- published: 04 Jan 2010
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![The Slavs - Documentary [1/3]](http://web.archive.org./web/20121229192900im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sTmeyOxBjfU/default.jpg "Documentary film about the Slavs, originally called")
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Austria
Austria (
i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] (
listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: 
Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Bačka
Bačka (Serbian: Bačka or Бачка (pronounced [bâːtʃkaː]), Hungarian: Bácska (pronounced [ˈbaːtʃkɒ]), Croatian: Bačka, Bunjevac: Bačka, Slovak: Báčka, Rusyn: Бачка, German: Batschka) is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary, however, there are small uninhabited pockets of the area on the left bank of the Danube which are de jure parts of Croatia according to the Badinter Commission. Nonetheless, the disputed areas have been under de facto Serbian control since 1991 (see disputes of Croatia and Serbia). Most of the area is located within the Vojvodina region in Serbia. Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina, lies on the border between Bačka and Syrmia, on the banks of the river Danube. Smaller northern part of the geographical area is located within Bács-Kiskun County, in Hungary.
Bačka is a typical Slavic name form, created from "Bač" (name of historical town in Bačka) and sufix "ka" (which designating "the land that belong to Bač"). There are many other similar name forms used in Serbian and other Slavic languages, for example Šajkaška, Srpska, Hrvatska (Croatia), Timočka Krajina, Bugarska (Bulgaria), Polska (Poland), etc. The name of "Bač" (Bács) town itself is of uncertain origin and its existence was recorded among Vlachs, Slavs and Hungarians in the Middle Ages. The origin of the name could be Paleo-Balkanic,Romanian, Slavic, or Old Turkic.
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Belarus
Belarus (i/bɛləˈruːs/ bel-ə-ROOSS; Belarusian: Беларусь, Russian pronunciation: [bʲɛlaˈrusʲ] Russian: Беларусь, Белоруссия, Belarus', Belorussiya), officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mogilev (Mahilyow) and Vitebsk (Vitsebsk). Over forty percent of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing.
Until the 20th century, the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Belarus became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union and was renamed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). The borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939 when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were incorporated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland. The nation and its territory were devastated in World War II, during which Belarus lost about a third of its population and more than half of its economic resources. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. In 1945 the Belorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR.
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Blagoevgrad Province
Coordinates: 41°45′N 23°15′E / 41.75°N 23.25°E / 41.75; 23.25
Blagoevgrad Province (Bulgarian: област Благоевград, oblast Blagoevgrad or Благоевградска област, Blagoevgradska oblast), also known as Pirin Macedonia (Bulgarian: Пиринска Македония, Pirinska Makedoniya), is a province (oblast) of southwestern Bulgaria. It borders four other Bulgarian provinces to the north and east, to the Greek region of Macedonia to the south, and the Republic of Macedonia to the west. The province has 14 municipalities with 12 towns. Its principal city is Blagoevgrad, while other significant towns include Bansko, Gotse Delchev, Melnik, Petrich, Razlog, Sandanski and Simitli.
The province has a territory of 6,449.5 km² and a population of 323,552 (as of 2011[update]). It is the third largest in Bulgaria after Burgas and Sofia Provinces and comprises 5.8% of the country's territory. Blagoevgrad Province includes the mountains, or parts of, Rila (highest point of the Balkans — Musala summit, 2925 m), Pirin (highest point — Vihren summit, 2914 m), the Rhodopes, Slavyanka, Belasitsa, Vlahina, Maleshevo, Ograzhden and Stargach. There are two major rivers — Struma River and Mesta River — with population concentrations along their valleys, which are also the main transport corridors.
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Bohemia
Bohemia (Czech: Čechy;German: Böhmen (help·info); Polish: Czechy; French: Bohême; Latin: Bohemia) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague. In a broader meaning, it often refers to the entire Czech territory, including Moravia and Czech Silesia, especially in historical contexts, such as the Kingdom of Bohemia.
Bohemia has an area of 52,065 km² and today is home to approximately 6 million of the Czech Republic's 10.3 million inhabitants. It is bordered by Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, the historical region of Moravia to the east, and Austria to the south. Bohemia's borders are marked with mountain ranges such as the Bohemian Forest, the Ore Mountains, and the Krkonoše (Giant Mountains), the highest within the Sudeten mountain range.
In the 2nd century BC, the Romans were competing for dominance in northern Italy, with various peoples including the Boii. The Romans defeated the Boii at the Battle of Placentia (194 BC) and the Battle of Mutina (193 BC). After this, many of the Boii retreated north across the Alps.
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Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5
Bulgariai/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.
Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.
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Central Serbia
Central Serbia (Serbian: Централна Србија or Centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper (Serbian: Ужа Србија or Uža Srbija), was the region of Serbia from 1945 to 2009. It included central parts of Serbia outside of the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. The region of Central Serbia was not an administrative division of Serbia as such; it was under the direct jurisdiction of the republic authorities. With the formation of new statistical regions of Serbia in 2009-2010, territory of Central Serbia was officially transformed into 3 statistical regions: Region of Belgrade, Region of South and East Serbia, and Region of Šumadija and Western Serbia.
Central Serbia was divided into 17 districts and the city of Belgrade, while districts were further divided into municipalities. The districts were:
Viminacium (present-day Kostolac) was a capital of the Roman province of Upper Moesia in the 2nd century. The capitals of several medieval Serbian states were also located in the territory of later Central Serbia: Stari Ras (the capital of Raška), Debrc and Belgrade (the capitals of the Kingdom of Syrmia of Stefan Dragutin), Kruševac (the capital of the Moravian Serbia of Lazar Hrebeljanović), and Smederevo (the capital of the Serbian Despotate).
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Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia (Czech and Slovak: Československo, Česko-Slovensko) was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992. From 1939 to 1945, the state did not de facto exist because of its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany, but the Czechoslovak government-in-exile nevertheless continued to exist during this period. In 1945, the eastern part of Carpathian Ruthenia was taken over by the Soviet Union. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Form of state:
Neighbours:
Topography:
The country was of generally irregular terrain. The western area was part of north-central European uplands. The eastern region was composed of northern reaches of Carpathian Mountains and Danube River basin lands.
Climate:
The weather was predominantly continental, but varied from the moderate temperature of Western Europe in the west, to more severe weather of Eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union in the east.
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Dalmatia
Dalmatia (Croatian: Dalmacija, Croatian pronunciation: [dǎlmaːt͡sija]; see names in other languages) is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, in Croatia. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south. The Dalmatian dog received its name from Dalmatia, as does the dalmatic, a Roman Catholic liturgical vestment worn by deacons and bishops.
The name Dalmatia derives from the name of the tribe of the Dalmatae, which is connected with the Illyrian word delme, dele in modern Albanian, meaning "sheep" in English.
In antiquity the Roman province of Dalmatia was much larger than the present-day Dalmatia County of Croatia, stretching from Istria in the north to historical Albania in the south. Dalmatia signified not only a geographical unit, but was an entity based on common culture and settlement types, a common narrow eastern Adriatic coastal belt, Mediterranean climate, sclerophyllous vegetation of the Illyrian province, Adriatic carbonate platform, and karst geomorphology.
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Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (also known as the Danelagh; Old English: Dena lagu; Danish: Danelagen), is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to be geographical. The areas that comprised the Danelaw are in northern and eastern England. The origins of the Danelaw arose from the Viking expansion of the 9th century, although the term was not used to describe a geographic area until the 11th century. With the increase in population and productivity in Scandinavia, Viking warriors, having sought treasure and glory in the nearby British Isles, "proceeded to plough and support themselves", in the words of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, for the year 876.
Danelaw is also used to describe the set of legal terms and definitions created in the treaties between the English king, Alfred the Great, and the Danish warlord, Guthrum, written following Guthrum's defeat at the Battle of Edington in 878. In 886, the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum was formalised, defining the boundaries of their kingdoms, with provisions for peaceful relations between the English and the Vikings.
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Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark, pronounced [ˈkɔŋəʁiːəð ˈdanmɑɡ̊] ( listen)) is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting the country of Denmark in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. The kingdom is a unitary state with some power being devolved from Denmark proper to Greenland and the Faroe Islands; this polity is referred to as the Danish Realm. Denmark proper is the hegemonial area, where judicial, executive, and legislative power resides. The Faroe Islands are defined to be a community of people within the kingdom, and the Greenlandic people are defined as a separate people with the right to self-determination.
Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland and many islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago.
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Dniester
The Dniester ( /ˈniːstər/ NEES-tər;Romanian: Nistru, Ukrainian: Дністе́р translit. Dnister; Russian: Днестр) is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway territory of Transnistria.
The name Dniester derives from Iranic Sarmatian Dānu nazdya "the close river." The Dnieper River also derives from the same Sarmatian Iranic meaning, "the river on the far side.") The older name, Tyras, is from Scythian tūra, meaning "rapid." The names of the Don and Danube are also from the same Proto Indo-European word *dānu - river.
In Russian, it is known as Днестр, translit. Dnestr, in Yiddish: Nester נעסטער; in Turkish, Turla and during antiquity, it was called Tyras in Latin and Danastris in Greek. Classical authors have also referred to it as Danaster.
The Dniester rises in Ukraine, near the city of Drohobych, close to the border with Poland, and flows toward the Black Sea. Its course marks part of the border of Ukraine and Moldova, after which it flows through Moldova for 398 kilometres (247 mi), separating the bulk of Moldova's territory from Transnistria. It later forms an additional part of the Moldova-Ukraine border, then flows through Ukraine to the Black Sea, where its estuary forms the Dniester Liman.
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East Thrace
Coordinates: 41°9′13″N 27°22′0″E / 41.15361°N 27.366667°E / 41.15361; 27.366667
East Thrace or Eastern Thrace (Turkish: Doğu Trakya or simply Trakya; Bulgarian: Източна Тракия, Iztochna Trakiya; Greek: Ανατολική Θράκη, Anatoliki Thraki), also known as Turkish Thrace, is the part of the modern republic of Turkey that is geographically part of Europe, all in the eastern part of the historical region of Thrace; most of Turkey is in Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor. Turkish Thrace is also called European Turkey. This area includes the historic centre of old İstanbul (medieval Constantinople), as well as such cities as Edirne (the historical capital of the Ottoman vilayet that comprised all Thrace), Tekirdağ, Çorlu, Lüleburgaz and Kırklareli.
East Thrace, which is also known as European Turkey, holds about 12 percent of the population and has an area of 23,764 km2 (3 percent of the country). Asiatic Turkey, called Anatolia or Asia Minor, has an area of 755,688 km2 (97 percent of the country). The two are separated by the Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara and Straits of the Bosphorus, a route of about 361 km. The European portion is bordered on the west by Greece for 212 km and on the north by Bulgaria for 269 km.
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England
Englandi/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.
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Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( /ˌhɛərtsɨˈɡoʊvɨnə/ or /ˌhɜrtsəɡoʊˈviːnə/;Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Hercegovina, Serbian Cyrillic: Херцеговина, [xɛ̌rtsɛɡov̞ina]) is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton to the east, and Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje to the north. Measurements of the area range from 11,419 km2 (4,409 sq mi), or around 22% of the total area of the present-day country to 12,276 km2 (4,740 sq mi), around 24% of the country.
The name Herzegovina means "duke's land", referring to the medieval duchy of Stjepan Vukčić Kosača who took title "Herzeg of Saint Sava". Herceg is derived from the German title Herzog.
While the population of Herzegovina throughout history has been ethnically mixed, the Bosnian War in the 1990s resulted in mass ethnic cleansing and large-scale displacement of peoples. The last pre-war census in 1991 recorded a population of 437,095 inhabitants.
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Hungary
Hungaryi/ˈhʌŋɡəri/ (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)) is a country, which is located in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The country's capital, and largest city, is Budapest. Hungary is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrád Group, and is a Schengen state. The official language is Hungarian, also known as Magyar, which is part of the Finno-Ugric group and is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.
Following a Celt (after c. 450 BC) and a Roman (AD 9 - c. 430) period, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian prince Árpád, whose great-grandson Saint Stephen I was crowned with a crown sent by the pope from Rome in 1000 AD. The Kingdom of Hungary lasted for 946 years, and at various points was regarded as one of the cultural centres of the Western world. After about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary was integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy, and later constituted half of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy (1867–1918).
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Iceland
Icelandi/ˈaɪslənd/ (Icelandic: Ísland, IPA: [ˈislant]) is a Nordic European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The country has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, with the surrounding areas in the southwestern region of the country being home to two-thirds of the country's population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior mainly consists of a plateau characterised by sand fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle.
According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norse settler on the island. Others had visited the island earlier and stayed over winter. Over the following centuries, Norsemen settled Iceland, bringing with them thralls (slaves) of Gaelic origin. From 1262 to 1918 Iceland was part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. Until the 20th century, the Icelandic population relied largely on fisheries and agriculture, and the country was one of the poorest and least developed in the world. Industrialisation of the fisheries and aid from the Marshall Plan brought prosperity in the years after World War II, and by the 1990s it was one of the world's wealthiest countries. In 1994, Iceland became party to the European Economic Area, which made it possible for the economy to diversify into economic and financial services.
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Istria
Istria (Croatian, Slovene: Istra, Čakavian: Istrija, Jistra, Croatian pronunciation: [îstra]; Italian: Istria; Istriot: Eîstria; German: Istrien; Hungarian: Isztria), formerly Histria (Latin), is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner. It is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy.
The geographical features of Istria include the Učka mountain ridge, which is the highest portion of the Ćićarija mountain range; the rivers Dragonja, Mirna, Pazinčica, and Raša; and the Lim bay and valley. Istria lies in three countries: Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. By far the largest portion (89%) lies in Croatia. "Croatian Istria" is divided into two counties, the larger being Istria County in western Croatia. Important towns in Istria County include Pula, Poreč, Rovinj, Pazin, Labin, Umag, Motovun, Buzet, and Buje. Smaller towns in Istria County include Višnjan, Roč, and Hum.
The northwestern part of Istria lies in Slovenia: it is known as Slovenian Istria, and includes the coastal municipalities of Piran, Izola and Koper, and the Karstic municipality of Hrpelje-Kozina. Northwards of Slovenian Istria, there is a tiny portion of the peninsula that lies in Italy. This smallest portion of Istria consists of the comunes of Muggia and San Dorligo della Valle.
