Why do disasters happen in August? Is it true that most of the major events in Russian history took place in August? April showers bring May flowers... and appendicitis

6.08.2015

6.08.2015

August 1, 1903 - Seraphim of Sarov canonized

On August 1 (July 19, old style) all Orthodox Christians celebrate the day of remembrance of St. Seraphim of Sarov ( in the world Prokhor Moshnin). Born on July 19, 1759 into a merchant family. At an early age, Prokhor fell from the bell tower of a temple under construction, but miraculously survived. As a teenager, he became very seriously ill. According to legend, the Mother of God appeared in a dream to the boy’s mother and promised to heal her son. When the child was placed next to the icon of the Mother of God of the Sign, he quickly recovered.

Even in his youth, Prokhor made a pilgrimage to Kyiv to worship the Pechersk saints. Here he received an order that he must become a monk in the Sarov desert. Following the order, Prokhor first became a novice of Elder Joseph in the Sarov Monastery, and in 1786 he took monastic vows and was ordained a hierodeacon. Since then, his name sounded like Seraphim, which means “fiery.” Seven years later, Seraphim of Sarov was ordained to the rank of hieromonk.

In 1794, the hieromonk decided to retire to a cell on the Sarovka River, five kilometers from his monastery. Seraphim of Sarov led an ascetic lifestyle, prayed for a long time, for which, according to the life of the saint, God rewarded him with the gift of healing.

In 1807, Seraphim of Sarov took a vow of silence for three years. In 1810 he returned to the monastery, but went into seclusion until 1825. After the retreat ended, he received the laity, helping them heal from various ailments. There were also noble persons among its visitors, including Emperor Alexander I .

The saint based his life on the Holy Scriptures and the works of the holy fathers. He especially honored the holy champions and zealots of Orthodoxy, and he called on everyone who came to maintain unshakable faith in God. The monk lovingly convinced many schismatics to abandon their delusions. In 1833, the Monk Seraphim of Sarov went to the Lord in peace and was found already lifeless on his knees in prayer before the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness,” in front of which he prayed all his life. But even after his death, many miracles were performed at the saint’s grave, which were carefully collected by their witnesses, and in 1903 the saint was canonized.

The knowledge that any trials come to us from God, tireless feat and inexplicable, all-encompassing love for every person made the monk a great ascetic, whose name shone throughout the whole country. Today, believers still flock in an endless stream to the relics of the saint, who, through the prayers of the saint, receive help from God.

On August 1 (new style), 1903, Seraphim of Sarov was canonized. The incorrupt relics of the saint were opened with great honor and placed in a specially prepared shrine.

August 1 1914 - Russia entered World War I

The official reason for the outbreak of the First World War (or as it was then called (before the revolution) - the Great Patriotic War) was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which was committed by the Serbian student Gavrila Princip, a member of the terrorist organization "Mlada Bosna". Taking advantage of the situation, Austria-Hungary and Germany began general mobilization, and Germany did it secretly. A month after the murderAustria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The Russian government immediately declared that it would not allow the occupation of the Slavic state. To which Germany put forward an ultimatum, if Russia continues to mobilize, then Germany will be forced to declare war on it. This happened the very next day, August 1st. At the same time, the Germans invaded Luxembourg, providing their army with access to the French border. On August 3, Germany declared war on France and Belgium, which forced England, which acted as the guarantor of Belgian neutrality, to enter the war. On August 6, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia. And so, quickly and irreversibly, the First World War began. Later Japan, Italy, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire joined it.

The war, which lasted more than four years - until November 11, 1918 - caused the collapse of four empires at once - Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and German.

One of the revered holidays in Rus', on this day they honored Elijah the prophet, who was born in I 10th century BC in the State of Israel. Elijah was a zealous Jew and fought against idolatry, and in those days Israel was ruled by King Ahab, whose wife Jezebel tried to establish the cult of the pagan god Baal. What the prophet could not allow, he wanted to preserve the true shrines of the Jews. Once Ilya personally executedpagan priests who staged a sacrifice on Mount Carmel.Endowed with a special gift, the prophet began to perform miracles in order to show the royal family what was true and what was false. Once he sent a three-year famine to the country of wicked rulers. With such actions, Elijah greatly angered Queen Jezebel and she vowed to kill him, but the prophet disappeared into the desert.Later, returning to the kingdom of Israel, he still humbled the ruler Ahab. It is believed that Elijah was taken to Heaven alive: “suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared” and took the prophet away. Thanks to this image, the saint received the nickname Ilya the Thunderer among the people: they said that it was he who, rushing across the sky in a fiery chariot and trying to defeat the unclean serpent, let loose thunder and lightning. In the old days in Rus', on Elijah’s day, religious processions were held and they prayed to the prophet for rain or, conversely, for clear weather - depending on what was more necessary. In addition, according to beliefs, rainwater collected at this time relieved both the evil eye and eye diseases.

In spring and autumn, heavy rains washed away the roads, so rails were the only all-season way to supply weapons, food, and quick reinforcements. Of course, transport aviation also performed all these functions, but it could not transport heavy cargo or military equipment. Therefore, the uninterrupted operation of railways was a key factor in waging war. BesidesHitler's propaganda widely advertised the future operation near Kursk, promising that “the summer offensive will decide the fate of Europe.”Guided by this fact, the Soviet command decided to strike at the railway lines used by the German bloc. The role of performers was assigned to partisan detachments. And it's already 9On June 1943, a resolution was adopted: “On the destruction of enemy railway communications using the method of rail warfare.” During a train crash near Mogilev, unfamiliar powerful tanks were discovered among the equipment dumped downhill. These were "Tigers" intended for battles near Kursk. The real rail war unfolded on the night of August 3, assault partisan detachmentshit German units defending the railway infrastructure.After the destruction of the security garrisons, demolitionists took over. On a vast territoryfront length over 1000 km and depth up to 700 km in fact, thousands of explosions were heard at once.

The one and a half month campaign resulted in the destruction of approximately 215,000 rails, which amounted to over 1500 km of tracks. In some areas, rail service was interrupted for a month. Enemy transportation was reduced by 35-40%. The occupiers suffered huge losses in locomotives and carriages. Only Belarusian partisans wereOver 800 trains were derailed, 180 railway bridges were destroyed.

The partisan detachments opened, in fact, a second front, thereby making a significant contribution to the victory of our troops in the Battle of Kursk and the successes of the summer-autumn military campaign of 1943 as a whole.

