A rich husband, a slim figure, clear skin or good grades at school can be obtained with the help of special cheat codes. All you have to do is to write them on your hand and send a request into space, according to English-speaking bloggers on TikTok. In actual fact, the codes are part of the teachings of a Russian sect leader who served two years in prison.

Mikhail Bulgakov often lamented about being born in the wrong time. “Why are you persecuting me, fate? Why wasn’t I born a hundred years ago, or better in a hundred years, or even better if I hadn’t been born at all!” he complained. Paradoxically enough, Bulgakov has stood the test of time better than anyone else, cementing himself as one of the most quintessential 20th century Russian writers.

Some considered them “enemies of the people”, while others saw them as victims of an illegal execution. And, in the U.S., even a brand of jeans was named after them. But everyone knew their names - above all, because their trial rode roughshod over one of the basic principles of legal practice in the world: That the law cannot be applied retroactively.

Soviet leaders wanted to negate Russia’s imperial past, and so they renamed the city in honor of the man who was the driving force behind the Bolshevik Revolution. However, that was not the only time the city changed its name.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s star might never have risen had Alexander Suvorov lived a little longer.