter the Great finalized the status of the nobility, while abolishing the boyar title. The adoption of the fashions, mannerisms, and ideals of Western Europe by

11026-638: The abolition of serfdom, the non-Russian nobility, with the exception of Finland , lost their special status. Later, many of the impoverished or déclassé Polish and Georgian nobles became leaders of nationalist and radical political movements, including Bolshevism . Quoting historian John Armstrong , Andrei Znamenski describes the Baltic Germans as a "mobilized diaspora" who acted as the Russian Empire's cultural and diplomatic envoys. The nobility, members of which had played an active role in

11175-466: The ancestry of actress Lyubov Orlova ) gained formal nobility. The nobility arose in the 12th and 13th centuries as the lowest part of the feudal military class, which comprised the court of a prince or an important boyar . From the 14th century land ownership by nobles increased, and by the 17th century, the bulk of feudal lords and the majority of landowners were nobles. The nobles were granted estates out of State lands in return for their service to

11324-711: The area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture . In the Early Middle Ages , the Franks formed the Kingdom of Francia , which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire . The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia evolving into the Kingdom of France . In the High Middle Ages , France was a powerful but decentralized feudal kingdom, but from

11473-437: The boyars began to imitate the westerners in dress and hairstyle, Tsar Alexis in 1675 and then Tsar Feodor in 1680 restricted foreign fashions to distinguish between Russians and outsiders, but these were not effectively enforced until the 1690s. Peter the Great was, first and foremost, eager to do away with Russia's reputation as an Asiatic land and to propel his new empire onto the political stage of Western Europe. One of

11622-544: The circumstances, either becoming Bolsheviks themselves, like the diplomat Leonid Leonidovich Obolensky (1873−1930), father of the actor Leonid Obolensky , or supporting the new system, like the writer Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy or the actor Mikheil Gelovani . Some married into the proletariat and the next, Soviet-influenced generation was accepted into the Soviet academic elite, such as Georgy Golitsyn , Vladimir Vladimirovich Golitsyn or Andrey Gagarin . Many members of

11771-514: The climate became milder; from approximately 7,000 BC, this part of Western Europe entered the Neolithic era, and its inhabitants became sedentary . After demographic and agricultural development between the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, metallurgy appeared , initially working gold, copper and bronze , then later iron . France has numerous megalithic sites from the Neolithic, including

11920-822: The constitutional July Monarchy ; French troops began the conquest of Algeria . Unrest led to the French Revolution of 1848 and the end of the July Monarchy. The abolition of slavery and introduction of male universal suffrage was re-enacted in 1848. In 1852, president of the French Republic, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte , Napoleon I's nephew, was proclaimed emperor of the Second Empire , as Napoleon III. He multiplied French interventions abroad, especially in Crimea , Mexico and Italy . Napoleon III

12069-763: The construction of the first railway in Russia. Bobrinsky's contributions to the national economics were commemorated by a bronze statue in Kiev . Unlike many other Russian nobles, the Bobrinskys continued as prosperous businessmen after the 1861 emancipation of serfs , starting coal mining in their estates near Tula and helping to build railways all over Russia. Aleksey Alekseyevich's second son Count Vladimir Alekseyevich Bobrinsky (1824–1898) served as Minister of Transportation in 1868–1871, succeeded in this post by his cousin, Count Aleksey Pavlovich Bobrinsky (1826–1894). The eldest great-grandson of Count Aleksey Alekseyevich

12218-498: The course of the defeat in the Algerian War . The current Fifth Republic was formed in 1958 by Charles de Gaulle . Algeria and most French colonies became independent in the 1960s, with the majority retaining close economic and military ties with France . France retains its centuries-long status as a global centre of art , science , and philosophy . It hosts the fourth-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and

12367-617: The due date came, to distract her husband, Emperor Peter III , her trusted servant Vasily Shkurin was ordered to burn his own house, knowing that the Emperor had a passion to watch the fires. The child was named Aleksey after his uncle and godfather, Count Aleksey Orlov . He was brought up in Bobriki , a village in the Tula guberniya . On April 2, 1781, Catherine sent him a letter, in which she openly avowed her maternity. She named him Bobrinsky,

