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127-638: The movement also spread across all the regions populated by Slavic cultures, most of them part of either Austria-Hungary or the Russian Empire : present-day Slovakia , the Slovene Lands , Croatia , Serbia , Bulgaria , Poland ( Polish Sokół movement ), Ukraine , and Belarus . In many of these nations, the organization also served as an early precursor to the Scouting movements. Though officially an institution "above politics", Sokol played an important part in

254-402: A Montenegrin cap, and Garibaldi redshirt . A Sokol flag, red with a white falcon, was designed by the writer Karolína Světlá (and painted by Czech artist Josef Mánes ). The Prague Sokol initially drew its leaders from the ranks of politicians and its members from the petite bourgeoisie and the working classes. The first president was Jindřich Fügner, an ethnic German who was a member of

381-480: A mass gymnastics (1572 Sokols) festival that became a grand tradition within the Sokol movement that spread across Central Europe together with other Slavic movements such as the political movement of Pan-Slavism . The first and subsequent slets included an elaborate welcoming ceremony at the train station, mass demonstrations, gymnastics competitions, speeches, and theatrical events, open to members of all Sokols. In 1887

508-529: A Western model. Alexander I ( r.  1801–1825 ) helped defeat the militaristic ambitions of Napoleon and subsequently constituted the Holy Alliance , which aimed to restrain the rise of secularism and liberalism across Europe. Russia further expanded to the west, south, and east, strengthening its position as a European power. Its victories in the Russo-Turkish Wars were later checked by defeat in

635-552: A bid to promote the sport he initiated the Massenturnen festival  [ de ] . The festival continues to exist to the present day. Mass games developed alongside 19th century nationalist movements, including the German unification and Czech Sokol movement . In Romania , the communist government organized compulsory mass games after Romanian Communist Party General Secretary Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife had visited

762-507: A few were introduced , no major changes were attempted. The liberal Alexander I was replaced by his younger brother Nicholas I (1825–1855), who at the beginning of his reign was confronted with an uprising. The background of this revolt lay in the Napoleonic Wars , when a number of well-educated Russian officers travelled in Europe in the course of military campaigns, where their exposure to

889-424: A gift, the freed peasants had to pay a special lifetime tax to the government, which in turn paid the landlords a generous price for the land that they had lost. In numerous cases the peasants ended up with relatively small amounts of the least productive land. All the property turned over to the peasants was owned collectively by the mir , the village community, which divided the land among the peasants and supervised

1016-426: A highly politicized package. According to Kim Jong-il , the philosophy behind the events was that: Developing mass gymnastics is important in training schoolchildren to be fully developed communist people. To be a fully developed communist man, one must acquire a revolutionary ideology, the knowledge of many fields, rich cultural attainments and a healthy and strong physique. These are the basic qualities required of

1143-615: A large percentage of members are older people with memories of the pre-1948 Sokol movement. Other members are mainly parents who register their kids for physical activities. A further slet was held in 2000 (25,000 Sokols); another was held in July 2006. In July 2012 there was celebration of 150 years of Sokol movement and in July 2018 was the 100 years anniversary of the creation of Czechoslovakia where 13,000 Sokols gathered in Prague. Slets are expected to be held every six years. Slets are also held in

1270-645: A main base of this resistance to the idea of Yugoslavism, brotherhood and religious tolerance. The Catholic Church's resistance to this idea of pan-Slavism led the Polish Sokols to abstain from the international All Sokol Rally held in Prague in 1926. In the Kingdom of Yugoslavia all Sokol societies were merged into the Union of Sokols of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as of December 1929. The Eagles were ordered to disband but they rebranded themselves as religious fraternities. This way

1397-547: A major domestic factor with its support for liberating Balkan Christians from Ottoman rule and making Bulgaria and Serbia independent. In early 1877, Russia intervened on behalf of Serbian and Russian volunteer forces, leading to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) . Within one year, Russian troops were nearing Constantinople and the Ottomans surrendered. Russia's nationalist diplomats and generals persuaded Alexander II to force

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1524-452: A man of the communist type. Mass gymnastics play an important role in training schoolchildren to acquire these communist qualities. Mass gymnastics foster particularly healthy and strong physiques, a high degree of organization, discipline and collectivism in schoolchildren. The schoolchildren, conscious that a single slip in their action may spoil their mass gymnastic performance, make every effort to subordinate all their thoughts and actions to

1651-465: A progressive era for the Sokols. In order to encourage a wider range of participation, the Sokols reformed their programs, offering training sessions of varying intensities, extending their libraries, emphasizing the educational aspect of training, and starting programs for adolescents, youth, and women. There was an increasing focus on mass-based ideology and working class egalitarianism under the leadership of

1778-680: A result of the World Wars and the Communist suppression, and continues to this day. Bohemian, Moravian, and Slovak immigrants and Czech-American citizens started the American Sokol Organization in St. Louis Missouri in 1865 , only three years after the first Prague Sokol. Units quickly formed and by 1878, the United States had 13 Sokol chapters. A large slet (with well over a thousand participants)

1905-407: A result, there was a slow improvement in the living standards of Russian peasants in the empire's last two decades before 1914. Recent research into the physical stature of Army recruits shows they were bigger and stronger. There were regional variations, with more poverty in the heavily populated central black earth region ; and there were temporary downturns in 1891–93 and 1905–1908. By the end of

2032-472: A therapeutic gymnastics trainer with the nationalist ideologies he had been exposed to in Prague: the first Sokol club was formed. The first Sokol worked to develop new Czech terminology for the training exercises, which centred on marching drills, fencing , and weightlifting . They designed a uniform that was a mélange of Slavic and revolutionary influences: brown Russian trousers, a Polish revolutionary jacket,

2159-662: A tradition of mass games, and performances were rare. In Yugoslavia , similar activities called Slet were organized, and one of these events was the Relay of Youth . In Yugoslavia, participation in Slet events was voluntary. In East Germany , eight mass games called the GDR Gymnastics and Sports Festival were held in Leipzig . Participation in mass games in East Germany was voluntary, and

2286-496: A very large and complex bureaucracy, and a court that rivaled those of Versailles and London . But the government was living far beyond its means, and 18th-century Russia remained "a poor, backward, overwhelmingly agricultural, and illiterate country". In 1801, over four years after Paul became the emperor of Russia, he was killed in Saint Michael's Castle in a coup. Paul was succeeded by his 23-year-old son, Alexander . Russia

2413-845: A wasteland and useless, and saw the government wasting money, but later, much gold and petroleum were discovered. In the late 1870s, Russia and the Ottoman Empire again clashed in the Balkans. From 1875 to 1877, the Balkan crisis intensified, with rebellions against Ottoman rule by various Slavic nationalities, which the Ottoman Turks had dominated since the 15th century. This was seen as a political risk in Russia, which similarly suppressed its Muslims in Central Asia and Caucasia. Russian nationalist opinion became

2540-610: Is also known for Russia's involvement in the Seven Years' War , where it was successful militarily, but gained little politically. Catherine the Great was a German princess who married Peter III , the German heir to the Russian crown. After the death of Empress Elizabeth, Catherine came to power after she effected a coup d'état against her very unpopular husband. She contributed to the resurgence of

2667-416: Is usually seen as the beginning of the "imperial" period of Russia. Following the reforms, the governance of Russia by an absolute monarch was enshrined. The Military Regulations made a note of the autocratic nature of the regime. During the reign of Peter I, the last vestiges of the independence of the boyars were lost. He transformed them into the new nobility , who were obedient nobles that served

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2794-504: The 1828–1829 Russo-Turkish War , Russia invaded northeastern Anatolia and occupied the strategic Ottoman towns of Karin and Gümüşhane (Argiroupoli) and, posing as protector of the Greek Orthodox population , received extensive support from the region's Pontic Greeks . Following a brief occupation, the Russian imperial army withdrew back into Georgia. Russian emperors quelled two uprisings in their newly acquired Polish territories:

2921-529: The Boxer Rebellion . Japan strongly opposed Russian expansion, and defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. Japan took over Korea, and Manchuria remained a contested area. Meanwhile, France , looking for allies against Germany after 1871, formed a military alliance in 1894, with large-scale loans to Russia, sales of arms, and warships, as well as diplomatic support. Once Afghanistan

3048-577: The British domination. Peter I ( r.  1682–1725 ), also known as Peter the Great, played a major role in introducing the European state system into Russia. While the empire's vast lands had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those in the West. Nearly the entire population was devoted to agriculture, with only a small percentage living in towns. The class of kholops , whose status

3175-727: The Coalition and joined the Continental System . By 1812, Russia had occupied many territories in Eastern Europe, holding some of Eastern Galicia from Austria and Bessarabia from the Ottoman Empire ; from Northern Europe, it had gained Finland from the war against a weakened Sweden ; it also gained some territory in the Caucasus. Following a dispute with Emperor Alexander I, in 1812, Napoleon launched an invasion of Russia . It

3302-606: The Crimean War (1853–1856), leading to a period of reform and intensified expansion into Central Asia . Alexander II ( r.  1855–1881 ) initiated numerous reforms , most notably the 1861 emancipation of all 23 million serfs. From 1721 until 1762, the Russian Empire was ruled by the House of Romanov ; its matrilineal branch of patrilineal German descent, the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov , ruled from 1762 until 1917. By

3429-554: The Crimean War , which Russia lost. The war was fought primarily in the Crimean peninsula , and to a lesser extent in the Baltic during the related Åland War . Since playing a major role in the defeat of Napoleon, Russia had been regarded as militarily invincible, but against a coalition of the great powers of Europe, the reverses it suffered on land and sea exposed the weakness of Emperor Nicholas I's regime. When Emperor Alexander II ascended

3556-499: The Enlightenment , the specter of revolution and disorder continued to haunt her and her successors. Indeed, her son Paul introduced a number of increasingly erratic decrees in his short reign aimed directly against the spread of French culture in response to their revolution . In order to ensure the continued support of the nobility, which was essential to her reign, Catherine was obliged to strengthen their authority and power at

3683-600: The Franco-Russian Alliance , to contain the growing power of Germany; completed the conquest of Central Asia ; and demanded important territorial and commercial concessions from China. The emperor's most influential adviser was Konstantin Pobedonostsev , tutor to Alexander III and his son Nicholas, and procurator of the Holy Synod from 1880 to 1895. Pobedonostsev taught his imperial pupils to fear freedom of speech and

3810-605: The Great Northern War , which ended in 1721 when an exhausted Sweden asked for peace with Russia. As a result, Peter acquired four provinces situated south and east of the Gulf of Finland , securing access to the sea. There he built Russia's new capital, Saint Petersburg , on the Neva river, to replace Moscow, which had long been Russia's cultural center. This relocation expressed his intent to adopt European elements for his empire. Many of

3937-469: The Industrial Revolution , Russia began to lag ever farther behind, creating new weaknesses for the empire seeking to play a role as a great power. Russia's status as a great power concealed the inefficiency of its government, the isolation of its people, and its economic and social backwardness. Following the defeat of Napoleon, Alexander I had been ready to discuss constitutional reforms, but though

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4064-657: The Italian and Swiss expedition ,—he inflicted a series of defeats on the French; in particular, the Battle of the Trebbia in 1799. Nicholas II Nicholas II, also known as Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, was the final Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand duke of Finland. His reign started on 1 November 1894 and ended with his abdication on 15 March 1917. Born on 18 May 1868 at Alexander Palace , Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire, he

4191-586: The November Uprising in 1830 and the January Uprising in 1863. In 1863, the Russian autocracy had given the Polish artisans and gentry reason to rebel, by assailing national core values of language, religion, and culture. France , Britain , and Austria tried to intervene in the crisis but were unable to do so. The Russian press and state propaganda used the Polish uprising to justify the need for unity in

4318-493: The Ottoman Empire . The foundations of a Russian national state were laid in the late 15th century during the reign of Ivan III . By the early 16th century, all of the semi-independent and petty princedoms in Russia had been unified with Moscow. During the reign of Ivan IV , the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan were conquered by Russia in the mid-16th century, leading to the development of an increasingly multinational state. Much of Russia's expansion occurred in

4445-662: The Ottoman Empire . His attention then turned to the north. Russia lacked a secure northern seaport, except at Arkhangelsk on the White Sea , where the harbor was frozen for nine months a year. Access to the Baltic Sea was blocked by Sweden, whose territory enclosed it on three sides. Peter's ambitions for a "window to the sea" led him, in 1699, to make a secret alliance with Saxony , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , and Denmark-Norway against Sweden ; they conducted

4572-467: The Partitions of Poland , Russia became the most populous state in Europe, ahead of France . The foundations of the Russian Empire were laid during Peter I 's reforms , which significantly altered Russia's political and social structure, and as a result of the Great Northern War which strengthened Russia's standing on the world stage. Internal transformations and military victories contributed to

4699-583: The People's Republic of China and saw such games there. These were the hardest working days of the year since every individual was required to participate along with his fellow workers. Being late on this day or not shouting the party leader's name loudly enough would lead to being reported by fellow workers to prosecutors. In Bulgaria , mass games were occasionally held during the Zname na mira (" Flag of Peace ") international youth festivals. However, Bulgaria did not have

4826-590: The Rungrado May Day Stadium but in the '90s there were mass games held at the Kim Il-sung Stadium and in the Pyongyang Gymnasium . Mass Games may be described as a synchronized socialist-realist spectacular. They typically feature over 100,000 participants in a 90-minute display of gymnastics, dance, acrobatics, and dramatic performance, accompanied by music and other effects, all wrapped in

4953-740: The Russian Provisional Government , and the proclamation of the first Russian Republic . Political dysfunction, continued involvement in the widely unpopular war, and widespread food shortages resulted in mass demonstrations against the government in July . The republic was overthrown in the October Revolution by the Bolsheviks , who proclaimed the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and whose Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended Russia's involvement in

5080-587: The Russian nobility that began after the death of Peter the Great, abolishing State service and granting them control of most state functions in the provinces. She also removed the Beard tax instituted by Peter the Great. Catherine extended Russian political control over the lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , supporting the Targowica Confederation . However, the cost of these campaigns further burdened

5207-634: The Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) , they clashed with Persia over control and consolidation of Georgia, and also became involved in the Caucasian War against the Caucasian Imamate . At the conclusion of the war, Persia irrevocably ceded what is now Dagestan , eastern Georgia, and most of Azerbaijan to Russia, under the Treaty of Gulistan . Russia attempted to expand to the southwest, at the expense of

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5334-575: The Social Democrats and agrarian parties in the political arena played out in Sokol politics as well as national ones. The Social Democrats formed a rival gymnastics society, the Workers' Gymnastic Union  [ cs ] ( Dělnická tělovýchovná jednota , DTJ). Václav Kukař, a powerful ČOS figure, developed the policy of "cleansing" ( očištění ) and sought to limit membership to those who he believed demonstrated commitment to purely Czech causes. Most of

5461-621: The State Duma , although he still retained absolute political power. When Russia entered the First World War on the side of the Allies , it suffered a series of defeats that further galvanized the population against the emperor. In 1917, mass unrest among the population and mutinies in the army culminated in the February Revolution , which led to the abdication of Nicholas II, the formation of

5588-487: The boyars , above whom was an absolute monarch titled the tsar . The groundwork of the Russian Empire was laid by Ivan III ( r.  1462–1505 ), who greatly expanded his domain, established a centralized Russian national state , and secured independence against the Tatars . His grandson, Ivan IV ( r.  1533–1584 ), became in 1547 the first Russian monarch to be crowned " tsar of all Russia ". Between 1550 and 1700,

5715-537: The collectivism of the medieval Russian obshchina or mir over the individualism of the West. More extreme social doctrines were elaborated by such Russian radicals on the left, such as Alexander Herzen , Mikhail Bakunin , and Peter Kropotkin . After Russian armies liberated the Eastern Georgian Kingdom (allied since the 1783 Treaty of Georgievsk ) from the Qajar dynasty 's occupation of 1802, during

5842-430: The liberalism of Western Europe encouraged them to seek change on their return to autocratic Russia . The result was the Decembrist revolt (December 1825), which was the work of a small circle of liberal nobles and army officers who wanted to install Nicholas' brother Constantine as a constitutional monarch. The revolt was easily crushed, but it caused Nicholas to turn away from the modernization program begun by Peter

5969-462: The 17th century, culminating in the first Russian colonization of the Pacific , the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) which led to the incorporation of left-bank Ukraine , and the Russian conquest of Siberia . Poland was partitioned by its rivals in 1772–1815;most of its land and population being taken under Russian rule. Most of the empire's growth in the 19th century came from gaining territory in central and eastern Asia south of Siberia. By 1795, after

6096-408: The 1910 meeting of the ČOS congress the sokols reaffirmed their intentions to remain "above politics" and loosened their strict membership rules to allow Social Democrats, though still not clericals, into the sokols. In 1912, the first "All-Slavic Slet" ( Všeslovanský slet , over 30,000 Sokols) was held with a largely military atmosphere, causing Augustin Očenášek (a member of Sokol) to remark, "When

6223-455: The 19th century, the Russian Empire dominated its territorial extent, covering a surface area of 22,800,000 km , making it become the world's third-largest empire. Mass games Mass games or mass gymnastics are a form of performing arts or gymnastics in which large numbers of performers take part in a highly regimented performance that emphasizes group dynamics rather than individual prowess. Mass games are now performed only in

6350-461: The Alliance on political grounds. At the same time, senior Catholic clergy established the Orlovi (Eagles) clerical organization with the aim of taking youths away from the Alliance. The Croatian Catholic Church rejected the pan-Slavic idea of bringing together Catholic, Orthodox, and Muslim believers under the motto that "a brother is dear regardless of his faith". The two Catholic organizations, Orlovi (Eagles) and Katolička Akcija (Catholic Action) were

6477-465: The American Sokol Organization and Sokol USA also host smaller regional slets on an annual basis. At the beginning of the twentieth century the Sokol movement was introduced in Catalonia and soon was considered as a new tradition. It bore the name of falcó ( falcon in Catalan ) and was influenced by the older tradition of the castellers . [REDACTED] Media related to Sokol at Wikimedia Commons Russian Empire The Russian Empire

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6604-413: The Czech cause. Most founders were also members of the Young Czechs party, the most influential including Prince Rudolf von Thurn-Taxis, Josef Barák, and Julius and Eduard Grégr . The authorities of Austria-Hungary continually kept a close eye on the movement, but the reputation and prestige of the Sokol continued to grow; soon the Sokol members were known by most as the "Czech national army". Within

6731-403: The Czechs to defect from the Austro-Hungarian army to the Russian side. Sokol members also helped create the Czechoslovak Legions and local patrols that kept order after the disintegration of Habsburg authority, and during the creation of Czechoslovakia in October 1918. They also fulfilled their title as the "Czech national army", helping to defend Slovakia against the invasion of Béla Kun and

6858-684: The Great Northern War, served as the state's capital. This concept of the triune Russian people, composed of the Great Russians , the Little Russians , and the White Russians , was introduced during the reign of Peter I, and it was associated with the name of Archimandrite Zacharias Kopystensky (1621), the Archimandrite of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and expanded upon in the writings of an associate of Peter I, Archbishop Professor Theophan Prokopovich . Several of Peter I's associates are well-known, including François Le Fort , Boris Sheremetev , Alexander Menshikov , Jacob Bruce , Mikhail Golitsyn , Anikita Repnin , and Alexey Kelin. During Peter's reign,

6985-445: The Great and champion the doctrine of Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality . In order to repress further revolts, censorship was intensified, including the constant surveillance of schools and universities. Textbooks were strictly regulated by the government. Police spies were planted everywhere. Under Nicholas I, would-be revolutionaries were sent off to Siberia, with hundreds of thousands sent to katorga camps. The retaliation for

7112-434: The Habsburg authorities finally allowed, after over twenty years worth of proposals, the formation of a union of Sokol clubs – Czech Sokol Community ( Česká obec sokolská , ČOS). The union centralized all the Sokols in the Czech lands and sent Sokol trainers to the rest of the Slavic world to found Sokol institutions in Kraków , Ljubljana , Zagreb , Sarajevo and even the Russian Empire ( FC Spartak Moscow ) (mostly

7239-469: The Hungarians. The Sokol flourished in the early interwar period, and by 1930 had 630,000 members. The Sokols held one last slet (350,000 Sokols) on the eve of the Munich Agreement of 1938 and were later brutally suppressed and banned during the Nazi occupation of Bohemia and Moravia . The Slovenes organized their own gymnastic society on 1. October 1863 and named it Južni Sokol (South Falcon). Sokol societies were introduced in Slovenia by Viktor Murnik in

7366-511: The Ottoman Empire . This resulted in a significant weakening of the Crimean Khanate , an Ottoman vassal and long-term Russian adversary. The discontent over the dominant positions of Baltic Germans in Russian politics resulted in Peter I's daughter Elizabeth being put on the Russian throne. Elizabeth supported the arts, architecture, and the sciences (for example, the founding of Moscow University ). But she did not carry out significant structural reforms. Her reign, which lasted nearly 20 years,

7493-406: The Ottoman Empire, respectively. As a result, Pan-Slavists were left with a legacy of bitterness against Austria-Hungary and Germany for failing to back Russia. Disappointment at the results of the war stimulated revolutionary tensions, and helped Serbia, Romania , and Montenegro gain independence from, and strengthen themselves against, the Ottomans. Another significant result of the war

7620-453: The Ottoman Empire, using recently acquired Georgia at its base for its Caucasus and Anatolian front. The late 1820s were successful years militarily. Despite losing almost all recently consolidated territories in the first year of the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828 , Russia managed to favorably bring an end to the war with the Treaty of Turkmenchay , including the formal acquisition of what are now Armenia , Azerbaijan, and Iğdır Province . In

7747-430: The Ottomans to sign the Treaty of San Stefano in March 1878, creating an enlarged, independent Bulgaria that stretched into the southwestern Balkans. When Britain threatened to declare war over the terms of the treaty, an exhausted Russia backed down. At the Congress of Berlin in July 1878, Russia agreed to the creation of a smaller Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia , as a vassal state and an autonomous principality inside

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7874-399: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Partitions of Poland , alongside Austria and Prussia . As part of the Treaty of Georgievsk , signed with the Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti , and her own political aspirations, Catherine waged a new war against Persia in 1796 after they had invaded eastern Georgia . Upon achieving victory, she established Russian rule over it and expelled

8001-434: The Russian capital from Moscow to the new model city of Saint Petersburg , which marked the birth of the imperial era, and led a cultural revolution that introduced a modern, scientific, rationalist, and Western-oriented system. Catherine the Great ( r.  1762–1796 ) presided over further expansion of the Russian state by conquest, colonization , and diplomacy, while continuing Peter's policy of modernization towards

8128-418: The Russian state grew by an average of 35,000 km (14,000 sq mi) per year. Major events during this period include the transition from the Rurik to the Romanov dynasties, the conquest of Siberia , and the reign of Peter the Great ( r.  1682–1725 ). Peter transformed the tsardom into an empire, and fought numerous wars that turned a vast realm into a major European power. He moved