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Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan (i/ˌkɑːzəkˈstɑːn/ or /ˌkæzəkˈstæn/) (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, pronounced [qɑzɑqstɑ́n]; Russian: Казахстан [kəzɐxˈstan]), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Europe. The ninth largest country in the world by land area, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres (1,053,000 sq mi) is larger than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea. Although Kazakhstan does not share a border with Mongolia, its most easterly point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Mongolia's western tip. The terrain of Kazakhstan ranges from flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, and snow-capped mountains to deserts. With 16.6 million people (2011 estimate) Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, though its population density is less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 per sq. mi.). The capital was moved in 1998 from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to Astana.
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Kosovo
Kosovo ( /ˈkɒsəvoʊˌ ˈkoʊsəvoʊ/; Albanian: Kosovë, Kosova; Serbian: Косово or Косово и Метохија or Космет, Kosovo or Kosovo i Metohija or Kosmet) is a region in southeastern Europe. In antiquity, it was known as the independent kingdom, and later Roman province, of Dardania. Part of the medieval Serbia, it was then conquered by the Ottoman Empire, later incorporated into Serbia after the First Balkan War and before the constitution of Yugoslavia, later still it became the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (Serbian: Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo i Metohija) within Serbia (Serbia then being one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia). Long-term severe ethnic tensions between Kosovo's Albanian and Serb populations have left Kosovo ethnically divided, resulting in inter-ethnic violence, including the Kosovo War of 1999. Following the Kosovo War, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) relinquished governance of this territory, whose governance was taken over by the United Nations, Kosovo remained legally the sovereign territory of the FRY after the transfer of authority. The partially recognised Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: Republika e Kosovës; Serbian: Република Косово, Republika Kosovo), a self-declared independent state, has de facto control over most of the territory, while North Kosovo, the largest Kosovo Serb enclave, is under the control of institutions of the Republic of Serbia.Serbia does not recognise the unilateral secession of Kosovo and considers it a UN-governed entity within its sovereign territory.
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Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States of America, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in four buildings in Washington, D.C., as well as the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and number of books. The head of the Library is the Librarian of Congress, currently James H. Billington.
The Library of Congress was instituted for Congress in 1800, and was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century. After much of the original collection had been destroyed during the War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson sold 6,487 books, his entire personal collection, to the library in 1815. After a period of decline during the mid-19th century the Library of Congress began to grow rapidly in both size and importance after the American Civil War, culminating in the construction of a separate library building and the transference of all copyright deposit holdings to the Library. During the rapid expansion of the 20th century the Library of Congress assumed a preeminent public role, becoming a "library of last resort" and expanding its mission for the benefit of scholars and the American people.
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Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen [ˈniːdɐzaksən], Low German: Neddersassen) is a German state situated in northwestern Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany. In rural areas Northern Low Saxon, a dialect of Low German, is still spoken, but the number of speakers is declining.
Lower Saxony borders on (from north and clockwise) the North Sea, the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In fact, Lower Saxony borders more neighbours than any other single federal state. The state of Bremen forms two enclaves within Lower Saxony, one being the city of Bremen, the other, its seaport city of Bremerhaven. The state's principal cities include Hanover, Brunswick, Lüneburg, Osnabrück, Oldenburg, and Göttingen.
The northwestern area of Lower Saxony, which lies on the coast of the North Sea, is called East Frisia and the seven East Frisian Islands offshore are popular with tourists. In the extreme west of Lower Saxony is the Emsland, a traditionally poor and sparsely populated area, once dominated by inaccessible swamps. The northern half of Lower Saxony, also known as the North German Plains, is almost invariably flat except for the gentle hills around the Bremen geestland. Towards the south and southwest lie the northern parts of the German Central Uplands: the Weser Uplands and the Harz mountains. Between these two lie the Lower Saxon Hills, a range of low ridges.
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Magadan
Magadan (Russian: Магада́н; IPA: [məɡɐˈdan]) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayevo Bay in the Gulf of Tauisk and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region. Population: 95,925 (2010 Census preliminary results); 99,399 (2002 Census); 151,652 (1989 Census).
Magadan was founded in 1929 on the site of an earlier settlement from the 1920s.[citation needed] During the Stalin era, Magadan was a major transit center for prisoners sent to labor camps. From 1932 to 1953, it was the administrative center of the Dalstroy organization—a vast and brutal forced-labor gold-mining operation and corrective labor camp system. The town later served as a port for exporting gold and other metals mined in the Kolyma region. Its size and population grew quickly as facilities were rapidly developed for the expanding mining activities in the area. Town status was granted to it on July 14, 1939.[citation needed]
On an official visit in May 1944, U.S. Vice-President Henry Wallace failed to understand the true nature of Magadan. The watchtowers had been temporarily taken down and the prisoners were locked up, while a model farm had been set up for his inspection. He took an instant liking to his secret policeman host, admired handiwork done by prisoners, and later glowingly called the city a combination of Tennessee Valley Authority and Hudson's Bay Company. Eight years later he apologized for not understanding the true situation.
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Moldova
Moldovai/mɒlˈdoʊvə/, officially the Republic of Moldova (Moldovan/Romanian: Republica Moldova pronounced [reˈpublika molˈdova]) is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991 as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 29 July 1994, the new constitution of Moldova was adopted. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognized territory on the east bank of the river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.
The nation is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, Council of Europe, WTO, OSCE, GUAM, CIS, BSEC and other international organizations. Moldova currently aspires to join the European Union, and has implemented the first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
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Montenegro
Montenegro (i/ˌmɒntɨˈneɪɡroʊ/ or /ˌmɒntɨˈniːɡroʊ/; or /ˌmɒntɨˈnɛɡroʊ/; Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора [tsr̩̂ːnaː ɡɔ̌ra] ( listen), meaning "Black Mountain") is a country in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica (Пријестоница), meaning the former Royal Capital City.
In the 10th century, there existed three Slavic principalities on the territory of Montenegro: Duklja, roughly corresponding to the southern half, Travunia, the west, and Rascia, the north. In 1042, archon Stefan Vojislav led a revolt that resulted in independence of Duklja and the establishment of the Vojislavljević dynasty. Duklja reached its zenith under Vojislav's son, Mihailo (1046–81), and his son Bodin (1081–1101). By the 13th century, Zeta had replaced Duklja when referring to the realm, which at the time was part of the Serbian Grand Principality of the Nemanjić dynasty.
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Moravia
Moravia (Czech: Morava; German: Mähren (help·info); Polish: Morawy; Latin: Moravia) is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic and one of the historical Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Czech Silesia (and one of the 17 former crown lands of the Cisleithanian part of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1867-1918 and one of the five lands of Czechoslovakia in 1918-1928). It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region. Moravia's largest city is Brno, its former capital, before the Thirty Years' War, there were two capitals: Olomouc and Brno.
Moravia occupies most of the eastern part of the Czech Republic including the South Moravian Region and the Zlín Region, as well as parts of the Moravian-Silesian, Olomouc, Pardubice, Vysočina and South Bohemian regions.
Moravia borders Poland in the north, Czech Silesia in the northeast, Slovakia in the southeast, Lower Austria in the south and Bohemia in the west. Its northern boundary is formed by the Sudetes mountains which become the Carpathians in the east. The meandering Dyje flows through the border country with Austria and there is a protected area on both sides of the border in the area around Hardegg.
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Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnisos; see also list of Greek place names), is a large peninsula, located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. During the late Middle Ages and the Ottoman era, the peninsula was known as the Morea (Greek: Μωρέας, colloq. Μωριάς), a name still in colloquial use.
The peninsula is divided among three regions of Greece: most of it belongs to the Peloponnese region, and parts belong to the West Greece and Attica regions.
It was here that the Greek War of Independence began; the Peloponnesians have had an almost total dominance of politics and government in Greece since then.
The Peloponnese covers an area of some 21,549.6 km² (8,320 square miles) and constitutes the southernmost part of mainland Greece. While technically it may be considered an island, since the construction of the Corinth Canal in 1893 – like other peninsulas that have been separated from their mainland by man-made bodies of waters – it is rarely, if ever, referred to as an "island". It has two land connections with the rest of Greece, a natural one at the Isthmus of Corinth, and an artificial one in the shape of the Rio-Antirio bridge (completed 2004).
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Poland
Polandi/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.
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Romania
Romania (i/roʊˈmeɪniə/ roh-MAY-nee-ə; dated: Roumania; or Rumania;Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south.
At 238,400 square kilometers (92,000 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of the European Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with over 19 million people. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the tenth largest city in the EU with about two million people.
The Kingdom of Romania emerged when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza in 1859. Independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared on 9 May 1877, and was internationally recognized the following year. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. Greater Romania emerged into an era of progression and prosperity that would continue until World War II. By the end of the War, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact.
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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Russian Empire
The Russian Empire (Pre-reform Russian orthography: Россійская Имперія, Modern Russian: Российская Империя, translit: Rossiyskaya Imperiya) was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the short-lived Russian Republic, which was succeeded by the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires in world history, surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires: at one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe across Asia and into North America.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea on the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean and into North America on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third largest population of the world at the time, after Qing China and the British Empire. Like all empires, it represented a large disparity in economic, ethnic and religious positions. Its government, ruled by the Emperor, was the last absolute monarchy in Europe at the time of its demise.
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Semberija
Semberija (Cyrillic: Семберија, pronounced [sɛ̌mbɛːrija]) is a geographical region in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main city in the region is Bijeljina. Semberija is located between Drina and Sava rivers and Majevica mountain. Most of the region is situated in the entity of Republika Srpska, and the smaller part in the entity of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Semberija has a very rich history. It was first mentioned in 1533 during the Ottoman rule. During the Austrian rule villages in Semberija were destroyed. Name Semberija is from Hungarian origin and probably related to the time of XII-XVI century when this area occasionally held the Hungarian Kingdom. Today in area of Semberija lives about 200 000 inhabitants, but mosty in the municipality of Bijeljina.
Municipalities in the region of Semberija:
The Tavna Monastery is located in the southern part of the Bijeljina municipality. The date of foundation is hidden somewhere in the shadows of the far past. The cronichles of monasteries Tronosha and Pech say it was built by Dragutin's sons Vladislav i Urosic. Stefan Dragutin was the King of Serbia from 1276 to 1282 and king of Srem from 1282 to 1316. The present church of monastery Tavna, is built in the same place as the original one. The Tavna Monastery is older than the other monasteries in the region such as Ozrena, Liplja, Vozuce and Gostovica. Tavna was damaged in the first years of Turkish rule, but was restored by the people. This was not the only time the monastery was damaged. It was damaged many times during the Turkish period and also during World War Two. Between 1941 and 1945 Tavna was bombed by the Ustase. On one of the gravestones it says "Zdravko Jovacnovic Killed 1943 by the Ustasa Blue Division protecting and defending the monastery". After World War II Tavna was rebuilt.
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Serbia
Serbiai/ˈsɜrbiə/, officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sř̩bija]), is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; additionally, it borders Albania through Kosovo, whose status as part of Serbia is disputed. Serbia covers an area of 88,361 km2 and has a population of just over 7.1 million, while the capital and largest city is Belgrade.
The arrival of the Serbs to the Balkans in the 7th century, established several states, eventually forming the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Serbia was conquered and occupied by the Ottoman Empire, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century the Serbian revolution re-established the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory and pioneered the abolition of feudalism in the Balkans. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina united with Serbia in 1918. Following World War I, Serbia formed Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples which existed in several forms up until 2006, when the National Assembly of Serbia declared independence and the legal succession to the former State Union. In February 2008 the parliament of UNMIK-governed Kosovo, Serbia's southern province, declared independence, with mixed responses from international governments.
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Siberia
Coordinates: 60°0′N 105°0′E / 60°N 105°E / 60; 105
Siberia (/saɪˈbɪəriə/; Russian: Сиби́рь, tr. Sibir'; IPA: [sʲɪˈbʲirʲ] ( listen)) is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union (USSR) from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th to 19th centuries.
Encompassing much of the Eurasian Steppe, the territory of Siberia extends eastward from the Ural Mountains to the watershed between the Pacific and Arctic drainage basins, and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and the national borders of Mongolia and China. Siberia makes up about 77% of Russia's territory (13.1 million square kilometres), but has only 28% (40 million people) of Russia's population.
Some sources say that the word Siberia originates from the Turkic for "sleeping land". Another version is that this name was the ancient tribal name of the Sabirs, Turkic nomads later assimilated to Siberian Tatars. The modern usage of the name appeared in the Russian language after the conquest of the Siberian Khanate.
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Sicily
Sicily (Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia, [siˈtʃiːlja]; [sɪˈɕilja]) is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea; along with surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana (Sicilian Autonomous Region).
Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean. It extends from the tip of the Apennine peninsula from which it is separated only by the narrow Strait of Messina, towards the North African coast. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, which is at 3,320 m (10,890 ft) the tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate.
The earliest archeological evidence of human dwelling on the island dates from 8000 BC. At around 750 BC, Sicily became a Greek colony and for the next 600 years it was the site of the Greek-Punic and Roman-Punic wars, which ended with the Roman destruction of Carthage. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Sicily often changed hands, and during the early Middle Ages it was ruled in turn by the Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Arabs and Normans. Later on, the Kingdom of Sicily lasted between 1130 and 1816, subordinated to the crowns of Aragon, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and finally the Bourbons, as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It was united with the rest of Italy in 1860, but a subsequent economic collapse led to a wave of emigration, separatism, and the emergence of the Mafia, whose criminal activities pose problems to this day. After the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region.
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Slavonia
Slavonia (Croatian: Slavonija) is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia. Slavonia consists of five counties—Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja, Požega-Slavonia, Virovitica-Podravina and Vukovar-Syrmia, although the territory of the counties includes Baranja, and the definition of the western extent of Slavonia as a region varies. The five counties comprise territory of 12,556 square kilometres (4,848 square miles) and a population of 806,192. The largest city in the region is Osijek, followed by Slavonski Brod, Vinkovci, Vukovar and Požega. Slavonia has undergone considerable demographic changes, reflecting the course of its political history and conquests. It is located in the Pannonian Basin, largely bordered by the Danube, Drava and Sava rivers. The western part of the region consists of the Sava and Drava valleys, and the mountains and hills surrounding the Požega valley; the highest among them is 984-metre (3,228 ft) Psunj. The eastern part of the region largely consists of plains. Slavonia enjoys a moderately warm and rainy continental climate, with relatively low precipitation.
