|
Tsar Pushka
The Tsar Cannon (russian: Царь-пушка, ''Tsar'-pushka'') is a large early modern period Artillery, artillery piece (known as a ''bombarda'' in Russian) on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. It is a monument of Russian artillery casting art, cast in bronze in 1586 in Moscow, by the Russian master bronze caster Andrey Chokhov. Mostly of symbolic impact, it was never used in a war. However, the cannon bears traces of at least one firing. Per the ''Guinness Book of Records'' it is the List of the largest cannons by caliber, largest bombard by caliber in the world, and it is a major tourist attraction in the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin. Description The Tsar Cannon is located just past the Kremlin Armory, facing towards the Kremlin Senate. The Tsar Cannon is made of bronze; it weighs and has a length of .Portnov 1990, p. 19 Its bronze-cast barrel has an internal diameter of , and an external diameter of . The barrel has eight cast rectangular brackets for use in tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrey Chokhov
Andrey Chokhov, also spelled Chekhov (''Андрей Чохов (Чехов)'' in Russian) (c. 1545 – 1629, allegedly 8 December, Moscow) was a highly prominent Russian cannon and bell caster. He worked in Moscow at the Cannon Yard for more than 40 years, where he was responsible for casting many heavy weapons. Over 20 were documented, from 1568 to 1629, including the Tsar Cannon cast in 1586. His traditions were continued by the Motorin family. Biography Andrey Chokhov was born in about 1545, and entered the teaching of the well-known master cannon caster Kashpir Ganusov at a very young age, and stood out from the mass of Ganusov's students who performed regular work. Chokhov took the lead in casting cannons in Moscow in 1590. Chokhov as cannon maker Andrey Chokhov began his career at the Cannon yard in Moscow during the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the 1550s as an apprentice to a German (?) caster Kashpir Ganusov (russified name). In the 1570s, Chokhov became one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grapeshot
Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat. In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of a collection of smaller-caliber round shots, which in most cases are about the size of a golf ball, packed tightly in a canvas bag and separated from the gunpowder charge by a metal wadding, rather than being a single solid projectile. Grapeshot also comes packaged in clusters of three by iron rings, and in three tiers, with the shot being held in by cast iron rings. When assembled, the shot resembled a cluster of grapes, hence the name. Grapeshot was used both on land and at sea. On firing, the canvas wrapping disintegrates and the contained balls scatter out from the muzzle, giving a ballistic effect similar to a giant shotgun. Grapeshot was devastatingly effective against massed infantry at short range and was also used at medium rang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilot Hole
In construction, a pilot hole is a small hole drilled into a piece of construction material. Its purpose may be: #to guide a larger drill to the appropriate location and ease the job of the larger drill #allow for the insertion of another hole-making tool, such as a knockout punch, that will produce the final-sized hole, or #locate, guide, and provide clearance for a self-threading screw in wood or plastic to prevent damaging the material or breaking the screw. Pilot for large holes A pilot hole may be drilled the full extent of the final hole, or may only be a portion of the final depth. The pilot drill may be a standard twist drill, another type of drill bit appropriate for the material, or, when the primary purpose is precisely locating a hole, may be made with a short, stiff center drill. The pilot hole also reduces the power needed to turn a large drill bit, and reduces the large bit breakage risk. For twist drill bits, the pilot size is usually selected so that the chi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). The sulfur and carbon act as fuels while the saltpeter is an oxidizer. Gunpowder has been widely used as a propellant in firearms, artillery, rocketry, and pyrotechnics, including use as a blasting agent for explosives in quarrying, mining, building pipelines and road building. Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate and consequently low brisance. Low explosives deflagrate (i.e., burn at subsonic speeds), whereas high explosives detonate, producing a supersonic shockwave. Ignition of gunpowder packed behind a projectile generates enough pressure to force the shot from the muzzle at high speed, but usually not enough force to rupture the gun barrel. It thus makes a good propellan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serpukhov
Serpukhov ( rus, Серпухов, p=ˈsʲɛrpʊxəf) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka and the Nara Rivers, south from Moscow ( from Moscow Ring Road) on the Moscow—Simferopol highway. The Moscow— Tula railway passes through Serpukhov. Serpukhov is the center of the with a population of more than 260,000 inhabitants. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, Serpukhov was the capital of the principality. It was allocated to an independent administrative and economic unit with direct subordination to the executive committee of the regional council on September 14, 1939. Now a city of regional subordination, it is part of the municipal education of the city district of Serpukhov. In the modern era, Serpukhov has become a local industrial center with textile, mechanical engineering, furniture, and paper-producing industries. The SeAZ factory produces the Lada Oka microcar since the 1980s. The Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve sprawls wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—especially Criticism of the Catholic Church, of the Roman Catholic Church—and of slavery. Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including stageplay, plays, poems, novels, essays, histories, and scientific Exposition (narrative), expositions. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy. His polemics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsar Bell
