#Nikolay Alexeyev

[luciluck2046-md]

Uhhmmm I'm gathering memes from Pinterest for a little trolling.

This is smt Uzi would totally say idc.

And I will draw this as Nikolai the second he saw V break in his family's house for some friendly talk. Nikolai knows a BIT of English, but Yeva and Doll can't speak another language. I mean they literally can't. Their code is too corrupt to let them talk another language. Otherwise Yeva and Doll would have been bilingual.

:3

[dickytwister]

24 and 47 for cod niki mayhaps?? 👀👀

TENDER + CRAVE [x] oc: nikita alexeyev fandom: call of duty word count: 475

they don’t get to do this often. god knows they want to, god knows they want nothing more than to slip away when no one’s looking and just be together for a while, somewhere far away from the war and the violence and all that grief. 

but they can’t. they’ve both got responsibilities, soap as a member of task force 141 and nikita as one of chimera’s top operators, and they only work together when price and nikolai deem it necessary. they don’t get to be together the way regular couples are, no matter how badly they both crave the domesticity of waking up side by side, of cooking breakfast with their hips bumping in a kitchen too small for the both of them, of kissing each other goodbye before heading to work. 

they make it work, though. days like today, when they team up to catch a high-value target, when the job’s done and they get a few hours to themselves before returning to their respective headquarters, they rent a hotel room in whatever town they’re staying in and they pretend that this is the life they want. 

“stop thinking.” soap’s voice is quiet behind him, muffled by the way he presses his lips in a tender kiss between nikita’s shoulder blades. 

“i am not” nikita huffs, and the tension in his shoulders melts away when soap wraps his arms tighter around his waist and pulls him closer to his chest.

“stay with me.”

and how could nikita say no to a demand like this, when soap says it like a prayer, like he’s begging for god himself to let them be like this for a little while longer? with a sigh, nikita twists his body around so he can intertwine their legs together and pushes his forehead against soap’s with a small thud.

“i am always with you, милый мой,” he whispers. he feels soap’s eyelashes flutter against his cheeks. he can’t help but reach up to cup soap’s jaw in one big hand—doesn’t have to resist the urge, knows soap yearns for his touch just as well as nikita does for soap’s. “even when you do not see me.” he places his other hand in the middle of soap’s chest, where he feels his heartbeat against his palm. “i am there.”

with a shudder, soap combs his fingers through nikita’s hair and pulls him into a kiss that tastes of the bottle of whisky they’ve been sharing. there’s no urgency to it, not anymore, but in its stead is a desperation they can both feel to their core. a desire for this moment to never end, and a knowledge that it will. 

“you’re so fucking cheesy,” soap scoffs, breath fanning over nikita’s lips. “i’m with you, too, love.”

nikita smiles, because he knows. he can’t imagine a moment where that’s no longer true. 

[tenosit]

As much as I hate the concept of state of Russia as it exists now, trying to blame Russian LGBTQ+ people for their ills - who are the minority, as ever, in the aggressively heteronormative state - is dumb and unproductive. You must understand what is happening - Russian court has declared LGBTQ+ as a an "extremist organization" and wholesale banned "its" activity. THINGS LIKE THIS WILL FOLLOW AMONG AUTHORITARIAN GOVERNMENTS. Russian state has worked hard to enable itself to criminalize anything and everything easily; now it uses this power openly.

Homosexuality being branded as "Western corruption" dates to USSR. It was only legal there in Russian SFSR and Ukrainian SSR up until 1927 to begin with; it wasn't targeting gay people just because, either, it was following public homophobia and tying it to antagonism of entire rest of the world. Under Stalin it was conflated with pederasty (which is how Russian gets its slurs); afterwards, associations with prison rape dominated the discussion. Known tales of gay and trans people attempting to survive in USSR are inevitably centered on persecution and bureaucratic judgement, such as famed surgeon Viktors Kalnbērzs' performing sex reassignment therapy immediately meeting resistance and declarations of it as "mutilation".

1989 marked a turn in the discussion of LGBTQ+ topics, and male homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993. "Gays" were still the most widely-despised demographic in the country. Improvements were slowly made into early '00s; Nikolay Alexeyev's Moscow Pride (founded in 2005) is somewhat of a barometer of the situation. But into second half, legislative action has fully returned to demonizing LGBTQ+ as Western corruption; Moscow mayor and noted dickhead Yuriy Luzhkov declared it as "satanic" in 2007, and its position remained fraught, to speak nothing of smaller expressions. In 2011, the next Moscow mayor dickhead Sergey Sobyabin has banned pride parades in Moscow for "100 years". It is also this period where Russia's current shtick of "propaganda of homosexuality" stems from.

From then on, it has returned to full persecution. Despite Russian law openly not criminalizing homosexuality, any large open display of it was eventually silenced, especially when it concerned LGBTQ+ minors. The whole worldview of Russian imperialism is built on West attacking it, trying to break its "power", and LGBTQ+ is one of these "attacks" on existence of Russia.

Russian state as it exists now is impossible to disentangle from homophobia. Russian imperialism has chosen LGBTQ+ as its beloved hot button issue to scream about whenever; in its worldview, Western states are intrinsically "gay" for not being as cruel as Russia. This schoolyard-grade state manifesto lives in minds of a great percentage of society - they don't remember when this started and they don't care. The only way to ensure safety of Russian LGBTQ+ people is destruction of Russian empire.

so, today we, russian queers, may become "extremists" by decision of russian supreme court and thus our existence will be silenced and erased. any queer activism will be impossible for us. I don't know what to do anymore. I was heartbroken when they passed the laws about "gay propaganda" and transgender people, now I'm just numb. I don't want to escape. I just want to live safely in my own country.

please hear us.

[yourdailyqueer-spreadsheet]

Changelog Oct 28-Nov 3

Nats Getty - he/him and changed to trans man

Jazzmun - Changed real name to Jazzmun Nichala Crayton

Nicky Case - Changed to she/they and trans woman

Nico Tortorella - Changed to he/him, added demisexual and polyamorous

Nikkita Oliver - Changed to genderfluid

Nikolay Alexeyev - Moved due to antisemitism

Noahfinnce - Added autism, ADHD

Oliver Gray - Changed to nonbinary, added dyslexia and dyspraxia

Paris Lees - Added bisexual

Pat Buckley - Died May 2024

Patricia Highsmith - Moved due to extreme antisemitism

Patricia Yurena Rodríguez - Changed to pansexual

Patrick Califia - Added fibromyalgia

Patti Harrison - Added ADHD

Paul Moore Jr. - Moved due to SA allegations

Paul Oscar - Added note about antisemitism

Paula Poundstone - Moved due to CSA charges

Pierre Bergé - Moved due to islamophobia

Ramona Xavier - Added autism

Raquel Pennington - Changed to multiracial (Mexican, white)

Raven Saunders - Changed to nonbinary and queer

[goalhofer]

2024 1st NHL Playoff Games

April 20, 2024

Kyle MacLean (New York Islanders) at Carolina.

Simon Holmström (New York Islanders) at Carolina.

Simon Benoit (Toronto) at Boston.

Pontus Holmberg (Toronto) at Boston.

Johnny Beecher (Boston) vs. Toronto.

Andrew Peeke (Boston) vs. Toronto.

Mitchell Chaffee (Tampa Bay) at Florida.

Emil Martinsen-Lilleberg (Tampa Bay) at Florida.

Aliaksei Protas (Washington) at New York Rangers.

Vincent Iorio (Washington) at New York Rangers.

Hendrix Lapierre (Washington) at New York Rangers.

Charlie Lindgren (Washington) at New York Rangers.

Beck Malenstyn (Washington) at New York Rangers.

Alexander Alexeyev; Jr. (Washington) at New York Rangers.

Matt Rempe (New York Rangers) at Washington.

Will Cuylle (New York Rangers) at Washington.

April 21, 2024

Casey Mittelstadt (Colorado) at Winnipeg.

Luke Evangelista (Nashville) at Vancouver.

Tommy Novak (Nashville) at Vancouver.

Cole Smith (Nashville) at Vancouver.

Spencer Stastney (Nashville) at Vancouver.

Filip Hronek (Vancouver) vs. Nashville.

Nils Höglander (Vancouver) vs. Nashville.

Pius Suter (Vancouver) vs. Nashville.

April 22, 2024

Logan Thompson (Vegas) at Dallas.

Logan Stankoven (Dallas) vs. Vegas.

Nils Lundkvist (Dallas) vs. Vegas.

Alex Laferriere (Los Angeles) at Edmonton.

Andreas Englund (Los Angeles) at Edmonton.

Sam Carrick (Edmonton) vs. Los Angeles.

April 23, 2024

Lucas Johansen (Washington) at New York Rangers.

Max Crozier (Tampa Bay) at Florida.

April 24, 2024

Mason Lohrei (Boston) at Toronto.

Parker Wotherspoon (Boston) at Toronto.

April 26, 2024

Ivan Miroshnichenko (Washington) vs. New York Rangers.

April 27, 2024

Ruslan Iskhakov (New York Islanders) vs. Carolina.

April 28, 2024

Nikolai Kovalenko (Colorado) vs. Winnipeg.

Artūrs Šilovs (Vancouver) at Nashville.

April 30, 2024

Justin Brazeau (Boston) vs. Toronto.

May 3, 2024

Juuso Pärssinen (Nashville) vs. Vancouver.

May 7, 2024

Max Comtois (Carolina) at New York Rangers.

May 12, 2024

Nils Åman (Vancouver) at Edmonton.

Linus Karlsson (Vancouver) at Edmonton.

Calvin Pickard (Edmonton) vs. Vancouver.

May 14, 2024

Noah Juulsen (Vancouver) at Edmonton.

June 2, 2024

Mavrik Bourque (Dallas) at Edmonton.

June 15, 2024

Anthony Stolarz (Florida) at Edmonton.

[chaoticrebels]

NAME : Dimitri Nikolaevich Graves-Romanov

NICKNAME : Dimi, Riri, Mimi, Niko, Romeo, DR. Graves

AGE : 28 - 30

BIRTH DATE : July 17

GENDER : Male

ORIENTATION : Pansexual

LOCATION : Saint Petersburg, Russia { Has homes in several places around the world }

PROFESSION : Prince, Streamer, Mafia Leader

SPECIES : Human

SPOKEN LANGUAGES : English, Russian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian

HEIGHT : 6'3"  

WEIGHT : 168 lbs

HAIR : Brunette

EYES : Brown

TATTOOS : Several

PIERCINGS : A Few { Upper and lower earlobe piercings, upper, mid, lower helix piercings, forward helix piercing, industrial piercing }

SCARS : None

FACE CLAIM : Francisco Lachowski

FACTS

Is the rightful Emperor of Russia

Was an edgy angst filled reckless teenager who got into several fights and is still an edgy reckless trouble marker

Knows how to sing

Can play the guitar, electric and acoustic

Can play the drums and piano

Has a collection of cars, motorcycles, trucks

Paints his nails

Has studied martial arts, studying in Wada Ryu Karate, Kickboxing, Judo, Shaolin Kung Fu, Tiger Crane and Snake style Kung Fu and Sanjero Kung Fu because of his father

Is adept with numerous weapons

Had been modeling since he was young because of his mother

Knows how to change his voice and does it when he needs to

Is like a cat when it comes to affection

No control on what comes out of his lips at times

Comes from a wealthy family and is wealthy even without his family money

Dislikes tea, prefers coffee or hot coco

Likes to sleep in the middle of the bed, prefers the right side when sleeping with someone.

