kids c.a.r.e. Russia History of Russia

• 1547 – Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible, is crowned the first czar, or emperor, of Russia.

• 1689-1725 – Czar Peter the Great lays the foundation for the Russian Empire.

• 1855-1881 – During his reign, Czar Alexander II frees the serfs, or peasant farm workers.

• 1917 – During the Russian Revolution, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky take control of the government. In 1918, Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed.

• 1922 – Russia becomes part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.).

• 1924-1953 – The brutal Joseph Stalin turns the U.S.S.R. into an industrial and military power. During World War II, the U.S.S.R. sides with Germany, but later switches sides, joining the U.S. and Britain.

• 1948 – The Cold War begins. Relations between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. are tense. The U.S. believes that the Soviets’ communist government and control of Eastern Europe are threats to U.S. security.

• 1961 – Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin becomes the first man in space.

• 1985-1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev restructures the government. The U.S.S.R. collapses; 15 republics declare independence.

• 2010 – U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agree to reduce nuclear weapons.

kids c.a.r.e. Russia Day in the Life:

Russia

Hello! My name is Mark Zvidennyy. I am 10 years old. I live with my parents in Moscow, Russia’s Capital.

• 7:30 AM – I wake up and have an omelet and salad for breakfast. After I get dressed, I play my guitar. Music is important to me, and I like to practice whenever I can.

• 8:15 AM – My mother walks me to my school bus. She works in the Academy of Sciences, which is next door to my school. When my father is home, we all walk together. My father is a musician. He tours a lot, so it is great when we get to spend time together.

• 8:35 AM – Our principal talks to everyone in our school about the way we behave, why it’s important and how it affects how we learn. Today, our first lesson is Russian. We practice writing.

• 9:00 AM – We have breakfast of porridge and tea in the school canteen. We say prayers before our meal. Our school is part of a monastery.

• 9:30 AM – We take our first break of the day. It is 15 minutes long. I run around and play tag with my friends.

Then, it’s back to class for our next lesson. We are learning to read and write English words.

After the lesson, we take another 15-minute break.

• 10:00 AM – We have math class. We all work together to do our math class. We all work together to do our math problems on the blackboard. When we get tired, our teacher makes us do stretching exercises to help us think more clearly. Then we take a short break before our English lesson. Our teacher talks to us in English and we learn about English grammar.

• 12:15 PM – Lunchtime! The teachers sit together at a table. We all chat and relax. After lunch today, we have a special recital. I get to sing a solo.

• 1:45 PM – Art and music are our last lessons of the day.

• 3:30 PM -- School is over, but I stay and talk to my friends for a while after we finish with class.

• 4:00 PM – My father picks me up. We stop at a restaurant on our way home because my mother will be out late tonight.

• 7:00 PM – My homework takes an hour. When my mother gets home, we watch TV together. On some nights, I practice guitar or play games on my phone instead of watching TV.

• 10:00 PM – I usually go to bed at this time, but some nights I get involved in a game and stay up a bit later.

Good night!