November 7
1917 The October Revolution erupted on this day. The revolution began with an armed insurrection in Petrograd and gave power to the Soviets. The revolution was led by the Bolsheviks whose forces captured the Winter Palace.
November 8
1986 Vyacheslav Molotov died this day. In the twenties he climbed to governing bodies as Stalin's protege. He was a leading figure in the government until 1957 when he was dismissed from Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev. In 1939, he signed the well-known Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Given this treaty and secret protocol Poland, Finland and the Baltic States were subject to partition between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union; it also implied the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia. This agreement let Hitler invade in Poland on September 1.
November 9
1818 Ivan Turgenev was born this day. He is recognized as one of the major 19th century Russian novelists. He began with his "A Sportsman's Sketches" (1852), short stories based on his peasant life experience. The writer was deeply concerned about the future of his native land, which he embodied in his works: "Rudin" (1856), "Home of the Gentry" (1859), "On the Eve" (1860), and "Fathers and Sons" (1862). All offer realistic, affectionate portrayals of the Russian peasantry and penetrating studies of the Russian cream society who were attempting to move the country into a new age. Turgenev is also known for his lyrics in prose, among which is the most striking one ‘How beautiful were once the roses.' Couched in generalities, Turgenev's themes are close to those of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, although he did not approve of religious and moral preoccupations.
November 10
1933 Ivan Bunin was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for the strict artistry with which he has carried on the classical Russian traditions in prose writing".
November 12
1727 Ivan Shuvalov's birthday. He is recognized as the Maecenas of the Russian Enlightenment. He was also Russia's first Minister of Education; theatre, university, and academy of arts were instituted with his active participation.
November 13
1851 The second oldest railway in Russia, The Moscow to Saint Petersburg Railway, was opened this day. The construction was supervised by Pavel Melnikov.
Compiled by Daria Chernyshova
