The great boyar and princely families were both supporters and opponents of the Muscovite dynasty in the 14th and 15th centuries. The power of the Grand Prince of Moscow protected them from the ravages of local wars and nomadic raids, but they also sought to share in this power. In this ambiguous relationship of the boyars to the monarch, respect for the authority of the throne clearly prevailed after the death of Vasily III (1533). They stood up for his then three-year-old son Ivan and did not abandon him even after the death of his mother Yelena Glinskaya (she was poisoned in 1538). They ruled in his name, enriched themselves, but did not allow the right of the underage monarch to be questioned. Both uncles of little Ivan - Yuri and Andrei, brothers of Vasily III - ended up in the famine. This loyalty of the boyars to little Ivan was primarily the work of their egotism, which commanded to support a ruler who could not rule himself. This opened the way for the powerful families to have unlimited oligarchic rule.
Great French Revolution brought to the world not only the image of the struggle of the people against hated regime, but also a multitude of heroes and personalities for whom it became a stepping stone to glory. The Grande Armée became a kind of "seedbed" for these emerging heroes who fought valiantly for their ideals. If they were really successful, they rose rapidly through the military hierarchy, and as their fortunes increased, their ideals later were replaced by a lust for power. Some began to hatch their own plans, to pursue their goals, and no longer pursued their military service with the same zeal as in the Revolution. A very controversial figure among Napoleon's of Napoleon's marshals was Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte.
After he gained the status of a Bonaparte family man, his self-esteem soared. Despite hesitations in the Grand Army and the favour of Napoleon, the Swedish Estates brought him to the royal crown, and he later turned his back on the man who had enabled him to further his life's career.
Like other countries of the Habsburg monarchy, Slovakia could offer the Austrian Habsburgs many talents from the military.
After the death of Peter I the Great Russia had time to take a break from expensive wars, which were replaced by intermezzo in the form of castle upheavals. But at the time of arrival of Catherine II. on the throne this huge empire was again drawn into europeans wars.
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