8255-422: The Senate that its mission was to collect taxes, and tax revenues tripled over the course of his reign. Meanwhile, all vestiges of local self-government were removed. Peter continued and intensified his predecessors' requirement of state service from all nobles, in the Table of Ranks . As part of Peter's reorganization, he also enacted a church reform . The Russian Orthodox Church was partially incorporated into

8382-497: The Sokol members were imprisoned or exiled but some took part in the preparation of Spartakiad. The Sokols reappeared briefly during the Prague Spring of 1968. After years of hibernation, the Sokol movement was revived for the fourth time in 1990. A slet was held in 1994 (with 23,000 Sokols participating), after the fall of Communism . Presently, the organization focuses on physical training in gymnastics and other athletics. Its popularity is, however, well below pre-war levels and

8509-426: The Sokol movement continued to resurface throughout its history. The internal issues that were to plague the Sokol movement over the years emerged almost immediately. These internal arguments reached fruition during the 1870s with the power struggle in leadership between the members of Old Czechs and the Young Czechs parties. Theoretically, the Sokol was a society “above politics.” Always flamboyantly nationalistic,

8636-431: The Sokol movement was the principal agent of the drive for cultural synthesis of the Yugoslav society. Honorary mayor of the Yugoslav Sokol was Prince Peter II . In Serbia, the sport slub Soko is now known as FK BASK . Members of Sokol who emigrated from Czechoslovakia set up small Sokol groups abroad. This Sokol migration, for a variety of reasons, began even before Czechoslovakia became a nation in 1918, intensified as

8763-510: The Sokol was a mass-based institution defined by its working class members, while others viewed it more as a middle class apparatus by which to educate and raise the national consciousness of the working classes. In 1882, the first slet was held. Slet came from the Czech word for "a flocking of birds" (Czech plural: slety ) since the organization carried the name for falcon , Sokol. The same word, "slet", exists or can be synthesized from common Slavic roots in other Slavic languages. It meant

8890-435: The Ukrainian lands). In 1889, though officially forbidden by the authorities, members of the Prague Sokol went to the World's Fair in Paris . There they won several medals and established strong connections with French gymnasts and the French public. The Sokols have been credited with establishing the beginning of the strong French sympathy for the Czechs and their subsequent political alliances on this trip. The 1890s were

9017-430: The United States by organizations of Czech (American Sokol Organization) and Slovak (Sokol USA and Slovak Catholic Sokol) descent. The American Sokol Organization and Sokol USA alternate in hosting national slets in the United States at 4-year intervals. The American Sokol Organization most recently hosted the XXIV ASO Slet from June 22 through June 25, 2017 in Cedar Rapids, IA. The American Sokol Organization will host

9144-799: The XXV ASO Slet in the summer of 2021 in the Chicago, IL suburbs. Sokol USA most recently hosted the XXVI national slet from June 29 through July 2, 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Slovak Catholic Sokol delayed their Slets due to the COVID 19 pandemic, resuming again on July 13, 2023. Sokol USA hosted the XXVII slet , commemorating the 120th anniversary of Sokol USA, from June 29 to July 2, 2016 in Pittsburgh, PA. Regional districts of

9271-607: The Young Czechs, namely Jan Podlipný, who was also the mayor of Prague 1897–1900. The second slet was held in 1891 (over 5,000 Sokols) and the third one soon afterwards in 1895. At this third slet the congress of the Sokol union laid out its progressive new trajectory in the St. Wenceslas Day (September 28) Resolutions. The leaders chose to continue to provide more accessible forms of training, with less focus on competition and more on an egalitarian idea of people's gymnastics balancing mental as well as physical education. The rise of

9398-438: The already oppressive social system, under which serfs were required to spend almost all of their time laboring on their owners' land. A major peasant uprising took place in 1773, after Catherine legalized the selling of serfs separate from land. Inspired by a Cossack named Yemelyan Pugachev and proclaiming "Hang all the landlords!", the rebels threatened to take Moscow before they were ruthlessly suppressed. Instead of imposing

9525-733: The birthdays of former rulers Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il . In recent years, they have been the main attraction of the Arirang Festival in Pyongyang . The 2004 documentary film by VeryMuchSo Productions and Koryo Tours A State of Mind details the training of two young girls from Pyongyang who perform in the mass games. Arirang mass games were first performed in 2002 in Pyongyang's May Day Stadium and have been held every year since – between August and October and on one occasion in Spring. The show

9652-537: The building of the Trans-Siberian Railway , 1890 to 1904. This opened up East Asia ; and Russian interests focused on Mongolia, Manchuria , and Korea . China was too weak to resist, and was pulled increasingly into the Russian sphere. Russia obtained treaty ports such as Dalian / Port Arthur . In 1900, the Russian Empire invaded Manchuria as part of the Eight-Nation Alliance 's intervention against

9779-570: The collective. Mass gymnastics exhibit the North Korean idea of "ilsim-dangyeol" (single-minded unity), as well as nationalism. Guyana under the leader Forbes Burnham held mass games. They were first held in February 1980 to commemorate the founding of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana . In Germany, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn developed a gymnastics method called Massenturnen. In 1860, in

9906-475: The country's administrative structure, in effect making it a tool of the state. Peter abolished the patriarchate and replaced it with a collective body, the Most Holy Synod , which was led by a government official . Peter died in 1725, leaving an unsettled succession. After a short reign by his widow, Catherine I , the crown passed to Empress Anna . She slowed the reforms and led a successful war against

10033-449: The death of Peter were returned in the 1732 Treaty of Resht and 1735 Treaty of Ganja as a deal to oppose the Ottomans. Peter reorganized his government based on the latest political models of the time, molding Russia into an absolutist state. He replaced the old Boyar Duma (council of nobles) with a nine-member Senate , in effect a supreme council of state. The countryside was divided into new provinces and districts . Peter told

10160-428: The development of Czech nationalism and patriotism, which found expression in articles published in the Sokol journal, lectures held in Sokol libraries, and theatrical performances at the gymnastic mass festivals called slets . The idea for physical training centers was not a new one. The Sokol movement consciously traced its roots in physical education to the athletes and warriors of Ancient Greece . More directly,

10287-580: The dissolution of Austria-Hungary and the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918, and under the leadership of Lazar Car, the Croatian Sokol societies were united with the Serbian and Slovenian Sokol clubs into a large Sokol Alliance on 15 June 1919. The Croatian clergy forced Croatian Sokols to leave the Yugoslav Sokol Alliance in 1919–20, fueling internal conflicts within

10414-416: The empire entered the 20th century in a perilous state. A devastating famine in 1891–1892 killed hundreds of thousands and led to popular discontent. As the last remaining absolute monarchy in Europe, the empire saw rapid political radicalization and the growing popularity of revolutionary ideas such as communism . After the 1905 revolution , Nicholas II authorized the creation of a national parliament,

10541-563: The empire. The semi-autonomous polity of Congress Poland subsequently lost its distinctive political and judicial rights, with Russification being imposed on its schools and courts. However, Russification policies in Poland, Finland and among the Germans in the Baltics largely failed and only strengthened political opposition. In 1854–1855, Russia fought Britain , France and the Ottoman Empire in

10668-489: The end his dynasty was overthrown by the Russian Revolution . The Industrial Revolution began to show significant influence in Russia, but the country remained rural and poor. Economic conditions steadily improved after 1890, thanks to new crops such as sugar beets, and new access to railway transportation. Total grain production increased, as well as exports, even with rising domestic demand from population growth. As

10795-499: The expense of the serfs and other lower classes. Nevertheless, Catherine realized that serfdom must eventually be ended, going so far in her Nakaz ("Instruction") to say that serfs were "just as good as we are" – a comment received with disgust by the nobility. Catherine advanced Russia's southern and western frontiers, successfully waging war against the Ottoman Empire for territory near the Black Sea , and incorporating territories of

10922-554: The first appearance of women who grew to be a major part of Sokol members in the following decades. The fifth slet, held in 1907 (over 12,000 Sokols), had an increasingly Slavic focus and moved away from the more egalitarian idea of people's gymnastics with increased competition aspects. It marked the creation of the Federation of Slavic Sokols under the neo-Slavic idea of the Czechs as the strongest Slavic nation, second only to Russia. At

11049-683: The first year the Sokols expanded beyond Prague, first into the Moravia and the Slovenian regions of the Habsburg empire. Initially the majority of members were students and professionals, but over time there was a trend towards increasingly working class members. The Sokol training went through periods of greater militarized training, during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, when Sokol members were hired as guards for public events. This militaristic side of

11176-560: The government and other major buildings were designed under Italianate influence. In 1722, he turned his aspirations toward increasing Russian influence in the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea at the expense of the weakened Safavid Persians . He made Astrakhan the base of military efforts against Persia, and waged the first full-scale war against them in 1722–23 . Peter the Great temporarily annexed several areas of Iran to Russia, which after

11303-537: The implicit threat to India ; and decades of diplomatic maneuvering resulted, called the Great Game . That rivalry between the two empires has been considered to have included far-flung territories such as Outer Mongolia and Tibet . The maneuvering largely ended with the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Expansion into the vast stretches of Siberia was slow and expensive, but finally became possible with

11430-622: The influence of the Romantic nationalism that gave rise to the uprisings that swept across Europe in 1848. He received a thorough education at the University of Prague , where he majored in philosophy. It was not until the early 1860s that he became involved in the Czech nationalist cause, and changed his name to the Slavic form. After he failed to find a position in academia, Tyrš combined his experience working as

11557-577: The last decade of 19th century. V. Murnik was good gymnast. He was inspired by the Czech Sokol movement and studied Tyrš's gymnastics bases. The 1903 All-Sokols Rally was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The official name of the Slovenian Sokol was Ljubljana Sokol and its starosta was Kajzelj and the coach was Murnik. In Croatia, the Sokol movement had full support from Strossmayer, then Bishop of Đakovo. After

11684-583: The military, 20 percent to government economic activities, 12 percent to administration, and nine percent for the Imperial Court in St. Petersburg. The deficit required borrowing, primarily from bankers in Amsterdam ; five percent of the budget was allocated to debt payments. Paper money was issued to pay for expensive wars, thus causing inflation. As a result of its spending, Russia developed a large and well-equipped army,

11811-477: The more conservative members of the Sokol argued that the organization should maintain its distance from politics while the Young Czech members advocated more direct political participation. Theoretically, the Sokol was also open equally to members of all classes. The informal “thou” ( ty ) was used by all members, but there were constant arguments over whether this was necessary or not. Different leaders believed that

11938-459: The nature of the Sokol was influenced by the German Turnverein , mass-based, nationalist-minded gymnastics societies founded by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in 1811. Miroslav Tyrš, the founder of the first Sokol in Prague in 1862, continued as the most influential figure in the movement until his death in 1884. Born Friedrich Emanuel Tirsch into a German-speaking family in 1834, Tyrš grew up under

12065-701: The new parliament (the Duma). He signed the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 to counter Germany's influence in the Middle East, ending the Great Game between Russia and the British Empire . However, his reign was marked by criticism for the government's suppression of political dissent and perceived failures or inaction during events like the Khodynka Tragedy , anti-Jewish pogroms, Bloody Sunday (1905) , and

12192-477: The newly established Persian garrisons in the Caucasus. Catherine's expansionist policy caused Russia to develop into a major European power, as did the Enlightenment era and the Golden age in Russia. But after Catherine died in 1796, she was succeeded by her son, Paul . He brought Russia into a major coalition war against the new-revolutionary French Republic in 1798. Russian commander Field Marshal Suvorov led

