Michael romanov becomes tsar of all russia

Two hundred years of the Decembrist Revolt Daniel ...

Held in high esteem and lavished with furs, velvet and precious stones, young male choristers-turned-bishops were all the rage at Christmas in the Middle Ages, says Matthew Dennison

The Bohemian King Wenceslas really was good, but his reward for gracious piety was not, discovers Ian Morton

The Land of the Rising Sun’s eight female rulers are all but forgotten, but their lives and reigns were filled with drama

‘I accepted the commission partly for the money, and partly because I have long wanted to try my hand at this sort of music,’ wrote Tchaikovsky to Rimsky-Korsakov. For the sum of 800 roubles (around £

Whether it’s a rosy-cheeked girl wrapped up warm, sun-bathed sheep at twilight or a snow-blanketed apple orchard, myriad pictures sum up the festive season, as 16 friends of COUNTRY LIFE tell Carla Passino