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soviet

(Encyclopedia)soviet, primary unit in the political organization of the former USSR. The term is the Russian word for council. The first soviets were revolutionary committees organized by Russian socialists in the ...

Chagall, Marc

(Encyclopedia)Chagall, Marc märk shəgälˈ [key], 1887–1985, Russian painter. In 1907, Chagall left his native Vitebsk for St. Petersburg, where he studied under L. N. Bakst. In Paris (1910) he began to assimil...

propaganda

(Encyclopedia)propaganda, systematic manipulation of public opinion, generally by the use of symbols such as flags, monuments, oratory, and publications. Modern propaganda is distinguished from other forms of commu...

Abbas, Mahmoud

(Encyclopedia)Abbas, Mahmoud mäkhmo͞odˈ äbäsˈ, mämo͞odˈ [key], 1935–, Palestinian leader, also known as Abu Mazen. He was born in Saffed, Palestine (now in Israel), but his family fled during the 1948–...

Russia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 CE5 Russia, officially the Russian Federation, Rus. Rossiya, republic (2015 est. pop. 143,888,000), 6,591,100 sq mi (17,070,949 sq km). The largest country in the world by area, Russia is bou...

moscovium

(Encyclopedia)moscovium mŏskōˈvēəm [key], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Mc; at. no. 115; mass number of most stable isotope 288; m.p., b.p., sp. gr., and valence unknown. Situated ...

mausoleum

(Encyclopedia)mausoleum môsəlēˈəm [key], a sepulchral structure or tomb, especially one of some size and architectural pretension, so called from the sepulcher of that name at Halicarnassus, Asia Minor, erecte...

Golden Horde, Empire of the

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Khanate of the Golden Horde (c.1300) Golden Horde, Empire of the, Mongol state comprising most of Russia, given as an appanage to Jenghiz Khan's oldest son, Juchi, and actually conquered and f...

Sigismund I

(Encyclopedia)Sigismund I, 1467–1548, king of Poland (1506–48), son of Casimir IV. Elected to succeed his brother, Alexander I, Sigismund faced the problem of consolidating his domestic power in order successfu...

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...