Power is a term that has two interpretations, but both of them refer to the concept of "state". The word itself comes from the ancient Russian designation "drzha", which is translated into modern language as "power, dominion".
Great Russia for centuries
And in Ancient Russia the term meant something great. Over time, in our country, a state began to be called a power, which possessed power, independence, self-sufficiency and, preferably, impressive size. In this understanding, the power is Russia, immense, always powerful, invincible and great.
And since the time of the Vienna Congress of 1814-1815, the status of "great" for Russia has been documented, and has never been canceled by anyone, no matter how much the enemies would like to represent our country as a "regional state", or "an ear on clay feet".
Power as a symbol of power
Power is also a symbol of royal power. It represents a ball with a cross. The roots of the "power" goes back to the Roman Empire, it symbolized the power of the emperor over the entire globe. In ancienttimes it depicted the goddess of victory Nike, that is, power was obtained as a result of victory or conquest of the globe. Given that the symbol also depicted letters meaning parts of the world, such as Asia (ASI), Europe (EVR), Africa (AFR), it remains to be stated: the ancient Romans knew that the earth was round. Sorry Giordano Bruno. But the medieval Poles, from whom Russia borrowed the form of a symbol of power, did not know, and called the power “the apple of the royal rank.”
Coming from antiquity
From ancient Rome, this symbol of power passed to the Byzantine emperors, from where it was borrowed by the German kings, and from them - the Western European kings of the Middle Ages. In our country, the power of the Russian kingdom was also called the apple of the sovereign, all-powerful and autocratic. False Dmitry I brought the power from Poland to our region. With it, he was crowned king in 1605. In the Russian tradition, orb is a symbol of the kingdom of heaven, therefore, on many icons, both God the Father and Jesus Christ are depicted with a orb in their hands. There were several Russian powers - Tsars Mikhail, Alexei, a small power of Peter II (he ascended the throne at the age of 11, his hand was a child) and the Imperial Power, made for Catherine II the Great. It was used by all the sovereign persons who followed the empress. All these regalia of power are masterpieces of jewelry art and an invaluable asset of the country, so the first three are kept in the Armory, the last one in the Diamond Fund.
Status of mighty countries
As noted above, the term "great powers" wasintroduced into international use after the defeat of the Napoleonic troops. The authorship belongs to the German historian Leopold von Ranke. This was the name of his scientific work, published in 1833. At the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815, the status was assigned to the victorious countries of Napoleon - Russia, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia. In 1818, France added to this list. According to many experts, by the beginning of the 20th century there were 5-6 great powers on the European continent. The inaccuracy of the number is explained by the fact that the Great Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed. The Ottoman Empire approaching the great collapsed, and Italy, on the contrary, reunited in 1860, became stronger and more competitive. In addition to European countries, the United States and Japan join the list of great powers at the beginning of the 20th century.
Modern realities
After the Second World War, according to many international experts and political scientists, the great powers include the countries of the Big Seven, and whether they, these countries, or do not want, great, or even the greatest, is Russia, a power that untold riches does not allow his enemies to sleep peacefully or live.
An energy and space superpower, a nuclear country that, relying on its military and political potential, is capable of exerting a huge influence on the fate of the world, Russia has always been, is and will be a great power.