Loves Disney & Sailor Moon

Loves the movie Anastasia, mainly because he is fascinated with his family history surrounding them

Is fascinated with the Titanic as well

Can see and talk to spirits

Is fascinated by the supernatural

Loves to skateboard, surf, snowboard

Loves adventures and loves to explore

Enjoys photography

Is allergic to cranberries, pineapples, soy

Only cares for a few animals and insects

Hates cockroaches, worms, and flies

FAMILY

Nikolai Alexei Romanov - Father

Anastasia Natasha Graves - Mother

Emiko Kasumi Sakurai† - Wife

Akemi Raisa Sakurai-Romanova - Daughter

Alexei Romanov - Paternal Grandfather

Raisa Romanova - Paternal Grandmother

Taisiya Romanova - Paternal Aunt

Luka Romanov - Paternal Great Grandfather

Mika Romanova† - Paternal Great Grandmother

Yuri Romanov† - Paternal Great Uncle

Katya Romanova - Paternal Great Aunt

Leika Romanov - Paternal Great Uncle

Artemis Graves - Maternal Grandfather

Ksenia Graves - Maternal Grandmother

Makari Graves - Maternal Uncle

Damien Graves - Maternal Great Grandfather

Tatiana Graves† - Maternal Great Grandmother

Alena Graves† - Maternal Great Aunt

Samara Graves† - Maternal Great Aunt

Ryusei Sakurai - Father In Law

Mitsuki Sakurai - Mother in Law

Takara Sakurai - Sister in Law

Kosuke Sakurai - Brother in Law

Nikolai Romanov ❪ Nicholas II of Russia ❫† - Paternal Ancestor

Alexandra Fyodorovna† - Paternal Ancestor

Olga Nikolaevna Romanova† - Paternal Ancestor

Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova† - Paternal Ancestor

Maria Nikolaevna Romanova† - Paternal Ancestor

Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova† - Paternal Ancestor

Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov† - Paternal Ancestor

CONNECTIONS

Alexsey Solovyov - Best Friend / Second in Command { Has been in love with Dimitri since they were kids }

Maksim Morozov - Best Friend / Third in Command

Iyla Solovyova - Best Friend / Assistant

Ekaterina Morozova - Best Friend / Assistant

Alyosha Raskolnikov - Bodyguard

Artemas Raskolnikov - Bodyguard

Akilina Belova - Bodyguard

Nastashia Makara - Bodyguard { Has a crush on Dimitri }

Kiska Novikova - Capo

Nika Novikov - Capo

Vika Novikov - Capo

Zoria Aslanov - Soldier

Karina Makarov - Soldier

Matvey Orlov - Soldier

Jalena Agapova - Soldier

Mikhail Agapov - Soldier { Has a crush on Dimitri }

Hakoda Kazeev - Soldier { Has a crush on Dimitri }

Anatoli Alexeyev - Soldier { Has a crush on Dimitri }

Sitka Alexeyeva - Soldier { Has a crush on Dimitri }

Niurka Alexeyeva - Soldier

Olya Sokolova - Driver

Jeremie Garin - Driver

Veronika Rostova - Ex Girlfriend

Atsuko Haruki - Ex Girlfriend

Svetlana Karenina - Ex Girlfriend

Rue Nakamura- Ex Boyfriend

Nyx Kinsella - Ex Boyfriend

Kimika Kimura - Ex Boyfriend

Rania Akamai - Ex Fling

Electra Ricci - Ex Fling

Riki Koizumi - Ex Fling

Nikita Nikitin - Ex Fling

Kazimir Rasputin - Enemy { Obsessed with the Romanov family }

Norvina Dorofeeva - Enemy { Kazimir's assistant and advisory }

Zathura Alatyrtsev - Enemy { Is in love and obsessed with Dimitri but is jealous of Dimitri at the same time }

Gorky Laskin - Enemy { Zathura's Goon }

Simeon Laskin - Enemy { Zathura's Goon }

[yourdailyqueer]

Nikolay Alexeyev

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

DOB: 23 December 1977

Ethnicity: White - Russian

Occupation: Activist, lawyer, journalist

Note 1: Won the first ever case at the European Court of Human Rights on LGBT human rights violations in Russia. The Strasbourg-based court unanimously ruled that by banning three Moscow Prides in 2006, 2007 and 2008, Russia breached three articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Note 2: Since 2005 Nikolay Alexeyev is known as the founder and chief organizer of Moscow Pride, which is officially banned year after year by city authorities.

Note 3: On 5 September 2008 he became the first public figure in Russia’s history to enter into a same-sex family union. The marriage ceremony took place in Geneva City Hall on the basis of the Swiss Federal Law on registered partnership.

[nikolaialexeyev0]

Modern Russia is more and more covered by the virus of same-sex love. Homosexual relationships are getting popular among the Russian elite, including politicians. In Russia, many influential connoisseurs of same-sex love have made a dizzying career: they run cities, Duma, banks, airports, factories, etc. Some of them can even be found on Forbes lists.

[simonxriley]

I was tagged by the wonderful @bvckybvnes Thank you! 💜

Since I did this not too long ago I’m not going to tag anyone, but if y’all want to do it again than you are tagged by me!

Riley Sanders

GENERAL

name: Riley Scarlet Sander

alias(es): N/A

gender: Female

age: 23

birthday: October 10th, 2010

place of birth: Marine Barracks, Washington DC

hometown: Marine Barracks, Washington DC

spoken languages: English and Russian.

sexual preference: Questioning. 

occupation: Spartan Ranger.

APPEARANCE

eye color: Green

hair color: Brown

height: 5′3″

scars: Claw marks down her back from a Watcher attack. 

FAVOURITE

color: Blue

hair color: brown/black

eye color: Blue and brown

song: n/a

food: n/a

drink: water

HAVE THEY

passed university: Nope

had sex: Yes

had sex in public: No

gotten pregnant: Yes

kissed a boy: Yes

kissed a girl: No

gotten tattoos: No

gotten piercings: Yes

been in love: Yes

stayed up for more than 24 hours: Yes

ARE THEY

a virgin: No

a cuddler: Yes

a kisser: Kind of

scared easily: No

jealous easily: No

trustworthy: Yes

dominant: Can be

submissive: Can be

in love: Yes

single: No

RANDOM QUESTIONS (tw for self harm/suicide mention)

have they harmed themselves: No, but almost

thought of suicide: Yes

attempted suicide: No

wanted to kill someone: No

have/had a job: Yes

have any fears: Losing another child. 

