Once upon a time, not a very long time ago, Peter the Great decimated Swedish troops in the Battle of Poltava in 1709. Charles XII, the last of the Swedish warrior kings, was forced into exile in Ottoman Turkey and later died fighting as his country was attacked on all sides. After Poltava, Russia emerged as a great power, while the death of the Swedish warrior king led to what his countrymen call frihetstiden, the age of liberty.
For centuries, Russia has been a great power with impoverished people. Russian soldiers have been used as cannon fodder by their leaders from …read more
Source: Daily News & Analysis
