Napoleon retreating from the burning Moscow. Wikipedia
Brandon Christensen, Real Clear History: 10 Battles That Shaped Russia
Mother Russia. The largest country in world, by area, is filled with allure, amazing biodiversity, rich history, and beautiful vodka-drinking women. It is also home to about 145 million people that comprise over 150 different ethnic groups, and at least 50 newspapers publish their voice in a language other than Russian. From 1283 to the present-day, Russia has slowly, steadily expanded its initial territory centered at Moscow east, west, north, and south. In 1835, Alexis de Tocqueville saw in Russia an alternative to the American democratic model that he observed firsthand in the conclusion of Volume 1 of his magnificent, two-volume book Democracy in America. Tocqueville observed of the Russians and the Americans:
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WNU Editor: No arguments from me on this list .... but I would add two more. Russian defeats during World War One led to the rise of the Bolsheviks and the Soviet Union. And two .... the end of the Cold War. The Cold War was a battle that went on for decades .... but in the end it collapsed with a whimper and the rise of Russia today.