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Korolenko, Vladimir Galaktionovich

(Encyclopedia)Korolenko, Vladimir Galaktionovich vlədyēˈmĭr gələktyôˈnəvĭch kərəlyĕnˈkə [key], 1853–1921, Russian short-story writer and publicist. A member of a Populist circle, he was arrested in...

lapis lazuli

(Encyclopedia)lapis lazuli lăpˈĭs lăzˈo͝olē [key], gem, deep blue, violet, or greenish blue in color and usually flecked with yellow iron pyrites. It is composed of lazurite, a complex sodium aluminum silica...

Tomsk

(Encyclopedia)Tomsk tŏmsk, Rus. tômsk [key], city (1989 pop. 502,000), capital of Tomsk region, W central Siberian Russia, on the Tom River. It is a major river port and freight transit point, and is a regional h...

Tatars

(Encyclopedia)Tatars tärˈtərz [key], Turkic-speaking peoples living primarily in Russia, Crimea, and Uzbekistan. They number about 10 million and are largely Sunni Muslims; there is also a large population of Cr...

amethyst

(Encyclopedia)amethyst ămˈəthĭst [key] [Gr.,=non-drunkenness], variety of quartz, violet to purple in color, used as a gem. It is the most highly valued of the semiprecious quartzes. It is associated with a num...

German Volga Republic

(Encyclopedia)German Volga Republic, former autonomous republic of the USSR, c.18,000 sq mi (46,600 sq km), along the lower Volga of SW Russia. Its largely German population was descended from the German colonists ...

Bonvalot, Pierre Gabriel Édouard

(Encyclopedia)Bonvalot, Pierre Gabriel Édouard pyĕr gäbrēĕlˈ ādwärˈ bôNvälōˈ [key], 1853–1933, French explorer and author. In 1880–82 he visited central Asia, explored Kohistan, and returned to Fra...

Bestuzhev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Bestuzhev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich kŏsˈăk märlĭnˈskē [key], 1797–1837, Russian novelist and poet. He wrote popular romantic tales in the Byronic manner. As an officer in the guards he joined...

Sayan Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Sayan Mountains säyänˈ [key], central Asia, chiefly in S Siberia. The Eastern Sayan Mts. extend c.680 mi (1,090 km) from the lower Yenisei River to the southwest end of Lake Baykal and rise to 11,6...

Sibir

(Encyclopedia)Sibir sĭbērˈ [key], former city, southeast of present-day Tobolsk, W Siberian Russia. Founded in the 11th or 12th cent., it became (early 16th cent.) the capital of the Tatar khanate of Sibir, whic...