Friday, March 5, 2010

Restraintz

Today, I found out my transcripts are being held AGAINST MY WILL. This is not really blog material, but I am panicking sooooo I'm going to tell the people who have accumulated 15 views on this thing! Yeah 15!
So yeah, my entire application is on HOLD. Tomorrow I am going to go knock some heads around. Because its Russia, and the Russians are my homeboys. No transcript biz is going to keep me from chillin' with the villains. Other than that there is no news about Russia, other than I wrote some sweet questions for my Russian history class today. My entire undergraduate experience is spent preparing myself to go to a country, where I would never use any of my knowledge in a conversation with them, let alone know the words necessary to speak in academic jargon about the Petrine Era and the issue of citizenship in Imperial Russia. It makes me feel really prepared for the world.

Ok, I just had a brilliant idea. Since I can't use this knowledge for my actual life, I will utilize it in my fake life. RIGHT HERE WITH YOU!
Ok ok ok, so first nugget of history:
Peter the Great: Biggest Badass Baller on the Block, otherwise known as BBBotB
Basically, he took Russia ran it through the blender and it came out bigger, badder, and more European.
He came into his tsardom around age 10 I believe, amidst a rebellion led by his half-sister who wanted the throne as well, during this time the military elite clashed with Peter's 'faction' and many people were killed, friends to both sides, and Peter was a witness to some of these events. At the age of 10!
Finally, he gets back on the throne, AFTER his sister ruling over him for over five years. He was super into ships, and science, and was also 6'8". Six feet and eight inches tall. Ridiculous. A woman can barely find a properly 6' man in these lean times. 
Anyways, he gets on the throne because his sister had some difficulty in the Crimea, a place very near and dear to the Russian heart, and eventually after sharing power with his mother and his super lame brother Ivan V, he is tsar all on his own in 1696.  A note on Ivan V, he was completely incapable, and it still boggles me that he was put on the throne at all. What did that say about the Romanov family when their fellow royalty or ambassadors or dignitaries were around him? I seem to remember he was of such intense disabilities that he had a hard time walking without assistance, and mentally lacking...to say the least. Oddly enough, he was convinced to let his brother assume the power when they were finally no longer co-tsars. Oh my gosh if you rearrange that is says co-stars!!! SO funny. 

SO there is your first nugget of Russian history. I hope you enjoy.

Chmok chmok,
TaanTaan

1 comment: