“In the past itself lies the roots of our current national controversy. Tracing their historical development, it is possible to find painless ways to solve them” © Lev Gumilev

Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar was a second daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and his wife Queen Louise. In 1864 she was engaged with heir Nicholay the oldest son of Russian tsar Alexander II. The wedding was to take place in November 1865, when Dagmar turned 18.

In 1916 Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna had moved from Saint Petersburg and settled in the Mariinsky Palace in Kiev. Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna had been engaged in the organization of hospitals, hospital trains and resorts, where recuperating wounded thousands of Russian soldiers wounded at fronts of First World War. In October 1916 she has celebrated the Fiftieth anniversary of her direct involvement in the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria (mother of Alexander III).

During the 800s the Vikings seized the power along large parts of modern European part of Russian territory – from Volkhov and Dnieper rivers and from cities of Staraya Ladoga of Novgorod to Kiev. In this way the Vikings came to play a crucial role in the formation of the first Russian state. At the beginning Novgorod (Holmgaard) was the capital of their new province.

A unique story of Yusupovs' family has thousand years of history with the legendary ancestors and fabulous wealth. The Yusupovs were descended from the monarchs of the Nogai Horde who were renowned for their immense wealth, philanthropy and art collections.

Tatars are the second largest nation in Russian Federation. The first settlements in the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan date back to Palaeolithic period (about 100,000 years ago). In the 8th - 9th centuries, the tribes of ancient Bulgars, ancestors of the modern Tatars, began to populate the Volga region . The first state - the Volga-Kama Bulgaria - was set up at the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries which was the first feudal state in the north-eastern Europe.