The Tsar Bell (russian: Царь–колокол; ), also known as the Tsarsky Kolokol, Tsar Kolokol III, or Royal Bell, is a , bell on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. The bell was commissioned by Empress Anna Ivanovna, niece of Peter the Great. It has never been in working order, suspended, or rung. The present bell is sometimes referred to as ''Kolokol III'' (Bell III), because it is the third generation. General description The Tsar Bell is located between the Ivan the Great Bell Tower and the Kremlin Wall. Made of bell bronze, the bell cracked during a fire after being completed and has never been rung. The bell is the largest bell in the world, weighing , with a height of and diameter of , and thickness of up to . The broken piece weighs . At 116 metric tons, the Bell of Good Luck in Foquan Temple, Pingdingshan, Henan, China is the heaviest ''functioning'' bell in the world. The bell is decorated with relief images of baroque angels, plants, oval ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivanovskaya Square
Ivanovskaya Square (russian: Ивановская площадь) is the largest Kremlin square. Its name comes from the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. In the 16th and 17th centuries, many government bodies were situated in the Ivanovskaya Square. It was the site of the Prikazy, the equivalent of today's Ministries. Yamskoi Prikaz, one of the offices, handled the delivery of private letters. Thus, it became the first postal address in Moscow. Court services and chanceries of various departments were also situated here. At the end of the 1920s and early 1930s, the square was enlarged after the demolition of the Lesser Nicholas Palace and the Ascension Convent. Today, the square is cobbled like most of the territory of the Kremlin. It offers a view of one of the three corners of the Kremlin Senate The Kremlin Senate (The Senate Palace, russian: Сенатский дворец) is a building within the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia. Initially constructed from 1776 to 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career of Napoleon Bonaparte, successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars, Revolutionary Wars. He was the ''de facto'' leader of the First French Republic, French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again in Hundred Days, 1815. Napoleon's political and cultural legacy endures to this day, as a highly celebrated and controversial leader. He initiated many liberal reforms that have persisted in society, and is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His wars and campaigns are studied by militaries all over the world. Between three and six million civilians and soldiers Napoleonic Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Invasion Of Russia
The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental blockade of the United Kingdom. Napoleon's invasion of Russia is one of the best studied military campaigns in history and is listed among the most lethal military operations in world history. It is characterized by the massive toll on human life: in less than six months nearly a million soldiers and civilians died. On 24 June 1812 and the following days, the first wave of the multinational crossed the Niemen into Russia. Through a series of long forced marches, Napoleon pushed his army of almost half a million people rapidly through Western Russia, now Belarus, in an attempt to destroy the separated Russian armies of Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration who amounted to around 180,000–220,000 at this time. Within six weeks, Napoleon lost ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lobnoye Mesto
Lobnoye mesto (russian: Лобное место) is a 13-meter-long stone platform situated on Red Square in Moscow in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral. Its name is derived from the Russian words for 'forehead' () and 'place' (). In Old Russian meant 'a steep river bank'. The platform, believed to have been constructed in brick in the 1530s, was first mentioned in 1547, when Ivan the Terrible addressed the Muscovites from there. Subsequently, it was primarily used for announcing the tsar's and for religious ceremonies. Despite a common misconception, the circular platform itself was never a place for executions. Sometimes scaffolds were placed by it, but usually public executions were carried out at ''Vasilevsky Spusk'' behind St. Basil's Cathedral. In the Russian Empire, during Holy Week, the Palm Sunday procession called "donkey walk" would end at the Lobnoye Mesto where a depiction of Calvary had been erected. The Tsar himself, on foot to show humility, would lead the Patri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Square
Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical buildings, it is regarded as one of the most famous squares in Europe and the world. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, in the eastern walls of the Kremlin. It is the city landmark of Moscow, with iconic buildings such as Saint Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum and the GUM. In addition, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. Location The Red Square has an almost rectangular shape and is 70 meters wide and 330 meters long. It extends lengthways from northwest to southeast along part of the wall of the Kremlin that forms its boundary on the southwest side. In the northeast, the square is bounded by the GUM department store building and the old district of Kitai-Gorod, in the northwest by the State Historical Museum a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Serpukhov")