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Slovakia
The Slovak Republic (short form: Slovakiai/sloʊˈvɑːkiə/ or /sləˈvækiə/; Slovak: Slovensko (help·info), long form Slovenská republika (help·info)) is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi). Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is the capital, Bratislava, and the second largest is Košice. Slovakia is a member state of the European Union, NATO, United Nations, OECD and WTO among others. The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family.
The Slavs arrived in the territory of present day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries during the migration period. In the course of history, various parts of today's Slovakia belonged to Samo's Empire (the first known political unit of Slavs), Principality of Nitra (as independent polity, as part of Great Moravia and as part of Hungarian Kingdom), Great Moravia, Kingdom of Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Habsburg Empire, and Czechoslovakia. A separate Slovak state briefly existed during World War II, during which Slovakia was a dependency of Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1944. From 1945 Slovakia once again became a part of Czechoslovakia. The present-day Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] ( listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Syrmia
Syrmia (Serbian: Срем, Srem; Croatian: Srijem) is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west.
Most of Syrmia is located in the Srem and South Bačka districts of Serbia's Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Smaller part of the region around Novi Beograd, Zemun, and Surčin belongs to the City of Belgrade. The westernmost part lies in eastern Croatia, in Vukovar-Srijem County.
Today, the name Srem/Срем is used in Serbian to designate the region, whereas the name Srijem is used in Croatian.
Other names for the region include:
Syrmia has been a part of the Roman Empire, the Hun Empire, the Ostrogothic Kingdom, the Gepid Kingdom, the Lombard state, the Byzantine Empire, the Avar Khaganate, the Frankish Empire, the Bulgarian Empire, Pannonian Croatia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, Austria-Hungary, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbia, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which, upon advice from the Ðilas Commission, assigned the eastern part of the region to the Federated Republic of Serbia and the western part to the Federated Republic of Croatia in 1945. After the recognition of Croatian independence in January 1992 and the creation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in April 1992, the division became an international border. In 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was transformed into the state union of Serbia and Montenegro, which was abolished in 2006, making the eastern part of Syrmia part of an independent Republic of Serbia.
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Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη [θesaloˈnici] ( listen)), also known as Thessalonica ( /ˌθɛsəlɵˈnaɪkə/) and historically known as Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. Its honorific title is Συμπρωτεύουσα (Symprotévusa), literally "co-capital", and stands as a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα (Symvasilévousa), "co-reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire, alongside Constantinople.
According to the 2011 census the municipality of Thessaloniki today has a population of 322,240, while the Thessaloniki Urban Area (the contiguous built up area forming the "City of Thessaloniki") has a population of 790,824; making it the fifth largest and most populated city in the Balkans and the second most populated city that is not a capital. Furthermore, the Thessaloniki Metropolitan Area extends over an area of 1,455.62 km2 (562.02 sq mi) and its population in 2011 reached a total of 1,006,730 inhabitants.
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Ukraine
Ukraine (i/juːˈkreɪn/ yew-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, transliterated: Ukrayina, [ukrɑˈjinɑ]; Russian: Украина; Crimean Tatar: Ukraina) is a country in Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after the Russian Federation.
According to a popular and well established theory, the medieval state of Kievan Rus was established by the Varangians in the 9th century as the first historically recorded East Slavic state which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages until it disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers—the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. A chaotic period of incessant warfare ensued, with several internationally recognized attempts at independence from 1917 to 1921, following World War I and the Russian Civil War. Ukraine emerged from its own civil war, and on December 30, 1922 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian SSR's territory was enlarged westward during the civil war shortly before, and after World War II, and further south in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations.
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Venetian Slovenia
Venetian Slovenia (Italian: Slavia Veneta, Slavia Friulana or Slavia Italiana, Slovene: Beneška Slovenija, Friulian: Sclavanie, Venetian: Schiavonia Veneta) is a small mountainous region in northeastern Italy . Most of the region is located in the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, in the area between the towns of Cividale del Friuli, Tarcento and Gemona . It is part of the Province of Udine in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. A small part of the region is located in the municipality of Kobarid in Slovenia, in the mountainous area around the villages of Breginj (Italian: Bergogna) and Livek (Italian: Luico).
It comprises the municipalities of San Pietro al Natisone, San Leonardo, Italy, Pulfero, Drenchia, Grimacco, Stregna, Savogna di Cividale, Lusevera, Taipana, Torreano, Resia and the mountainous areas of the municipalities of Tarcento, Nimis, Attimis, Faedis, Prepotto and Montenars. Parts of the municipality of Cividale del Friuli are also included.
The villages of Breginj, Logje, Sedlo, Kobarid, Borjana, Robidišče, Homec, Stanovišče, Podbela, Livek and Livške Ravne in the municipality of Kobarid are also part of the historical region of Venetian Slovenia; they were however not annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, and are now part of the Republic of Slovenia.
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Vistula
The Vistula ( /ˈvɪstʃələ/; Polish: Wisła [ˈvʲiswa], German: Weichsel) is the longest and the most important[citation needed] river in Poland, at 1,047 km (651 miles) in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is 194,424 km2 (75,068 sq mi), of which 168,699 km2 (65,135 sq mi) lies within Poland (splitting the country in half).
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in the south of Poland, 1220 meters above sea level in the Silesian Beskids (western part of Carpathian Mountains) where it begins with the White Little Vistula (Biała Wisełka) and the Black Little Vistula (Czarna Wisełka). It then continues to flow over the vast Polish plains, passing several large Polish cities along its way, including Kraków, Sandomierz, Warsaw, Płock, Włocławek, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Świecie, Grudziądz, Tczew and Gdańsk. It empties into the Vistula Lagoon or directly into the Gdańsk Bay of the Baltic Sea with a delta and several branches (Leniwka, Przekop, Śmiała Wisła, Martwa Wisła, Nogat and Szkarpawa).
The name was first recorded by Pliny in AD 77 in his Natural History. He uses Vistula (4.52, 4.89) with an alternative spelling, Vistillus (3.06). The Vistula River ran into the Mare Suebicum, which is today known as the Baltic Sea. The root of the name Vistula is Indo-European ultimately from proto-Indo-European. The diminutive endings -ila, -ula, were used in many Indo-European language groups, including Latin (see Ursula).
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Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (Serbian: Аутономна Покрајина Војводина / Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina [ʋǒjʋodina] ( listen) (see Name for other languages)), is an autonomous province of Serbia, located in the northern part of the country, in the Pannonian Plain of Central Europe. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad.
Vojvodina has a population of about 2 million (approximately 27% of Serbia's total). It has a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural identity, with a number of mechanisms for the promotion of minority rights; there are more than 26 ethnic groups in the province, which has six official languages.
The name "Vojvodina" in Serbian language means a type of duchy – more specifically, a voivodeship. It derives from the word "vojvoda" (See: voivode) which stems from the Proto-Slavic language word "voevoda". Those words are etymologically connected with modern-day words "vojnik" (soldier) and "voditi" (to lead). Its original name (from 1848) was the "Serbian Voivodeship" (Srpska Vojvodina).
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Wielbark Culture
The Wielbark culture (German: Wielbark-Willenberg-Kultur, Polish: Kultura wielbarska, Ukrainian: Вельбарська культура (Vel’bars’ka kul’tura)) or East Pomeranian-Mazovian was a culture that appeared during the first half of the 1st century CE. It replaced the Oksywie culture, in the area of modern-day Eastern Pomerania around the lower Vistula river, which was related to the Przeworsk culture.
The Wielbark culture has been associated with Jordanes' account of the Goths leaving Scandza (Scandinavia) and their settlement in Gothiscandza.[citation needed]
The Wielbark culture was named after a village where a burial place with over 3000 tombs, attributed to the Goths, and Gepids was discovered back in 1873.[by whom?] Many of the cemetery stones were moved, and many graves were damaged by the early German discoverers. The report of the original excavation, lost during World War II was rediscovered only in 2004 and is about to be[when?] analysed in a cooperation of Polish scientists from Gdańsk, Warszawa, Kraków, and Lublin.
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Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian: Jugoslavija; Cyrillic: Југославија) was a country in the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century which was established three times under differing forms of government.
The first country to be known by this name was the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which before 3 October 1929 was known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was established on 1 December 1918 by the union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Serbia (the Kingdom of Montenegro was annexed on 13 November 1918, and the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris gave international recognition to the union on 13 July 1922). The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers in 1941, and because of the events that followed, was officially abolished in 1943 and 1945.
The second country with this name was the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, proclaimed in 1943 by the Yugoslav Partisans resistance movement during World War II. It was renamed to the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946, when a communist government was established. In 1963, it was renamed again to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). This was the largest Yugoslav state, as Istria, Rijeka and Zadar were added to the new Yugoslavia after the end of World War II.
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Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz [mit͡sˈkʲɛvit͡ʂ] ( listen)) (Belarusian: Ада́м Берна́рд Міцке́віч; Lithuanian: Adomas Bernardas Mickevičius; 24 December 1798 – 26 November 1855) was a Polish poet, publicist and political writer. A prime representative of the Polish Romantic period, he is one of that country's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all Polish literature. He is also considered one of the greatest Slavic and European poets. He has been described as a "Slavic bard". He was a leading Romantic dramatist and has been compared in Poland and in western Europe to Byron and Goethe.
He is known primarily as the author of the poetic novel Dziady and national epic Pan Tadeusz, which is considered the last great epic of Polish-Lithuanian noble culture. Mickiewicz's other influential works include Konrad Wallenrod and Grażyna. All served as inspiration during regional uprisings and as foundations for the concept of Poland as "the Christ of Nations."
Mickiewicz was active in the struggle to achieve independence for his homeland, then part of the Russian Empire. Having spent five years in internal exile in central Russia for political activities, he left the Empire in 1829 and spent the rest of his life in emigration, like many of his compatriots. He settled first in Rome, later in Paris, where he became professor of Slavic literature at the Collège de France. He died, probably of cholera, at Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, where he had gone to help organize Polish forces to fight against Russia in the Crimean War. His remains were later moved to Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland.
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Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen (also: Adamus Bremensis) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum (Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church).
Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles. He is believed to have come from Meissen (Latin Misnia) in Saxony.[citation needed] The dates of his birth and death are uncertain, but he was probably born before 1050 and died on 12 October of an unknown year (Possibly 1081, latest 1085). From his chronicles it is apparent that he was familiar with a number of authors. The honorary name of Magister Adam shows that he had passed through all the stages of a higher education. It is probable that he was taught at the Magdeburger Domschule.
In 1066 or 1067 he was invited by archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg to join the Church of Bremen[citation needed], since Adalbert believed he would improve the literary reputation of the diocese. Adam was accepted among the capitulars of Bremen, and by 1069 he appeared as director of the cathedral's school.[citation needed] Soon thereafter he began to write the history of Bremen/Hamburg and of the northern lands in his Gesta.
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Albanians
Albanians (Albanian: Shqiptarët) are an ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. In the context of an ethnicity, they are commonly referred to as ethnic Albanians to distinguish the group from the use of the term Albanians as referring to citizens of Albania. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo. The Albanian diaspora also exists in a number of other countries.
While the exonym Albania for the general region inhabited by the Albanians does hark back to Classical Antiquity, the name was lost within the Albanian language, the Albanian endonym being shqiptar, from the term for the Albanian language, shqip, a derivation of the verb shqiptoj "to utilize a correct Albanian pronunciation ". This theory pertains to Hahn and it holds that perhaps the word is ultimately a loan from Latin excipio. Thus, the Albanian endonym, like Slav and others, is in origin a term for "those who speak [intelligibly, the same language]". However another plausible theory has been advanced by Maximilian Lambertz to explain the endonym as derived from the Albanian noun shqype or shqiponjë (eagle), which, according to Albanian folk etymology, denoted a bird totem dating from the times of Skanderbeg, as displayed on the Albanian flag.
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Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (Russian: Андре́й Арсе́ньевич Тарко́вский; April 4, 1932 – December 29, 1986) was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century.
Tarkovsky's films include Andrei Rublev, Solaris, The Mirror, and Stalker. He directed the first five of his seven feature films in the Soviet Union; his last two films were produced in Italy and Sweden, respectively. They are characterized by spirituality and metaphysical themes, long takes, lack of conventional dramatic structure and plot, and distinctively authored use of cinematography.
Film director Ingmar Bergman said of Tarkovsky:
Tarkovsky was born in the village of Zavrazhye in Ivanovo Oblast, the son of poet and translator Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky, native of Kirovohrad, Ukraine, and Maria Ivanova Vishnyakova, a graduate of the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute.
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Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became a renowned and sometimes controversial artist. The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archives. It is the largest museum in the United States of America dedicated to a single artist.
Andy Warhol's artwork ranged in many forms of media that include hand drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music. He was a pioneer in computer-generated art using Amiga computers that were introduced in 1985, just before his death in 1987. He founded Interview Magazine and was the author of numerous books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol and Popism: The Warhol Sixties. Andy Warhol is also notable as a gay man who lived openly as such before the gay liberation movement. His studio, The Factory, was a famous gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities, and wealthy patrons. Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films. He coined the widely used expression "15 minutes of fame". Many of his creations are very collectible and highly valuable. The highest price ever paid for a Warhol painting is US$100 million for a 1963 canvas titled Eight Elvises. The private transaction was reported in a 2009 article in The Economist, which described Warhol as the "bellwether of the art market". Warhol's works include some of the most expensive paintings ever sold.