12516-718: The eight ex-Polish provinces where the Tsar wanted to weaken the Szlachta . The other 10% lived in Astrakhan and in the barren north. In the whole Empire, peasant land declined 4.1% - 13.3% outside the ex-Polish zone and 23.3% in the 16 black-earth provinces. Georgia's serfs suffered the loss of 1 ⁄ 5 of their land in Tiflis province, 1 ⁄ 3 in Kutaisi province. These redemption payments were not abolished till January 1, 1907. The influx of New World grain caused

12665-526: The empire, leaving England and Aquitaine to the Plantagenets. Charles IV the Fair died without an heir in 1328. The crown passed to Philip of Valois , rather than Edward of Plantagenet, who became Edward III of England . During the reign of Philip, the monarchy reached the height of its medieval power. However Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward in 1337, and England and France entered

12814-613: The ensuing uprising of European monarchies against his rule, Napoleon was defeated. About a million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic Wars . After his brief return from exile, Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo , and the Bourbon monarchy was restored with new constitutional limitations. The discredited Bourbon dynasty was overthrown by the July Revolution of 1830, which established

12963-567: The era of the Napoleonic Wars , there were counts who were wealthier and more important than princes and noble families whose wealth had been dissipated partly through lack of primogeniture , partly through extravagance and due to poor estate-management. Young noblemen served in the military but did not thereby acquire new landed estates. Tolstoy reported later improvements: some nobles paid more attention to estate management, and some, like Andrey Bolkonsky , freed their serfs even before

13112-545: The excavations of Scythian mounds near Kerch and Kiev, describing some of his findings in the monograph on Tauric Chersonesos (1905). He was in charge of the extraction and publication of the Pereshchepina hoard . Vladimir's nephew, Count Nikolay Alekseyevich Bobrinsky (1890–1964) specialized in biology . Unlike his relatives, he chose to remain in Moscow after the revolution and came to be recognized as one of

13261-500: The following privileges: The Russian Tsardom came into being around the Grand Duchy of Moscow by the incorporation of various political entities surrounding it. After Peter the Great returned from his grand tour he implemented reforms aimed at westernization of his realm, including officially adopting the title of Emperor of All Russia , preceding the traditional Slavic title of Tsar . Peter and his successors also streamlined

13410-594: The forefront of the development of a supranational European Union , notably by signing the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, establishing the eurozone in 1999 and signing the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. France has fully reintegrated into NATO and since participated in most NATO-sponsored wars. Since the 19th century, France has received many immigrants , often male foreign workers from European Catholic countries who generally returned home when not employed. During

13559-434: The former Russian Empire, recognize Maria Vladimirovna or anyone else as holder of the throne with the power of ennoblement. However, the fact that influential “would-be nobles” make up a significant proportion of the members of the new Russian aristocratic associations leads to major conflicts within and between the Russian aristocratic associations. Since membership in the nobility is neither legally recognized nor protected,

13708-976: The four major rivers Seine , the Loire , the Garonne , the Rhône and their tributaries, whose combined catchment includes over 62% of the metropolitan territory. The Rhône divides the Massif Central from the Alps and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the Camargue . The Garonne meets the Dordogne just after Bordeaux, forming the Gironde estuary , the largest estuary in Western Europe which after approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) empties into

13857-516: The gentry, the landholding, but not serf-owning, odnodvortsy were between peasants and nobles. They emerged as frontier settlers recruited from the class of boyar scions . The status of the odnodvortsy changed gradually from singleholding farmers to taxed state peasants. The nobility was too weak to oppose the Emancipation reform of 1861 . In 1858, three million serfs were held by 1,400 landlords (1.4%) while 2 million by 79,000 (78%). In 1820