August 4 - Day of Remembrance of the Myrrh-Bearing Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene, forever included in Gospel history, was born in a small town called Magdala. According to legend, she was beautiful and led a sinful life, as the Gospel says - “The Lord cast out seven demons from her,” after which the girl began life from scratch. Mary became a disciple of Jesus and was faithful to him both in the days of glory and in the days of humiliation. She was present on the days of the Lord’s burial and resurrection. After these events, Mary, along with the other women, remained at rest the entire next day, for the day of that Saturday was great, coinciding with the Easter holiday that year.

Then her life continued in Italy, in the city of Rome, where, together with other ascetics, she continued her reverence and promotion of evangelical preaching. She selflessly served the Church with her labors, being exposed to danger every day. According to legend, Mary was in Rome until the arrival of the Apostle Paul there, then she, already in old age, left for Ephesus to visit the holy Apostle John. He wrote the 20th chapter of his Gospel from her words. It was in Ephesus that Mary Magdalene ended her earthly life.

In the 15th century, her relics were transferred to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and placed in the church of the monastery of St. Lazarus. During the beginning of the Crusades, the relics were transferred to Italy under the altar of the Roman Lutheran Cathedral. Now part of the relics is located in France near the city of Marseille, where a temple was erected in honor of St. Mary Magdalene.

The Orthodox Church celebrates the feast day of Mary Magdalene on the second Sunday after Easter.

During the Russian-Polish War (1654-1667), to cover all military expenses, Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich decided to carry out a monetary reform. It consisted in the fact that instead of silver coins they began to issue copper ones, equal to the value of silver. This led to the mass production of counterfeit coins, a sharp rise in prices and the depreciation of the ruble. Discontent among the population was growing. On the night of August 4, 1662, July 25, according to the old calendar, “thieves’ sheets” were posted all over Moscow, which listed the names of all those responsible for the financial crisis; the following fell into disgrace:the Miloslavsky boyars, who headed the orders of the Big Treasury, the head of the order of the Big Palace, okolnichy Rtishchev, the head of the Armory, okolnichy Khitrovo, clerk Bashmakov, Shorin, Zadorin and many others. That same morning, a mass uprising began, the dissatisfied went to the village of Kolomenskoye, where Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was at that moment, demanding the handing over of everyone who was on the “thieves’ lists.” To which the boyars promised the rebels to reduce taxes and conduct an investigation at their request. Believing the promises, the participants in the uprising went back, but on the way the first wave of rebels met the second, as a result they united and all moved together to the royal residence. Approaching the gate, the townspeople renewed their demands, threatening that if the boyars were not handed over, they themselves would take them to the palace.

But during this time the king managed to gather the archers. On his orders, they attacked the crowd, armed only with sticks and knives. During the battle, about 900 townspeople died, and the next day about 20 people were hanged. However, the copper money that served as the immediate cause of the rebellion was abolished by the Tsar’s Decree in April 1663.

5 August 1675 - Celebration in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God

Known throughout the Slavic world and one of the most revered shrines of the Russian Orthodox Church, the miraculous icon of the Pochaev Mother of God. They call it miraculous for a reason; the icon has more than once helped believers recover from illnesses, many of such cases are attested in monastery books.The celebration in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God was established in memory of the deliverance of the Assumption Pochaev Lavra from the Turkish siege on July 20-23, 1675. During the Zbarazh War with the Turks (1674-1696), the troops of Khan Nurredin surrounded the Pechersk monastery on three sides. The flimsy monastery fence could not withstand the siege, so Hegumen Joseph of Dobromir convinced the brethren and laity to turn to the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Job of Pochaev for help. With the first words to the “Charred Voivode,” the Most Pure Mother of God herself suddenly appeared above the temple with heavenly angels holding drawn swords. The Monk Job was near the Mother of God, bowing to Her and praying for the protection of the monastery. The Tatars mistook the heavenly army for a ghost, and in confusion began to shoot at the Most Holy Theotokos and the Monk Job, but the arrows returned and wounded those who fired them. Horror gripped the enemy. In a panicked flight, without distinguishing their own, they killed each other.

The icon has been kept in the monastery of the Ternopil region of Ukraine, the Pochaev Lavra, for more than 400 years.

August 6 - Day of the Blessed Princes Boris and Gleb, in the Holy Baptism of Roman and David (1015)

Holy saintspassion-bearing princesBoris and Gleb (in Holy Baptism - Roman and David) were the youngest sons of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. Raised in Christian piety, they were distinguished by mercy and kindness of heart, imitating the example of their father, who was merciful and responsive to the poor, sick, and disadvantaged. In the internecine struggle that broke out after the death of their father in 1015, they were killed by their elder brother Svyatopolk the Accursed. The lives of the holy passion-bearers were sacrificed to the main Christian good deed - love. The holy brothers showed that evil cannot be repaid with evil, even under the threat of death. Blessed passion-bearing princesThey did not want to raise their hand against their brother, but the Lord Himself took revenge on the power-hungry tyrant. Boris and Gleb became the first Russian saints, they were canonizedmartyrs-passion-bearers, making them intercessors of the Russian land and heavenly helpers of the Russian princes.

August 6, 1945 - Memorial Day for the Victims of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

Early morning American bomber B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima - this is how the first atomic bomb in human history exploded. The explosion killedand about 200 thousand people went missing, about 160 thousand people were injured and exposed to radioactive radiation. The vast majority of those killed were civilians. Three days after this tragedy - on August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on the second Japanese city of Nagasaki.
Bombing survivors were 16 times more likely to die from leukemia and 8 times more likely to suffer from cancer. The atomic bombs detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki more than half a century ago continue to kill, and every year the list of victims increases by several hundred people. Events held on the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are now aimed at ensuring that new generations can understand the horror experienced by the victims of the atomic disaster.

August 6 1961 - Soviet cosmonaut German Titov made the second flight into space in history

On this day the whole world learnedabout a new space triumph - the world's first daily flight into space, and it was carried out by Soviet cosmonaut German Titov.His flight lasted 25 hours and 11 minutes, during which time he circled the Earth 17 times on the Vostok-2 spacecraft.

German Titov’s landing point was in the Saratov area. At an altitude of 7 km, the catapult was activated and the parachute opened. Looking around, the cosmonaut saw with horror that he was being carried towards the railway, and a train was rushing across him, like in a movie. Return from space and die under the wheels of a train... Titov landed 5 km from the railway tracks.

German Titov always considered his space flight “not a feat, but his duty, the duty of a warrior, a citizen of the Soviet Union, his duty, his work.”

8 August 2000 - A terrorist attack was committed in Moscow in an underground passage under Pushkin Square

At about six o'clock in the evening, almost at rush hour, a powerful explosion occurred in the underground passage under Pushkin Square. A little later it turned out that the explosion was caused by a homemade device with a capacity of 800 grams of TNT. The bomb was left by the terrorists in a shopping bag next to the pavilion where watches were sold. As a result of the terrorist attack, 13 people were killed and about 60 people were injured.

