One of the most romantic and gentle holidays, which is firmly gaining its positions in an increasing number of countries, is February 14th. Not only in Europe, but also in Japan, the USA, Russia and other countries, Valentine's Day is considered the day when lovers can show their feelings in full, even if the object of their passion does not know or even suspect about them. . Where did this tradition come from and why has it become so popular? What is the history of the celebration on February 14?

What does the story tell?

Not much information is available about a young priest named Valentine who lived in the 3rd century AD in the Roman town of Terni. He was not a simple clergyman, but a skilled healer, so many people turned to him for help. But he earned special fame among the legionnaires, whom Valentine cured of wounds. In addition, the military, united by marriage with their beloved, had the greatest gratitude to him.

The fact is that in those days, Emperor Claudius forbade marriage, as he had grandiose plans to conquer neighboring states, so he needed strong and brave warriors who were not burdened with families, which, as he believed, only prevented the soldiers from thinking about the good of the state and victories on the battlefield.

The opponent of this decree was Valentine. He not only married couples, but also reconciled those who quarreled, wrote letters on behalf of the soldiers to their ladies of the heart, and also presented flowers. It was for these exploits that Valentine was arrested in 269, and then executed. Severe and inexorable Roman law, which has largely been preserved in modern legislation, did not make it possible to save the life of a kind and sympathetic priest with loving hearts, who did not refuse to marry legionnaires in the cathedral with their chosen ones.

What else is said about the last days of Valentine?

Behind the veil of time, it is impossible to understand how accurate the events that took place during the period of the priest's arrest are in chronology. Some claim that even before his arrest, Valentine treated the jailer's daughter for blindness, according to other sources, he cured her after he went to jail.

The girl fell in love with her savior, but, having taken a vow of celibacy, Valentine could not answer her feelings, and only on the eve of the execution wrote her a touching letter in which he confessed his feelings. The legend claims that the girl was able not only to see and read the last letter of her beloved, but also that this was the first thing she saw after she received her sight. The letter was wrapped in a beautiful flower of saffron, rare and very expensive.

How was the spread of the holiday on February 14?

It just so happened that the execution of Valentine coincided with the celebrations in the name of the wife of Jupiter, Juno, who was considered one of the patronesses of love and family relations. Therefore, secretly Christians began to celebrate this day in memory of Valentine. Further, under the influence of human opinion and God's providence, Pope Gelasius in 496 declared February 14th to be Saint Valentine's Day..

Valentine was canonized by the Catholic Church and until the middle of the last century, this holiday was recognized as official. All Western Europe celebrated St. Valentine's Day, starting from the 4th century, and the United States followed their example much later, where its celebration began in 1777. In Russia, there was a holiday, which to this day is an analogue of St. Valentine's Day. In honor of Saints Peter and Fevronia, who did not want to part with their bodies even after physical death, in the summer, June 25, a church holiday is celebrated. Therefore, in the CIS countries, acquaintance with St. Valentine's Day occurred in the early 90s of the last century. And many people consider this day imposed by a foreign culture.

Legends and speculation

After the execution, the body of Valentine was buried in the Roman church named after St. Praxidis, after which the gates that open the way to the temple began to be called "Valentine's Gate". As the legend goes, every spring, an almond tree blooms with pink flowers on the grave of a priest which exudes an amazing aroma. Therefore, lovers often come to him to confirm the steadfastness and fidelity of their feelings.

But there are also skeptics, such as the French historian Tillemont, the English scientists Douce and Butler, who, respectively, in the 17th and 18th centuries expressed a curious theory. According to her, this holiday was introduced in order to rid Europe of the pagan tradition of randomly choosing the names of lovers, which was inherent in the celebration of Juno's day, celebrated on February 15th.

Who created one of the first "Valentines"?

According to history, Duke Charles of Orleans, while in prison, in 1415 began to write love letters to his wife, thus struggling with loneliness and longing. But already in the 18th century, such postcards became very popular, so lovers of epistolary art sent a variety of hand-made "hearts" where they confessed their love, made marriage proposals, and also joked wittily without indicating the name of the sender.

Since that time, it has been considered traditional to present roses, which symbolically express passionate love, couples of kissing doves, as well as figures of tiny Cupid or Cupid - an angel of love with a bow and arrow.

