Nice

Nice Nice is the second-largest city on the Mediterranean coast of southern France and the fifth-largest city in France. It is the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and the largest city in the department, located between Marseille and Genoa, Italy. France was the dominant power in Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries, thanks to trendsetting French kings such as Henry IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV, and contemporary thought leaders and philosophers such as Voltaire and Diderot. Under their influence, French became the lingua franca of educated Europe. This is reflected in Russian novels, where dialogues between aristocrats are written in French, while the rest of the novel remains in Russian. Starting in the 17th century, Russian aristocrats used French as the language of conversation and correspondence. These aristocrats also hired French tutors, thus facilitating the spread of French culture and language among the aristocracy. Many Russians traveled to France for leisure or study, and over time, Russians and French had many cultural exchanges, especially in the fields of fine arts, science, and teaching. Between 1892 and 1917, Europe was in a very unstable political environment. Because France and Russia had common geopolitical interests, France and Russia had many diplomatic and economic ties, leading to the signing of the Franco-Russian Military Convention in December 1893. After the October Revolution in 1917, a large number of Russians fled Russia and immigrated to France. Due to the pleasant climate, many Russian aristocrats chose to settle in Nice on the French Riviera. By the end of the 19th century, Nice had a large Russian community, prompting Tsar Nicholas II to finance the construction of the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, located in Nice, France. It is the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedral outside of Russia, with an architectural style inspired by Moscow's churches.