August 9 - Memorial Day of the Great Martyr and Healer Pantoleon

Great Martyr and Healer Pantoleon born in the city of Nicomedia (Asia Minor), in the family of the noble pagan Eustorgius and the Christian saint Evvul. From childhood she tried to instill in her son faith in Christ, but, unfortunately, she ended her earthly life early. Father gave Pantoleona to a pagan school, and then taught him the art of medicine from the famous physician Euphrosynus.

Young Pantoleon, Possessing good behavior, eloquence, extraordinary beauty and medical talent, he was presented to Emperor Maximian (284-305), who decided to leave him as a court physician.

At the same time, the holy martyrs presbyters Hermolai, Hermippus and Hermocrates, who survived the burning of 20 thousand Christians in the Nicodemus Church (303), secretly made their way to Nicodemus and settled. I have seen one of them more than oncea handsome young man and shrewdly saw in him the chosen vessel of God's grace and called Pantoleon to him. During the conversation, the holy martyr told him about the basic truths of the Orthodox faith. From then on, Pantoleon began to visit the holy martyr Ermolai every day and listen with pleasure to what God’s servant revealed to him about Jesus Christ.

One day Pantoleon saw a dead boy lying on the road, bitten by an echidna. Showing compassion, Pantoleon began to ask the Lord to resurrect the deceased and kill the poisonous reptile. He firmly decided that if his prayer was fulfilled, he would become a Christian and receive holy Baptism. The child immediately came to life, and the echidna immediately flew into pieces. After this incident, Pantoleon received the sacrament of baptism. In Nicodemus, Pantoleon was a well-known good doctor, and one day they brought to him a blind man whom no one could heal. “The Father of Light will return light to your eyes. True God,” the saint told him, “in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, who enlightens the blind, receive your sight!” The blind man immediately received his sight, and along with him, the saint’s father, Eustorgius, also received his spiritual sight, and both joyfully accepted holy Baptism. The fact that Pantoleon could heal anyone aroused the envy of other doctors and they decided to inform the emperor that Saint Pantoleon was a Christian and was treating Christian prisoners.

The ruler tried to persuade the saint to refute the denunciation, but instead, in front of the emperor, Pantoleon healed the sick man with the help of prayer.

The enraged Maximian ordered Pantoleon to be executed and given the most severe torture. “Lord Jesus Christ! Appear to me at this moment, give me patience so that I can endure the torment to the end!” - the saint prayed and heard a voice: “Do not be afraid, I am with you.” The Lord appeared to him “in the form of presbyter Ermolai” and strengthened him before suffering. The Great Martyr Pantoleon was hanged from a tree and his body was torn with iron hooks, burned with candles, stretched on a wheel, thrown into boiling tin, and thrown into the sea with a stone around his neck. However, in all the tortures, the courageous Pantoleon remained unharmed. By order of the emperor, the holy great martyr Pantoleon was brought to the circus and thrown to be torn to pieces by wild animals. But the animals licked his feet and pushed each other away, trying to touch the saint’s hand. Seeing this, the spectators rose from their seats and began shouting: “Great is the Christian God! May the innocent and righteous young man be released!” The enraged Maximian ordered the soldiers to kill with swords all who glorified the Lord Jesus, and even kill the animals that did not touch the holy martyr. Seeing this, Saint Pantoleon exclaimed: “Glory to Thee, Christ God, that not only people, but also animals die for You!” The emperor then ordered Pantoleon's head to be cut off, but when the executioner touched his neck with the sword, the sword became soft as wax and did not cause any wound. Amazed by the miracle, the soldiers shouted: “Great is the Christian God!” At this time, the Lord once again revealed himself to the saint, calling him Panteleimon (which means “much merciful”) instead of his previous name Pantoleon.

11th August - Nativity of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Nicholas the Wonderworker was born in 258in the city of Patara, near Lycia, on the southern coast of the Asia Minor peninsula. For a long time, his parents Feofan and Nona could not have children, for which they constantly prayed to God. One fine day their prayers were answered, the Lord sent them a son. In gratitude, they made a vow to dedicate their only child to the service of God. From the very first minutes of his life, Nikolai began to work miracles - during childbirth, he healed his mother from a serious illness. Another miracle was that during his baptism the baby Nicholas stood on his feet for three hours, unsupported by anyone, thus giving honor to the Holy Trinity. Also, from infancy, he began to fast and drank his mother's milk only on Wednesdays and Fridays. Having matured, Nikolai studied the Divine Scripture, spent his days in prayer, showed mercy to his neighbors, and came to the aid of the suffering.

During his lifetime, Saint Nicholas performed many miracles - more than once he saved those drowning in the sea, brought them out of captivity and imprisonment in dungeons, healed people from illnesses and even resurrected them, and fought for the truth. He lived a worthy life and, having reached a ripe old age, died peacefully.

Saint Nicholas has long been revered by many nations. Celebrating the Nativity of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker initially began in local Asia Minor churches, where

The saint served as Archbishop, and in the homeland of his parents - in Patara. Then, at the time of the Crusades, this holiday could spread throughout the Nicene Empire and from there penetrate to Rus', where this saint has been honored since ancient times. It is known that in X III century, the tradition of celebrating his Nativity in the Russian Orthodox Church already existed, and in Veliky Novgorod there was a monastery dedicated to the Nativity of St. Nicholas. There is also information that one of the surviving church services dedicated to this holiday was compiled during the Patriarchate of Nikon in 1657. However, during the reign of Catherine the Great, the church-wide celebration of the Nativity of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Russia was abolished. Several centuries later, the celebration was resumed, and in honor of the feast of the Nativity of St. Nicholas, a troparion and kontakion were compiled, known from ancient times in the liturgical life of the Russian Orthodox Church.

August 12, 2000 - Disaster of the nuclear submarine "Kursk"

One of the most tragic dates at the beginning of the third millennium, the disaster occurred during exercises in the Barents Sea. SubmarineAPRK K-141 "Kursk"sank at a depth of 108 meters, killing 118 people on board.The remains of most of them were later brought to the surface and buried. On August 26, 2000, a Decree of the President of Russia was signed to perpetuate the memory of its crew.

