Russia

A boy tsar in 1613, a revolutionary pamphlet in 1848, a president's flight in 2014 — all on 21 February, all part of the same unfinished argument about Russia.

In 1954, the Soviet Presidium voted to transfer Crimea from Russia to Ukraine. The session lasted minutes. The consequences are still running.

In 1652, Russia's new Patriarch decided the liturgy was wrong. The schism that followed still hasn't healed — and it was never just about religion.

Before it was about roses and chocolate, February 14th marked a stranger event: the day Bolshevik Russia skipped thirteen days to join the modern calendar.

On 16 January 1547, a sixteen-year-old was crowned the first Tsar of all Russia. He reformed the law, conquered the Volga, and built Saint Basil's Cathedral. He also destroyed his dynasty and left his country on the brink of ruin.