Very few people know that Venezuela’s national hero, Francisco de Miranda, was the first Latin American to initiate contact with Russia. He spent a year living in Russia and received the rank of colonel from Catherine the Great. A rumor exists which holds that de Miranda took the Russian flag as the basis for his revolutionary flag, substituting the white stripe, which he associated with Russia’s now, with a yellow stripe to symbolize the wealth of the American continent. More

The Russian diaspora in western Europe is diverse and has large communities in France, Germany and Britain. There are also small communities, such as those in Luxembourg. More

From the very beginning of the First Serbian Uprising, Karageorge conducted an active foreign policy. In September 1804, St. Petersburg received the Serbian “grand embassy,” headed by Archpriest Mateja Nenadovic, one of the leaders of the rebellion. Russian Foreign Minister, Adam Czartoryski, received the Serbian delegation coldly and told Karageorge’s messengers to resolve their issues directly with Turkey, although he did promise Russia’s diplomatic support. Generally speaking, relations between Russia and Serbia during this period were placed at the mercy of international alliances, which Russia joined and abandoned, constantly changing the vector of its foreign policy. More