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Sigismund II

(Encyclopedia)Sigismund II or Sigismund Augustus, 1520–72, king of Poland (1548–72). Crowned in 1530 to assure his succession, he assumed the royal functions at the death of his father, Sigismund I. By the Unio...

Tver

(Encyclopedia)Tver kəlyēˈnyĭn [key], city (1989 pop. 451,000), capital of Tver region, central European Russia, at the confluence of the Volga and Tver rivers. A major port on the upper Volga, it is linked with...

behavior therapy

(Encyclopedia)behavior therapy or behavior modification, in psychology, treatment of human behavioral disorders through the reinforcement of acceptable behavior and suppression of undesirable behavior. The techniqu...

Chancellor, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Chancellor, Richard, d. 1556, English navigator. When, largely under the inspiration of Sebastian Cabot, a group of men in England undertook to finance a search for the Northeast Passage to Asia, Chan...

Peter I, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Peter I or Peter the Great, 1672–1725, czar of Russia (1682–1725), major figure in the development of imperial Russia. Peter's personal traits ranged from bestial cruelty and vice to the most ...

Chernihiv

(Encyclopedia)Chernihiv chĭrnyēˈgəf [key], city (1990 est. pop. 296,000), capital of Chernihiv region, in N Ukraine, on the Desna River. It is a rail junction, a river port, and an air and highway transport hub...

fable

(Encyclopedia)fable, brief allegorical narrative, in verse or prose, illustrating a moral thesis or satirizing human beings. The characters of a fable are usually animals who talk and act like people while retainin...

Ivano-Frankivsk

(Encyclopedia)Ivano-Frankivsk stənyĭsläfˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 214,000), capital of Ivano-Frankivsk region, W Ukraine, on the Bystrytsya River. It is a rail junction and industrial center situated in a fertil...

Gallitzin

(Encyclopedia)Gallitzin gəlyēˈtsĭn [key], Russian princely family. Among many alternate spellings are Galitzin, Galytzin, and Galitsin. Vasily Vasilyevich Gallitzin, d. 1619, helped to enthrone the first false ...

Chaliapin, Feodor Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Chaliapin, Feodor Ivanovich fyôˈdər ēväˈnəvĭch shəlyäˈpyĭn [key], 1873–1938, Russian operatic bass. His powerful and supple voice, together with his tremendous physique, his gusto, and h...