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Antes people
The Antes or Antae were an ancient Slavic-Iranian tribal union[citation needed] in Eastern Europe who lived north of the lower Danube and the Black Sea (on the territory of modern Moldova and Ukraine) in the 6th and 7th century AD and who are associated with the archaeological Penkovka culture.[citation needed]
Procopius and Jordanes mention the Antes, who inhabited the left (north) bank of the lower Danube. They remarked that they looked and sounded 'identical' (i.e. very similar) to the Sclavanoi, who dwelt along the middle Danube.[citation needed]
The word Antes is considered by some linguists to be an Iranic name. They suggest that the Antes were one of the Sarmato-Alanic tribes that in the 4th century inhabited the region between the Caucasus and Ukrainian steppes, perhaps between the Prut and lower Dneister rivers in what is now modern Moldova and southwestern Ukraine. With time, their center of power shifted northward into what is now western and central Ukraine.[citation needed] In the fifth and sixth centuries they settled in Volhynia and subsequently in the middle Dnieper region near the present-day city of Kiev. As they moved north from the open steppe to the forest steppe, they mixed with Slavic tribes. They organised the Slavic tribes and the name Antes came to be used for the mixed Slavo-Alanic body. Eventually they were completely absorbed by the Slavs, but the name was preserved. A comparable theory exists for other Slavic tribes, namely Serbs and Croats.[citation needed]
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Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians (Armenian: հայեր, Armenian pronunciation: [hɑˈjɛɾ]) are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.
The largest concentration is in Armenia, having a nearly homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian. Because of wide-ranging and long-lasting diaspora, an estimated total of 3 million people of full or partial Armenian ancestry live outside of Armenia. As a result of the Armenian Genocide, a large number of survivors fled to many countries throughout the world, most notably the Russian Empire, the Near East, the United States, France, Iran, Georgia and other parts of Europe (see Armenian diaspora).
Christianity began to spread in Armenia soon after Jesus's death, due to the efforts of two of his apostles, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew In the early 4th century, the Kingdom of Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Most Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church, a non-Chalcedonian church, which is also the world's oldest national church.
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Aromanians
Aromanians, or Vlachs (Aromanian: Armânji, Rromânji,Makidonji), are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern and central Greece, southern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, south-western Bulgaria, and, as an emigrant community, in Serbia and Romania (Dobrudja). They are a native people in the regions of Epirus, Thessalia and Macedonia. An older term used for them is Macedo-Aromanians. Especially in Greece, the term Vlachs (Vlahoi) is widespread; this term is sometimes used outside Greece to encompass all Latin-descended peoples of the Balkans, including the modern day Romanians.
The Vlachs speak Aromanian, a Latin-derived language similar to Romanian, which has many slightly varying dialects of its own. The Aromanian language descends from the vulgar Latin spoken by native Balkan people subsequent to their Latinization by Rome. It is a mix of domestic and Latin language with additional influences from other surrounding languages of the Balkan peninsula, such as Bulgarian, Greek and Albanian.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples (People who live by the Baltic Sea), defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled area between the Jutland peninsula in the west and Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers basins in the east. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number of conservative or archaic features retained. Among the Baltic peoples are modern Lithuanians, Latvians (including Latgalians) — all Eastern Balts — as well as the Prussians, Yotvingians and Galindians — the Western Balts — whose languages and cultures are now extinct.
Adam of Bremen was the first writer to use the term Baltic in its modern sense to mean the sea of that name. Although he must have been familiar with the ancient name, Balcia, meaning a supposed island in the Baltic Sea, and although he may have been aware of the Baltic words containing the stem balt-, "white", as "swamp", he reports that he followed the local use of balticus from baelt ("belt") because the sea stretches to the east "in modum baltei" ("in the manner of a belt"). This is the first reference to "the Baltic or Barbarian Sea, a day's journey from Hamburg."
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Banat Bulgarians
The Banat Bulgarians (Banat Bulgarian: palćene or banátsći balgare; common Bulgarian: банатски българи, banatski balgari) are a distinct Bulgarian minority group which settled in the 18th century in the region of the Banat, which was then ruled by the Habsburgs and after World War I was divided between Romania, Serbia, and Hungary. Unlike most other Bulgarians, they are Roman Catholic by confession and stem from groups of Paulicians and Roman Catholics from modern northern and northwestern Bulgaria.
Banat Bulgarians speak a distinctive codified form of the Eastern Bulgarian vernacular with much lexical influence from the other languages of the Banat. Although strongly acculturated to the Central European region, they have preserved their Bulgarian identity. Since the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, many have returned to Bulgaria and founded separate villages there.
The official Romanian census states that 6,468 people of Bulgarian origin inhabit the Romanian part of the Banat. The Serbian census of 2002 recognized 1,658 Bulgarians in Vojvodina, the autonomous province that covers the Serbian part of the Banat. Bulgarian researchers estimate that 12,000 Banat Bulgarians live in Romania and 3,000 in Serbia.
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Bastarnae
The Bastarnae or Basternae (Ancient Greek: Βαστάρναι or Βαστέρναι) were an ancient Germanic tribe, who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited the region between the eastern Carpathian mountains and the Dnieper river (corresponding to the modern Republic of Moldova and western part of southern Ukraine). A branch of the Bastarnae, called the Peucini by Greco-Roman writers, occupied the region north of the Danube river delta.
Although possibly Celtic-speaking in 179 BC, the Bastarnae probably were Germanic in language and culture during the 1st century AD, but appear to have become assimilated by their neighbouring Sarmatians by the 3rd century.[original research?] Like the latter, they were probably semi-nomadic.[original research?] It has not yet been possible to identify specific Bastarnae archaeological sites.
The Peucini branch of the Bastarnae first came into conflict with the Romans in the 1st century BC, when they resisted, ultimately unsuccessfully, Roman expansion into Moesia, the region on the southern bank of the Danube. Although probably on friendly terms with the Romans in the early 1st century, there is little evidence of the Peucini until ca. 180, when they are recorded as participating in an invasion of Roman territory in alliance with Sarmatian and Dacian elements. In the mid 3rd century, the Bastarnae were part of a Gothic-led grand coalition of lower Danube tribes which inflicted immense damage on the Balkan provinces of the Roman empire in a series of massive invasions. Large numbers of Bastarnae were resettled within the empire in the late 3rd century.
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Bayan I
Bayan I was an Avar khagan, between 562 and 602. As the Göktürk Empire expanded westwards, Bayan Khagan led a group of Avars and Bulgars out of their reach, eventually settling in Pannonia in 568.
In 562, the Avars and Bulgars had reached the Lower Danube: it was most likely in that year that Bayan became their supreme Khagan, as his predecessor, the Kutrigur Khan Zabergan had died. As allies of the Byzantine Empire, then ruled by Justinian I, the Avars had obtained a grant of gold to crush other nomads — the Sabirs, Utigurs, Kutrigurs and Saragurs - in the lands later known as Ukraine, a task they accomplished to the emperor's satisfaction. Bayan's Avars now exacted the renewal of the alliance, increased pay and a land to live in.
Bayan had eyed the plain of Moesia, just south of the Lower Danube, what would become northern Bulgaria, as his promised land, but the Byzantines were adamant the Avars should not in any case cross the river. So Bayan and his horde in 563 rode around the northern Carpathians to Germany, where they were soundly stemmed along the river Elbe by the Frankish king Sigebert I of Austrasia. This defeat induced them to come back on their footsteps to the Lower Danube region. After vainly trying to force the Danubian border when the new Byzantine emperor Justin II denied them both entry and wage, the Avars renewed their ride to Thuringia. This time (566) they did defeat Sigebert, but had nonetheless to stop; in the meantime the Göktürks, in pursuit of their former subjects, remained a real danger.
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Belarusians
Belarusians (Belarusian: беларусы, biełarusy, Russian: белорусы, byelorusy) are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. There are over 8 million people who associate themselves with the Belarusian nationality today.
Belarusians also form minorities in neighboring Poland (especially in the Podlaskie Voivodeship), Russia and Lithuania. At the beginning of 20th century Belarusians constituted a majority in the regions around Smolensk.[citation needed]
Noticeable numbers have emigrated to the United States, Brazil and Canada in the early 20th century. During Soviet times, many Belarusians were deported or migrated to various regions of the USSR, including Siberia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
Since the breakup of the USSR several hundred thousand have emigrated to the European Union, United States, Canada and Russia.
The most spoken language in Belarus is Russian, principally spoken by 72% of the population, while the other official language, Belarusian, is only used by 11.9% in every day life. Statistical data shows that Belarusian is fluently communicated, read and written by 29.4%, while 52.5% of the population can communicate and read in Belarusian. Belarusian is a language of the Eastern Slavic group.
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Bokelji
The Bay of Kotor (Serbo-Croatian: Boka Kotorska, Cyrillic script: Бока Которска, pronounced [bɔ̂ka kɔ̂tɔrskaː]) in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a ria of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen. It is an important tourist attraction in Montenegro.
The Verige strait represent the narrowest section of the bay and is located between Cape St. Nedjelja and Cape Opatovo; it separates the inner bay east of the strait from the remainder and belongs to the Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor, A World Heritage Site. Montenegro is planning to build a bridge that would span the strait, the so called Verige bridge.
The bay has been inhabited since antiquity and has some well preserved medieval towns. The picturesque towns of Kotor, Risan, Tivat, Perast, Prčanj, Herceg Novi and Budva along with their natural surroundings, are major tourist attractions.
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Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs (Bosnian: Bošnjak, pl: Bošnjaci, pronounced [bɔːˈʃɲaːtsi]) are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia. Bosniaks are typically characterized by their historic tie to the Bosnian historical region, traditional adherence to Islam since the 15th and 16th centuries, common culture and language. In the English-speaking world, Bosniaks are also referred to as Bosnian Muslims or simply Bosnians. Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an official ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam. The term Bosnian is used to denote all inhabitants of Bosnia regardless of ethnic origin.
Bosniaks are a South Slavic people. Nonetheless, it has been proposed, based on genetic signatures, that their roots also date back to pre-Slavic inhabitants of the Dinaric region, effectively predating many modern European homogenous ethnic groups. There are well over two million Bosniaks living in the Balkans today, with an estimated additional million settled and living around the world.[citation needed] Several instances of ethnic cleansing and genocide have had a tremendous effect on the territorial distribution of the population. Partially due to this,[citation needed] a notable Bosniak diaspora exists in a number of countries, including Austria, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Turkey, Canada and the United States. Both within the region and throughout the world, Bosniaks are often noted for their unique culture, which has been influenced by both eastern and western civilizations and schools of thought over the course of their history.
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Bosnians
Bosnians (Bosnian: Bosanci) are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By modern state definition, a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats. Those who reside in the geographical region of Herzegovina prefer to call themselves Herzegovinians in a localized, regional sense. Ethnic minorities such as Jews, Roma, Albanians, Montenegrins and others may consider Bosnian to be attached to their ethnicity (e.g. Bosnian Albanians).
In addition, there is a sizable population in Bosnia and Herzegovina who believe that Bosnians are a people that constitute a distinct collective cultural identity.
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Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bolgars, Bulghars, Huno-Bulgars) were a semi-nomadic people who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century. Ethnically, the Bulgars comprised Turkic and probably Scytho-Sarmatian elements. They had enveloped also other ethnic groups by their migration westwards across the Eurasian steppe.
The Bulgars emerged after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century. Initially, they conquered the Pontic-Caspian steppe and around the lower Volga basin, by the 7th century dispersing further towards Bessarabia. Originating as nomadic equestrians of Central Asia, they became sedentary during the 7th century, establishing the polities (khanates) of Old Great Bulgaria in the Pontic steppe and Volga Bulgaria on the middle Volga.
Old Great Bulgaria was absorbed by the Khazar Empire in the 8th century, but in the 680s, Khan Asparukh conquered Scythia Minor, opening access to Moesia, and established the First Bulgarian Empire, which was however Slavicized by the 10th century. Volga Bulgaria preserved their national identity well into the 13th century by repelling the first Mongol attacks in 1223. But they were eventually subdued, and their capital Bolghar city became one of major cities of the Mongol Golden Horde. Later, Volga Bulgars mixed with Tatars of Kazan.
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Bunjevci
Bunjevci (pronounced [bǔɲeːʋtsi] or [bǔːɲeːʋtsi]) are a South Slavic community and ethnic group living mostly in the Bačka region of Serbia (province of Vojvodina) and southern Hungary (Bács-Kiskun county, particularly in the Baja region). They presumably originate from western Herzegovina region, from where they migrated into the Dalmatia, and from there to Lika and Bačka in 16th and 17th century. Bunjevci who remained in the original areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as those in modern Croatia, today maintain the designation chiefly as an ethno-regional identity, and declare themselves as Croats. In Bunjevac-populated areas of Serbia, some people declaring themselves as Croat or Yugoslav are of Bunjevac ancestry.
Bunjevci are Roman Catholic, and speak with an Ikavian accent (Bunjevci dialect) with certain archaic characteristics. During the 18th and 19th century, they formed a sizable part of population of northern Bačka, but many of them were gradually assimilated into Hungarians, while some other adopted Croat or Serb identity.
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Catacomb culture
The Catacomb culture, ca. 2800-2200 BC, refers to an early Bronze Age culture occupying essentially what is present-day Ukraine. It is seen more as a term covering several smaller related archaeological cultures.
The culture was the first to introduce corded pottery decorations into the steppes and shows a profuse use of the polished battle axe, providing a link to the West. Parallels with the Afanasevo culture, including provoked cranial deformations, provide a link to the East. It was preceded by the Yamna culture and succeeded by the western Corded Ware culture. The Catacomb culture in the Pontic steppe was succeeded by the Srubna culture from ca the 17th century BC.
The name Catacomb culture comes from its burial practices. These are similar to those of the Yamna culture, but with a hollowed-out space off the main shaft, creating the 'catacomb'. Animal remains were incorporated into a small minority of graves.
In certain graves there was the distinctive practice of what amounts to modelling a clay mask over the deceased's face, creating an obvious if not necessarily correct association to the famous gold funeral mask of Agamemnon (see also Tashtyk culture).
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Celts
The Celts (usually pronounced /ˈkɛlts/ but sometimes /ˈsɛlts/, see pronunciation of Celtic) or Kelts were an ethno-linguistic group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Medieval Europe who spoke Celtic languages and had a similar culture.
The earliest archaeological culture that may justifiably be considered as Proto-Celtic is the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of central Europe from the last quarter of the second millennium BC. Their fully Celtic descendants in central Europe were the people of the Iron Age Hallstatt culture (c. 800-450 BC) named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria. By the later La Tène period (c. 450 BC up to the Roman conquest), this Celtic culture had expanded over a wide range of regions, whether by diffusion or migration: to the British Isles (Insular Celts), France and The Low Countries (Gauls), much of Central Europe, the Iberian Peninsula (Celtiberians, Celtici and Gallaeci) and northern Italy (Golaseccans and Cisalpine Gauls) and following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC as far east as central Anatolia (Galatians).
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Chernyakhov culture
The Sântana de Mureș–Chernyakhov culture is an archaeological culture that flourished between the 2nd and 5th centuries AD in a wide area of Eastern Europe, specifically in what today constitutes Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, and parts of Belarus. The culture probably corresponds to the Gothic kingdom of Oium as described by Jordanes in his work Getica, but it is nonetheless the result of a poly-ethnic cultural mélange of the Gothic, Getae-Dacian (including Romanised Daco-Romans), Sarmatian and Slavic populations of the area.
The Chernyakhov culture encompassed the territories of modern Ukraine, Moldavia, and Romania. It is named after the localities Sântana de Mureş, Mureş County, Transylvania in Romania and Cherniakhiv, Kaharlyk Raion, Kiev Oblast in Ukraine. The dual name reflects past preferential use by different schools of history (Romanian and Soviet) to designate the culture.[citation needed]
The spelling "Chernyakhov" is the transliteration from the Russian language. Other spellings include Sintana de Mures (Moldovan language of Soviet times, without diacritics), Chernyakhiv (Ukrainian), Chernjakowo (Polish), and several others.
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Croats
Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have migrated throughout the world, and established a notable Croatian diaspora. Large Croat communities exists in The United States, Chile, Argentina, Germany, Austria, Australia, Peru, Canada, Serbia, New Zealand and South Africa. Croats are noted for their culture, which has been influenced by a number of other neighbouring cultures through the ages. The strongest influences came from Central Europe and the Mediterranean where, at the same time, Croats have made their own contribution. The Croats are predominantly Catholic with minor groups of Protestants, Muslims, Orthodox, Jews and secular non religious atheists and agnostics. Their language is Croatian.
Croatia is the nation state of the Croats, while in the adjacent Bosnia and Herzegovina they are one of the three constituent peoples alongside Bosniaks and Serbs.
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Czechs
Czechs, or Czech people (Czech: Češi, Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛʃɪ], archaic Czech: Čechové [ˈtʃɛxɔvɛː]) are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries. They speak the Czech language, which is closely related to the Slovak and Upper Sorbian language.
Among the ancestors of the Czechs are ancient Slavic tribes who inhabited the regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Upper Silesia from the 6th century onwards.
The Czechs are descended from the Celts, early Slavs, and Germanic tribes. According to an international project called Family Tree DNA results a very slight majority of the Czech population forms an offspring of the Celts (28.8%), followed by Slavic (28.4%) and Germanic (13.0%) forefathers.West Slavic tribes have inhabited the regions of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia since the 6th century, and eventually absorbed pre-Slavic populations. Within the West Slavs, the Czechs form part of the Czech-Slovak group (together with the Slovaks), alongside the Lechites and the Sorbs.
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Dacians
The Dacians ([pronunciation?]; Latin: Daci, Ancient Greek: Δάκοι Dakoi, Δάοι Daoi, Δάκες "Dakes"; Medieval Greek Δάκαι Dákai[citation needed]) were an Indo-European people, very close or part of the Thracians.[citation needed] Dacians were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia (located in the area in and around the Carpathian Mountains and east of there to the Black Sea). This area includes the present-day countries of Romania and Moldova, as well as parts of Sarmatia (mostly in eastern Ukraine), Moesia (Eastern Serbia, Northern Bulgaria), Slovakia and Poland. They spoke the Dacian language, believed to have been closely related to Thracian, but were culturally influenced by the neighbouring Scythians and by the Celtic invaders of the 4th century BC.
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Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (also known as the Danelagh; Old English: Dena lagu; Danish: Danelagen), is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to be geographical. The areas that comprised the Danelaw are in northern and eastern England. The origins of the Danelaw arose from the Viking expansion of the 9th century, although the term was not used to describe a geographic area until the 11th century. With the increase in population and productivity in Scandinavia, Viking warriors, having sought treasure and glory in the nearby British Isles, "proceeded to plough and support themselves", in the words of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, for the year 876.
Danelaw is also used to describe the set of legal terms and definitions created in the treaties between the English king, Alfred the Great, and the Danish warlord, Guthrum, written following Guthrum's defeat at the Battle of Edington in 878. In 886, the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum was formalised, defining the boundaries of their kingdoms, with provisions for peaceful relations between the English and the Vikings.
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Early Slavs
The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies in Migration period and early medieval Europe (ca. 5th to 10th centuries) whose tribal organizations indirectly created the foundations for today’s Slavic nations (via the Slavic states of the High Middle Ages).
The first mention of the name Slavs dates to the 6th century, by which time the Slavic tribes inhabited a vast area of central-eastern Europe. Over the following two centuries, the Slavs expanded further, towards the Balkans and the Alps in the south and west, and the Volga in the north and east.
From the 9th century, the Slavs were gradually Christianised, and by the 12th century, they formed the population within a number of medieval Christian states, the East Slavs in the Kievan Rus' and Lithuania, the South Slavs in Bulgaria and Serbia, and the West Slavs in Poland and the Holy Roman Empire (Pomerania, Bohemia).
The question of Slavic origins has generated many theories, none of which have been universally accepted. The competing theories on the origin of Slavs used different types of evidence, had different perspectives upon the issues involved, but also were influenced by political factors. When discussing early "Slavs", one is referring to a diverse set of tribal communities who shared a common language and material culture.
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Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars ( /ˈævɑrz/) were a Turkic people from the steppes of Central Asia, and later they became a confederation of Eurasian tribes of mixed origin. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors. Although the name Avar first appeared in the mid-fifth century, the Avars of Europe enter the historical scene in the mid-sixth century AD, when they established a pax spanning considerable areas of Central and Eastern Europe. Their state was the Avar Khaganate. The rule of their country over much of the Pannonian Plain persisted until the early 9th century.
The origin of the Eurasian Avars is unclear. Information about origins is derived primarily from the works of Byzantine historians Menander Protector and Theophylact Simocatta. John of Ephesus used the term "those, who are called "Avars," because of their long hair." The confusion is compounded by the fact that many clans carried a particular name because they believed it to be prestigious, or it was attributed to them by outsiders describing their common characteristics, believed place of origin or reputation.[citation needed] Such a case has been seen repeatedly for many nomadic confederacies.
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Florin Curta
Florin Curta is a Romanian-born American historian, expert medievalist and archaeologist on Eastern Europe. He is one of the top authorities in the field, especially regarding Balkan history, in the Western historiography; among others like John Fine and Dennis Hupchik. Florin Curta is a Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, USA.
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Franks
The Franks (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as populating a broad strip of land on the right bank of the Lower and Middle Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul except Septimania in the 6th century. The Salian political elite was one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe. The Franks had created one of the most strong and stable barbaric kingdoms.
The Merovingian dynasty, descended from the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the fifth century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire which dominated most of Western Europe. This empire would gradually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire.
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Frederik Kortlandt
Frederik Herman Henri (Frits) Kortlandt (June 19, 1946, Utrecht) is a professor of descriptive and comparative linguistics at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He is an expert on Baltic and Slavic languages, the Indo-European languages in general, and Proto-Indo-European, though he has also published studies of languages in many other language families. He has also studied ways to associate language families into super-groups such as Indo-Uralic.
Kortlandt, along with George van Driem and a few other colleagues, is one of the proponents of the Leiden School of linguistics, which describes language in terms of a meme or benign parasite.
Kortlandt holds five degrees from the University of Amsterdam:
Kortlandt is a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences and a Spinozapremie laureate. In 2007, he composed a version of Schleicher's fable, a story written in a hypothetical reconstruction Proto-Indo-European, which differs radically from all previous versions.
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Gagauz people
The Gagauz people are a Turkic group living mostly in southern Moldova (Gagauzia), southwestern Ukraine (Budjak), south-eastern Romania (Dobrogea), northeastern Bulgaria, Greece, Brazil, America and Canada. Unlike most other Turkic speaking people, the Gagauz are predominantly Orthodox Christians. There is a related ethnic group also called Gagavuz (or Gajal) living in the European part of northwestern Turkey.
Today Gagauz people outside Moldova live mainly in the Ukrainian regions of Odesa and Zaporizhia, as well as in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Romania, Brazil, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Georgia, Turkey and the Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria.
There are also nearly 20,000 descendants of Gagauzes living in the Balkan country of Bulgaria, as well as upwards of 2,000 living in the United States of America, Brazil and Canada. Most of Gagauz immigrants in the USA are Evangelical Christians, who left their homeland in Moldova as refugees. They were persecuted by the communist government of the Soviet Union. Gagauz immigrants live in Sacramento, California; Salem, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Tacoma, Washington; Charlotte, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and in Massachusetts. The official figures in the latter group of countries cited in this article are much lower due to the loss of Gagauz identity during the last century.
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Gepids
The Gepids (Latin: Gepidae; Old English: Gifð; possibly Proto-Germanic: *Gibiðaz, "giver" or gepanta) were an East Germanic tribe who were closely related to the Goths. The Gepids were recorded in the area along the southern Baltic coast in the 1st century AD, having migrated there from southern Sweden some years earlier. Subsequently, the Gepids migrated further south during the 2nd century and were reported in the mountains north of Transylvania by the end of the 3rd century. In the 4th century, they were incorporated into the Hunnic State.
Under their leader Ardaric, the Gepids united with other Germanic tribes and defeated the Huns at Battle of Nedao in 454. The Gepids then founded a kingdom centered in Sirmium, commonly known as Gepidia or Kingdom of the Gepids.
In the 3rd century (around 260 AD), the Gepids participated with the Goths in an invasion of Dacia. Their early origins are reported in Jordanes' Origins and Deeds of the Goths, where he claims that their name derives from their later and slower migration from Scandinavia:
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Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples (also called Teutonic or Gothic in older literature) are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.
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Gorals
The Gorale (Polish: Górale; Slovak: Gorali; Cieszyn Silesian: Gorole; literally "highlanders") are a group of indigenous people found along southern Poland, northern Slovakia, and in the region of Cieszyn Silesia in the Czech Republic. There is also a significant Goral diaspora in the area of Bukovina in the western Ukraine and in northern Romania, as well as Chicago, the seat of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.
In Poland they live in the region of Podhale of the Tatra Mountains and parts of the Beskids (Cieszyn Silesia, Silesian Beskids, Żywiec Beskids). In present-day Slovakia they live in 4 separate groups: in northern Spiš (34 villages subdivided in two groups), Orava and Kysuce (2 villages) and smaller groups in 7 other enclave villages in northern Slovakia.
Gorals are part of a continuum of Carpathian Slavic highlander groups, including Hutsuls, Lemkos, and Boykos. The various dialects spoken by the Gorals descend from Proto-Slavic from the Eastern Lechitic, Old Polish area, superimposed by Slovak. In other words, the language is of Polish origin, but has been influenced by Slovak in recent centuries. In addition to Polish, the language contains some vocabulary of other origins, including Slovak, Vlach, and words of uncertain origin that have cognates in other languages of the Carpathian region. Mazurzenie may occur.
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Gorani people
The Gorani or Goranci (Cyrillic: Горани or Горанци, meaning Highlanders, pronounced [gɔ̌rani] or [gɔrǎːntsi]) are a South Slavic ethnic group inhabiting the Gora region of the Balkans, located at the triangle between Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Another autonym of this people is "Našinci", which literally means "our people". Gorani speak the Gora dialect, which belongs to the Torlak group of South Slavic languages.
The Gora region comprises Dragaš municipality in Kosovo and Shishtavec village in Albania. They are adherents to Islam and have a rich and varied folk culture. They have been claimed by Albanians, Bosniaks, Bulgarians, Macedonians and Serbs but the general view is that they should be treated as a distinct minority group, which is indeed their own view of themselves. Part of these people are already albanised. By the last censuses at the end of 20th century in Yugoslavia they have declared themselves to be Muslims by nationality. In Republic of Macedonia their identity is also based mainly on their religion.
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Goths
The Goths (Gothic: *Gut-þiuda, *Gutans; Old Norse: Gutar/Gotar; German: Goten; Latin: Gothi; Greek: Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe.
The most important source is Jordanes' 6th-century, semi-fictional Getica which describes a migration from southern Scandza (Scandinavia), to Gothiscandza, believed to be the lower Vistula region in modern Pomerania, and from there to the coast of the Black Sea. The Pomeranian Wielbark culture and the Chernyakhov culture northeast of the lower Danube are archaeological traces of this migration. In the 3rd century, either through crossing the lower Danube, or travelling by sea, the Goths ravaged the Balkan Peninsula and Anatolia as far as Cyprus, sacking Athens, Byzantium, Sparta. By the fourth century, the Goths conquered Dacia, and were divided into at least two distinct groups separated by the Dniester River, the Thervingi, led by the Balti dynasty, and the Greuthungi, led by the Amali dynasty. Centered around their capital at the Dnieper, the Goths ruled a vast area which at its peak under the Kings Ermanaric and Athanaric stretched from the Danube to the Volga river, and from the Black to the Baltic Sea.
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Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes (Greek: Ἕλληνες, [ˈelines]), are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and other regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world.
Greek colonies and communities have been historically established in most corners of the Mediterranean, but Greeks have always been centered around the Aegean Sea, where the Greek language has been spoken since antiquity. Until the early 20th century, Greeks were uniformly distributed between the Greek peninsula, the western coast of Asia Minor, Pontus, Egypt, Cyprus and Constantinople; many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of the ancient Greek colonization.
In the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), a large-scale population exchange between Greece and Turkey transferred and confined Christians from Turkey, except Constantinople (effectively ethnic Greeks) into the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. Other ethnic Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and in diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church.
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Helmold
Helmold of Bosau (ca. 1120 – after 1177) was a Saxon historian of the 12th century and a priest at Bosau near Plön. He was a friend of the two bishops of Oldenburg in Holstein, Vicelinus (died 1154) and Gerold (died 1163), who did much to Christianize the Polabian Slavs.
Helmold was born near Goslar. He grew up in Holstein, and received his instruction in Brunswick from Gerold, the future bishop of Oldenburg (1139–42). Later he came under the direction of Vicelinus, the Apostle of the Wends, first in the Augustinian monastery of Faldera, afterwards known as Neumünster (1147–53). He became a deacon about 1150, and finally became a parish priest in 1156 at Bosau on Großer Plöner See.
At Bishop Gerold's instigation Helmold wrote his Chronica Slavorum, a history of the conquest and conversion of the Polabian Slavs from the time of Charlemagne (about 800) to 1171. The purpose of this chronicle was to demonstrate how Christianity and German nationality gradually succeeded in gaining a footing among the Wends, especially in the eastern portion of Holstein. As an eyewitness he gives a clear description in fluent Latin of Vicelinus's missionary labors, of the founding of the bishopric in Oldenburg, of the transfer of this bishopric to Lübeck when German commerce at the latter place had become more important than in the former city, of the spread of German influence among the Wends, of the merciless subjugation and extermination of these, and of the summoning to their lands of foreign settlers, principally Westphalian and Dutch. The work is divided into two parts: the first covers a period closing with the year 1168, while the second continues to the year 1171. This second part, however, was written subsequently to 1172.
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Herodotus
Herodotus ( /hɨˈrɒdətəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἡρόδοτος Hēródotos) was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria (modern day Bodrum, Turkey) and lived in the fifth century BC (circa 484 – 425 BC). He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative.The Histories—his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced—is a record of his "inquiry" (or ἱστορία historía, a word that passed into Latin and acquired its modern meaning of "history"), being an investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars and including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. Although some of his stories were fanciful, he claimed he was reporting only what had been told to him. Little is known of his personal history.
The Histories, otherwise known as The Researches or The Inquiries, were divided by later Alexandrian editors into nine books, named after the nine Muses: the "Muse of History", Clio, representing the first book, then Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania and Calliope for books 2 to 9, respectively. At its simplest and broadest level of meaning, The Histories is structured as a dynastic history of four Persian kings:
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Herzegovinians
The Herzegovinians (Hercegovci, Херцеговци; sing. Herzegovinian, Hercegovac, Херцеговац) are the people who hail from the Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The region which is Herzegovina forms a part of the Dinaric Alps. Regardless of ethnicity, the ethnic groups which compose Herzegovina's population tend to identify as Herzegovinian at a regional rather than an ethno-religious level.
In the 1991 census, the part of Herzegovina situated in Bosnia and Herzegovina was recorded as having a population of 437,095 inhabitants. They were:
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Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age Indo-European speaking people of Anatolia. They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c. the 14th century BC, encompassing a large part of Anatolia, north-western Syria about as far south as the mouth of the Litani River (in present-day Lebanon), and eastward into upper Mesopotamia. The Hittite military made successful use of chariots. By the mid-14th century BC (under king Suppiluliuma I), they had carved out an empire that included most of Asia Minor as well as parts of the northern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia. After c. 1180 BC, the empire disintegrated into several independent "Neo-Hittite" city-states, some surviving until the 8th century BC.
Their Hittite language was a member of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. Natively, they referred to their land as Hatti, and to their language as Nesili (the language of Nesa). The conventional name "Hittites" is due to their initial identification with the Biblical Hittites in 19th century archaeology. Despite the use of "Hatti", the Hittites should be distinguished from the Hattians, an earlier people who inhabited the same region until the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, and spoke a non-Indo-European language known as Hattic.
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Hungarian people
Hungarians, also known as Magyars (Hungarian: magyarok), are a nation and ethnic group who speak Hungarian and are primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 14-15 million Hungarians, of whom 10 million live in today's Hungary (as of 2011). About 2.2 million Hungarians live in areas that were part of the Kingdom of Hungary before the 1918-1920 dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the Treaty of Trianon, and are now parts of Hungary's seven neighbour countries, especially Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine. Significant groups of people with Hungarian ancestry live in various other parts of the world, most of them in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Canada and Australia. Unlike the Hungarians living on the former territory of pre-1918-20 Kingdom of Hungary, only some of the ethnic Hungarians in other areas preserve the Hungarian language and traditions. The Hungarians can be classified into several subgroups according to local linguistic and cultural characteristics; subgroups with distinct identities include the Székely, the Csángó, the Palóc, and the Jassic people.
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Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns, considerable scholarly effort has been devoted to investigating such a connection. However, there is no scholarly consensus on a direct connection between the dominant element of the Xiongnu and that of the Huns.Priscus mentions that the Huns had a language of their own; little of it has survived and its relationships have been the subject of debate for centuries. Most authorities suppose that it may have been a member of the Oghuric branch of the Turkic language family, with the languages Bulgar, Khazar, Turkic Avar and Chuvash. Numerous other languages were spoken within the Hun pax including East Germanic, which was widely used as a lingua franca in the Hunnic territories. Their main military technique was mounted archery.
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Hutsuls
Hutsuls (Ukrainian: Гуцули, singular Гуцул; alternatively spelled Huculs, Huzuls, Hutzuls, Gutsuls, Guculs, Guzuls, or Gutzuls; Polish: Hucuł, plural Huculi, Hucułowie) are an ethno-cultural group of Ukrainian highlanders who for centuries have inhabited the Carpathian mountains, mainly in Ukraine, the northern extremity of Romania (in the areas of Bukovina and Maramureş).
There are different versions for the origins of the name Hutsul. An explanation is that it comes from the Romanian word for "outlaw" (cf. Rom. hoţ - "thief", hoţul - "the thief"). Other explanations place their origins in the Slavic kochul - "wanderer","migrant", in reference to their semi-nomadic lifestyle, to the name of the Turkic tribe of the Uzy, and even to the name of the Moravian Grand Duke Hetsyla.
Hutsuls inhabit areas situated between the south-east of those inhabited by the Boykos, down to the northern part of the Romanian segment of the Carpathians. There are several hypotheses concerning the origin of Hutsuls. According to one of them, Hutsuls are descendants of White Croats, Slavic tribe that inhabited area from 4th until 12th century or Slavic tribe Ulichs, that had to leave their previous homes near the Buh river under the pressure of Pechenegs. Hutsuls identify themselves as a part of Ukrainian ethnos, having at the same time their local identity as a sub-ethnos.
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Illyrians
The Illyrians (English pronunciation: /ɪˈlɪəriəns/; Ancient Greek: Ἰλλυριοί; Latin: Illyrii or Illyri) were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula (Messapia). The territory the Illyrians covered came to be known as Illyria to Greek and Roman authors, corresponding to parts of the former Yugoslavia and Albania, between the Adriatic Sea in the west, the Drava river in the north, the Morava river in the east and the mouth of the Vjosë river in the south. The first account of Illyrian peoples comes from Periplus or Coastal Passage, an ancient Greek text of the middle of the 4th century BC.
These tribes, or at least a number of tribes considered "Illyrians proper", are assumed to have been united by a common Illyrian language, of which only small fragments are attested enough to classify it as a branch of Indo-European, while it was extinct by the 5th century AD. However, the name "Illyrians" as applied by the ancient Greeks to their northern neighbors may have referred to a broad, ill-defined group of peoples, and it is today unclear to what extent they were linguistically and culturally homogeneous. In fact, an Illyric origin was and still is attributed also to a few ancient peoples in Italy, in particular the Iapyges, Dauni and Messapi, as it is thought that, most likely, they had shored to the Peninsula, coming from the geographic "Illyria". The Illyrian tribes never collectively regarded themselves as 'Illyrians', and it is unlikely that they used any collective nomenclature for themselves. However, the name Illyrians seems to be the name of a specific Illyrian tribe, which was the first to come in contact with the ancient Greeks during the Bronze Age, causing the name Illyrians to be applied to all people of similar language and customs.
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Ilya Repin
Ilya Yefimovich Repin (Russian: Илья́ Ефи́мович Ре́пин, Ukrainian: Ілля Юхимович Рєпін, (5 August [O.S. 24 July] 1844, Chuguyev, Kharkov Governorate, Russian Empire – September 29, 1930, Kuokkala, Viipuri Province, Finland) was a leading Russianpainter and sculptor of the Peredvizhniki artistic school. An important part of his work is dedicated to his native country, Ukraine. His realistic works often expressed great psychological depth and exposed the tensions within the existing social order. Beginning in the late 1920s, detailed works on him were published in the Soviet Union, where a Repin cult developed about a decade later. He was held up as a model "progressive" and "realist" to be imitated by "Socialist Realist" artists in the USSR.
Repin was born in the town of Chuhuiv near Kharkiv in the heart of the historical region called Sloboda Ukraine. His parents were Russian military settlers. In 1866, after apprenticeship with a local icon painter named Bunakov and preliminary study of portrait painting, he went to Saint Petersburg and was shortly admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts as a student. From 1873 to 1876 on the Academy's allowance, Repin sojourned in Italy and lived in Paris, where he was exposed to French Impressionist painting, which had a lasting effect upon his use of light and colour. His style was to remain closer to that of the old European masters, especially Rembrandt, and he never embraced Impressionism.
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Iranian languages
The Iranian languages (also called Iranic languages) form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages which in turn are a subgroup of the Indo-European language family. The speakers of Iranian languages are known as Iranian peoples.
The Iranian languages are considered in three stages of Old (until 400 BCE), Middle (400 BCE – 900 CE), and New (since 900 CE). From the Old Iranian languages the better understood and recorded ones are Old Persian (a language of Achaemenid Iran) and Avestan (the language of Zarathushtra). Middle Iranian languages included Middle Persian (a language of Sassanid Iran) and Parthian (a language of Arsacid Iran). There are many Iranian languages, the largest amongst them are Persian, Pashto, Kurdish, and Balochi.
Today, there are an estimated 150–200 million native speakers of Iranian languages. The Ethnologue lists 87 Iranian languages.Persian has about 65 million native speakers, Pashto about 50 million, Kurdish about 18 million, Balochi about 7 million, and Lurish about 2.3 million.
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Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples (Iranic peoples) are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group that comprise the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of the Indo-European-speaking peoples. Their historical areas of settlement were on the Iranian plateau, and comprised most of Iran and certain areas of Central Asia such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and most of Afghanistan, some parts of western Pakistan, northern Iraq and eastern Turkey, and scattered parts of the Caucasus Mountains. Their current distribution spreads across the Iranian plateau, and stretches from Pakistan's Indus River in the east to eastern Turkey in the west, and from Central Asia and the Caucasus in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south – a region that is sometimes called the Iranian cultural continent, or Greater Persia by scholars, and represents the extent of the Iranian languages and influence of the Persian People, through the geopolitical reach of the Persian empire.
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Istria
Istria (Croatian, Slovene: Istra, Čakavian: Istrija, Jistra, Croatian pronunciation: [îstra]; Italian: Istria; Istriot: Eîstria; German: Istrien; Hungarian: Isztria), formerly Histria (Latin), is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner. It is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy.
The geographical features of Istria include the Učka mountain ridge, which is the highest portion of the Ćićarija mountain range; the rivers Dragonja, Mirna, Pazinčica, and Raša; and the Lim bay and valley. Istria lies in three countries: Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. By far the largest portion (89%) lies in Croatia. "Croatian Istria" is divided into two counties, the larger being Istria County in western Croatia. Important towns in Istria County include Pula, Poreč, Rovinj, Pazin, Labin, Umag, Motovun, Buzet, and Buje. Smaller towns in Istria County include Višnjan, Roč, and Hum.
The northwestern part of Istria lies in Slovenia: it is known as Slovenian Istria, and includes the coastal municipalities of Piran, Izola and Koper, and the Karstic municipality of Hrpelje-Kozina. Northwards of Slovenian Istria, there is a tiny portion of the peninsula that lies in Italy. This smallest portion of Istria consists of the comunes of Muggia and San Dorligo della Valle.
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Italians
Italians (Italian: italiani) are an ethnic group native of Southern Europe that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence (though the principle of jus sanguinis is used extensively and arguably more favorably in the Italian nationality law), and are distinguished from people of Italian descent and, historically, from ethnic Italians living in the unredeemed territories adjacent to the Italian Peninsula.
In 2012, in addition to the 60 million Italians in Italy and 3,000 in San Marino, Italian-speaking, autonomous groups are found in neighboring countries: about 500,000 in Switzerland, a large, but undefined population in France (Nice, Corsica), and smaller groups in Slovenia and Croatia, primarily in Istria. If regarded as an ethnic group, they constitute one of the world's largest.
Because of wide-ranging and long-lasting diaspora, about 4 and half million Italian citizens and over 70 million people of full or part Italian ancestry live outside of Italy, most notably in South America, North America, Australia and parts of Europe.
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Jan Matejko
Jan Matejko ( Polish pronunciation (help·info)) (also known as Jan Mateyko; June 24, 1838 – November 1, 1893) was a Polish painter known for paintings of notable historical Polish political and military events. His most famous works include oil on canvas paintings like Battle of Grunwald, paintings of numerous other battles and court scenes, and a gallery of Polish kings. He is counted among the most famous Polish painters.
Matejko born on June 24, 1838 in the Free City of Kraków. His father, Franciszek Ksawery Matejko (Czech: František Xaver Matějka) (born 1789 or 13 January 1793, died 26 October 1860), a Czech from the village of Roudnice, was a graduate of the Hradec Králové school; who later became a tutor and music teacher. He first worked for the Wodzicki family in Kościelniki, Poland, then moved to Kraków, where he married the half-German, half-Polish Joanna Karolina Rossberg. Jan was the ninth child from eleven that his parents had. After the death of his mother in 1846, Jan and his siblings were taken care of by his aunt, Anna Zamojska.
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Jaroslav Hašek
Jaroslav Hašek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjaroslaf ˈɦaʃɛk]; April 30, 1883 – January 3, 1923) was a Czech humorist, satirist, writer and socialist anarchist best known for his novel The Good Soldier Švejk, an unfinished collection of farcical incidents about a soldier in World War I and a satire on the ineptitude of authority figures, which has been translated into sixty languages. He also wrote some 1,500 short stories. He was a journalist, bohemian, and practical joker.