FAMILY

sibling(s): Ryder Sanders (older brother)

parent(s): Daniel and Scarlet Sanders (both deceased)

children: Alyona (deceased) Nikolai and Lyudmila

significant other: Ulman (Hunter at one point)

pets: Three Watchers named Delta, Echo and Charlie.

Phaedra Alexeyev

GENERAL

name: Phaedra Dimitriovich Alexeyev

alias(es): The black shadow

gender: Female

age: 27

birthday: October 30th, 1993

place of birth: Ural Mountains, Russia

hometown: Ural Mountains, Russia

spoken languages: Russian and English

sexual preference: Closeted Bisexual

occupation: Cahal’s Lieutenant. (if that counts)

APPEARANCE

eye color: Grey

hair color: Dark brown

height: 5′6″

scars: one of her lip and claw marks on her back from having to kill her father. 

FAVOURITE

color: Black

hair color: Brown

eye color: Blue, Hazel

song: Big Bad Wolf - In This Moment

food: Pelmeni

drink: Vodka

HAVE THEY

passed university: No

had sex: Yes

had sex in public: No

gotten pregnant: Yes

kissed a boy: Yes

kissed a girl: No

gotten tattoos: No

gotten piercings: Yes

been in love: Yes

stayed up for more than 24 hours: Yes

ARE THEY

a virgin: No

a cuddler: Yes

a kisser: Yes

scared easily: No

jealous easily: No

trustworthy: Once you get to know her. Due to her birth tribe she’s not really trusted.

dominant: Yes

submissive: Yes

in love: Yes

single: No

RANDOM QUESTIONS (tw for self harm/suicide mention)

have they harmed themselves: No

thought of suicide: No

attempted suicide: No

wanted to kill someone: Yes

have/had a job: Yes

have any fears: Losing her husband, Declan and their kids. 

FAMILY

sibling(s): None

parent(s): Dimitri and Katya Alexeyev

children: Unnamed son and daughter (i really need to name them)

significant other: Declan

pets: None

[the-last-tsar]

Grand Duchesses Maria, Olga and Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia, daughters of Tsar Nicholas I. 

Portraits by Nikolay Alexeyev; c. 1840′s.

[autodidact-adventures]

World War I (Part 37): The Rest of 1915

A series of meetings was held in France over July-August, to decide what should be done next on the Western Front.  The first meeting was at Calais on July 6th, and those attending included Asquith, and the French War Minister Alexander Millerand.

Joffre presented his plans for an autumn offensive.  Kitchener was very much against it (he was almost scornful), and so was the new First Lord of the Admiralty, Arthur Balfour (who was also a former prime minister). The next day, Kitchener and the civilians had left, and Joffre & JF met at Chantilly.  They agreed that Joffre's plans should go ahead anyway.

A larger meeting was held on July 17th.  At this one, Douglas Haig objected to Joffre's plans.  He'd examined the ground where the offensive was to be carried out by his army, and now he stated that it was too open – his troops would be too exposed.  Also, he didn't have enough artillery.  Joffre didn't listen, though.

In mid-August, Kitchener was at the last of these meetings (and that's when he heard about the recent failure at Gallipoli).  He was there not only to sort out details of the western offensive, but also because things were getting even worse in the east.

Eastern Front

For generations, Russia had forced most of its Jewish population to live in eastern Poland, in ghettos and shtetls (small Jewish towns).  They were mostly prevented from becoming farmers, or entering academic professions.

In late 1914, Russia had driven over 500,000 of them from their homes, claiming it was for security concerns.  Many died in the harsh winter.  In early 1915, Cossacks drove another 800,000 from their homes in Poland, Lithuania, and Russia's Courland region.  Often, they weren't even allowed to take whatever possessions they could carry or take by cart.

General Nikolai Yanushkevich directed Russia's final military withdrawal from Poland. The tsar had forced Grand Duke Nicholas to accept him as his chief of staff early in the war, and he was a protégé of the corrupt War Minister Vladimir Sukhomlinov (who himself was one of the tsar's favourites).

In Poland, Yanushkevich adopted a “scorched-earth policy”.  All inhabitants (Jewish or not) were put to flight.  Many died from starvation and disease (cholera, typhoid & typhus); the total death toll is unknown.  Food stores were destroyed; machinery was taken eastwards on wagons & railcars.  Four million cattle were killed, which led to a meat shortage that would last longer than the war did.

Not long after capturing Warsaw, Germany took Novo Georgievsk, a fortress city. They took 90,00 soldiers POW (including 30 generals) and captured 700 guns.  Only days later, they took Kovno (an equally important city), and another 1,300 guns.

By now, they'd taken over 700,000 Russian POWs, and the Austrians nearly as many. They were still marching eastwards, and the Petrograd government was in a high state of alarm.  They issued a decree saying that the families of POWs would receive no government assistance; and soldiers who surrendered would be sent to Siberia after the war.

Reports of what was happening were beginning to arrive in the west.  General Sir Henry Wilson was the British officer closest to the French high command.  He was a very good manipulator, and he found ways to use the eastern disasters to help his French friends.  He warned London that if they didn't fully support France's next offensive, then that could lead to Joffre & Millerand losing their positions, and to France making a separate peace.

So Kitchener told Hamilton that he shouldn't expect any more troops to be sent to Gallipoli.  He ordered the BEF to completely support Joffre's offensive, “even though, by doing so, we suffer very heavy losses indeed.”  Kitchener expressed no hope that the offensive would actually succeed – for him, the point was to keep the Entente together.