14006-488: The highest noble prestige ranked first. Unlike the ancient nobility, which was exclusively hereditary, the remaining classes of nobility could be acquired. A newly designated noble was usually entitled to landownership . A loss of land did not automatically mean loss of nobility. In later Imperial Russia , higher ranks of state service (see Table of Ranks ) were automatically granted nobility, not necessarily associated with land ownership. Russian did not in general employ

14155-414: The highest rank of gentry , who performed duties at the royal court, lived in it ( Moskovskie zhiltsy , "Moscow dwellers"), or were candidates to it, as for many boyar scions ( dvorovye deti boyarskie , vybornye deti boyarskie ). A nobleman is called a dvoryanin (plural: dvoryane ). Pre- Soviet Russia shared with other countries the concept that nobility connotes a status or social category rather than

14304-465: The image and personality of the courtiers to appear forced and awkward. Friedrich Christian Weber , a representative of Britain, commented in 1716 that the nobles “wear the German Dress; but it is easy to observe on many, that they have not been long used to it”. While none of the rulers in power from 1725 to 1762 focused as strongly on cultural westernization, Peter sparked a transformation that

14453-479: The largest among European Union members. France's total land area, with its overseas departments and territories (excluding Adélie Land ), is 643,801 km (248,573 sq mi), 0.45% of the total land area on Earth. France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the southeast, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in

14602-414: The learning of foreign languages especially French , which was the foremost political and intellectual language of Europe at the time. For the nobility, these changes felt even more forced than fashion regulations. As with clothing, there was uniform acceptance of Western mannerisms at court but general disregard for them outside of St. Petersburg. Furthermore, when Westerners visited Peter's court they found

14751-421: The many ways he hoped to achieve this was by changing the upper-class culture; he believed that forcing selected features of western fashion, education, and language onto the nobility would hasten Russia's rise to international prestige. In 1697, he began to send nobles on compulsory trips abroad to England, Holland, and Italy. While the Tsar primarily designed these expeditions for naval training, he also encouraged

14900-466: The meaning "free" was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul , only Franks were free of taxation, or more generally because they had the status of freemen in contrast to servants or slaves. The etymology of *Frank is uncertain. It is traditionally derived from the Proto-Germanic word * frankōn , which translates as "javelin" or "lance" (the throwing axe of the Franks was known as

15049-601: The mid-14th to the mid-15th centuries, France was plunged into a dynastic conflict with England known as the Hundred Years' War . In the 16th century, the French Renaissance saw culture flourish and a French colonial empire rise. Internally, France was dominated by the conflict with the House of Habsburg and the French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots . France was successful in

15198-414: The monarchist cause. Count Vladimir Alekseyevich Bobrinsky (1868–1927) was the third son of Count Aleksey Pavlovich. He was educated at Monkton Combe School , near Bath, Somerset , together with three of his younger brothers. He represented Russian nationalists in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th State Dumas, advocating speedy Russification of border regions and supporting Pyotr Stolypin 's reforms. Like most of

15347-533: The most prominent Soviet zoologists . A species of jerboa is named after him. His son Nikolay Nikolayevich, a geographer, who wrote a novel on the life of the first Bobrinsky, lived in Moscow until his death in 2000. Count Alexey Alexeyevich Bobrinsky  [ ru ] (1861–1938) was the last owner of the Bobriki estate. A scholarly ethnographer, he organized three expeditions to the tribes and villagers in

15496-647: The most-used language in diplomacy, science, and literature until the 20th century. France took control of territories in the Americas, Africa and Asia. In 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes , forcing thousands of Huguenots into exile and published the Code Noir providing the legal framework for slavery and expelling Jews from French colonies. Under the wars of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774), France lost New France and most Indian possessions after its defeat in

15645-458: The newly established kingdoms. These victories led to the worldwide expansion of French revolutionary ideals and reforms, such as the metric system , Napoleonic Code and Declaration of the Rights of Man. In 1812 Napoleon attacked Russia , reaching Moscow. Thereafter his army disintegrated through supply problems, disease, Russian attacks, and finally winter. After this catastrophic campaign and