Therefore, it is not surprising that February 14 became so popular all over the world, because such a touching story about a kind, loving person who lived a short but bright life, could not but evoke a response in the souls of those who were lucky enough to experience this incomparable feeling - love. And, lighting candles in the form of tiny hearts, sending greeting cards and sweets of the same shape, loving the whole world like a relay race, they carry the memory of him, who gave his life in the name of love.

Many significant events took place on this day.

On October 28, many significant events took place that went down in history. About the most interesting of them - in the material "360 Moscow Region".

On October 28, 1892, the inventor Emile Reynaud created the "optical theater" in Paris. With the help of a special apparatus, he showed moving pictures. Today this event is associated with the beginning of the era animated film. In anticipation international day animation professionals and amateurs share their creations and invite viewers to premiere screenings.

October 28, 1908 was the premiere of the first feature film in Russia - "Ponizovaya freemen". It was a screen adaptation of the play of the same name by Vasily Goncharov, in which the plot of Dmitry Sadovnikov's famous song "Beyond the Island" was played out. For six minutes, that is how long the film lasted, the dramatic story of the death of the Persian princess in the waves of the Volga was briefly retold on the screen. In fact, the princess did not fall into the waves of the Volga, but into the water of Lake Razliv near St. Petersburg, where the filming took place. 150 people were involved in the extras, and the main roles were played by the actors of the St. Petersburg "people's house". The first "special effect" was also used in the film - the actor who played Razin had to raise a rather well-fed "princess" on outstretched arms, which, naturally, was beyond his power. In order to shoot such a spectacular scene, we had to use a montage, which hides the moment of replacing the actress with a mannequin. The direction of the film was quite primitive, and the actors moved unnaturally in the frame, which caused laughter from those who watched the film. However, at the time of the premiere, it was an impressive movie that had a great success with the audience.

On October 28, 1914, Kodak announced the start of work on color photography. During its development, light filters were used, arranged in a certain order. This is the so-called "Bayer filter", which usually consists of three colors - green, red and blue. Some modern manufacturers also add blue, but the three-color scheme is used in most devices.

On October 28, 1940, Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas rejected the ultimatum presented to the country by the government of fascist Italy. Greece was required to allow Italian troops to enter the country and occupy strategically important ports, airfields and other facilities. Otherwise, Italy threatened Greece with a declaration of war. Metaxas' answer was short: "oohs," which means "no" in Greek. Upon learning of this, the population of the country, without calls from politicians, took to the streets and began to chant "ohs", thus marking the beginning of the celebration of "Ohi Day", which is held in Greece annually on October 28. In response to Metaxas's refusal, Italian troops stationed on the territory of Albania, already occupied by Italy by that time, attacked the Greek border garrisons at 5:30 in the morning, which meant Greece's entry into World War II. The festival of "ohy" was celebrated annually during the war, both by Greek communities around the world and in Greece itself. After the war, this day became an official public holiday, during which military and student parades are held. Majority public buildings Greece on this day is decorated with national flags.

October 28, 1943 is considered the day of the mysterious "Philadelphia Experiment", also known as the "Rainbow Project", during which an experiment was allegedly carried out to teleport an entire US Navy destroyer over several tens of kilometers. Officially, representatives of the US Navy have never confirmed the teleportation of the destroyer "Eldridge" with a crew of 181 people, but persistent rumors about this experiment continue to this day, turning it into a kind of legend. Sailors from the destroyer team, who have survived to this day, also deny the fact of the experiment and call all reports about it a lie. Eyewitnesses claimed to have seen the "cocoon" enveloping the ship, and even touched it as it extended all the way to the shore. The Eldridge disappeared in a greenish fog, and only 21 people survived from the entire crew, the rest supposedly fused with the ship's structure, died from burns, radiation, electric shock and fear. Supporters of the destroyer's teleportation mention the fact that the Eldridge appeared on the same day near Norfolk and Philadelphia, which are separated by 320 kilometers. Opponents say that such a passage was possible through a channel connecting the Chesapeake Bay and the Delvaer River, which was officially not allowed to operate, but warships could use it to avoid encounters with German submarines.

October 28, 1965 in the United States on this day opened the largest monument in the world - the steel arch "Gateway to the West" with a height of 192 meters. According to the calculations of the designers, the symbol of the development of the Wild West should stand for exactly a thousand years. The arch is installed in the city of St. Louis and is part of the Jefferson National Memorial. Inside there is an elevator that takes visitors to the observation deck. And at the foot of the monument, the Museum of the Development of the West is open.

