overlooked the field in Khodynka, where, on the 30th of May 1896, the last Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, had been crowned. On that day, half a million people gathered for the festivities. When word spread that gifts were being handed out, the crowd got out of control. The resulting stampede led to over thirteen hundred people being crushed to death. The gift that caused the stampede was one bread roll, one piece of sausage, one pretzel, and one gingerbread cookie per person. Despite the tragedy, the bodies were cleared, the festivities continued, and the Tsar and his wife appeared before a
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