15794-452: The nobility was further reduced by the new law statutes of 1864 , which repealed their right of electing law officer. The reform of the police in 1862 limited the landowners' authority locally, and the establishment of all-estate Zemstvo local government did away with the exclusive influence of nobility in local self-government. These changes occurred despite the nobles keeping nearly all the meadows and forests and having their debts paid by

15943-399: The nobility was only passed on in the male line . The acceptance of descendants through the female line, which is contrary to tradition and is now practiced by some of the more recent associations, is therefore very controversial. The various aristocratic associations have different opinions not only with regard to aristocratic law, but also with regard to the succession of the pretenders to

16092-588: The nobility, replacing the long-sleeved traditional Muscovite robes with European clothing. Beginning in 1699 the tsar decreed strict dress requirements borrowing from German, Hungarian, French and British styles, fining any noblemen who failed to obey. Peter himself, who usually wore German dress and had a trimmed mustache, acted as a prime example. While the nobility universally followed Peter's fashion preferences at court, they greatly resented these styles, which they saw as blasphemous. Away from St. Petersburg , very few noblemen followed Peter's guidelines and enforcement

16241-487: The nobility. Empress Anna gave many privileges to the nobility. In 1730 she repealed the primogeniture law introduced by Peter the Great allowing the sub-division of estates. In 1736 the age at which nobles had to start service was raised from 15 to 20 and length of service was changed to 25 years instead of life and families with more than one son could keep one to manage the family estate. In 1726 Catherine I and in 1743 Empress Elizabeth further regulated noble dress in

16390-461: The noblemen to learn about the arts of the west. Furthermore, Peter prioritized sending Russian natives as opposed to foreign expatriates; he was intent on “breeding” a new nobility that conformed to western customs but represented the Slavic people as a whole. When the travelers returned to Moscow, Peter tested them on their training, insisting on further education for those whose accumulated knowledge

16539-507: The off-and-on Hundred Years' War . Boundaries changed, but landholdings inside France by English Kings remained extensive for decades. With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc , French counterattacks won back most English continental territories. France was struck by the Black Death , from which half of the 17 million population died. The French Renaissance saw cultural development and standardisation of French, which became

16688-631: The palace (head of household). One mayor of the palace, Charles Martel , defeated an Umayyad invasion of Gaul at the Battle of Tours (732). His son, Pepin the Short , seized the crown of Francia from the weakened Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty . Pepin's son, Charlemagne , reunited the Frankish kingdoms and built an empire across Western and Central Europe . Proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III and thus establishing

16837-400: The populace. As different rulers ascended the throne in the 19th century, each figure brought a different attitude and approach to ruling the nobility. Yet, the cultural impact of Peter I and Catherine II was set in stone. Ironically, by introducing the nobility to political literature from Western Europe, Catherine exposed Russia's autocracy to them as archaic and illiberal. While the nobility

16986-637: The population (8% in Poland; compare with 4% in Hungary and 1 to 1.5% in France). Their military influence waned: in the Crimean War 90% of officers were noble, by 1913 the proportion had sunk to 50%. They lived increasingly away from their estates: in 1858 only 15 to 20% of Russian nobles lived in cities, by 1897 it was 47.2%. By 1904 1 ⁄ 3 of noble land was mortgaged to the noble bank. During

17135-631: The primary source of legitimacy , undermined the power of and support for the monarchy and was a factor in the Revolution. The French Revolution was a period of political and societal change that began with the Estates General of 1789 , and ended with the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 and the formation of the French Consulate . Many of its ideas are fundamental principles of liberal democracy , while its values and institutions remain central to modern political discourse. Its causes were

17284-586: The remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt by Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC. Gaul was divided by Augustus into provinces and many cities were founded during the Gallo-Roman period , including Lugdunum (present-day Lyon ), the capital of the Gauls. In 250–290 AD, Roman Gaul suffered a crisis with its fortified borders attacked by barbarians . The situation improved in the first half of