From 1995 to 2000, the submarine was part of the Russian Northern Fleet. In March 1995, the rector of the Kursk Theological Seminary, Bishop of Belgorod, Bishop John, consecrated the nuclear submarine. Then he gave the crew a copy of the 700-year-old icon of the Kursk Mother of God, and each submariner - small icons with the image of St. Nicholas, the patron and protector of sailors. In 1999, during the NATO operation against Yugoslavia, the Kursk conducted secret surveillance of the US Navy aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, the aircraft from which carried out attacks on Yugoslavia. During the Mediterranean campaign, the Kursk carried out 5 simulated attacks on real targets.

According to unofficial data, on the day the submarine was killed, two NATO boats were secretly observing the exercises taking place in the Barents Sea. One of them accidentally collided with our attack vehicle. A combat alert was sounded on the Kursk. At this time, the second NATO boat, hearing the noise of the torpedo hatches of the Russian submarine being opened, launched a preemptive strike with a torpedo that hit the central compartment. This is evidenced by a hole in the Kursk's hull. This version is also supported by the fact that after the accident, the entire northern aviation was scrambled and searched for the unknown submarine for several days...

The first Russian air force appeared thanks to the last Emperor Nicholas II; in 1912, he ordered the formation of the first aviation unit. Thus, he created a completely new branch of the military - the Imperial Air Force.

August 12 is considered to be the beginning of the creation of Russian military aviation. At the dawn of the history of the Air Force, the main function of aviation was reconnaissance. After the appearance of the famous “Ilya Muromets” by Sikorsky, long-range aviation began to develop.

The USSR Air Force had no equal in the number of combat aircraft, because the “air shield” was supposed to reliably cover the “tank sword” and the “large fleet” of the Land of the Soviets. Over the 70 post-war years, Soviet aviation has gone from wartime plywood piston aircraft to fourth-generation supersonic aircraft.

Russian Air Fleet Day is celebrated annually on the third Sunday of August.

August 16, 1941 - Order No. 270 of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet Red Army was issued

During the Great Patriotic War, Order No. 270 of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was issued, “On the responsibility of military personnel for surrendering and leaving weapons to the enemy,” according to which every serviceman had to fight to the end, surrendering was prohibited. In case of violation of the order, the person was declared a deserter or traitor to the Motherland and was subject to immediate execution.

The order was signed by the Chairman of the State Defense Committee of the USSR Joseph Stalin, Deputy Chairman Vyacheslav Molotov, Marshals of the Soviet Union Semyon Budyonny, Kliment Voroshilov, Semyon Timoshenko, Boris Shaposhnikov and Army General Georgy Zhukov.

August 19 1960 - The Soviet spaceship Vostok with dogs Belka and Strelka on board made a 24-hour flight and returned to Earth.

The first living creatures sent into space were two Soviet mongrel dogs, Belka and Strelka. They made an orbital space flight lasting more than 25 hours, circling the Earth 17 times, after which they returned home safe and sound. Both dogs felt great. Strelka left behind numerous offspring. And one of her puppies, Fluff, was given to the wife of American President Jacqueline Kennedy.

It is known that Belka and Strelka were backups for the main team of cosmonaut dogs Chaika and Lisichka, whodied due to a bad start July 28, 1960 . At the 19th second of flight, the side block of the first stage of the launch vehicle collapsed, causing it to fall and explode.

August 23 - Russian Military Glory Day - Victory Day of Soviet troops in the Battle of Kursk (1943)

During the Great Patriotic War, the Battle of Kursk became decisive; it lasted from July 5 to August 23, 1943. It was this battle that destroyed the plans of the Nazi command to carry out a major offensivein the summer of 1943, seize the strategic initiative and turn the tide of the war in its favor.

As a result of the battle, the Third Reich lost 30 divisions, including seven tank divisions, over 500 thousand soldiers and officers, 1.5 thousand tanks, more than 3.7 thousand aircraft, 3 thousand guns. The losses of the Soviet troops exceeded the German ones - they amounted to 863 thousand people, including 254 thousand irrevocable. Near Kursk, the Red Army lost about six thousand tanks.

For their courage and heroism in the Battle of Kursk, more than 100 thousand soldiers, officers and generals of the Red Army were awarded orders and medals, 180 particularly distinguished soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

August, 26th 1382 - Tatar Khan Tokhtamysh captured and burned Moscow

Two years after the victory of Rus' in Kulikovo, the Tatar Khan Tokhtamysh with a large army went to Moscow. On the 4th day of the siege, he captured, plundered and burned the city. This time the Russian princes were unable to unite.

The Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy did not come out to fight and hid with his family in Kostroma. The defense of Moscow was led by the young Lithuanian prince Ostey. For two days the Muscovites stubbornly defended themselves. Then Tokhtamysh decided to take Moscow by cunning, sending the Nizhny Novgorod princes Vasily Kirdyapa and Semyon Dmitrievich to negotiate. The princes swore that Tokhtamysh would have mercy on the Muscovites if they surrendered. On August 26, 1382, Moscow surrendered. The treacherous khan, naturally, did not fulfill his promise. Many people were killed, the city was plundered. After this, the Tatars took Pereyaslavl, Vladimir, Yuryev, Zvenigorod, Mozhaisk and other cities near Moscow, imposing tribute on them.

August 26, 1395 - The Vladimir Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary was transferred to Moscow from Vladimir.

The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted in I century by the Apostle Luke. He wrote it on a board from the table at which Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary had previously sat. B X II century, the icon was presented to Grand Duke Yuri Dolgoruky. Later, his descendant Andrei Bogolyubsky took the icon to the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.The icon has shown its miracles to the world more than once. In 1395, she saved Moscow from the invasion of Khan Timur. When there was no longer any hope of defeating the enemy hordes, the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich sent to Vladimir for the miraculous icon. The journey to Moscow lasted 10 days. At this time, people were kneeling on the sides of the road and praying. The icon was greeted in Moscow on August 26. At this time, Tamerlane was sleeping in a tent and saw in a dream a high mountain, from which saints with golden rods were descending towards him. Above them in the air, illuminated by divine light and surrounded by the heavenly army, stood a woman emitting light. The sages told the khan that in a dream he was sent a sign from above that the Mother of God herself stood up to defend the Russian land. The chroniclers wrote: “And Tamerlane fled, driven by the power of the Blessed Virgin.” In honor of this event, the Sretensky Monastery was built at the meeting place of the icon, and the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God moved to Moscow and was installed in the cathedral built in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Before her, kings were anointed to the kingdom and high priests were elected. During Soviet times, the icon was placed in the Tretyakov Gallery. In September 1999, the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God was transferred to the Church of St. Nicholas at the Tretyakov Gallery.

August 29 1479 - The Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin was consecrated

The Assumption Cathedral was the first stone church in Moscow. Now he has the status of the oldestof completely preserved buildings in Moscow. Since 1991 it has been the cathedral of the Moscow Patriarchate and All Rus'.