12319-401: The obligation of the nobility to serve was reinforced, and serf labor played a significant role in the growth of the industry, reinforcing traditional socioeconomic structures. The volume of the country's international trade turnover increased as a result of Peter I's industrial reforms. However, imports of goods overtook exports, strengthening the role of foreigners in Russian trade, particularly

12446-523: The only one it conducted, found a population of 125.6 million with considerable ethnic, linguistic, religious, and socioeconomic diversity. The rise of the Russian Empire coincided with the decline of its rivals: the Swedish Empire , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Qajar Iran , the Ottoman Empire , and Qing China . From the 10th to 17th centuries, the Russians had been ruled by a noble class known as

12573-446: The press, as well as dislike democracy, constitutions, and the parliamentary system. Under Pobedonostsev, revolutionaries were persecuted—by the imperial secret police , with thousands being exiled to Siberia —and a policy of Russification was carried out throughout the empire. Russia had little difficulty expanding to the south, including conquering Turkestan , until Britain became alarmed when Russia threatened Afghanistan , with

12700-691: The progressive members of the Sokols were purged or left voluntarily to join the DTJ. Another rival gymnast society was founded by the Christian-Socialist party under the name Orel ("Eagle"). In the face of such competition, the Sokols set about reaffirming their traditional mission under the leadership of Josef Scheiner. The fourth slet, held in 1901 (11,000 Sokols), boasted a large international participation, including Galician Poles , Ukrainians , Slovenes , Croats , Russians , Bulgarians , Serbs , as well as Frenchmen and Americans . This slet also marked

12827-563: The redrawing of the map of Europe at the Congress of Vienna (1815), which ultimately made Alexander the monarch of Congress Poland . The " Holy Alliance " was proclaimed, linking the monarchist great powers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Although the Russian Empire played a leading political role in the next century, thanks to its role in defeating Napoleonic France, its retention of serfdom precluded economic progress to any significant degree. As Western European economic growth accelerated during

12954-488: The revolt made "December Fourteenth" a day long remembered by later revolutionary movements. The question of Russia's direction had been gaining attention ever since Peter the Great's program of modernization. Some favored imitating Western Europe while others were against this and called for a return to the traditions of the past. The latter path was advocated by Slavophiles , who held the "decadent" West in contempt. The Slavophiles were opponents of bureaucracy, who preferred

13081-588: The segments combined both Western and Eastern elements infused with German traditions. In Japan , schools adopted German gymnastics and mass games were started. Between 1925 and 1945, mass games were played in Meiji Jingū Kyōgi Taikai (Meiji Shrine Sports Competition). Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was an admirer of North Korea's Mass Games. Today, mass games are annually performed in North Korea , where they take place to celebrate national holidays such as

13208-461: The serfs, was the single most important event in 19th-century Russian history, and the beginning of the end of the landed aristocracy's monopoly on power. The 1860s saw further socioeconomic reforms to clarify the position of the Russian government with regard to property rights. Emancipation brought a supply of free labor to the cities, stimulating industry, while the middle class grew in number and influence. However, instead of receiving their lands as

13335-479: The start of the 19th century, Russian territory extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea in the south, and from the Baltic Sea in the west to Alaska, Hawaii, and California in the east. By the end of the 19th century, Russia had expanded its control over the Caucasus , most of Central Asia and parts of Northeast Asia . Notwithstanding its extensive territorial gains and great power status,

13462-538: The state for the rest of their lives. He also introduced the Table of Ranks and equated the votchina with an estate . Russia's modern fleet was built by Peter the Great, along with an army that was reformed in the manner of European style and educational institutions (the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences ). Civil lettering was adopted during Peter I's reign, and the first Russian newspaper, Vedomosti ,

13589-422: The throne in 1855, the desire for reform was widespread. A growing humanitarian movement attacked serfdom as inefficient. In 1859, there were more than 23 million serfs in usually poor living conditions. Alexander II decided to abolish serfdom from above, with ample provision for the landowners, rather than wait for it to be abolished from below by revolution. The Emancipation Reform of 1861 , which freed

13716-491: The thunder comes and the nations rise up to defend their existence, let it be the Sokol clubs from which the cry to battle will sound...". The cry to battle did sound two years later, when the first rumors of Franz Ferdinand 's assassination reached the Sokol members, most of whom were attending a regional slet in Brno . With the onset of World War I , in 1915 the Sokols were officially disbanded. Many members were active in persuading

13843-489: The traditional punishment of drawing and quartering, Catherine issued secret instructions that the executioners should execute death sentences quickly and with minimal suffering, as part of her effort to introduce compassion into the law. She furthered these efforts by ordering the public trial of Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova , a high-ranking noblewoman, on charges of torturing and murdering serfs. Whilst these gestures garnered Catherine much positive attention from Europe during

13970-540: The transformation of Russia into a great power, playing a major role in European politics. On 2 November [ O.S. 22 October] 1721, the day of the announcement of the Treaty of Nystad, the Governing Senate and Synod invested the tsar with the titles of Peter the Great, Pater Patriae (father of the fatherland), and Imperator of all Russia . The adoption of the title of imperator by Peter I

14097-449: The various holdings. Although serfdom was abolished, its abolition was achieved on terms unfavorable to peasants; thus, revolutionary tensions remained. Revolutionaries believed that the newly freed serfs were merely being sold into wage slavery in the onset of the industrial revolution, and that the urban bourgeoisie had effectively replaced the landowners. Seeking more territories, Russia obtained Priamurye ( Russian Manchuria ) from

14224-719: The violent suppression of the 1905 Russian Revolution. The Russo-Japanese War , which resulted in the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima , further eroded his popularity. By March 1917, public support for Nicholas II had dwindled, leading to his forced abdication and the end of the 304-year rule of the Romanov (dynasty) in Russia (1613–1917). Nicholas II was deeply devoted to his wife, Alexandra, whom he married on 26 November 1894. They had five children: Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Tsesarevich Alexei. The Russian Imperial Romanov family

