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Henry of Flanders

(Encyclopedia)Henry of Flanders, c.1174–1216, Latin emperor of Constantinople (1206–16), brother and successor of Emperor Baldwin I. The ablest and most respected of the Latin emperors, he fought successfully a...

Emancipation, Edict of

(Encyclopedia)Emancipation, Edict of, 1861, the mechanism by which Czar Alexander II freed all Russian serfs (one third of the total population). All personal serfdom was abolished, and the peasants were to receive...

duma

(Encyclopedia)duma do͞oˈmä [key], Russian name for a representative body, particularly applied to the Imperial Duma established as a result of the Russian Revolution of 1905. The parliamentary organization of 19...

kremlin

(Encyclopedia)kremlin krĕmˈlĭn [key], Rus. kreml, citadel or walled center of several Russian cities; the most famous is in Moscow. During the Middle Ages, the kremlin served as an administrative and religious c...

Commonwealth of Independent States

(Encyclopedia)Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), community of independent nations established by a treaty signed at Minsk, Belarus, on Dec. 8, 1991, by the heads of state of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Bet...

Portsmouth, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Portsmouth, Treaty of, 1905, treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War. It was signed at the Portsmouth Naval Base, New Hampshire, on Sept. 5, 1905. Negotiations leading up to the treaty began in the sprin...

Kuchuk Kainarji, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Kuchuk Kainarji, Treaty of ko͞ocho͞okˈ kīnärˈjē, Turk. küchükˈ kīˌnärjäˈ [key], 1774, peace treaty signed at the end of the first of the Russo-Turkish Wars undertaken by Catherine II of...

Orlov, Aleksey Grigoryevich, Count

(Encyclopedia)Orlov, Aleksey Grigoryevich, Count əlyĭksyāˈ grĭgôrˈyəvĭch, ərlôfˈ [key], 1737–1808, Russian nobleman; brother of Grigori G. Orlov. He and his brother headed the conspiracy to put Cather...

Narva, city, Estonia

(Encyclopedia)Narva närˈvə [key], city (1994 pop. 79,094), NE Estonia, on the left bank of the Narva River. A leading textile center, it also has machinery plants, sawmills, flax and jute factories, and food-pro...

Henry II, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Henry II or Henry of Trastámara trăstəmărˈə [key], 1333?–1379, Spanish king of Castile and León (1369–79), illegitimate son of Alfonso XI. After taking part in several unsuccessful revolts ...