17433-454: The revolt was a political failure (the Gaullist party emerged stronger than before) it announced a split between the French and de Gaulle, who resigned. In the post-Gaullist era, France remained one of the most developed economies in the world but faced crises that resulted in high unemployment rates and increasing public debt. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, France has been at

17582-562: The revolution, many members of lower-ranking families have remained in Russia. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, aristocratic associations and organizations that maintained noble traditions were permitted again in Russia, but the Russian nobility no longer exists as a social class. The historical noble families are known from the sources. However, in Russia, as everywhere in Europe, according to historical aristocratic law,

17731-463: The room. In 1705 he decreed a beard tax on all men of rank in Moscow and ordered certain officers to seek out noble beards and shave them on sight. He only allowed peasants, priests, and serfs to retain the ingrained and religious Russian tradition of wearing beards, which the Orthodox populace considered an essential aspect of their duty to convey the image of God. He also reformed the clothing of

17880-498: The royal court, he retired from service and settled in Bogoroditsk, establishing one of the first Russian sugar refineries there. Later, he moved his operations to Ukraine , making various agricultural activities the chief source of his family income. It was thanks to him that Russia stopped importing sugar from abroad. He also published a treatise on economic theory and set up a society for development of railways, which financed

18029-549: The second-largest behind the British Empire . Including metropolitan France, the total area reached almost 13 million square kilometres in the 1920s and 1930s, 9% of the world's land. Known as the Belle Époque , the turn of the century was characterised by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity and technological, scientific and cultural innovations. In 1905, state secularism was officially established . France

18178-472: The southwest. Due to its numerous overseas departments and territories scattered across the planet, France possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 11,035,000 km (4,261,000 sq mi). Its EEZ covers approximately 8% of the total surface of all the EEZs of the world. Metropolitan France has a wide variety of topographical sets and natural landscapes. During

18327-664: The state and reinforced royal power. He destroyed castles of defiant lords and denounced the use of private armies. By the end of the 1620s, Richelieu established "the royal monopoly of force". France fought in the Thirty Years' War , supporting the Protestant side against the Habsburgs. From the 16th to the 19th century, France was responsible for about 10% of the transatlantic slave trade . During Louis XIV 's minority, trouble known as The Fronde occurred. This rebellion

18476-454: The state, while the ex-serfs paid 34% over the market price for the shrunken plots they kept. This figure was 90% in the northern regions, 20% in the black-earth region but zero in the Polish provinces. In 1857, 6.79% of serfs were domestic, landless servants who stayed landless after 1861. Only Polish and Romanian domestic serfs got land. Ninety percent of the serfs who got larger plots lived in

18625-733: The stratification of the Russian nobility, adopting European-style titles such as Count and Baron and discontinuing the archaic titles of Boyars . The Russian system of noble titles evolved into its final form: His Imperial Majesty The Lord Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia ( Его Императорское Величество Государь Император и Самодержец Всероссийский ) ( Ваше Императорское Величество ) His Imperial Highness The Lord Heir Tsesarevich and Grand Prince ( Его Императорское Высочество Государь Наследник Цесаревич и Великий Князь ) * ( Ваше Императорское Высочество ) France – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in

18774-440: The throne, she quickly made her political and philosophical opinions clear in the “Instruction” of 1767, a lengthy document which she prepared for the nobility, drawing largely from and even plagiarizing ideas from the west, especially those of Jean-Jacques Rousseau . The point she emphasized first and foremost was that Russia was a truly European state, and her reforms of the court and education reflect this belief. While Catherine

18923-530: The unoccupied territory. Free France , the government-in-exile led by  Charles de Gaulle , was set up in London. From 1942 to 1944, about 160,000 French citizens, including around 75,000 Jews , were deported to death and concentration camps . On 6 June 1944, the Allies invaded Normandy , and in August they invaded Provence . The Allies and French Resistance emerged victorious, and French sovereignty