In the last days of August, the tsar removed Grand Duke Nicholas from his position as head of the Russian armies.  He put himself in that position instead, to the horror of his ministers.  He explained to the Grand Duke in a letter that he believed it was his “duty to the country which God has committed to my keeping” to “share the burdens and toils of war with my army and help it protect Russian soil against the onslaught of the foe.”  The Duke was relieved when he heard the news, saying, “God be praised.  The Emperor releases me from a task which was wearing me out.”

This was the last of a number of command changes that the tsar had made that summer (and the worst one).  War Minister Vladimir Sukhomlinov had gone too far with his corruption – for example, when the army's chief of artillery begged him for shells, telling him that Russia would have to make peace otherwise, Sukhomlinov told him to “go to the devil and shut up.”  In late June, the tsar finally realized that he would have to go, and replaced him with Alexei Polivanov, a capable and energetic general.

Polivanov immediately began a program of reforms – he made major improvements to the supply system; he formed committees to take responsibility for food, munitions, transport, fuel and refugees; he was willing to work with Russia's national assembly, the Duma.

The tsar made other command changes as well, and almost everyone was glad of them, except Tsarina Alexandra, his wife.  She believed that the tsar should become more autocratic in response to Russia's problems – that it was the only solution to them.  Many ministers begged the tsar not to become commander in chief, but she persuaded him to ignore them, and later wrote, “You are about to write a glorious page in the history of your reign and and Russia.”  The way she saw it, the ministers had questioned not only his decision, but his authority as an autocrat; they were enemies of the crown and should be dismissed.

Tsar Nicholas explained his decision in a letter to Paléologue: “Perhaps a scapegoat is needed to save Russia.  I mean to be the victim.  May the will of God be done.”  What he didn't think of, though, was that by being so far from the capital, the increasingly widespread belief that the government was really controlled by the tsarina & Rasputin would grow even more.

The British & French were pleased by the tsar's decision – they saw it as evidence that he was committed to the war.  They were also pleased with the man he'd chosen as his chief of staff – General Mikhail Alexeyev, an experienced commander & strategist.  The Germans, too, were glad of the tsar's new role, because they'd come to respect the Grand Duke's abilities in that position.

Russia abandoned the cities of Brest-Litovk and Bialystok, and by early September they'd withdrawn to the Pripet Marshes, a remote region which was treacherous and mostly uncharted.  Falkenhayn refused to follow them there, and ordered all eastern commanders to stop offensive operations.  He then began preparing to move several army corps back to the Western Front, and to conquer Serbia.  But Conrad & Ludendorff ignored his instructions.  Later, they would claim they had misunderstood him.

On August 31st, Conrad had began an offensive that would encircle 25 Russian divisions, and then drive them eastwards into Ukraine.  It began well, but then went downhill.  One of the Austrian armies captured the city of Lutsk, but then was taken in the flank by a Russian force that had hidden itself in marshland grasses.  Further disasters followed.  Eventually, Falkenhayn had to take two of the divisions that were preparing to invade Serbia, and send them to help.  During September, Conrad lost 300,000 men.

Meanwhile, Ludendorff was continuing his Courland campaign.  His troops captured Vilna (the capital of Lithuania), and the Petrograd government panicked and began preparing for flight.  But the Germans had taken 50,000 casualties in capturing Vilna, and so Ludendorff decided not to advance on the Russian city of Riga.  He halted the campaign, and settled down to organize & administer his conquests for the winter.

Cracks were appearing in the Hindenburg-Hoffmann-Ludendorff alliance.  Max Hoffmann was one of the best generals on either side, and he was now incredibly frustrated with the state of things.  He blamed Falkenhayn for failing to keep going in the east.  But he also was angry at Ludendorff for attacking too directly at Vilna, and thereby suffering so many casualties.

Hoffmann was contemptuous of Hindenburg, believing him to be passive and nothing more than a figurehead.  He wrote, “On the whole Hindeburg no longer bothers himself with military matters.  He hunts a good deal and otherwise comes for five minutes in the morning and evening to see how things are going.  He no longer has the slightest interest in military matters.”  Another general on Ludendorff's staff said that, “Hindenburg himself is becoming a mere stooge.”  Hindenburg was spending a lot of time having portraits of himself painted, and writing to his wife.

Later in the year, Ludendorff & Falkenhayn met at Kovno, to join the kaiser's ceremonial celebration of their victories.  Falkenhayn asked, “Now are you convinced that my operation was correct?”  Ludendorff replied, “On the contrary!”  Russia hadn't surrendered, or sued for peace – they were, as before, merely being pushed eastwards. Falkenhayn was heard to say that he would need to court-martial Ludendorff when the war ended.

Western Front

Joffre's autumn offensive began on September 25th.  It actually consisted of three distinct offensives.  One of them was the Second Battle of Champagne, in France's Champagne region west of Verdun, against the southern part of the original German line.  There were 27 French divisions with 900 heavy guns and 1,600 light guns (Joffre had stripped these guns from the border fortresses), against 7 German divisions which were stretched thinly across 58km of front.

The Third Battle of Artois was in the same place as the last Artois offensive.  Here, Ferdinand Foch commanded 17 French divisions.  The German line ran north-south, and had only 2 divisions.

The third offensive was a bit north of Artois, at Loos.  Here, there were 6 British divisions against only one German division.  It was part of the Third Battle of Artois.

Basically, this (Artois + Loos) was the spring offensive on a much larger scale.  The goal was to cut off the Noyon salient, break the railway connecting the two ends of the German front, and force a general withdrawal.

But back in the spring, the Germans had shown that they could defend very well even when greatly outnumbered.  During the summer, they'd been setting up new lines far to the rear, beyond the reach of the Entente artillery. They'd connected these lines with perpendicular trenches and tunnels.  They were well-equipped with heavy artillery, and – very importantly – very good at using it.  The Germans were learning to position their machine guns to neutralize any enemy attackers who had survived the artillery.