Hašek was born in Prague, Bohemia (then within Austria-Hungary, now part of the Czech Republic), the son of high-school math teacher Josef Hašek and his wife Kateřina. Poverty forced the family, with three children — another son Bohuslav, three years Hašek's younger, and an orphan cousin Maria — to move often, more than ten times during his infancy. He never knew a real home, and this rootlessness clearly influenced his life of wanderlust. When he was thirteen, Hašek's father died from excessive alcohol intake, and his mother was unable to raise him firmly. The teenage boy dropped out of high school at the age of 15 to become a druggist, but eventually graduated from business school. He worked briefly as a bank officer and also as a dog salesman (a profession he was to attribute to his hero Švejk and from which many of the improbable anecdotes told by Švejk are drawn). He preferred, however, the liberated profession of a writer and journalist, though he had entered into the circles of gypsies and vagabonds, taking up many bad habits and becoming unruly and hard to track down.
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Jordanes
Jordanes, also written Jordanis or, uncommonly, Jornandes, was a 6th century Roman bureaucrat, who turned his hand to history later in life.
While he also wrote Romana about the history of Rome, his best-known work is his Getica, written in Constantinople about AD 551. It is the only extant classical work dealing with the early history of the Goths.
Jordanes was asked by a friend to write this book as a summary of a multi-volume history of the Goths (now lost) by the statesman Cassiodorus. He was selected for his known interest in history (he was working on Rome's), his ability to write succinctly, and because of his own Gothic background. He had been a high-level notarius, or secretary, of a small client state on the Roman frontier in Moesia, modern northern Bulgaria.
Other writers, e.g. Procopius, wrote works still extant on the later history of the Goths. As the only surviving work on Gothic origins, the Getica has been the object of much critical review. Jordanes wrote in Late Latin rather than the classical Ciceronian Latin. According to his own introduction, he only had three days to review what Cassiodorus had written, meaning that he must also have relied on his own knowledge. Some of his statements are laconic.
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Jovan Vladimir
Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован Владимир; died 22 May 1016) was ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the First Bulgarian Empire. His close relationship with Byzantium did not save Duklja from the expansionist Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who conquered the principality in around 1010 and took Jovan Vladimir prisoner. A medieval chronicle asserts that Samuel's daughter, Theodora Kosara, fell in love with Vladimir and begged her father for his hand. The tsar allowed the marriage and returned Duklja to Vladimir, who ruled as his vassal.
Vladimir was acknowledged as a pious, just, and peaceful ruler. He took no part in his father-in-law's war efforts. The warfare culminated with Samuel's defeat by the Byzantines in 1014; the tsar died soon afterward. In 1016 Vladimir fell victim to a plot by Ivan Vladislav, the last ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire. He was beheaded in front of a church in Prespa, the empire's capital, and was buried there. He was soon recognized as a martyr and saint; his feast day is celebrated on 22 May. His widow, Kosara, reburied him in the Prečista Krajinska Church, near his court in southeastern Duklja. In 1381 his remains were preserved in the Church of St Jovan Vladimir near Elbasan, and since 1995 they have been kept in the Orthodox cathedral of Tirana, Albania. The saint's remains are considered relics, and attract many believers, especially on his feast day, when the relics are taken to the church near Elbasan for a celebration.
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Justinian I
Justinian I ( /dʒʌˈstɪniən/) (Latin: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus, Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ἰουστινιανός) (c. 482 – 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.
One of the most important figures of Late Antiquity and the last Roman Emperor to speak Latin as a first language, Justinian's rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The impact of his administration extended far beyond the boundaries of his time and domain. Justinian's reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general Belisarius swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, extending Roman control to the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequently Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic Kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the Empire after more than half a century of barbarian control.
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Kashubians
Kashubians/Kaszubians (Kashubian: Kaszëbi, Polish: Kaszubi/ Kaszuby, German: Kaschuben), also called Kashubs, Kashubes, Kaszubians, Kassubians or Cassubians, are a West Slavic ethnic group in Pomerelia, north-central Poland. Their settlement area is referred to as Kashubia (Kashubian: Kaszëbë, Polish: Kaszuby, German: Kaschubei, Kaschubien).
They speak Kashubian, classified either as a language or a Polish dialect. In analogy to the linguistic classification, Kashubians are considered either an ethnic or a linguistic group.
Slovincians are grouped with the Kashubians as Pomeranians. Similarly the Slovincian and Kashubian languages are grouped as the Pomeranian language, with Slovincian being either a closely related language or a Kashubian dialect.
Among larger cities, Gdynia (Gdiniô) contains the largest proportion of people declaring Kashubian origin. However, the biggest city of the Kashubia region is Gdańsk (Gduńsk), the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and the traditional capital of Kashubia. Between 80.3% and 93.9% people of the people in Linia, Sierakowice, Szemud, Kartuzy, Chmielno, Żukowo, etc. are of Kashubian descent.
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Khvalynsk culture
The Khvalynsk culture was an Eneolithic (copper age) culture of the first half of the 5th millennium BC, discovered at Khvalynsk on the Volga in Saratov Oblast, Russia. The culture also is termed the Middle Eneolithic or Developed Eneolithic or Proto-kurgan. It was preceded by the Early Eneolithic or Samara culture, from which it came, and succeeded by the Late Eneolithic, or Early Yamna culture, to which it descended.
The Khvalynsk culture extended from Saratov in the north to the North Caucasus in the south, from the Sea of Azov in the west to the Ural River in the east.
A good sprinkling of calibrated C-14 readings obtained from material in the graves of the type site date the culture certainly to the approximate window, 5000-4500 BC. This material is from Khvalynsk I, or Early Khvalynsk. Khvalynsk II, or Late Khvalynsk, is Late Eneolithic.
Some regard Khvalynsk I as Early Eneolithic, contemporary with the Samara culture. Gimbutas, however, believed Samara was earlier and placed Khvalynsk I in the Developed Eneolithic. Not enough Samara culture dates and sites exist to settle the question.
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Kiev culture
The Kiev culture is an archaeological culture dating from about the 3rd to 5th centuries, named after Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The dwellings are overwhelmingly of the semi-subterranean type, common among earlier Germanic tribes like the Scirii and Bastarnae, and later in Slavic cultures. It is contemporaneous to (and located mostly just to the north of) the Chernyakhov culture, which corresponds to the multi-ethnic Gothic kingdom, Oium.
Settlements are found mostly along river banks, frequently either on high cliffs or right by the edge of rivers. The dwellings are overwhelmingly of the semi-subterranean type (common also in later Slavic cultures and similar to earlier Germanic and Celtic types of dwellings), often square (about four by four meters), with an open hearth in a corner. Most villages consist of just a handful of dwellings. There is very little evidence of the division of labor, although in one case a village belonging to the Kiev culture was preparing thin strips of antlers to be further reworked into the well-known Gothic antler combs, in a nearby Chernyakhov culture village.
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Koban culture
The Koban culture (ca. 1100 to 400 BC) is a late Bronze Age and Iron Age culture of the northern and central Caucasus. It is preceded by the Colchian culture of the western Caucasus and the Kharachoi culture further east.
It is named after the village of Koban, Northern Ossetia, where in 1869 battle-axes, daggers, decorative items and other objects were discovered in a kurgan. Later, further sites were uncovered in the central Caucasus.
Many, such as Amjad Jaimoukha, believe the Koban culture was primarily Nakh.
The most well-studied site was on the outskirts of Serzhen-Yurt (in modern Chechnya), which was a major center from around 11th century BCE to around the 7th century BCE.
The remains include dwellings, cobble bridges, altars, iron objects, bones, and clay and stone objects. There were sickles and stone grain grinders. Grains that were grown included wheat, rye and barley. Cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, pigs and horses were kept. There were shops, where artisans worked on and sold pottery, stone-casting, bone-carving, and stone-carving. There is evidence of an advanced stage of metallurgy. There was differentiation of professionals organized within clans.
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Kurgan hypothesis
The Kurgan hypothesis (also theory or model) is one of the proposals about early Indo-European origins, which postulates that the people of an archaeological "Kurgan culture" (a term grouping the Yamna, or Pit Grave, culture and its predecessors) in the Pontic steppe were the most likely speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language. The term is derived from kurgan (курган), a Turkic loanword in Russian for a tumulus or burial mound.
The Kurgan model is the most widely accepted scenario of Indo-European origins. An alternative model is the Anatolian urheimat. (There also exists an Armenian hypothesis.)
The Kurgan hypothesis was first formulated in the 1950s by Marija Gimbutas, who defined the "Kurgan culture" as composed of four successive periods, with the earliest (Kurgan I) including the Samara and Seroglazovo cultures of the Dnieper/Volga region in the Copper Age (early 4th millennium BC). The bearers of these cultures were nomadic pastoralists, who, according to the model, by the early 3rd millennium BC expanded throughout the Pontic-Caspian steppe and into Eastern Europe.
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Lugii
The Lugii, Lugi, Lygii, Ligii, Lugiones, Lygians, Ligians, Lugians, or Lougoi were an ancient Germanic tribe attested in the book Germania by the Roman historian Tacitus. They lived in ca. 400 BC–300 AD in Central Europe, north of the Sudetes mountains in the basin of upper Oder and Vistula rivers, covering most of modern south and middle Poland (regions of Silesia, Greater Poland, Mazovia and Little Poland). Most archaeologists identify the Lugians with the Przeworsk culture. The source of their power was control of the most important middle part of the Amber Road from Sambia at the Baltic Sea to the provinces of Roman Empire: Pannonia, Noricum and Raetia. A tribe of the same name, usually spelled as Lugi, inhabited the southern part of Sutherland in Scotland. Roman records sometimes identify the Lugii with the Vandals, an East Germanic tribe.
According to Tacitus (Germania 43:3) the Lugii were divided into many tribes ('civitates'), of which he mentions the five most powerful: Harii, Helveconae, Manimi, Helisii and Naharvali. Claudius Ptolemeus mentions the Lugi Omani (Λοῦγοι οἱ Ὀμανοὶ), the Lugi Diduni (Λοῦγοι οἱ Διδοῦνοι) and the Lugi Buri (Λοῦγοι οἱ Βοῦροι)located on or near the upper Vistula in Germania Magna in what is now south Poland (Book 2, Chapter 10, 4th map of Europe). The forms of the names imply that the Lugii of that time were divided into the Omani, the Diduni and the Buri. In Tacitus the Buri are a separate tribe, so it's possible that they entered the Lugian federation a bit later.[citation needed]
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Marie Curie
Marie Skłodowska-Curie (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a French-Polish physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry. She was the first female professor at the University of Paris, and in 1995 became the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in the Panthéon in Paris.
She was born Maria Salomea Skłodowska ([ˈmarja salɔˈmɛa skwɔˈdɔfska]) in Warsaw, in what was then the Kingdom of Poland. She studied at Warsaw's clandestine Floating University and began her practical scientific training in Warsaw. In 1891, aged 24, she followed her older sister Bronisława to study in Paris, where she earned her higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work. She shared her 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband Pierre Curie and with the physicist Henri Becquerel. Her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie and son-in-law, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, would similarly share a Nobel Prize. She was the sole winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Skłodowska-Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only woman to date to win in two fields, and the only person to win in multiple sciences.
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Menander Protector
Menander Protector (Menander the Guardsman, Menander the Byzantian), Byzantine historian, was born in Constantinople in the middle of the 6th century AD. The little that is known of his life is contained in the account of himself quoted in the Suda. He at first took up the study of law, but abandoned it for a life of pleasure. When his fortunes were low, the patronage accorded to literature by the Emperor Maurice, at whose court he was a military officer (hence the epithet Protector, which denotes his military function), encouraged him to try writing history.
He took as his model Agathias who like him had been a jurist, and his history begins at the point where Agathias leaves off. It embraces the period from the arrival of the Kutrigurs in Thrace during the reign of Justinian in 558 down to the death of the emperor Tiberius in 582. Considerable fragments of the work are preserved in the Excerpts of Constantine Porphyrogenitus and in the Suda. Although the style is sometimes bombastic, he is considered trustworthy and is one of the most valuable authorities for the history of the 6th century, especially on geographical and ethnographical matters. He was an eye-witness of some of the events he describes. Like Agathias, he wrote epigrams, one of which, on a Persian magus, who became a convert to Christianity and died the death of a martyr, is preserved in the Greek Anthology (i.101).
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Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (Russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Ломоно́сов; IPA: [mʲɪxɐˈil vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ləmɐˈnosəf]; November 19 [O.S. November 8] 1711 – April 15 [O.S. April 4] 1765) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art, philology, optical devices and others. Lomonosov was also a poet, who created the basis of the modern Russian literary language.
Lomonosov was born in the village of Denisovka (later renamed Lomonosovo in his honor) in the Arkhangelsk Governorate, on an island not far from Kholmogory, in the far north of Russia. His father, Vasily Dorofeyevich Lomonosov, was a prosperous peasant fisherman turned ship owner, who amassed a small fortune transporting goods from Arkhangelsk to Pustozyorsk, Solovki, Kola, and Lapland. Lomonosov’s mother was Vasily’s first wife, a deacon’s daughter, Elena Ivanovna Sivkova.
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Milceni
The Milceni or Milzeni (Czech: Milčané; German: Milzener; Polish: Milczanie) were a West Slavic tribe, who settled in the present-day Upper Lusatia region. They were first mentioned in the middle of the 9th century AD by the Bavarian Geographer, who wrote of 30 civitates which possibly had fortifications. They were gradually conquered by Germans during the 10th century. Modern descendents of the Milceni are the Sorbs of the Free State of Saxony, Germany.
The Milceni travelled to Upper Lusatia in the 7th century during the Migration Period. The exact borders of their settlement area are disputed. It is generally accepted that their fielded land had fruitful loess soil and had dimensions of approximately 50 km from east to west and 20 km from north to south. The northern border was in swampy and partially unfertile terrain, while the southern border formed part of the Lausitzer Bergland. The hills of Burkau near Kamenz formed a natural boundary for the Milceni in the west, while their territory bordered that of the Besunzane in the east. The boundaries of the tribe have also been given as the Pulsnitz River in the west and the Kwisa River in the east.
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Milla Jovovich
Milla Jovovich ( /ˈjoʊvəvɪtʃ/ YOH-və-vich; born Milica Jovović,Serbian Cyrillic: Милица Јововић, Russian: Милица Йовович; December 17, 1975) is an American model, actress, musician, and fashion designer. Over her career, she has appeared in a number of science fiction and action-themed films, for which music channel VH1 has referred to her as the "reigning queen of kick-butt".
