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Muzaffar ad-Din

(Encyclopedia)Muzaffar ad-Din mo͞ozäf-färˈ äd-dēnˈ [key], 1853–1907, shah of Persia (1896–1907), son of Nasir ad-Din. A weak ruler, he borrowed money from Russia and failed to oppose the encroachments of...

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 ...

Bernstorff, Andreas Peter

(Encyclopedia)Bernstorff, Andreas Peter ändrāˈäs pāˈtər bĕrnsˈtôrf [key], 1735–97, Danish politician; nephew of Johann Hartwig Ernst Bernstorff. Made (1773) foreign minister after Struensee's fall from ...

Mordovia

(Encyclopedia)Mordovia môrdˈvə [key], constituent republic (1990 est. pop. 965,000), c.10,000 sq mi (25,900 sq km), E European Russia. Once a densely forested steppe, it consists of the Volga upland in the east ...

Plekhanov, Georgi Valentinovich

(Encyclopedia)Plekhanov, Georgi Valentinovich gāôrˈgē vəlyĭntyēˈnəvĭch plyĭkhäˈnəf [key], 1857–1918, Russian revolutionary and social philosopher. He was a leader in introducing Marxist theory to Ru...

Navalny, Alexei Anatolyevich

(Encyclopedia)Navalny, Alexei Anatolyevich, 1976–, Russian lawyer and political activist. Navalny joined the Russian United Democratic party...

Russian language

(Encyclopedia)Russian language, also called Great Russian, member of the East Slavic group of the Slavic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Slavic languages). The principal language of administ...

Trotsky, Leon

(Encyclopedia)Trotsky, Leon trŏtˈskē, Rus. lāˈən trôtˈskē [key], 1879–1940, Russian Communist revolutionary, one of the principal leaders in the establishment of the USSR; his original name was Lev David...

Nakhchivan

(Encyclopedia)Nakhchivan or Naxçivan näkˌchĭvänˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 59,754), capital of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan. Its industries include food processing, wine making, and the production ...

Chelyabinsk

(Encyclopedia)Chelyabinsk chĭlyäˈbĭnsk [key], city (1989 pop. 1,142,000), capital of Chelyabinsk region, W Siberian Russia, in the southern foothills of the Urals and on the Mias River. It also lies on the Tran...