The temple was built by an Italian architectAristotle Fioravanti and repeats the outlines of the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir. After construction, it became the main cathedral of the Moscow state, the tomb of Moscow metropolitans and patriarchs, as well as the place of coronation of Russian tsars. It was here in 1547 that the “crowning of the kingdom” of Ivan IV the Terrible took place for the first time. In 1625, the Robe of the Lord, sent as a gift to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich by the Persian Shah Abbas I, was transferred to the cathedral. In honor of this event, the holiday “Position of the Robe of the Lord” was established in the Russian church (July 10 according to the Julian calendar). In 1812, the cathedral was desecrated and looted by the Napoleonic army, although the most valuable shrines were evacuated to Vologda. Of the tombs of the saints, only the shrine of Metropolitan Jonah has survived. The cathedral was re-consecrated on August 30, 1813 by Bishop Augustin (Vinogradsky) of Dmitrov.

August is traditionally considered in Russia (and not only) an unlucky month. The end of summer is marked with alarming regularity by terrorist attacks, man-made or natural disasters. So, last Saturday, August 4, a UTair Mi-8 helicopter crashed in the Turukhansky district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. There were three crew members and 15 passengers on board - employees of RN-Vankor and contractors, all of them died. According to preliminary data, the passenger helicopter touched the cargo hanger with its blades. This is the second most fatal plane crash in Russia in 2018 after the crash of the An-148-100B of Saratov Airlines.

“Black August” is primarily associated with the August putsch, default, collapse of MMM and the death of Kursk. However, in recent years, many emergency situations have occurred in Russia in August, confirming the curse of this month for the country.

Plane crashes. 350 dead

August 3, 2010 An An-24 plane of the Katekavia airline crashed near Igarka (Krasnoyarsk Territory). According to the indictment, the pilot-in-command, due to poor visibility, was unable to establish visual contact with ground landmarks, but instead of making a go-around, he continued to descend the aircraft. The An-24 deviated from the landing course and, before reaching the runway, collided with the ground and caught fire. The crash killed 12 people - 11 passengers and a flight attendant, and three pilots were injured.

August 9, 2011 An An-12A plane crashed in the Magadan region. All 11 people on board were killed.

August 15, 2011 A single-engine four-seater plane crashed in the Leningrad region. Three people died.

August 16, 2009 During preparations for the MAKS-2009 air show, the Russian Knights aerobatic team collided and crashed. One of the commanders, Igor Tkachenko, and a woman on the ground died. Four more were injured.

August 19, 2002 In Chechnya, 127 people were killed as a result of the crash of a military transport helicopter Mi-26. First, the helicopter was hit by a missile from the Igla portable anti-aircraft missile system. After this, the heavily overloaded helicopter fell into a minefield.

August 20, 2011 A private plane Yak-18T crashed in the Leningrad region. 4 people died.

August 24, 2006 A Tu-154 crashed near Donetsk, flying from Anapa to St. Petersburg. While flying over Ukraine, the plane hit a thunderstorm and crashed.

August 26, 2011 A Yak-52 sports plane crashed in the Moscow region, killing 2 people.

August 28, 2011 An An-2 crashed in the Krasnodar region. One person was killed and another was injured.

Railway accidents. 2 dead, 60 injured

August 11, 2011 in the Chelyabinsk region, as a result of which two people died - the driver and assistant driver of one of the trains. The cause of the train collision was poor repair of the brake system of one of the trains.

August 13, 2007 As a result of the terrorist attack, the Nevsky Express branded train, traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, crashed. In the Novgorod region, an electric locomotive and 12 train cars carrying more than 250 people derailed. As a result of the emergency, 60 people were injured. According to the FSB, the organizer of the terrorist attack is a native of the Voronezh region, Pavel Kosolapov, who has converted to radical Islam and is on the international wanted list.

Terrorist attacks. 223 dead

August 1, 2003 An explosion occurred near a military hospital in Mozdok. A KamAZ army truck loaded with explosives rammed the gate and exploded near the hospital building. The terrorist attack killed 52 people.

August 5, 2004 An explosion occurred at a bus stop in Mozdok. Three people were moderately injured.

August 7, 2009 An explosion occurred on the beach in the village of Loo in Sochi. 2 vacationers were killed and 15 people were injured.

August 17, 2009 In the Ingush Nazran, a suicide bomber in a Gazelle car filled with explosives rammed the gates of the city police department building in Nazran. Immediately after the terrorist attack, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ingushetia, Ruslan Meyriev, and also threatened to dismiss other police chiefs who do not properly ensure the safety of their subordinates.

August 17, 2010 In the center of Pyatigorsk, a car parked near a cafe on one of the busiest streets exploded. As a result, over 40 people were injured.

August 19, 2001 An explosion at the Kirov market in Astrakhan killed 8 people and injured 58 more. The court sentenced the three people involved in the explosion to 24 years and 6 months in prison in a maximum security colony.

August 21, 2004 Before the presidential elections in Chechnya, a group of 400 militants staged a raid on Grozny. Among the civilian population, 13 people were killed and 19 were injured.

August 21, 2006 Nationalists detonated a bomb at the Cherkizovsky market in Moscow, killing 14 people and injuring 61.

August 24, 2004 In the Tula and Rostov regions, a Tu-134 of the Volga-Aviaexpress airline (flight Moscow - Volgograd) and a Tu-154 of the Sibir airline (flight Moscow - Sochi) crashed. The cause of the disaster, which claimed the lives of 89 people, was terrorist attacks.

August 25, 2003 In Krasnodar, three explosions occurred at public transport stops. Three people were killed and 17 were injured.

August 31, 2004 As a result of the terrorist attack at the Moscow metro station "Rizhskaya", committed by a suicide bomber, 10 people died (including the performer and organizer) and 51 people were injured.

August 31, 2011 As a result of a double terrorist attack in Grozny, 7 people were killed and another 18 were injured.

Man-made disasters. 75 dead

August 17, 2009 An accident occurred at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, as a result of which 13 were injured. Two hydraulic units of the hydroelectric power station and part of the turbine building were destroyed. The hydroelectric power station was completely restored by the end of 2014. The accident is currently the largest disaster in history at a hydropower facility in Russia.

Natural disasters. 97 people

August 1–15, 2010 abnormal heat in Russia. As a result of the fires, more than 1,000 houses burned down in 77 settlements in 10 regions of Russia, killing 34 people.

August 8, 2002 in Novorossiysk, due to heavy rains and a tornado, one of the worst floods in the history of the city occurred. According to official data alone, 62 people died then. Most of the dead were vacationers.