October 28, 1955 was born one of the founders of the company Microsoft Bill Gates. He went to the most privileged school in Seattle. At the age of 13 he wrote the first program - the game "Tic-Tac-Toe", and in the eighth grade, together with his friends, he hacked the school computer. The name of Bill Gates is inextricably linked with Microsoft. Today, the creator of the famous operating system heads the Board of Directors, is engaged in special projects, and is also the largest shareholder of the corporation.

On October 28, 1963, the famous singer with the name Greek god love Eros Ramazzotti. He was born into a family of a builder and a housewife. FROM early years played the guitar, occasionally appeared in extras on the set of films. For 25 years of his career on stage, Eros Ramazzotti has released 11 albums, three compilations, and 46 singles, each of which occupied high lines in the European charts.

Julia Roberts was born on October 28, 1967. She was born in Georgia, worked as a waitress in a pizzeria, was fond of playing the clarinet and participated in local competitions beauty. The road to cinema began for Julia Roberts with the film "Steel Magnolias", and the role in "Pretty Woman" brought her a resounding success. Roberts is one of the highest paid actresses in the world today. Films with her participation brought more than two billion dollars to the world box office.

306
Praetorians proclaimed the 26-year-old Maxentius emperor of Rome (princeps invictus)
312
The battle between Maxentius and Constantine, known as the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The victory of Constantine, who became the sole emperor of Rome. Maxentius died the next day
797
Charlemagne adopted the "Saxon capitulary" - a law that replaces the death penalty with a fine and equates the conquered Saxons with other peoples of the Frankish kingdom
1237
The first mention of Berlin, the birthday of the city
1492
Columbus landed in Cuba
1644
Scottish Civil War: Battle of Thebes
1772
The Battle of Patras began (Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774)
1886
Statue of Liberty officially unveiled in New York
1892
At the Grevin Museum, Emile Renault presented "luminous pantomimes". To mark the anniversary of this event, the "International Animation Day" was established.
1908
Released on cinema screens for the first time in history Russian Empire short Feature Film"Lower freemen"
1914
Kodak announces the start of work on color photography
1914
The German cruiser "Emden" sank the Russian cruiser "Zhemchug" and the French destroyer "Musket" in the harbor of Penang
1918
Day of formation of Czechoslovakia
1924
France recognized de jure the Soviet government
1940
Ohi Day in Greece: the date of Greece's entry into World War II
1943
According to a number of conspiracy theorists, the Philadelphia experiment took place
1944
Day of liberation of Ukraine from fascist invaders
1955
Finland joined the Nordic Council
1962
Caribbean Crisis: First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Nikita Khrushchev announced the dismantling of Soviet missiles in Cuba
1965
The largest monument in the world, the 192-meter steel arch "Gateway to the West" opens in the USA
1971
The launch into orbit of the English satellite ("Prospero X-3") of the first launch vehicle of its own production ("Black Arrow")
1972
Airbus A300 takes off for first flight
1974
Successfully launches the carrier carrying the Luna-23 automatic station
2005
The first Iranian artificial Earth satellite "Sina-1" was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome
2007
The first Wiki-conference of the Russian Wikipedia ended in St. Petersburg
2009
Terrorist attack in Kabul, 12 dead, including 6 UN employees
2011
Bolshoi Theater reopened in Moscow after six years of reconstruction

Born October 28

1759
Andrei Nikiforovich Voronikhin, Russian architect and painter (d. 1814)
1760
Alexander Lamet, general, participant in the Great french revolution, one of the leaders of the Feuillants (d. 1829)
1793
Simonas Daukantas, Lithuanian historian and educational writer (d. 1864)
1798
Giuditta Pasta, Italian Opera singer. She had a unique voice in terms of volume - from high soprano to contralto, a range of 2.5 octaves (d. 1865)
1818
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev (d. 1883), Russian writer, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences
1896
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (d. 1963), Soviet theater and film actor, theater director, National artist USSR (1951)
1903
Evelyn Waugh, English writer(d. 1966)
1913
Efim Yulievich Uchitel, Soviet cameraman and documentary filmmaker (d. 1988)
1924
Ovid Aleksandrovich Gorchakov, Soviet spy, writer and screenwriter (d. 2000)
1930
Bernie Ecclestone, Businessman, President of Formula One Management and Formula 1 Administration
1930
Svetlana Annapolskaya (d. 2008), theater and television director
1936
Roman Viktyuk, theater director
1938
Karina Pavlovna Lisitsian, singer
1945
Gadzhi Muslimovich Gadzhiev, football coach
1951
Marvin Heemeyer (d. 2004), participant in the conflict in Granby, Colorado, which ended in the destruction of some of the city's buildings and his suicide
1955
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation
1963
Eros Ramazzotti, Italian singer and composer
1967
Julia Roberts, American film actress
1968
Fedor Dvinyatin, member of the Club of Experts “What? Where? When?" since 1989, winner of four "Crystal Owls", teacher at the Department of Russian Philology of St. Petersburg state university
1982
Matt Smith, English actor
1984