The British weren't very optimistic about Joffre's offensive, and that was partially why.  Kitchener had insisted on full British participation, even though he didn't believe it would succeed.  Part of his reason for doing so was that there was talk of putting all Entente forces under a single commander, and if he didn't co-operate, he worried that he wouldn't be given that job.

JF was usually eager to attack, but he wasn't in this case.  He warned that he had less than 1/3 the number of divisions needed for victory, and that the ground they were going to advance over had far too little cover. But he didn't complain too much, also for political reasons – JF believed thast it was only Joffre & Foch's support that was stopping the London government from removing him from command, so he had to support this offensive.

General Sir Henry Rawlinson was the commander of the corps that would lead the British attack.  Before it began, he said that “it will cost us dearly, and we will not get very far.”  Pétain was in direct charge of the Champagne offensive, and his attitude was much the same.

Strangely, Douglas Haig was the only optimist, even though he'd initially been against it.  His opposition had been because the BEF would only have 117 heavy guns to prepare their advance on a 8km-wide front (the Champagne offensive, in comparison, would have over twice that many per mile of front), and the lack of protective cover.  But then it was decided to precede the offensive with a release of chlorine gas, and he was much happier about it all.  In fact, he was so encouraged by this decision that he had tower built, from which he would observe his troops attacking the German defenses.  (This would be the first time the British used poison gas during WW1.)

Before the battle began, King George V visited the BEF headquarters, and borrowed a general's horse to review the troops.  According to a corporal in the Sherwood Foresters regiment, this is what happened:

“The King rode along the first three or four ranks, then crossed the road to the other three or four ranks on the other side, speaking to an officer here and there.  Our instructions had been that at the conclusion of the parade we were to put our caps on the points of our fixed bayonets and wave and cheer.  So that's what we did – 'Hip, hip, hooray.'  Well, the King's horse reared and he fell off.  He just seemed to slide off and so of course the second 'Hip, hip' fizzled out.  It was quite a fiasco and you should have seen the confusion as these other high-ranking officials rushed to dismount and go to the King's assistance.  They got him up and the last we saw of him he was being hurriedly driven away.”

The Third Battle of Artois began in the French sectors with four days and nights of shelling.  This destroyed the Germans' first line, and many of the troops in it; however, it also told them that something big was coming.  When the attack began on the morning of September 25th, it went smoothly at first for the French.

But in the British sector, the winds were uncertain, and Haig wasn't sure if he should release the chlorine gas or not.  Meanwhile, the troops were in the front-line trenches, and being given all the rum they could drink, while waiting for the order to advance.  At 5:15am, the winds finally seemed right, so Haig approved the gas release, and climbed into his tower.  But the wind soon shifted backwards, thus bringing the gas back to the British.  Once it had dissipated, those who still could began to advance.  Soon, they were making rapid progress.

But then things started to go wrong all over the place.  Over in Champagne, the French had destroyed the German first line, and advanced through it, reaching the second line much sooner than they'd expected – and this success was not to their advantage.  They entered the trenches just as an artillery barrage from their own side attacked them – it was supposed to clear the way for them before they got there.  The survivors had to retreat.  By the time they could resume the attack, German reserves had come forward.  They had many machine guns with them, and quickly recaptured what the French had had to give up.

These reserves included two of the corps that Falkenhayn had recently sent to the west.  Falkenhayn himself was on the scene, because he was so worried about Germany's weakness there, and he helped keep the defenses intact.

Earlier, when the French had been rapidly advancing, he'd arrived at the German 3rd Army headquarters, where the chief of staff was preparing to order a retreat.  Falkenhayn sacked him, and ordered that the troops hold their ground at all costs while waiting for the reinforcements that he knew were going to arrive soon.

At Artois, the French captured the crest of Vimy Ridge for the second time – but yet again, only briefly.  An intact German second line stopped them, and eventually drove them back.

At the beginning of the offensive, Joffre had regarded the Champagne battle as the important one, and the Artois battle as relatively unimportant.  The British attack at Loos was intended only as support for the French at Artois.  But now, he began to be manipulative.  He now wanted to end the Artois attack, because it had no chance of getting anywhere.  So he stopped it, but pretended to the British that he hadn't.  Now the British were fighting alone at Loos.

They did well at first, passing easily through the first German line, which had been wrecked.  They also broke through the second German line (although taking heavy losses).  Ahead was open ground, and they could push forward into open country like they'd been wanting to do for ages – but.  They needed reserves for that, and there were two problems.  1) JF had placed the BEF's general reserves too far to the rear (as much as 16km back).  2) Haig hadn't held part of his army back in reserve, which was the usual military practice.

It took many hours to get the general reserve to the front lines.  And by then, the Germans had filled the hole, and were attacking the British with machine guns.  The British attacked again, but it was a slaughter – 7,861 British troops & 385 officers were killed, while German casualties were zero.  When the British finally withdrew, the Germans let them go.  A later German history of the battle would record that the machine-gunners were “nauseated by the sight of the massacre of the field of corpses.”

A British soldier wrote, “Coming back over the ground that had been captured that day, the sight that met our eyes was quite unbelievable.  If you can imagine a flock of sheep lying down sleeping in a field, the bodies were as thick as that.  Some of them were still alive, and they were crying out, begging for water and plucking at our legs as we went by. One hefty chap grabbed me around both knees and held me.  'Water, water,' he cried.  I was just going to take the cork out of my water bottle – I had a little left – but I was immediately hustled on by the man behind me.  'Get on, get on, we are going to get lost in no man's land, come on.'  So it was a case where compassion had to give way to discipline and I had to break away.'

Joffre ordered the Champagne fighting to continue, and it did so until November. Eventually, Pétain simply ignored the orders to continue.  The Second Battle of Champagne had 143,000 French casualties, and 85,000 German casualties (including 20,000 POWs).

At Artois & Loos, the British took 61,000 casualties (including 2 generals and 28 battalion commanders), the Germans 56,000, and the French 48,000.

