Fauna of Europe of the Baltic Sea has led to the evolution of many slightly divergent species, such as the Baltic Sea herring, which is a smaller variant of the Atlantic herring. The most frequent benthic species are "Saduria entomon" and "Monoporeia affinis", which is originally a freshwater species. A great part of its bottom is anoxic and without animal life. The Baltic Sea and North Sea are also home to a variety of marine mammals (common seals, grey seals). Europe contains several important freshwater ecoregions, including the heavily developed rivers of Europe, the rivers of Russia, which flow into the Arctic, Baltic,
History of Germans in Russia, Ukraine and the Soviet Union schools for expatriates living in the former Soviet Union are in operation. Russia: Georgia: Ukraine: The German presence on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea dates back to the Middle Ages when traders and missionaries started arriving from central Europe. The German-speaking Livonian Brothers of the Sword conquered most of what is now Estonia and Latvia (the former Livonia) in the early 13th century. In 1237, the Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights. During Peter the Great's rule Russia gained control over much of the Baltics from Sweden in the Great Northern War at the