August 27, 2008 A powerful earthquake of 6–7 magnitude occurred on Lake Baikal. The epicenter of the earthquake was 30 kilometers southeast of the city of Baikalsk, Slyudyansky district of the region. Noticeable ground vibrations were then noted in Chita and Irkutsk. Despite the enormous power of the tremors, the earthquake caused virtually no significant damage and there were no casualties.

August 2013 As a result of flooding in the Far East, a federal-level emergency regime was introduced in six regions - Yakutia, Amur and Magadan regions, Jewish Autonomous Region, Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories. The only victim of the flood was a contract soldier.

Submarine disasters. 9 people

August 4, 2005 In Berezovaya Bay (Kamchatka), the AS-28 bathyscaphe of the Russian Navy was unable to surface. Seven submariners were rescued by British and American specialists.

August 30, 2003 While being towed to the disposal site in the waters of the Barents Sea, the nuclear submarine K-159 sank. 9 people died, one person managed to survive.

Armed conflicts. 162 people

August 7-12, 2008 There was an armed conflict in South Ossetia. The Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation documented the death of 162 residents of the republic.

August-Zhniven. The most important time of harvesting begins, which will last the whole month. Therefore, the name was given to the month: both Serpen and Zhniven. All summer long, the nature of the lack of respite has grown to bestow a rich harvest of healthy vegetables, delicious fruits and whole baskets of ripe apples.

August: Don't Yawn, Harvest

Description of the nature of August (I - II week).
Warm and hot days smoothly transition into the month of August, which is milder than July, because the daylight hours are noticeably shorter, and the nights become cooler and a foggy haze appears. Since the beginning of the month, the water in lakes and ponds has cooled, ending the swimming season. The average temperature in the first half of August is +17 +19° C. August itself is the calmest month of the year. Thunderstorms rarely occur, and hot, dry days are somewhat less common. The weather is often evenly warm, and in some places the first yellowed leaves appear on the trees, harbingers of autumn.

The most pleasant time of the year is coming - the harvest season. It’s time to collect everything that you sowed, everything that you reaped, everything that you pinned your hopes on and prepare for a difficult time - wintering. The cold weather is still very far away, but it’s time to make the first preparations for the difficult period of winter. So, what will the little earth give us this year? What bounties will she bestow upon us? The grain harvest begins. The poured cucumbers are ripening. The tomatoes on the bushes are turning red. Buckwheat is blooming. The berries continue to bloom, filling with juice. After a little rain, mushrooms appear in the forests. August is generous and noble.

August in the folk calendar

"From Ilyin's day until lunchtime it's summer, and after it's autumn"

With unhurried steps, the summer heat begins to subside, the days have become a little noticeably shorter, the nights are no longer so warm. Thunderstorms do occur, but much less frequently. And the sun shines evenly and calmly, as if slowly warming the fertile earth with honey rays. August 2 is Elijah's day, the water becomes colder and the evenings become cooler. The winds in August are weak, the days are smooth and calm. Sheaves of hay are collected from the fields. And now on the 14th of the month of Honey Spas, the bees finish their hard work. This year they did a great job, there are enough reserves, for which we thank them very much.

Summer in Russian poetry

Aleksey Tolstoy conveys the time of year, summer, in verse, as a languid half-asleep. He describes the sensations of the midday heat in the poem “The burning afternoon tends to laziness...”. But there is no monotony in Tolstoy's summer. Relief from the heat is the coolness of the oak forest, where a spring flows through the thickets of plants. Not only the summer day is beautiful and full of emotions and sensations, but also the evening that follows it. Warm air, ringing silence, replacing the heat and hubbub, personify the transience of life and make you think about the fact that you need to appreciate and have time to feel the minutes you live with every cell of your body.

The burning afternoon tends to laziness,
Every sound died in the leaves,
In a lush and fragrant rose,
The shiny beetle sleeps basking;
And flowing out of the stones,
Monotonous and thunderous,
He speaks without stopping,
And the mountain spring sings.

Look, it's getting closer on both sides
The dense forest embraces us;
It is full of deep darkness,
It's like clouds have rolled in
Or between centuries-old trees
The night has overtaken us untimely,
Only the sun pours through them
In some places there are fiery needles.

And this evening? Oh look
What a peaceful glow!
No fluttering can be heard in the leaves,
The sea is motionless; ships,
Like white dots in the distance,
They barely glide, melting in space;
What a holy silence
Reigns all around! Descends to us
Like a premonition of something;
It’s night in the gorges; in the fog there
The gray swamp is smoking,
And all the cliffs around the edges
Burning with evening gold...

August: welcomes autumn with warmth

Description of the nature of the end of summer (III - IV week).
In the second half of August, a special mushroom season begins, and if these days also turn out to be rainy, then literally in a matter of days the forests will delight you with an abundance of mushrooms. The fields continue to be blessed with ripe harvests. The apple tree drops its apples with a thud, filling the August air with a ripe apple aroma. Roses and other flowers bloom in the garden in a variety of intricate shades.

And then a warm wind plucks a few leaves from the birch tree, and behind it the leaves of elm and linden drop - the first signs of the beginning of autumn. Autumn begins from the last days of August, when the average air temperature drops below +15° C. The first yellow leaves appear on the birch tree along with the fall of leaves. The bird cherry tree also drops leaves. The nights have become colder, and although the warmth is still long and even, parting with summer cannot be avoided. It rains infrequently, or it may not happen at all, but the leaves turning yellow every day are more and more reminiscent of the approaching autumn.

The second half of the month in the folk calendar

"The Savior has a little bit in stock - rain, a bucket, and cold dew"

So swallows are the first to leave their native places, flying to distant countries. Stepan-Senoval - August 15th came, it’s time to mow the dried grass. The day of Anton-Vikhrevey is changing, with the wind of this day, one could already see the first signs of winter. If the wind is strong, a snowy winter cannot be avoided. It rains more often, but usually short-lived. The sun will allow you to indulge in the rain, and it will sneak a peek and warm you with affection. And on August 19 comes the Orthodox holiday of the Apple Savior. It's time to collect baskets full of apples and consecrate them in the temple.

But at Miron-Vetrogon on August 20 and then Lavrentiya, on the 21st, you can look at the water to know what kind of autumn it will be. If the water is calm, then the autumn will be calm, and the winter will be without frosty blizzards. On August 27, Mikheev's Day, we looked at the strength and direction of the wind. I would like to know everything - what will autumn be like, will it be windy?

The Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on August 28, preceded by two weeks of the Dormition Fast. Next is the Third Savior, in Rus' it was also called the Bread Savior, with which the harvest ended and rapid preparations for winter began. Autumn is approaching with smooth steps, nature has yet to show its beauty and dress up in golden dresses. The grass is already drying and the leaves are turning red. The birch tree throws a light gilding on its leaves, followed by the linden tree. Rooks and starlings gather in flocks. The sun is less warm than before. Summer is replaced by autumn.

Summer in Russian painting

The painting by F. A. Vasilyev “Summer. River in Krasnoye Selo” presents a description of nature in summer, at the moment of impending rain. In the foreground of the picture there is a red road, which is probably why the village has the same name, which is further washed away by the river. The water in the river is depicted in clear turquoise color, but in some places disturbances on its surface are already visible. On the left is a small hill on which various trees grow, dressed in extraordinary greenery.

(Painting by F. A. Vasiliev “Summer. River in Krasnoye Selo”)

If you look closely at the picture, you will notice that each tree has its own shade. And in front of them is shown a row of dark burgundy bushes. On the left above the trees the sky is still clear, turquoise, and on the right a rain cloud is approaching. It has already hung over part of the river and will soon fill the entire landscape. In the center of the picture, people are walking along the river under a sun umbrella.

I feel as if I was asked to comment on the increase in vampire activity in Northern Scotland in the autumn of 2010. My answer would be: vampires do not exist, therefore, neither their activity nor its intensification exists. And there are myths that must be analyzed as myths.

Of course, there is no Black August in Russian history. We had a lot going on in August, both good and bad, but the same can be said about July or April. And about any other month too!

Please note that the two most terrible events of the Russian twentieth century - the October Revolution and the beginning of the Second World War - did not occur in August, but in October and June, as did Russia's entry into World War II in September. The worst terrorist attacks of the post-Soviet period - Nord-Ost, house bombings in Moscow, Beslan - are also not August. And in my opinion, the most positive event - the victory over the putsch, the collapse of communism - happened in August. And, let’s say, the default – August 1998 – is largely a consequence not only of the actions of the Russian leadership, but also of events in the global financial system that began long before August.

What is true is that there were many military events in August, including military defeats. I think this is due to the fact that even now, and even more so in the past, large military operations were tried to be carried out in the summer, when the roads were dry.

It is possible that the concept of Black August was introduced into our culture by Akhmatova, who really did not like this tragic month for her, and by Galich’s magnificent song (“If only it weren’t for August, it wasn’t this damn time!”).

What is interesting in this context is the very desire to believe in the existence of something transrational or unknowable. For some it’s the stars, numerology or the predictions of the ancients, for others it’s August. By the way, faith in world government, conspiracies, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion or the Dulles Plan are not so far gone from here.

Many people, tired of the chaos and complexity of the world, of its weak predictability, want to find illusory clarity, which is provided by primitive conspiracy theories or even those that do not require a positivist explanation, but only faith, theories of the influence of the Cosmos, the Spirit of the people, or something else non-verbalizable and fundamentally unverifiable. Some of these concepts are terrible - they justify the aggression of your own country or your own group, they relieve you of responsibility for your own problems, shifting them onto others. But even the completely vegetarian ones, such as “Black August,” which do not declare anyone an enemy or a source of immanent evil, are far from harmless. The search for explanations in the calendar distracts or replaces a serious analysis of the reasons for what happened and is happening on our earth and in the world as a whole.

August, the last month of summer, is perceived by most people exclusively as a month of vacations and well-deserved rest. But in reality, this is one of the most dangerous months of the year.

By a strange coincidence, it is in August that most of the most terrible disasters in human history occur.

EVIL MONTH

No one knows why the eighth month of the year has a bad reputation. Perhaps numerology plays a role here: if the number “7” is considered lucky, then against its background the number eight seems like a clear failure, a “black streak”. Perhaps the roots of the problem should be sought in the sky, turning to astrologers: it is known that many astronomical phenomena occur in August.

One way or another, the bad reputation of the last month of summer was formed in ancient times. In Ancient Egypt, it was believed that during this month there was the greatest risk of falling into the mouth of a Nile crocodile, drowning in river waters, or dying from disease. The Mayan priests made a particularly large number of human sacrifices in August, believing that at this time the world was closest to destruction and only abundant offerings to the gods could save humanity.

Ancient Greek sailors, whenever possible, tried not to set off on a long journey if it ended in the eighth month of the year. Phoenician merchants avoided concluding risky deals, fearing to be deceived... Well, the fears of the people of those distant eras were not in vain.

August 1, 30 BC, city of Alexandria. The last Egyptian queen Cleopatra and her lover, the Roman commander Mark Antony, suffered final defeat from the troops of Octavian Augustus. For them it was a real disaster: most of the allies either betrayed the queen or fled in horror from the approaching hordes of the enemy. The will of Mark Antony, a once strong, unbending man, a comrade-in-arms of Caesar himself, was broken that day.

He wanted to fight - but he understood that he was left alone and could not do anything. From the very morning he was haunted by forebodings and omens. When a false rumor spread throughout the city that Cleopatra had died, he threw himself on his sword in despair, committing suicide.

The grieving queen surrendered to the mercy of the winner, hoping to come to an agreement with him in order to preserve at least in some form the throne and independence of her country. But Octavian was adamant; he prepared a completely different fate for Cleopatra and her state. Egypt was to become a Roman province, and its ruler was planned to be paraded through the streets of Rome in chains.

It was a humiliation that the proud heiress of the pharaohs could not bear. Having learned about the intentions of the Romans, on August 12, 30 BC, Cleopatra committed suicide. The death of the queen and her lover was more than their personal tragedy. The suicide of Cleopatra put an end to the last Egyptian dynasty of pharaohs, and the state itself lost its independence and subsequently passed from hand to hand of invaders for many hundreds of years.

The tragedy of Egypt this time became the triumph of Rome, so significant that, having become the first emperor of the Roman Empire, Octavian Augustus ordered to name one of the most significant months in his life in his own honor. But don’t think that August favored Italy for some reason. If this were so, then on August 24, 79 AD, the monstrous eruption of Vesuvius would not have occurred.

On that ill-fated day, nothing foreshadowed trouble. In living memory there has not been a single case when a volcano showed its bad character. It was considered just a mountain, towering above the heads of the inhabitants of the surrounding cities. Fields and gardens were laid out on the slopes, and villas of rich patricians stood. And suddenly Vesuvius awoke with an incredible roar after a long hibernation, a powerful explosion seemed to cut off the top of the volcano, throwing a huge cloud of hot ash into the sky. Stones, emitting incredible heat, fell to the ground.

