[EdArt]

I did not know that Russia sent Military Orders to the Crusades(1096-1291). I understand the Russians and the Ukrainians suffer greatly at the hands of the Turks but I thought most of it occurred after the Crusades ( Middle East) were lost. Whole villages and towns in the Ukrain ( as many as 10,000 at a time) were captured and sent to the Ottman Empire as slaves.

Also your picture of the cross on the building - there is the same cross on a building near
The Church Of The Holy Sepulchre (empty tomb of Christ), the holiest Christian site in Jerusalem, is also the greatest repository of twelfth-century Crusader art in the East. It is a ‘must see’ for visitors to Israel interested in art, history, warfare and faith.

Thanks for the posts

[Cardhu]

Not to the Crusades but were involved in the Knights of Malta´s survival.

From Wickipedia. Knights Hospitaller

The Knights of Malta had a strong presence within the Imperial Russian Navy and the pre-revolutionary French Navy. When De Poincy was appointed governor of the French colony on St. Kitts in 1639, he was a prominent Knight of St. John and dressed his retinue with the emblems of the order. The Order's presence in the Caribbean was eclipsed with his death in 1660. He also bought the island of Saint Croix as his personal estate and deeded it to the Knights of St. John. In 1665, St. Croix was bought by the French West India Company, ending the Order's exploits in the Caribbean…

The Tsar of Russia gave the largest number of knights shelter in St. Petersburg and this gave rise to the Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller and recognition within the Russian Imperial Orders. In gratitude, the knights elected Emperor Paul I as the new Grand Master. Following Paul's murder in 1801, in 1803 a Catholic master was restored to the Order in Rome.

By the early 1800s, the Order had been severely weakened by the loss of its priories throughout Europe. Only 10% of the Order's income came from traditional sources in Europe, with the remaining 90% being generated by the Russian Grand Priory until 1810.

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