September 8 in #Russia: 862 — According to the tradition established in the design of the monument "Millennium of Russia," the call of the Varangians took place on this day. 1380 — The #Russian forces defeated the Mongol-Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo. 1727 — Generalissimo Alexander Menshikov, the favorite of Peter I, was sent into exile. 1768 — Catherine II commissioned English doctor Thomas Dimsdale to begin vaccinations against smallpox in Russia.