19072-524: The west. For the first time in the history of the Russian court, “intellectual pursuits became fashionable”. When foreigners visited the court, Catherine expected the noblemen and their ladies to flaunt not only their western appearance but also their ability to discuss current events in western languages. Catherine also made specific reforms in institutional education that pushed the nobility's culture further westward. She based Russian education on that of Austria, importing German textbooks and adopting in 1786

19221-511: The wife. Estateless nobility ( Russian : беспоместное дворянство ) was nobility acquired by state service, but without a grant of land. In addition, the ancient nobility ( Russian : Древнее дворянство ) was recognised, descendants of Rurik , Gediminas and historical boyars and knyazes , e.g., the Shuyskies , Galitzins , Naryshkins , Khilkoffs , Gorchakovs , Belosselsky-Belozerskys and Chelyadnins . Russian nobility possessed

19370-731: The world . Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the northeast, Switzerland to the east, Italy and Monaco to the southeast, Andorra and Spain to the south, and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and

19519-464: Was invaded by Germany and defended by Great Britain at the start of World War I in August 1914. A rich industrial area in the north was occupied. France and the Allies emerged victorious against the Central Powers at tremendous human cost. It left 1.4 million French soldiers dead, 4% of its population. Interwar was marked by intense international tensions and social reforms introduced by

19668-854: Was Count Aleksei Aleksandrovich Bobrinsky (1852–1927), who led the Council of United Nobility starting in 1906 and represented the nobility of the St Petersburg guberniya in the Senate and the 3rd State Duma . He was appointed into the State Council of Imperial Russia in 1912. During World War I , Bobrinskoy was elected Chairman of the Russian-English Bank . In 1916, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Interior and Minister of Agriculture. The October Revolution forced him to emigrate to France , where he actively campaigned for

19817-410: Was a founding member of NATO and attempted to regain control of French Indochina , but was defeated by the Viet Minh in 1954. France faced another anti-colonialist conflict in Algeria , then part of France and home to over one million European settlers ( Pied-Noir ). The French systematically used torture and repression, including extrajudicial killings to keep control. This conflict nearly led to

19966-416: Was able to bind the nobility to herself. From 1782, a kind of uniform was introduced for civilian nobles called uniform of civilian service or simply civilian uniform . The uniform prescribed colors that depended on the territory. The uniform was required at the places of service, at the Court, and at other important public places. The privileges of the nobility were fixed and were legally codified in 1785 in

20115-456: Was celebrated in 2011. Russian nobility The Russian word for nobility, dvoryanstvo derives from Slavonic dvor (двор), meaning the court of a prince or duke ( knyaz ), and later, of the tsar or emperor. Here, dvor originally referred to servants at the estate of an aristocrat . In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the system of hierarchy was a system of seniority known as mestnichestvo . The word dvoryane described

20264-780: Was conservative as a whole, a liberal and radical minority remained constant throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, resorting to violence on multiple occasions in order to challenge Russia's traditional political system (see Decembrist Revolt , Narodnaya Volya ). Although Peter the Great is considered to be the first westernized ruler of Russia, there were, in fact, contacts between the Muscovite nobility and Western Europe before his reign . Ivan III , starting in 1472, sent numerous agents to Italy to study architecture . Both Michael Romanov (1613–1645) and his son Alexis (1645–1676) invited and sponsored European visitors – mostly military, medical, and building specialists – who came to Moscow in foreign dress, speaking foreign languages. When

20413-451: Was divided into Germanic kingdoms and a remaining Gallo-Roman territory. Celtic Britons , fleeing the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain , settled in west Armorica ; the Armorican peninsula was renamed Brittany and Celtic culture was revived. The first leader to unite all Franks was Clovis I , who began his reign as king of the Salian Franks in 481, routing the last forces of the Roman governors in 486. Clovis said he would be baptised

20562-479: Was driven by feudal lords and sovereign courts as a reaction to the royal absolute power . The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and reign of Louis XIV. By turning lords into courtiers at the Palace of Versailles , his command of the military went unchallenged. The "Sun King" made France the leading European power. France became the most populous European country and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French became

