Russia can boast a lot of the Noble Prize laureates in many fields of science. Among them are:
1904 – Physiology and Medicine, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov for his work on the physiology of digestion.
1908 – Physiology and Medicine, Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov for his work on immunity.
1933 – Literature, Ivan Alexeevich Bunin for artistic excellence and the continuation of the tradition of Russian classics in lyrical prose.
1956 – Chemistry, Nikolay Semenov for research in the mechanism of chemical reactions.
1958 – Literature, Boris Leonidovich Pasternak for significant achievement in contemporary lyrical poetry, as well as the continuation of the traditions of the great Russian epic novel. Actually, Pasternak refused the Prize.
1958 – Physics, Pavel Alexeevich Cherenkov, Igor Evgenievich Tamm and Ilya Mikhailovich Frank for the discovery and interpretation of the Cherenkov Effect.
More »

In the autumn of 1933 a strange Russian appeared on the territory of the principality of Andorra. The foreigner amazed the locals with his manners, wealth and the ability to charm people. His name was Boris Skosyrev. He was an adventurer, a Russian emigre. In 1934 Boris became the king of Andorra Boris I. His life was more like an adventure novel than a reality.
Boris Mikhailovich was born on June 12, 1896 in Vilnius, the Russian Empire.
Skosyrev claimed that he was a nobleman who had escaped from Russia after the execution of the whole family and that at one time he had studied at the best universities in England and France. Also he was proud of his friendship with British politician Oliver Locker-Lampson, the future creator of British military aviation. Until 1919 Skosyrev was in Ukraine as part of the British group of assistance to the White Movement.
Once in London, he worked as a military interpreter. Soon Boris was arrested because he was in Britain without registration and paid for living with invalid checks. In 1922, he moved to the Netherlands, where, as he said, he began to provide secret services to the royal family, for which Queen Wilhelmina awarded him the title of Count and the name Orange. This, of course, was not true. The adventurer managed to live in Colombia and many European countries, where he had a reputation as a spy.
More »

Mikhail Shchepkin was a Russian actor, one of the founders of the Russian actor’s school.
The boy was born on November 6 (17), 1788 in Kursk province into a family of the serfs.
From 1799 to 1801 he studied at the Sudzhansky public school. During his studies, in 1800, he played his first role in Sumarokov’s comedy – Vzdorschitsa.
In 1801-1802 he played in a serf theater of Count G. S. Volkenshtein.
By the way, in 1805, he performed on the professional scene for the first time. Since that time, with the permission of Count G. S. Volkenshtein, Shchepkin played in the Barsov Brothers Theater.
More »

Nadezhda Krupskaya was probably the most mysterious character of Russian history in the last century. She wrote about her life herself. In Soviet times, her biography was corrected to be perfect. After the 1990s, this gloss began to be covered with mud, and as thoroughly as it had been previously bleached.
The girl was born on February 14, 1869 in St. Petersburg into a poor aristocratic family. Her father Konstantin Ignatievich Krupsky was a lawyer and her mother Elizaveta Vasilievna Tistrova was a governess. They say, the father was a revolutionary and supported the participants of the Polish uprising in 1863.
Once they wrote that Krupskaya had studied perfectly in the gymnasium and graduated in 1887 with a gold medal. But Nadezhda Konstantinovna in the book My Life wrote that it was always difficult to study, it was difficult to understand and lessons were boring. And no one has ever seen her gold medal, and there were no gymnasium girlfriends who would later (in Moscow or in exile) talk about joint studies.
Then she worked as a teacher in the evening school for workers for 5 years until the very first arrest.
More »

Grigori Rasputin is a well-known and ambiguous personality in the Russian history. His life is filled with a lot of inexplicable events and facts linked with the proximity to the family of Emperor Nicholas II and influence on the fate of the Russian Empire. Some historians consider him an immoral charlatan and swindler, while others believe that Rasputin was a real visionary and healer, which allowed him to gain influence over the royal family.
Grigori Efimovich was born on January 21, 1869 into the family of simple peasant Yefim Yakovlevich and Anna Vasilievna, who lived in the village in Tobolsk province. Grisha became the fourth and only surviving child of his parents – his elder brothers and sisters died in infancy due to poor health. At the same time, he was also weak from birth, so he could not play enough with his peers, which was the reason for his isolation and his desire for seclusion. It was in his early childhood that Rasputin felt his attachment to God and religion.
The boy tried to help his father graze livestock, harvest and participate in any agricultural work. There was no school in the village, so Grigori grew illiterate, like all fellow villagers.
At the age of 14 Rasputin fell seriously ill and almost died, but suddenly his health began to improve, which, he said, was due to the Mother of God who healed him. Since that moment Grigori began to learn the Gospel and was able to memorize the texts of prayers by heart. At that time, the peasant’s son woke up with the gift of foresight, which later gave him a dramatic fate.
More »

Peter and Theuronia are Orthodox saints and characters of folk legends. Some researchers identify Peter and Theuronia with real historical characters – Prince of Murom Davyd Yurievich and his wife, Princess Euphrosinia, who became monks and took the names of Peter and Theuronia.
The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom appeared in the middle of the 16th century. The author of this life of the saints, the monk Yermolai, processed and recorded the oral Murom stories. Researchers believe that Ermolai combined two fairy-tale stories – about the wise virgin and the fiery serpent.
These motifs of the fairy tale the monk used, creating the history of the Murom saints Peter and Fevronia at the request of Metropolitan of Moscow. The order was made after Peter and Fevronia were canonized at the church cathedral. The plot gained popularity and began to be developed further in iconography and literature.
According to legend, a fiery serpent came to the wife of Paul, who reigned in the city of Murom. This happened when the prince was not at home. When Paul learned about those visits, he ordered his wife to find out how to kill the monster. The serpent told that a certain Peter would be his murderer, but he could be defeated only with Agrikov Sword.
More »

The biography of Nikolai Pirogov, whom his contemporaries named wonderful doctor, is a vivid example of selfless service to medical science. The myriad of discoveries that have saved lives for thousands of people are still used in medicine.
The future genius of world medicine was born on November 25, 1810 into a large family of a military official. Nikolai had thirteen brothers and sisters, many of whom had died while still young. Father Ivan Ivanovich was educated and achieved great success in his career. Parents paid special attention to the upbringing of children: the boys were sent to prestigious institutions, and the girls received education at home.
The Pirogov family loved to read and had an impressive home library. Every Sunday the family visited the church. Many doctors visited their hospitable house and willingly played with the curious Nikolai and told entertaining stories from practice. Therefore, from an early age, he decided to become either a military man like his father or a doctor, like their home doctor Mukhin, with whom the boy became very friendly.
More »