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Bo Xilai

(Encyclopedia)Bo Xilai, 1949–, Chinese political leader. The son of Bo Yibo, a Communist revolutionary leader, he joined the Communist party in 1980. Bo studied history at Peking Univ. and earned (1982) a master'...

Foster, William Zebulon

(Encyclopedia)Foster, William Zebulon, 1881–1961, American Communist leader, b. Taunton, Mass. An itinerant worker in many different occupations, he was first affiliated with the Socialist party, next with the In...

Sun Yat-sen

(Encyclopedia)Sun Yat-sen so͞on yät-sĕn [key], Mandarin Sun Wen, 1866–1925, Chinese revolutionary. He was born near Guangzhou into a farm-owning family. He attended (1879–82) an Anglican boys school in Honol...

Shanxi

(Encyclopedia)Shanxi or Shansi shänˈshēˈ [key], province (2010 pop. 35,712,111), c.60,000 sq mi (155,400 sq km), NE China. The capital is Taiyuan. It is bounded on the west and the south by the Huang He (Yellow...

Lin Biao

(Encyclopedia)Lin Biao or Lin Piao both: lĭn byou [key], 1908–71, Chinese Communist general and political leader. Lin was trained at Whampoa Academy, and during the Northern Expedition he rose to company command...

Kamenev, Lev Borisovich

(Encyclopedia)Kamenev, Lev Borisovich lyĕf bərēˈsəvĭch käˈmĭnyĭf [key], 1883–1936, Soviet Communist leader. His original name was Rosenfeld. He joined (1901) the Social Democratic party and sided with t...

Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich

(Encyclopedia)Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich mēkhəyēlˈ sĭrgāˈyəvich gərbəchofˈ ...

cold war

(Encyclopedia)cold war, term used to describe the shifting struggle for power and prestige between the Western powers and the Communist bloc from the end of World War II until 1989. Of worldwide proportions, the co...

Bloor, Ella Reeve

(Encyclopedia)Bloor, Ella Reeve, 1862–1951, American radical, popularly known as Mother Bloor, b. Staten Island, N.Y. After an early career in the woman-suffrage and temperance movements she joined the Socialist ...

Chernenko, Konstantin Ustinovich

(Encyclopedia)Chernenko, Konstantin Ustinovich kŏstəntyēēnˈ ōōstyēēnˈəvich chĭrnyĕnˈkô [key], 1911–85, Soviet political leader. A protégé of Leonid Brezhnev, he rose through Communist party ranks...