On Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 7:28:18 AM UTC-6, Lawrence Crowell wrote: > > The Russians had a pan-Slavic ideology, where all the Slavic regions of > the world would be under the tutelage of Russia, This included much of the > Austro-Hungarian empire, where this was a sore point. Bohemia, now the > Czech Republic, Slovakia and areas formerly within Yugoslavia and prior to > that within the Austro-Hungarian empire were intended to be a part of a > greater pan-Slavic domain. This required by geography influence over > Romania and Hungary. This was finally achieved by the USSR in the end of > WWII. > > There was also something called the "Great Game," where Afghanistan the > Hindu Kush and that general region was contested by Russia and the British > Empire. The current problems with Kashmir is a carry over from this, where > a Muslim majority region is a part of Hindustan India. This is an elevated > region that in a sense looks over India, and was the staging area for the > Mogul invasion of India. The UK was loathe to having Russia perched in that > position over the "Jewel in the Crown" that was the British Raj in India. > > Then finally there is the middle east or the Ottoman Empire and Persia. > Tsarist Russia hovered over these archaic and declining regions. Russia > coveted the straits and a return of the "Truth Faith" of Orthodox > Christianity to Constantinople, and this would give Russia more naval > access. The Ottoman Empire was called the sick man of Europe, and the > Crimean war was fought to keep Russia out of the straits of Dardanelles and > Anatolia, and Russia worked to foster the disintegration of the Ottoman > Empire. Russia also sought increased influence in Persia. > > LC >
I really appreciate having access to your command of history. One other thing while we're on the subject of European history. What exactly is a "Slav"? I once looked it up on Wiki and the definition or concept seemed unintelligible; vague at best. AG > > On Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 2:17:01 AM UTC-5, Alan Grayson wrote: >> >> As you probably know, Barbara Tuchman was awarded a Pulitzer prize for >> The Guns of August (1962). In a later work, The Proud Tower (1966), focused >> on European history in the two decades preceding WW1, she writes the >> following in chapter 5 (emphasis mine); >> >> JOY, HOPE, SUSPICION—above all, astonishment—were the world’s prevailing >> emotions when it learned on August 29, 1898, that the young Czar of Russia, >> Nicholas II, had issued a call to the nations to join in a conference for >> the limitation of armaments. All the capitals were taken by surprise by >> what Le Temps called “this flash of lightning out of the North.” That the >> call should come from the mighty and *ever expanding power* whom the >> other nations feared and who was still regarded, despite its two hundred >> years of European veneer, as semi-barbaric, was cause for dazed wonderment >> liberally laced with distrust. *The pressure of Russian expansion had >> been felt from Alaska to India, from Turkey to Poland.* “The Czar with >> an olive branch,” it was said in Vienna, “that’s something new in history.” >> But his invitation touched a chord aching to respond. >> >> What expansion is she referring to? TIA, AG >> >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/9cda4daa-eb30-4ac4-8cb1-a64467e2720f%40googlegroups.com.