14351-624: The war, but who nevertheless were opposed by various factions known collectively as the Whites . During the resulting Russian Civil War , the Bolsheviks conducted the Red Terror . After emerging victorious, they established the Soviet Union across most of the Russian territory; it would be one of four continental empires to collapse as a result of World War I , along with Germany , Austria–Hungary , and

14478-677: The weakened Manchu-ruled Qing China , which was occupied fighting against the Taiping Rebellion . In 1858, the Treaty of Aigun ceded much of the Manchu Homeland, and in 1860, the Treaty of Peking ceded the modern Primorsky Krai , also founded the outpost of future Vladivostok . Meanwhile, Russia decided to sell the indefensible Russian America to the United States for 11 million rubles (7.2 million dollars) in 1867. Initially, many Americans considered this newly gained territory to be

14605-658: Was a vast empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its proclamation in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about 22,800,000 km (8,800,000 sq mi), roughly one-sixth of the world's landmass, making it the third-largest empire in history , behind only the British and Mongol empires. It also colonized North America between 1799 and 1867. The empire's 1897 census,

14732-479: Was assassinated by the Narodnaya Volya , a Nihilist terrorist organization . The throne passed to Alexander III (1881–1894), a reactionary who revived the maxim of "Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality" of Nicholas I. A committed Slavophile, Alexander III believed that Russia could be saved from turmoil only by shutting itself off from the subversive influences of Western Europe. During his reign, Russia formed

14859-427: Was catastrophic for France, whose army was decimated during the Russian winter . Although Napoleon's Grande Armée reached Moscow, the Russians' scorched earth strategy prevented the invaders from living off the country. In the harsh and bitter winter, thousands of French troops were ambushed and killed by peasant guerrilla fighters. Russian troops then pursued Napoleon's troops to the gates of Paris, presiding over

14986-402: Was close to that of slaves , remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter converted household kholops into house serfs , thus counting them for poll taxation. Russian agricultural kholops had been formally converted into serfs earlier in 1679. They were largely tied to the land, in a feudal sense, until the late 19th century. Peter's first military efforts were directed against

15113-604: Was executed by who were believed to be drunken Bolshevik revolutionaries under Yakov Yurovsky, as ordered by the Ural Regional Soviet in Yekaterinburg on the night of 16–17 July 1918. This marked the end of the Russian Empire and Imperial Russia. Russia was in a continuous state of financial crisis. While revenue rose from 9 million rubles in 1724 to 40 million in 1794, expenses grew more rapidly, reaching 49 million in 1794. The budget allocated 46 percent to

15240-471: Was held at the just-opened Chicago World's Fair ( Century of Progress ) at Chicago 's Soldier Field on June 25, 1933. By 1937, American Sokol membership rolls counted nearly 20,000 adults in areas as far-flung as Baltimore , New York City , Nyack, New York , New Jersey , Pittsburgh , Chicago , Detroit , Cleveland , Oakland , Iowa , Minnesota , Nebraska , Oklahoma , St. Louis , Texas , and parts of Canada . Senator Roman Hruska of Nebraska, who

15367-674: Was in a state of war with the French Republic under the leadership of the Corsica -born First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte . After he became the emperor , Napoleon defeated Russia at Austerlitz in 1805, Eylau and Friedland in 1807. After Alexander was defeated in Friedland, he agreed to negotiate and sued for peace with France; the Treaties of Tilsit led to the Franco-Russian alliance against

15494-569: Was informally partitioned by the Anglo-Russian Convention in 1907, Britain, France, and Russia came increasingly close together in opposition to Germany and Austria-Hungary. The three would later comprise the Triple Entente alliance in the First World War . In 1894, Alexander III was succeeded by his son, Nicholas II , who was committed to retaining the autocracy that his father had left him. Nicholas II proved as an ineffective ruler, and in

15621-461: Was of Czech heritage, was a lifelong member of Sokol Omaha . After World War II Sokols held one more slet in 1948 before they were once again suppressed, this time by the Communists. The Communist Party tried to replace the tradition of slets with mass exercises employed for propaganda purposes: Spartakiad ( spartakiády ) and its organization Czechoslovak Union of Physical Education . Many of

15748-633: Was on 4 times a week. Tourists from all over the World were welcomed to the DPRK during Mass Games. Sokol is a Czech gymnastics organization which runs mass games called Slet  [ cs ] for Eastern European youth. The word slet means 'a gathering of falcons'. The first Sokol slet was held in 1882 in Prague to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Sokol organization. Since 1994 slets have been held every six years. The opening ceremonies of

15875-492: Was published. Peter I promoted the advancement of science, particularly geography and geology , trade, and industry, including shipbuilding, as well as the growth of the Russian educational system. Every tenth Russian acquired an education during Peter I's reign, when there were 15 million people in the country. The city of Saint Petersburg , which was built in 1703 on territory along the Baltic coast that had been conquered during

16002-688: Was the acquisition from the Ottomans of the provinces of Batumi , Ardahan , and Kars in Transcaucasia , which were transformed into the militarily administered regions of Batum Oblast and Kars Oblast . To replace Muslim refugees who had fled across the new frontier into Ottoman territory, the Russian authorities settled large numbers of Christians from ethnically diverse communities in Kars Oblast, particularly Georgians , Caucasus Greeks , and Armenians , each of whom hoped to achieve protection and advance their own regional ambitions. In 1881, Alexander II

16129-433: Was the eldest son and successor of Aleksandr Aleksandrovich (later known as Alexander III of Russia ) and his wife Maria Fyodorovna (formerly Dagmar of Denmark ). During his rule, Nicholas II supported the economic and political reforms proposed by his prime ministers, Sergei Witte and Pyotr Stolypin . He favored modernization through foreign loans and strong ties with France, but was reluctant to give significant roles to

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