Ingenieria

Russian history is conventionally said to have begun with the arrival of the Norsemen, or Varangians, in the region of what is now European Russia in the 9thcentury. Like Norsemen elsewhere, e.g., in Normandy, England and Sicily, they stayed to rule, but quickly assimilated into the language and culture of the local population,in this case, east Slavic.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union there has been an enormous resurgence of interest in Russia's pre-Soviet past, as well as agreat deal of debate and reconsideration of the Soviet era itself. This shift has not resulted in a simple vilification of everything Soviet or a naive embrace of allthat preceded it, but it has spurred an unprecedented effort to regain the ancient Russian national heritage.
Churches are being restored all across the country,Great Russian writers and artists whose works were banned are once again being honored, and the individual character of ancient cities and communities is once againbecoming established. Next year, the city of Moscow is celebrating its 850th Anniversary, a celebration that will mark the recovery, as well as the commemoration, of itsglorious past.
For most western visitors, the bulk of Russia's history is nothing more than a compendium of hazy legends and sensationalist rumors--from scurrilousstories about Catherine the Great to tabloid television reports of the miraculous survival of the children of Nicholas II. However, the factual history of the countryis no less compelling than its fabulous history, and even a brief introduction to the great and not-so-great figures of its past make a visit far more rewarding.