20711-405: Was executed in January 1793. After another revolt in June 1793 , the constitution was suspended and power passed from the National Convention to the Committee of Public Safety . About 16,000 people were executed in a Reign of Terror , which ended in July 1794 . Weakened by external threats and internal opposition, the Republic was replaced in 1795 by the Directory . Four years later in 1799,

20860-414: Was its precursor. During the 9th and 10th centuries, threatened by Viking invasions , France became a decentralised state: the nobility's titles and lands became hereditary, and authority of the king became more religious than secular, and so was less effective and challenged by noblemen. Thus was established feudalism in France. Some king's vassals grew so powerful they posed a threat to the king. After

21009-457: Was lax. Peter also demanded changes in mannerisms and language among nobles. To supply Russians with a basic set of “proper” morals and habits, he ordered publication of manuals on Western etiquette. The most popular of these was The Honourable Mirror of Youth or A Guide to Social Conduct Gathered from Various Authors , a compilation of rules of conduct from numerous European sources, initially published in St. Petersburg in 1717. He also encouraged

21158-410: Was now unstoppable. Through their education and travels, some members of the nobility began to understand the extent to which Russia lagged behind Western Europe in the complexity of their political and educational systems, their technology and economy. By 1750, the ideas of secularism , skepticism and humanism had reached sects of the elite class, providing some with a new worldview and giving Russia

21307-530: Was primarily preoccupied with impressing westerners (especially the philosophers , with whom she corresponded in writing), in doing so she also made significant efforts to educate the nobility and expose them to western philosophy and art. She designed an imperial court in the style of Louis XIV , entertaining the nobility with performances of western theatre and music. She encouraged the understanding of French, German, and English languages so that nobles could read classic, historical, and philosophical literature from

21456-453: Was restored with the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF). This interim government, established by de Gaulle, continued to wage war against Germany and to purge collaborators from office . It made important reforms e.g. suffrage extended to women and the creation of a social security system. A new constitution resulted in the Fourth Republic (1946–1958), which saw strong economic growth ( les Trente Glorieuses ). France

21605-608: Was set to impose a carbon tax in 2009; however, the plan was abandoned due to fears of burdening French businesses. Forests account for 31 per cent of France's land area—the fourth-highest proportion in Europe—representing an increase of 7 per cent since 1990. French forests are some of the most diverse in Europe, comprising more than 140 species of trees. France had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.52/10, ranking it 123rd globally. There are nine national parks and 46 natural parks in France. A regional nature park (French: parc naturel régional or PNR)

21754-414: Was the highest category: those who had titles such as prince , count and baron . The latter two titles were introduced by Peter the Great . A baron or count could be either proprietary ( actual ) (владетельный (действительный))— i.e., who owned land in the Russian Empire —or titular (титулярный), i.e., only endowed with a rank or title. Hereditary nobility ( Russian : потомственное дворянство )

21903-413: Was transferred to wife, children, and further direct legal descendants along the male ( agnatic ) line. In exceptional cases, the emperor could transfer nobility along indirect or female lines, e.g., to preserve a notable family name. Personal nobility ( Russian : личное дворянство ) could, for instance, be acquired by admission to orders of knighthood of the Russian Empire . It was transferable only to

22052-451: Was unsatisfactory. By 1724, he had established – for the purpose of scientific study and discovery – the Academy of Sciences , which he modeled after “the ones in Paris, London, Berlin, and other places”. Peter's westernizing efforts became more radical after 1698 when he returned from his expedition through Europe known as the Grand Embassy . Upon arriving Peter summoned the nobility to his court and personally shaved almost every beard in

22201-404: Was unseated following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and his regime replaced by the Third Republic . By 1875, the French conquest of Algeria was complete, with approximately 825,000 Algerians killed from famine, disease, and violence. France had colonial possessions since the beginning of the 17th century, but in the 19th and 20th centuries its empire extended greatly and became

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