Joffre told the Paris newspapers that the German losses had been far greater than the French (which wasn't really true), and that the campaign had been a great success.  In reality, the Germans had stopped the Entente from achieving anything, and inflicted huge losses on them, despite being hugely outnumbered.  Also, it was now obvious that the Entente couldn't spare any troops for Gallipoli, or other theatres.  Joffre's credibility was further damaged (at least among the insiders who knew what was really happening).  However, he stayed in his position.

JF, on the other hand, did not.  During the Battle of Loos, Haig had complained to his friends that it was JF's incompetence that had prevented victory. Later, he declared that, “If there had been even one division in reserve close up, we could have walked right through.”  Of course, Haig was to blame for this as well.  But JF panicked and falsified the official record of orders issued during the battle.  Haig learned of this, and made sure the King heard of it.  The King then intervened with Asquith, who gave JF the opportunity to resign.  JF realized he had no choice, and agreed.  Haig was promoted to the position (which he'd wanted since before the war began).  JF returned to England, and was made Viscount Ypres.

Serbia

The fighting was winding down on the Western Front, and winter settling in on the Eastern Front.  Attention turned to the Balkans and the Aegean.

During the summer [June-Aug], both sides had been trying to get Bulgaria to join them (much like they had Italy).  And like Italy, Bulgaria's government was basing their choice on whoever could give them the most territory.  Edward Grey had tried to win Bulgaria over by offering them many concessions, but what he couldn't give them was the land that Serbia had taken from Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War (because Britain was Serbia's ally).  In early September, they joined the Central Powers.

Even before Joffre's autumn offensive began, it was obvious that Germany & Bulgaria were preparing to invade Serbia.  If Serbia fell, then the Entente would lose their tiny foothold in south-eastern Europe (taking the Gallipoli failures into account).  Also, Russia would be even more demoralized, and Greece & Romania might join the Central Powers as well.

So Entente troops had to reach Serbia somehow.  This meant Salonika (Thessaloniki), a Greek port that had been a possible alternative to the Dardanelles earlier in the year.

By the end of September, the French had several divisions on the way to Salonika (one division had been removed from Gallipoli).  General Maurice Sarrail commanded them.  He'd been removed from command on the Western Front, but because of his political connections, the government had had to find him another position elsewhere.

Britain didn't want to leave the Balkans to the French, so they sent the 10th Division from Suvla Bay to Salonika.  For a while, they hoped to persuade Russia to send troops as well.  On October 3rd, Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov said that was impossible – Russia was losing 235,000 men a month on average, and its pre-war professional armies had basically been wiped out.

The British & French troops landed at Salonika on October 5th.  On the 7th, German & Austrian troops (commanded by Mackensen) crossed Serbia's northern border.  On the 9th, two Bulgarian armies arrived from the east.  One pushed the Serbs towards the German/Austrian forces; the other cut the rail lines that connected Salonika to Serbia.  The Serbian army was trapped between two enemy forces, coming from two direction.  They fled towards the sea, and civilians fled with them.

A mass of refugees tried to cross Albania's mountains, and tribal enemies, eager to settle old scores, attacked them.  It was chaos, and a horrific situation.  Serbia lost 250,000 troops.  Only 150,000 managed to reach the Adriatic Coast, and only half of them were fit for further service.  British ships took them to camps on the island of Corfu.

Serbia had fallen. It was the final straw, and the French government fell.  Premier René Viviani was replaced by Aristide Briand.  The Minister of War Alexandre Millerand was replaced by General Joseph Gallieni, who had helped Joffre save Paris in 1914.  Now Joffre was reporting to the man who had been responsible for his getting the Commander-in-Chief position the year before, and whom he'd tried to sideline before & after the Battle of the Marne, due to jealousy.  Joffre's critics hoped that Gallieni would dismiss him, but this didn't happen: instead, Gallieni yet again defended and protected him.

Gallipoli

On October 11th, Kitchener cabled Hamilton, asking him how many troops he thought would be lost in a withdrawal from the Gallipoli beachheads. Hamilton replied that it would probably be at least half of them. Kitchener then removed him from his position as the Gallipoli commander.

Edward Grey promised Greece the island of Crete if they'd join the Entente.  But Greece had been intimidated by the failures at Gallipoli and in Serbia, and declined.

In mid-November, Kitchener travelled to Gallipoli himself to see the situation, and decided that they had to evacuate.  He returned to London, to find that Asquith had reduced his authority even further during his absence.  The committee responsible for war strategy was now reduced to five people, and Kitchener was no longer one of them.  General Sir William Robertson was brought back from France, and appointed chief of the imperial general staff, the new War Committee's chief adviser on military operations, and the channel through which the government's instructions would be sent to the BEF.  Kitchener went to Asquith and offered his resignation, but it was refused – he was still an important propaganda figure.

Winston Churchill wasn't on the committee, either.  Since being fired as First Lord of the Admiralty, his only position was the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – a meaningless position in which his only responsibility was to appoint county magistrates.  Churchill left the government and entered the army as a Major (although he'd hoped to be made a Brigadier General).  When he arrived on the Western Front, he had with him a servant, a stallion & groom, heaps of luggage, and a bathtub with its own boiler.  A limousine took him to a château, where he would live.  By January, he would be serving on the front as a competent battalion commander.

On November 23rd, the War Committee approved a detailed Gallipoli withdrawal plan, worked out by Hamilton's successor.  The retreat was carried out over the next month, in total secrecy, and was the closest thing to an actual military achievement since the Battle of the Marne.  The Royal Navy worked together with the soldiers on the beaches, getting men away in darkness.  Of course, the more men that were evacuated, the more vulnerable those still remaining were.  On January 7th, 1916, Sanders ordered an attack on the 19,000 British troops still left at Cape Helles.

But the Turks under his command refused to attack.  Even when the officers threatened them, and then shoved & slapped them, they would not move.  Mustafa Kemal wasn't there – his health was wrecked, and he'd been sent away in December.

