American civilizations are very different from European/Asian/African ones in culture and technology. Still there are similarities. I wonder if those similarities are sort of "predetermined" for human civilizations or exist from ancient times when both civilizations where one.

Sorry for the vague question, I hope you get what I'm talking about.

In 1914 administrative divison of Russian Empire have 81 governorates (guberniyas), 20 oblasts, and 1 okrug. Emirate of Bukhara, the Khanate of Khiva and Tuva was Russian vassals or protectorates (c) Wikipedia

And this got me curious. After October Revolution of 1917 and Civil War, Soviet leaders have drastically changed administrative divisons of former Empire: 14 SSRs (after 1945) and Russian SFSR.

But why they created USSR with Russia and 14 SSRs, instead of one big Russian Soviet Federation?

Isn't the best way to rule USSR - to keep just one solid country? I mean - USSR have central government and planned economy. All major decisions came from Moscow. Why the hell you split it up?

PS: also in current Ukraine crisis Russian media and even officials occasionally tell about how one country (Russian Empire) was torn out by commies, how Lenin created never existed countrys on Russian soil. So I want to undestand how true is this statement.

Hi. So when did the Australian aboriginals get to Australia? I dont mean some radiometric date of a kazabillion years or some other preposterous number i mean based on written history if they actually have any? or did white man only start documenting their history when we got here in late 1700's? Thanks.

I'm interested in what life was like for the everyday citizen as well as what culture and customs were like back then. Learning about leaders and wars and conquests is alright, but I'm more interested in the culture, worldview, advancements, and outlook on life people had.

Additional questions: Were they trapped by a colonial economic relationship with the North/Britain? and How did any of these facts affect the outcome of the civil war?

I am currently taking geography and US history and when my geography teacher explained colonial economic relationships (forcing colonies to become commodity markets, separation of industry and raw materials) I immediately was reminded of the South's struggle to industrialize and its production of cash crops.

Thank you for any responses!

I'm writing a research paper about mustard gas in WWI. The paper must be 5-7 pages, so I need to find a substantial amount of material to write about with sources I can cite.

Was reading Crafts and the Materialization of Chiefly Power in Nasca by Kevin J. Vaughn. He didn't really explain it and I thought this would be an interesting question to ask.

If so, how were they trained and equipped? Were they effective?

I recently read "romance of the three kingdoms", and I've been looking at the Portal: Three Kingdoms set of Magic the Gathering, and was just wondering how accurate these were in terms of tactics and general events.

along with the tactics, was Xiahou Dun really that cruel a man? Are there any reputable sources for Diaochan? What from that novel and set are accurate, and what are general fluff?

I have the privilege of being in a class a holocaust survivor will be speaking to tomorrow afternoon. What do y'all suggest I should ask him when he opens the floor for questions? He was 13 when he was taken into the camps. Came to America and served in the Korean war. Has lived in Houston since he came to America.

Kind of going out on a limb here, I'm in the process of writing a paper about the documentary The rise of African Nationalism by Basil Robinson. Im having a bit of difficulty thinking of a good thesis statement. Any of you historians have some good advice?