Grandpa Toms
Politics • Culture • Lifestyle
I am a Vietnam veteran living in Russia.  My community is about the daily life in the town of Kimovsk, Russia and the local peoples perspective of current affairs.
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Anna Pavlovna. She could have become Napoleon's wife, but instead became Queen of the Netherlands.

"She's only fourteen! What if she can't bear Napoleon a child in the first year of marriage?" Empress Maria Feodorovna asked. "Then he'll want to divorce her or have children at the cost of her honor."

Alexander listened thoughtfully to his mother. Napoleon had offered Poland if he were allowed to marry Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna. But knowing the French Emperor, the Russian Tsar doubted anything would come of his proposal. Napoleon always turned situations to his advantage. If their relationship with him worsened even further, his sister could find herself in a very difficult situation.

"If you agree to the marriageu, you will ruin Anna."

"Calm down, Mother," Alexander replied softly. "Only you can decide her fate." I will submit to your decision.

Anna Pavlovna was born in January 1795. She was the eighth child of the Grand Ducal couple Maria Feodorovna and Pavel Petrovich. Empress Catherine, upon learning of the birth of her sixth granddaughter, sadly remarked:

"There are so many girls, we can't marry them all off!"

The Empress never learned of her ...

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My first podcast

And I am sure it shows. That’s okay I’ll become more accustomed to it as we get to know each other.

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The King Is Complicit!
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A big shout out to the people who follow me. Unfortunately I’ve had to leave Russia. It became impossible to receive any funds from the US. I am currently living in Batumi, Georgia.
This is my family in the living room of my apartment in Kimovsk, Russia. I am a disabled Vietnam veteran. Seventy six years of age. My son Aleksandr (left), and my granddaughter Dasha (center) look in on me. Here, I had hoped to live out my retirement years.

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"How Sophia Almost Became the First Empress of Russia": A Story of Intrigue and Betrayal

Gradually, the narrative reached the time of Peter the Great. And I'm very glad about this – my favorite period in Russian history has begun. And today, having covered the circumstances of Peter the Great's childhood, we'll discuss the era when Russia nearly experienced a true revolution and a complete shift in the vectors and directions of national development.

Today we'll discuss the gripping and often dramatic story of how Tsarevna Sophia Alexeyevna attempted to become the country's sole ruler, at one point cleverly sidestepping two brothers, Ivan and Peter, on her path to the throne. Imagine the situation: 1682, the young Tsar Feodor III dies childless, leaving behind a complex inheritance – two young brothers (and pretenders to the throne), both from different mothers. And this is where the most interesting part begins – the events that almost led to a new Time of Troubles in our country.

Tsarevna Sophia - portrait by an unknown artist.

After a very difficult meeting, the Moscow nobility took the fate of the country into their own hands. And very soon, after ...

THE TULA OBLAST IS WHERE I LIVE

In Kimovsk is where my apartment is located. Last summer I visited my granddaughter who lives in Tula. I stayed there for two months. I became very familiar with the city of Tula.

Tula Region is one of the industrial centers of Russia, famous for its long-standing traditions of weapons and samovar production. Here are three more important symbols of this region.

1⃣ ЛЕВ ТОЛСТОЙ (Leo Tolstoy)

The famous Russian writer was born on September 9, 1828, on the Yasnaya Polyana’ Family Estate near Tula. He spent a significant part of his life there, creating his main novels, including ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Anna Karenina’. His body was also buried there.

2⃣ ФИЛИМОНОВСКАЯ ИГРУШКА (Filimonovo toy)

Whistle toys in the form of people and animals with conical heads began to be made in the village of Filimonovo near Tula in the 16th century. After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the craft died out for a while, but was revived in the 1980s.

3⃣ ТУЛЬСКИЙ ...

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