The eruption was witnessed by the young Pliny the Younger; in 1572 he later became a famous Roman politician, lawyer, and writer. He saved on paper his memories of that terrible day:

“... a huge black cloud was quickly approaching... long, fantastic flames burst out of it every now and then, reminiscent of flashes of lightning, only much larger... Sometimes it seemed bright, and sometimes dark and spotty, depending on the more or less it was filled with earth and ashes... The panic-stricken crowd followed us and... pressed on us in a dense mass, pushing us forward as we emerged... We froze in the midst of the most dangerous and terrifying scene. The chariots that we ventured to take out shook so violently back and forth, although they were standing on the ground, that we could not hold them up even by placing large stones under the wheels. The sea seemed to roll back and be pulled away from the shores by the convulsive movements of the Earth; certainly the land has expanded considerably, and some sea animals have ended up on the sand.

Then it brightened considerably, which we supposed was a harbinger of the approaching eruption of flame (and this turned out to be true), and not the return of daylight; however, the fire fell at some distance from us; then we were again plunged into deep darkness, and a strong shower of ash fell upon us, we had to stop from time to time and shake it off, otherwise we would be crushed and buried under its weight... Every object that appeared before our eyes. ..seemed changed, covered with a thick layer of ash, like snow.”

The cataclysm completely destroyed four Roman cities. Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and Oplontis were buried under a multi-meter layer of volcanic rock. The cloud of ash and smoke rose to a height of 33 kilometers, its temperature reached 700 degrees Celsius, and the energy released at the entrance of the eruption was many times greater than the force of the explosion of an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. According to the most conservative estimates, more than sixteen thousand people died.

By the way, among the volcanoes in August, not only Vesuvius was noted, but also Krakatoa, a huge fire-breathing mountain in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra. On August 27, 1883, the most powerful eruption known to man occurred here, the force of which was 10 thousand times greater than the power of the atomic bombs dropped on Japanese cities. The explosion of the volcano almost completely destroyed the island on which it was located; fragments of rock were scattered over a distance of 500 kilometers.

The shock wave tore off the roofs of houses 150 kilometers from Krakatoa, and in addition, it circled the globe 7 times. The ash, which rose to a height of over 55 thousand meters, then fell over an area of ​​4 million square kilometers. The thirty-meter tsunami raised by the eruption washed away 295 cities and villages on the neighboring islands, killing over 36 thousand inhabitants.

AUGUST WARS

Having brought the military defeat of Queen Cleopatra's Egypt, the eighth calendar month and in subsequent eras gave rise to bloody clashes between people.

In August 1572, the wedding of the French Catholic princess Margaret of Valois and the Protestant prince Henry of Navarre, the future king Henry IV, took place in Paris. This marriage was supposed to reconcile supporters of the warring Christian denominations, and in anticipation of it, many Protestant Huguenots gathered in the capital. However, the inherently good idea was not to the liking of radical adherents of the Catholic Church.

A bloodthirsty conspiracy matured among them, carried out on August 24, 1572, six days after the wedding ceremony, on St. Bartholomew's Night. During this ill-fated time, from sunset to sunrise, a hunt for Protestants was going on in the French capital. It was a real massacre: the conspirators decided to completely rid Paris of the Huguenots, regardless of their gender and age.

Within a few hours, about ten thousand people became victims of the bloody harvest. The news of the massacre spread throughout Europe, even at that cruel time generating a wave of indignation. It’s no joke: even Ivan the Terrible, who himself was not particularly gentle, was horrified by the bloodthirstiness of the initiators of the St. Bartholomew’s Massacre.

However, this was not the end. The events in Paris became a signal for the entire country, which was hit by a wave of pogroms. More than thirty thousand people died in them, and another 200 thousand Protestants fled France in horror in the following months.

August claimed even more lives 342 years later: On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, which turned a bilateral conflict between the allies of these countries - the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia - into the First World War. Its result was a fundamental reorganization of the world, the collapse of four empires - Russian, Ottoman, German and Austro-Hungarian - as well as the death of 22 million people.

Moreover, a significant part of the major battles of the First World War took place again in August. So, already in 1914, from August 7 to 25, one of the largest battles of the war took place - the so-called Border Battle between Germany, on the one hand, and France, Great Britain and Belgium, on the other. During this time, about half a million soldiers remained on the battlefields. In parallel, on the Eastern Front, the advance of Russian troops led to the start of the Battle of Galicia, which claimed almost as many lives.

Amazingly, August also left its mark on the largest war in human history—World War II. Although it officially began on September 1, 1939, it was preceded by a Nazi provocation on August 31 in the form of a fake Polish takeover of a German radio station. The Nazis used this precedent as a reason to launch an invasion of Poland. Over the next six years, according to modern data, about sixty-three million people, both military and civilian, died during the fighting.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, perhaps one of the most terrible tragedies of the Second World War occurred: the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which, according to various sources, killed up to two hundred and fifty thousand people, mostly civilians.

In a nuclear fire, stones and sand melted, human bodies evaporated. The light radiation was so strong that it burned birds in the air, and paper and wood caught fire at a very great distance from the epicenter... The expediency of such atrocity still raises many questions.

UNDER SIGHT - RUSSIA

It is characteristic that disasters did not spare our state. Perhaps over the last couple of decades, not a single August has passed completely calmly. Here are just a few of the most characteristic tragedies “gifted” to us by the eighth month:

August 17, 1998 - “Black Monday”. The Russian government and the Central Bank announce a default, which meant the collapse of the entire economic policy of previous years. The country's economy suffered a severe blow, and there was a significant decline in production and the standard of living of the population. People were losing their deposits, savings were depreciating, real wages were rapidly declining...

By the way, not everyone remembers, but four years earlier, on August 24, 1995, “Black Thursday” happened, which did not hit people so hard, but still affected the domestic economy.

August 12, 2000: The nuclear submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea. The submarine almost had half its hull torn off, and the entire crew died. It was only by miracle that the reactor remained intact, thanks to which radioactive contamination of the waters was avoided. The official version speaks of the explosion of the “Whale” torpedo due to the leakage of a fuel component, hydrogen peroxide. However, there are a number of other versions - from a collision with a mine from the Great Patriotic War to deliberate torpedoing.

August 17, 2009 - accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. Due to the destruction of hydraulic unit No. 2, water began to rapidly flow through its shaft into the turbine room under high pressure. As a result, seventy-five people died, making the disaster one of the largest tragedies in the history of world hydropower...

August 2013: Floods in the Russian Far East. The water level broke all observation records, requiring the evacuation of more than 120 thousand people, many of them lost their homes. August 2014 is in full swing...

Vladimir ANTONOV "Anomalous news"