Obafemi Martins, Nigerian footballer

Died October 28

1704
John Locke, British educator and philosopher (born 1632)
1787
Johann Carl August Museus (b. 1735), German writer, literary critic, philologist and teacher. The author of the collection Folk tales Germans"
1806
Charlotte Smith (Charlotte Turner Smith), English writer(born 1749)
1861
Ivan Savvich Nikitin, Russian poet (born 1824)
1872
Domna Tomskaya, holy fool
1883
Pavel Ivanovich Alandsky (born 1844), Russian historian, specialist in classical philology and history ancient greece and Rome
1889
Gustav Rümelin, German politician, teacher, statistician (born 1815)
1899
Ottmar Mergenthaler, American inventor German descent, who created in 1884 a type-setting line-casting linotype printing machine (born 1854)
1923
Fedor Adamovich Korsh, Russian entrepreneur, playwright, translator (born 1852)
1941
Yakov Grigoryevich Usachev (born 1873), physicist, founder of the science of metal cutting
1962
Vera Pashennaya (born 1887), actress at the Maly Theater
1969
Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (real name Nikolai Vasilievich Korneichukov), children's writer, critic, literary critic, translator (born 1882)
1984
Alexander Ivanovich Tselikov, metallurgist scientist (born 1904)
1989
Yulia Ippolitovna Solntseva (born 1901), actress and director, wife of film director A.P. Dovzhenko (“The Tale of Fiery Years”, “The Enchanted Desna”)
1993
Yuri Lotman, Soviet literary critic, culturologist and semiotician (born 1922)
2005
Luba Tadic (Ljuba Tadic - Љubomir Tadiћ) (born 1929), Yugoslav actor

On this day in 1636, Harvard University was founded in Massachusetts, USA. Harvard University is the oldest private university educational institution USA. In 1636, by decision of the legislature of the Massachusetts colony, a college was founded in the city of Cambridge near Boston. In 1639, the college was named after its first benefactor and minister, John Harvard, who bequeathed half of his property and library to the new college. Historically, this library has become the second public library on the continent (the first was the library of the monastery of the Jesuit order). In a 1643 pamphlet, Harvard's appointment was defined in the following way: "In order to seek knowledge and pass it on to posterity, let those who are afraid of this path continue to ignorantly hope in the miracles of the church." The actual transformation of the college into a university took place in the first quarter of the 19th century, when, in addition to studying the Bible, languages ​​and mathematics, medicine (1810) and jurisprudence (1817) also began to be taught. From the second half of XIX century, Harvard University becomes the center of cultural life.

On October 28, 1830, the slave Joshua Henson, the prototype of the protagonist of Uncle Tom's Cabin, fled from the United States to Canada ... And exactly 56 years later, in 1886, the official opening of the Statue of Liberty in New York took place. Freedom is always directed against lack of freedom, and it is no coincidence that this statue rests with one foot on broken fetters. What was more than relevant for the Americans themselves.

On this day in 1831, Michael Faraday, who discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction, demonstrated the first dynamo.

On October 28, 1880, the English natural science weekly Nature published a letter from distant Tokyo “On the grooves on the skin of the hand” by the Scottish surgeon Henry Faulds, where he drew attention to the uniqueness of fingerprints and suggested using this fact in forensic science. These thoughts were prompted by the fingerprints of ancient potters on the shards of ceramic vessels. Once a thief got into the hospital where a Scot worked and left a well visible traces from fingers smeared with soot (while fleeing, the criminal came across a half-cooled brazier). When the Japanese police apprehended the suspect, Faulds persuaded law enforcement officers to take his fingerprints and, comparing them with the footprints on the fence, established that they were different, which means that the person was innocent. But the next detainee got it right.