36hrs after the mutiny, the last Australian troops were evacuated safely.  The Gallipoli Campaign was over, after killing at least 87,000 Turks (the real figure is probably higher).  46,000 Entente troops had died. Total casualties (both sides) were around 500,000.

[luciluck2046-md]

Murder Drones: Glowing Future AU-Head Canons

NORI & KHAN <3

Nori Doorman (aka 002)

* Pansexual and a top

* actually loves Khan, it's not a joke, SHE ACTUALLY LOVES HIM???

* can't stand meetings

* has Hyperactive ADHD

* has never once in her life broken a promise

* very idiot with names (something her daughter also does)

* she eated a bee when she was five /j

* the popular, gets along with everyone extrovert (something her daughter is the exact opposite)

* has like 7 exes or idk (they're not evil SHE'S EVIL)

-Alice

-Yeva

-[insert 5 female Cabin Fever experiments here]

* Yeva is her bestie

* an absolute unit of a mother, despite her rather... Unorthodox ways of mothering. But she's actually very loving and a very great mother.

* hates Disassembly Drones

* super into bats and purple and alt clothing. Her daughter really took a lot from her personality.

* very emotional (drones with corrupted code are very emotional and experience very strong emotions OR they experience little to no emotion at all)

* will most probably try to kill N several times for dating Uzi

Khan Doorman

* the unpopular, unattractive lovable door nerd

* has several friends, one of them being Nikolai

* DOORSEXUAL /j

* bro has no idea how to care for a kid (obviously)

* loves his wife very much

* bottom (y'all actually think he's a top or what?)

* has never once in his life has been flirted with except by Nori

* and he didn't take the hints until she actually told him that she likes him (wow finally something that Uzi got from her dad :O )

* literally doesn't have exes

* possibly has autism idk

* he's "old fashioned", not wearing wigs ("THEY WEAR WIGS??" ofc yes THEY'RE ROBOTS FOR FUCK'S SAKE) and keeping his lights white.

* doesn't give a fuck about who dates her daughter

[granddaddyflexmaster]

Did you know that russian activist Nikolay Alexeyev made a request for the Pride parade in Moscow? Did you know that it's the 14th attempt? Did you know that ECHR explicitly told our government that it was unconsitutional to deny it? And they still did?

[charlottelouisebedford]

23/04/19

Russia

LGBT people are faced with legal and social challenges in which non-LGBT people don’t experience. Although same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults in private was decriminalised in 1993, homosexuality is disapproved of by most Russians, and same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples aren’t eligible for the legal protections that are available to opposite-sex couples. Currently there are no laws stopping discrimination based on sexual orientation in Russia. Transgender people are allowed to change their legal gender following sex reassignment surgery, however, there are currently no laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or expression and recent laws could discriminate against transgender residents. 

Homosexuality has been declassified as a mental illness since 1999 and although gays and lesbians are legally allowed to serve openly in the military, there is a de facto "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. Even in the US openly trans people are no longer allowed to serve in the military as of this year (2019).

On the 30th june 2013, the law “for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values” was passed by president Vladimir Putin. This law is also known as the “Gay Propaganda Law” or “Anti-Gay Law” as it mutes the voice of the LGBT community with the excuse of protecting children from a homonormative society (where homosexuality is the norm). The city of Moscow has actively refused pride events despite the fact the city has a thriving LGBT community. The mayor Yuri Luzkov supported the city’s refusal calling the events “satanic” and blaming western groups for spreading “this kind of enlightenment” in the country. In 2007, Alexander Chuev attempted to push a similar “propaganda” law, however with the opposition of the prominent LGBT rights activist and Moscow Pride founder Nikolay Alexeyev, Chuev was publicly outed to have had same sex relationships before his time in office. In 2010, Russia was fined by the Europien Court of Human Rights under allegations by Alexeyev that cities were discriminating against gays by refusing pride events. Although claiming a risk of violence, the court interpreted the decisions as being in support of groups which oppose such demonstrations.

[goalhofer]

2021-22 K.K. Sibir Novosibirsk Oblast Roster

Wingers

#24 Yevgeni Chesalin (Podolsk, Russia) C

#45 Valentin Pyanov (Novosibirsk, Russia)

#57 Anton Wedin (Sundsvall, Sweden)

#70 Egor Milovzorov (Novosibirsk, Russia) A

#74 Alexei Khruchinin (St. Petersburg, Russia)

#83 Nikita Setdikov (Moscow, Russia)

#86 Alexander Sharov (Moscow, Russia)

#87 Sergei Dubakin (Novosibirsk, Russia)

#90 Oleg Li (Volgograd, Russia)

#95 Alexei Yakovlev (Novosibirsk, Russia) A

#96 Nikita Korotkov (Novosibirsk, Russia)

Centers

#22 Viktor Komarov (Chelyabinsk, Russia)

#28 Denis Golubev (Kazan, Russia)

#37 Nick Shore (Denver, Colorado)

#51 Vyacheslav Litovchenko (Khabarovsk, Russia)

Defensemen

#2 Nikolai Demidov (Golitsyno, Russia)

#7 Ilya Morozov (Novosibirsk, Russia)

#8 Trevor Murphy (Windsor, Ontario)

#20 Konstantin Alexeyev (Novosibirsk, Russia)

#21 Yegor Alanov (Moscow, Russia)

#33 Denis Bodrov (Moscow, Russia)

#67 Andrei Yermakov (Moscow, Russia)

#76 Timur Akhiyarov (Moscow, Russia)

#94 Nikita Yefrimov (Novosibirsk, Russia)

Goalies

#29 Harri Säteri (Toijala, Finland)

#35 Anton Krasotkin (Yaroslavl, Russia)

[76crimes]

European court rules against Russian anti-gay law

European court rules against Russian anti-gay law

Anti-Putin protesters in Spain hold “gay clown” images of the Russian president. (Photo courtesy of The Telegraph)

Europe’s top human rights court ruled today that the Russian law banning “gay propaganda” violates human rights agreements against discrimination and limits on free speech.

(more…)