1855
Leo TOLSTOI arrived in St.Petersburg from Sevastopol where he took part in the defence of the city. He stayed at TURGENEV who introduced him to the circle of St.Petersburg literary figures. Turgenev was ten years older than Tostoi and patronized him, regarding him a very talented author. However, from the very beginning the latter displayed a great degree of independence in judgements, tastes, etc. and demonstrated that he didn't need any patronage. Stormy discussions and arguments flared up between the two writers on and off. In one of his letters Turgenev wrote about Tolstoi: “You cannot imagine what a nice and wonderful person he is, although for his unbridled jealousy and stubborness I nicknamed him Troglodyte'. I love him with a fatherly feeling.” These relations between the two writers continued for over five years, until a quarrel which nearly ended in a duel. After that their relations were severed for 17 years.
1918 On a decision of the Supreme Council on National Economy the Central Hydrodynamic Instisute (TsAGI) was set up, and Nikolai ZHUKOVSKY was appointed its first director. Now the institute bears his name.
1922 The first night of the professional Latvian ballet performance took place in Riga. It was P. HERTEL's ballet “La fille mal gardee” staged by Nikolai SERGEYEV from the Mariinsky Theatre in Petrograd.
1936 The honorary title “People's Artist of the USSR” was instituted on September 6 and it was conferred on a large group of actors and theatre directors. Among them were K.S. STANISLAVSKY, V.I. NEMIROVICH-DANCHENKO, V.I. KACHALOV, B.M. SHCHUKIN, I.M. MOSKVIN, A.V. NEZHDANOVA, A.A. VASADZE, A.A. KHORAVA.
1959 Twelve countries (Australia, Argenina, Belgium, Britain, New Zealand, Norway, the USSR, the USA, France, Chile, the South African Republic and Japan) signed a treatry on peaceful scientific exploration and use of Antarctica in Washington.
1961 The communist party organization of a Moscow research institute of food and agricultural industry decided to expel Lazar KAGANOVICH from the party for abuse of power, violations of socialist legality which led to the death of a great number of innocent people, and anti-party activity.
1962 Nikita KHRUSHCHEV visited the Manege exhibition of Moscow artists' works devoted to the 30th anniversary of their Union. The Soviet leader expressed his dissatisfaction with quite a few works in very rude words. This had very sad consequences for many artists and the entire Soviet fine art.
1975 Sergei SOLOVYOV's film “One Hundred Days After Childhood” was released.
Births
1717 Grigory TEPLOV
1792 Nikolai LOBACHEVSKY
(24.02.1856)
Mathematician, founder of non-Euclidean geometry.
1864 Karsten BORCHGREVINK
(23.04.1934)
Norwegian traveller and explorer of Antarctica. He was the first to land on the ice continent in January 1895. In 1898 – 1899 he organized the first wintering there.
1873 Viktor CHERNOV
(15.04.1952)
Leader of the socialist-revolutionaries' party, chairman of the Constituent Assembly.
1890 Vasily BLUECHER
(09.11.1938)
Hero of the Civil war, Marshal of the Soviet Union, who was declared “enemy of the people” and shot during Stalin's purges.
1896 Georgy ZHUKOV
(18.06.1974)
Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union, leading commander of the Soviet army in the last war.
1903 Nikolai VOZNESENSKY
(01.10.1950)
Government and party figure, member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, head of the State Planning Committee, deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers, member of the Politburo of the CC CPSU. He was arrested on a frame-up charge (so-called Leningrad case) and shot.
1903 Mikhail TSAREV
(04.11.1987)
Actor of the Moscow Maly Theatre, People's Artist of the USSR.
1913 Georgy MAIBORODA
(1993)
Composer, People's Artist of the USSR.
1922 Vsevolod BOBROV
(01.07.1979)
Famous football and hockey player.
1925 Filipp BOBKOV
General of the Army, first deputy head of the KGB, who later became the head of the security service of the “MOST-Bank” commercial group.
1945 Gennady KHAZANOV
Russia’s famous comic. Always hailed by the multimillion audience, Khazanov, who is People’s Artist today, is known, first of all, for his excellent performances, including The Small Worries of Life, Evident-Incredible, Selective, Small Tragedies, as well as the Parrot sketch and the obvious hit - The Student of Culinary College, which proved the beginning of his nation-wide fame.
1956 Amayak AKOPYAN
Actor and conjurer.
1959 Garik SUKACHEV
Rock-musician.
Deaths
1825 ALEXANDER I
(23.12.1777)
Russian Emperor from 1801.
1911 Vasily MAKSIMOV
(29.01.1844)
Russian artist.
1934 Sergei KIROV (KOSTRIKOV)
(27.03.1886)
State and party figure who was killed. His murder triggered off the wave of mass reprisals in the USSR. The mystery of Kirov's assassination remains unresolved.
1986 Yuri TIMOSHENKO
(02.06.1919)
Ukrainian variety star.
1989 Nikolai PATOLICHEV
(23.09.1908)
State and party figure, Minister of foreign trade of the USSR (1958 – 1985).
1999 Yevgeni DVORZHETSKY
(12.07.1960)
Theatre and film actor who was killed in a car crash.