October 28, 1892 in Paris, in the Grevin Museum (this is about the same as the Museum wax figures Madame Tussauds in London), the inventor Emile Raynaud first showed the public the praxinoscope he had designed - an apparatus that allows you to see the sequence of drawings as a smooth movement. Reynaud also drew, colored and edited the film, and all this together was called "optical theater". Cinema in the usual sense of the word, that is, fiction and documentaries, did not yet exist, he is three years younger. But when he appeared, he immediately doomed Reino's brainchild to failure, and himself to a life collapse. In desperation, he drowned the praxinoscope in the Seine. Before the revival of cartoon cinema remained a few decades.

On October 28, 1893, the premiere of the Sixth Symphony in B minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky took place in St. Petersburg. He himself stood at the conductor's stand. He had only nine days to live. “Without exaggeration, I put my whole soul into this symphony,” the composer wrote, calling it the best and most sincere of his works. Just before the premiere, he gave it a subtitle: "Pathetic".

On October 28, 1908, the first feature film in the history of Russian cinema, Ponizovaya Volnitsa, was released. It was staged by Vladimir Romashkov based on the play by Vasily Goncharov about Stepan Razin, which, in turn, was written on the basis of a textbook famous song"Because of the island on the rod ...". After all, it is interesting to look at the robber Stenka and the captive princess, at how he "throws her overboard." Throws "into the proper wave," as it was later jokingly paraphrased folk song in a bureaucratic way.

On October 28, the Czech Republic celebrates its main national holiday - the Day of the Formation of the Independent Czechoslovak Republic. Previously, this day was called Republic Day. After the First World War, on October 28, 1918, the Czech National Committee in Prague declared independence from Austria-Hungary (Austro-Hungarian Empire), and announced the unification of the Czech Republic and neighboring Slovakia into the Republic of Czechoslovakia. In the summer of 1992, the leaders of the republics agreed to divide the country, and on January 1, 1993, an independent Czech Republic was formed. But October 28, the Day of the Formation of the Czechoslovak Republic, is still considered one of the most important in the history of the Czech Republic.

On October 28, 1919, the US Congress, overcoming the veto of President Woodrow Wilson, passed Prohibition. An entire branch of the economy has gone underground. Clans, gangsters and their internecine wars, epic mafia figures like Al Capone we know from American literature and Hollywood films.

On October 28, 1922, about 25,000 Italian fascists set off in a coordinated foot march on Rome from four different parties. They set themselves the task of simply demonstrating the growing strength of their movement, but due to the cowardice, lack of will and irresponsibility of the authorities, the action, in essence, turned into a bloodless revolution. Prime Minister Facta proposed to King Victor Emmanuel that a state of emergency be declared. He refused. When the armed Blackshirts entered the capital on October 30, their 39-year-old "Duce", the son of a blacksmith from a remote village, Benito Mussolini, who arrived in the city in a sleeping car, was appointed head of the Italian government and endowed with emergency powers. And the Duce got what he wanted. And after exactly 18 years, Italy was again on the first lines in the world reports. Greece, which declared its neutrality in the outbreak of a pan-European war, rejected the ultimatum of fascist Italy on secession in its favor of a number of strategically important regions. And on the same day, 10 Italian divisions invaded Greece from the territory of Albania, captured by Italy on April 7-15, 1939. However, less than 3 weeks had passed before the Greek army, pushing the randomly retreating Italians, itself crossed the border with Albania. Since then, October 28, the day when the Greek people said “no” to the aggressor, has been celebrated in the country as a national holiday – Ohi Day, which means “no” in Greek.

We are accustomed to believe that the choice in favor of freedom is made contrary to the status quo. And there are countless examples of this. On October 28, 1939, in the Third Reich, Himmler called on single German women to give birth to Aryans out of wedlock - contrary to bourgeois prejudices. Whoever is against racial politics is against power. In Spain, the government of the Popular Front on October 28, 1936, began the collectivization of agriculture and introduced bans on church rites. Whoever is for freedom of land ownership and freedom of conscience is against this policy. But in Leningrad on October 28, 1927, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Soviet power and the beginning of a full-scale march towards socialism, Vladimir Mayakovsky read the poem “Good!”. He was for freedom. Was for.

On this day in 1929, while flying over Miami, Florida, Mrs. T.W. Evans gave birth to a baby girl. The baby became the first child in history to be born on board an aircraft.

On October 28, 1937, for the first time in the history of world aviation, a night ram was used. During civil war in Spain (1936-1939), Soviet pilot Yevgeny Stepanov shot down a three-engine Savoia Marchetti bomber in the sky over Barcelona. In July 1937, under the pseudonym Eva Geno, Stepanov went to Spain as a volunteer. He fought in the I-15 fighter squadron. He opened a combat account in early August 1937, shooting down a Do-17 bomber in the Zaragoza region. On October 12, 1937, in an air battle near Huesca, he tried to ram a CR-32, but at the last moment the fascist managed to dodge. On the night of October 28 (according to other sources, October 25), 1937, Lieutenant Stepanov was on combat duty near the city of Barcelona on an I-15 aircraft paired with I. Finn. At about 03:00, 40 km north of the city at an altitude of 2000 m, Stepanov discovered an Italian SM-81 bomber and approached. The arrows opened fire on him. Stepanov managed to set fire to the left and then the right wing with machine-gun bursts. But the enemy continued to fly. The pilot did not have time to reload the weapon and went to ram. Having increased the speed, he decided to strike with the wheels of the landing gear on the rudder with a left turn, but he did not calculate and hit with a propeller and the left wheel. The blow turned out to be a sliding one, but it turned out to be enough: an unguided bomber crashed into the sea. Soon Stepanov discovered the second fascist bomber. He attacked it on a damaged aircraft and hit the cockpit with machine gun fire from the first attack. The fascist collapsed to the ground. Stepanov landed safely at the Sabadell airfield. The last battle in the skies of Spain was held on January 17, 1938 in the Ojos Negros area, in which he shot down a CR-32 fighter. He tried to ram the second one, but was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery fire. Landed in enemy territory. He spent six months in fascist prisons. He was sentenced to death, but in 1938 the government managed to exchange him through the International Red Cross for a German pilot. In total, he shot down 12 enemy aircraft in Spain, for which awarded the order Red Banner. Then he participated in the battles at Khalkhin Gol. Once, at the head of a group of 12 aircraft, Stepanov entered into battle with 30 Japanese fighters and personally shot down 1 aircraft. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the pilot in 1939 for valor and courage shown in the skies of Spain and Mongolia.

On this October day in 1943, according to a number of conspiracy theorists, the Philadelphia experiment took place. This is an experiment, possibly carried out by the US Navy on October 28, 1943, during which the destroyer Eldridge allegedly disappeared and then instantly moved several hundred kilometers in space along with a crew of 181 people. The legend is as follows: in the harbor of the Philadelphia shipyard, the Americans conducted experiments on camouflaging warships in order to make them invisible to radars and magnetic mines. For one of the experiments, they chose the small destroyer Eldridge, which had just left the shipyard. Four powerful electromagnetic generators were installed on it. We turned them on, expecting that the created field would begin to distort the radar signals. But everything was distorted. A cloud of green fog enveloped the ship in the harbor, after which both the ship and the fog, emitting a deafening howl, disappeared not only from the radar screen, but from sight in general. Only a trace remained on the water, as if pressed by an already invisible destroyer. After the generators were turned off, the Eldridge reappeared with a lively, but completely crazed crew - the sailors staggered like drunks, they were sick. The crew was changed and a few weeks later they repeated the experiment, strengthening the field. The green fog did not form - the destroyer simply became translucent. Then there was a blue glow, a bright flash, and the Eldridge disappeared without a trace. “Returned” a few minutes later, having been in the Norfolk area, a few hundred kilometers from Philadelphia. They allegedly saw him there - the ship first appeared out of thin air, and then disappeared. That is, during the operation of the generators, the Eldridge may have been teleported in space. Or maybe only his image moved to Norfolk, creating something like a mirage - optical illusion projected over a great distance? Which is no less amazing. In any case, it affected the team more than last time. Almost everyone went crazy, two disappeared immediately, five were literally fused into metal structures, some were burned alive, instantly flashing torches, others, on the contrary, froze, as if doused with liquid nitrogen. The experiments were stopped, and all information was classified. But it nevertheless leaked both in space and in time, although it did not become clearer. The assumption of the experiment is widely replicated, but has not been officially confirmed by the US Navy. For almost seventy years now, the Philadelphia Experiment has been haunting tens of millions of people, becoming one of the nation's obsessions. 16 (!!) world bestsellers, two category A super films, countless symposiums, conferences, seminars, and studies are devoted to the mysterious events of 1943. Dozens of "generally recognized specialists", "authorities" and "experts" travel around the world: they give lectures, sign autographs, collect materials, interview witnesses. Here and there, “eyewitnesses of events”, their relatives, friends, friends of friends emerge. A gigantic industry, the interest in which is constantly fueled by the media, from time to time throwing up sensational "discoveries" and "new turns of events." This operation is one of the darkest stories of our century. Perhaps no one will be able to unravel her secret.

On the evening of October 28, 1943, at Stalin's "near dacha" in Kuntsevo, the country's top leadership endorsed the text of the Anthem of the Soviet Union composed by Sergei Mikhalkov and Harold El-Registan with Stalin's pencil corrections. So, the couplet: "Noble Union of Free Peoples" Iosif Vissarionovich corrected to "Indestructible Union of Free Republics." And instead of the lines: "Lenin lit up the path for us in the future, // We were raised by Stalin - the chosen one of the people ..." he wrote: "And the great Lenin lit up the path for us,// We were raised by Stalin - to be loyal to the people ...", - apparently , because no one elected him as a leader ... It is curious, but the version of the amateur poet Stalin looks clearly preferable to that given by professional poets - both in terms of meaning and in terms of versification technique. For the first time the Anthem of the Soviet Union was performed on the night of January 1, 1944.

On October 28, 1962, the Caribbean crisis ended - Nikita Khrushchev informed John F. Kennedy of his decision to remove Soviet missiles from Cuba, which had brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The text of Khrushchev's address is again broadcast on the radio. The decision was not agreed with the Cuban leadership, which greatly offended Fidel Castro and created serious complications in Soviet-Cuban relations. The next day, Dubinin passes Khrushchev's confidential message to Kennedy, in which the Soviet leader says that he understands Kennedy's reluctance to discuss the issue of dismantling missile bases in Turkey. The message specifically noted that the issue of the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba is linked to the Turkish issue and it needs to be formalized somehow. That Khrushchev did not insist that Kennedy make a public commitment to withdraw missiles from Turkey was a big mistake, because Kennedy was proclaimed the winner in a dangerous crisis, since no one knew about the "secret base exchange" and everyone saw only humiliation Khrushchev, when Soviet missiles were taken out. In fact, it was the other way around. Kennedy managed to achieve only the status quo that existed around Cuba before the import of Soviet missiles, and in return, he had to accept that Soviet personnel remain in Cuba, give a promise and guarantee of non-aggression against Cuba, and remove the missiles from Turkey. On January 7, 1963, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Kuznetsov and US Permanent Representative to the UN E. Stevenson sent a joint letter to the UN Secretary General, in which, in connection with the settlement of the Cuban crisis, they proposed to remove this issue from the agenda of the Security Council.

On October 28, 1973 Yerevan "Ararat" became the champion of the USSR for the first and last time. On that day, Armenian football players defeated Zenit Leningrad, while Dynamo Kyiv lost in a penalty shootout in Alma-Ata (yes, there was such a clause in the regulations used in case of a draw), and this meant one thing - Yerevan became inaccessible on the first line standings. Three weeks earlier, "Ararat" also won the Union Cup, beating in the final, again, "Dynamo" (Kyiv). By the way, Dynamo then got the right to play in the Cup Winners' Cup of the 1974/75 season. How it will end, we all remember very well ...!

On October 28, 1977, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a secret decree restoring justice to a person who had not been alive for a long time. It's about about the award Patriotic War I degree Stalin's eldest son Yakov Dzhugashvili. At the very beginning of the war, he went to the front and was captured almost immediately. He behaved heroically there and died on April 14, 1943 in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Over the past 30 years, almost nothing was mentioned in the open press about the eldest son of the leader of all times and peoples, and most of the facts of his biography were covered in darkness. The only source from which most people drew information was the film "Liberation", where the famous episode was shown: in response to the offer of the fascist command to exchange Yakov Dzhugashvili for Field Marshal Paulus, Stalin utters catchphrase: "I do not change soldiers for generals."

On this day in 1991, Russian President Boris Yeltsin announced the adoption of a program of economic reforms and assumed the duties of head of government.

On October 28, 1995, 289 people died as a result of a fire in a subway train in Baku. A much larger number of passengers were burned and injured - this is the largest disaster of its kind in the world.