Milla Jovovich began modeling when Gene Lemuel convinced Herb Ritts to shoot her for the cover of Lei magazine.Richard Avedon featured her in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements, and she continued her career with other campaigns for L'Oréal cosmetics, Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, and Versace. In 1988, she had her first professional acting role in the television film The Night Train to Kathmandu, and later that year, she appeared in her first feature film, Two Moon Junction. Following more small television appearances such as the "Fair Exchange" (1989) and a 1989 role as a French girl (she was 14 at the time) on a Married... with Children episode and film roles, she gained notoriety with the romance film Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991). She appeared in 1993's Dazed and Confused, before a short hiatus. Jovovich then acted alongside Bruce Willis in the science fiction film The Fifth Element (1997), and later played the title role in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). In 2002, she starred in the video game adaptation Resident Evil, which spawned four sequels: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) and Resident Evil: Retribution (2012).
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Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians (in Moldovan/Romanian moldoveni pronounced [moldoˈvenʲ]; also written молдовень in the Moldovan Cyrillic script currently used only in Transnistria) are the current inhabitants of the territory of historical Principality of Moldova. The territory is currently divided among Romania (42%), Ukraine (24%, including Northern Bukovina, Hertsa, Northern Bessarabia and Budjak) and the Republic of Moldova (34%).
This article refers primarily to the Romance-speakers of the Republic of Moldova, the historical Bessarabia and diaspora originating from these regions. There is an ongoing controversy whether Moldovans are a fully fledged ethnic group or a subgroup of the Romanian ethnic group.
A poll conducted in the Republic of Moldova by IMAS-Inc Chisinau in October 2009 presented a detailed picture. The respondents were asked to rate the relationship between the identity of Moldovans and that of Romanians on a scale between 1 (entirely the same) to 5 (completely different). The poll showed that 26% of the entire sample, which included all ethnic groups, claimed the two identities were the same or very similar, whereas 47% claimed they were different or entirely different. The results varied significantly among different categories of subjects. For instance, while 33% of the young respondents (ages 18–29) chose the same or very similar and 44% different or very different, among the senior respondents (aged over 60) the corresponding figures were 18.5% and 53%. The proportion of those who chose the same or very similar identity was higher than the average among the native speakers of Romanian/Moldovan (30%), among the urban dwellers (30%), among those with higher education (36%), and among the residents of the capital city (42%).
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Mongols
Mongols (Mongolian: Монголчууд (help·info)), Mongolchuud) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. Owing to wars and migrations, Mongols are also found in some Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia (a smaller number of Mongols can also be found in Xinjiang in northwest China). The Buryat branch of the Mongol ethnic group can be found in the autonomous republic of Buryatia, Russia. Ethnic Mongols are bound together by a common language and culture. They speak languages belonging to the Mongolic languages. The contiguous territories inhabited by ethnic Mongols is also known as Greater Mongolia[disambiguation needed 
]. There are approximately 10 million ethnic Mongols in total.
A definition includes the Mongols proper, who can be approximately divided into the eastern Mongols (the Khalkha Mongols, the Inner Mongolians, the Buryats), and the Oirats. In a wider sense, the Mongol people includes all people who speak a Mongolic language, such as the Kalmyks of eastern Europe.
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Moravian Wallachia
Moravian Wallachia (Czech: Valašsko) is a mountainous region located in the easternmost part of Moravia, Czech Republic, near the Slovakian border. The name Wallachia was formerly applied to all the highlands of Moravia and neighboring Silesia, although in the nineteenth century a smaller area came to be defined as ethno-cultural Moravian Wallachia. The traditional dialect (rarely heard these days) represents a mixture of elements from Czech and Slovak, and has a distinct lexicon of Romanian and Balkan origin relating to the pastoral economy of the highlands.
The name comes from the exonym of the Romanian shepherd migrants (see Vlachs), who advanced along the Carpathian range between the 14th and 17th centuries. On their way they gradually lost their original language with the exception of some Romanian words they use in their Czech and Slovak dialect, but they preserved much of their culture (especially folklore, songs and costumes) and economic base, namely sheep breeding.
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Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus (German: Nikolaus Kopernikus; Italian: Nicolò Copernico; Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik (help·info); in his youth, Niclas Koppernigk; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe.
Copernicus' epochal book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), published just before his death in 1543, is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the scientific revolution. His heliocentric model, with the Sun at the center of the universe, demonstrated that the observed motions of celestial objects can be explained without putting Earth at rest in the center of the universe. His work stimulated further scientific investigations, becoming a landmark in the history of science that is often referred to as the Copernican Revolution.
Among the great polymaths of the Renaissance, Copernicus was a mathematician, astronomer, jurist with a doctorate in law, physician, quadrilingual polyglot, classics scholar, translator, artist,Catholic cleric, governor, diplomat and economist.
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Niklot
Niklot or Nyklot (1090 – killed in action August 1160) was a pagan chief or prince of the Slavic Obotrites and an ancestor of the House of Mecklenburg. From 1130 or 1131 until his death he was chief of the Obotrite confederacy, the Kissini, and the Circipani. At the same time he was Lord of (Herr zu) Schwerin, Quetzin, and Malchow. For nearly 30 years he resisted Saxon princes, especially Henry the Lion during the Wendish Crusade. He also opposed the conversion of the pagan Polabian Slavs to Roman Catholic Christianity.
Niklot's place of birth is unknown. After the death of the Obodrite prince Henry, a Christian, Niklot renounced Christianity in support of the traditional pagan beliefs.
Niklot began his open resistance when Lothar III, Holy Roman Emperor, granted the Obotrite realm to his Danish vassal Canute Lavard. Together with Pribislaw, the son of Henry of Alt-Lübeck, Niklot fought against Lothar and Canute. After the murder of Canute in 1131, Niklot and Pribislav partitioned the Obotrite territory, with Niklot receiving the eastern lands. In order to weaken Pribislav in the following years, Niklot allied himself with Saxon lords, especially Count Adolf II of Holstein, allowing Slavic pirates to attack the Danes.
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Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Тесла; 10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, and futurist. He was an important contributor to the use of commercial electricity, and is best known for developing the modern alternating current (AC) electrical supply system. His many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were based on the theories of electromagnetic technology discovered by Michael Faraday. Tesla's patents and theoretical work also formed the basis of wireless communication and the radio.
Born in the village of Smiljan (now part of Gospić, present day Croatia), Tesla was a subject of the Austrian Empire by birth and later became an American citizen. Because of his 1894 demonstration of short range wireless communication through radio and as the eventual victor in the "War of Currents", he was widely respected as one of the greatest electrical engineers who worked in America. He pioneered modern electrical engineering and many of his discoveries were of groundbreaking importance. In the United States during this time, Tesla's fame rivaled that of any other inventor or scientist in history or popular culture. Tesla demonstrated wireless energy transfer to power electronic devices in 1891, and aspired to intercontinental wireless transmission of industrial power in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project.
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Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Го́голь, tr. Nikolay Vasilyevich Gogol; IPA: [nʲɪkɐˈlaj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈgogəlʲ]; Ukrainian: Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; 31 March [O.S. 19 March] 1809 – 4 March [O.S. 21 February] 1852) was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist, novelist and short story writer.
Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism and the grotesque ("The Nose", "Viy", "The Overcoat," "Nevsky Prospekt"). His early works, such as Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, were influenced by his Ukrainian upbringing, Ukrainian culture and folklore. His later writing satirised political corruption in the Russian Empire (The Government Inspector, Dead Souls), leading to his eventual exile. The novel Taras Bulba (1835) and the play Marriage (1842), along with the short stories "Diary of a Madman", "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich", "The Portrait" and "The Carriage", round out the tally of his best-known works.
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Oleg Trubachyov
Oleg Nikolayevich Trubachyov (Russian: Оле́г Никола́евич Трубачёв; 22 October 1930, Stalingrad - 9 March 2002, Moscow) was a Russian doctor in philology. He was an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and served as the editor-in-chief of Etimologiya yearbook. His works are on the etymology of Slavic languages and on East Slavic onomastics.
He graduated from Dnipropetrovsk University in 1952. He became deputy director of the Russian Language Institute in 1966 and served as the head of the institute's sector on etymology and onomastics.
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Ossetians
The Ossetians (Ossetic: ирæттæ, irættæ) are an Iranic ethnic group of the Caucasus Mountains, indigenous to the region known as Ossetia. They speak Ossetic, an Iranian language of the Eastern branch of the Indo-European languages family, with most also fluent in Russian as a second language. The Ossetians are mostly Eastern Orthodox Christian, with a Muslim minority.
The Ossetians mostly populate Ossetia, which is politically divided between North Ossetia–Alania in Russia, and South Ossetia, which since the 2008 South Ossetia war has been de-facto independent from Georgia.
The Russian geographic name "Ossetia" and the corresponding ethnic designation "Ossetians" comes from a Georgian root.
The Russians originally called the Ossetians Yas (ясы, connected with Iazyges).
In Late Antiquity, records became much more diffuse and the Iazyges generally ceased to be mentioned as a tribe. In the Middle Ages an East Iranian people appeared in Eastern-Europe, the Jazones. The Jazones, or Jász, an Ossetic people who migrated to Hungary, are first mentioned in Hungarian records in the year 1318, and their name, spelled in Greek means "Jasons" (Ιάσωνες). The Jász in Hungary maintained their language until the 18th century. While they have become linguistically Hungarian, descendants in the Jász area of Hungary still maintain some original culture and have folk consciousness of their origins.
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Pavel Jozef Šafárik
Pavol Jozef Šafárik (Safáry / Schaffáry/ Schafary/ Saf(f)arik / Šafarík/ Szafarzik, Czech Pavel Josef Šafařík, German Paul Joseph Schaffarik, Serbian Павле Јосиф Шафарик, Latin Paulus Josephus Schaffarik, Hungarian Pál József Saf(f)arik) (13 May 1795, Kobeliarovo(Kisfeketepatak), Kingdom of Hungary part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time ruled by the Habsburgs – 26 June 1861, Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, at the part of the Austrian Empire) was a Slovak philologist, poet, one of the first scientific Slavists; literary historian, historian and ethnographer.
His father Pavol Šafárik (1761–1831) was a Protestant clergyman in Kobeliarovo and before that teacher in Štítnik (Csetnek), where he was also born. His mother, Katarína Káresová (1764–1812) was born in a poor lower gentry family in Hanková (Hankova) and had several jobs in order to help the family in the poor region of Kobeliarovo. P. J. Šafárik had two elder brothers and one elder sister. One brother, called Pavol Jozef as well, died before Šafárik was born. In 1813, after Katarína's death, Šafárik's father married the widow Rozália Drábová, although Šafárik and his brothers and sister were against this marriage. The local teacher provided Šafárik with Czech books.
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Pechenegs
The Pechenegs or Patzinaks (Russian: Печенег(и), Turkish: Peçenek(ler), Hungarian: Besenyő(k), Croatian: Pečenezi, Greek: Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, Georgian: პაჭანიკი, Bulgarian: печенеги, pechenegi or печенези, pechenezi; Serbian: Печенези, Latin: Pacinacae, Bisseni) were a semi-nomadic Turkic people of the Central Asian steppes speaking the Pecheneg language which belonged to the Turkic language family.
In Mahmud Kashgari's 11th-century work Dīwānu Lughati t-Turk (Arabic: ديوان لغات الترك), the name Beçenek is given two meanings. The first is "a Turkish nation living around the country of the Rum", where Rum was the Turkish word for the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire. Kashgari's second definition of Beçenek is "a branch of Oghuz Turks"; he subsequently described the Oghuz as being formed of 22 branches, of which the 19th branch was named Beçenek. Max Vasmer derives this name from the Turkic word for "brother-in-law, relative" (Turkmen: bacanak and Turkish: bacanak). According to Kashgari, Pechenegs are one of Üçok tribes of the Oghuz.
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Peter the Great
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Russian: Пётр Алексе́евич Рома́нов, Пётр I, Pyotr I, or Пётр Вели́кий, Pyotr Velikiy) (9 June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 – 8 February [O.S. 28 January] 1725) ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May [O.S. 27 April] 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother. In numerous successful wars he expanded the Tsardom into a huge empire that became a major European power. According to historian James Cracraft, he led a cultural revolution that replaced the traditionalist and medieval social and political system with a modern, scientific, Europe-oriented, and rationalist system.
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Polabian Slavs
Polabian Slavs (Lower Sorbian: Połobske Słowjany, Polish: Słowianie połabscy, Czech: Polabští Slované) - is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites tribes who lived along the Elbe river, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and the Limes Saxoniae to the west, the Ore Mountains and the Western Sudetes to the south, and Poland to the east. They have also been known as Elbe Slavs (German: Elbslawen) or Wends. Their name derives from the Slavic po, meaning "by/next to/along", and the Slavic name for the Elbe (Labe in Czech and Łaba in Polish).
The Polabian Slavs started settling in the territory of modern Germany in the second half of the first millennium. They were largely conquered by Saxons and Danes during the 12th century and subsequently included within the Holy Roman Empire. The tribes were gradually Germanized and assimilated in the following centuries; the Sorbs are the only descendants of the Polabian Slavs to have retained their identity and culture.
The Polabian language is now extinct. However, both Sorbian languages are spoken by approximately 60,000 inhabitants of the region and the languages are regarded by the government of Germany as official languages of the region.
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Poles
The Polish people, or Poles (Polish: Polacy [pɔˈlat͡sɨ]; singular: Polak), are a nation indigenous to Poland. They speak the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe. The Polish word for a Polish person is "Polak" (masculine) and "Polka" (feminine).
The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland. Poland's inhabitants live in the following historic regions of the country: Wielkopolska, Małopolska, Mazovia, Pomerania, Warmia, Mazury, Podlasie, Kujawy and Silesia. A wide-ranging Polish diaspora exists throughout Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine), the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Argentina) and Australia. Chicago, in the United States, has the world's largest urban Polish population after Warsaw.
Over a thousand years ago, the Polans of Giecz, Gniezno and Poznań — an influential tribe in Wielkopolska — succeeded in uniting Lechitic tribes under what became the Piast dynasty, thus giving rise to the Polish state.
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Poltavka culture
Poltavka culture, 2700—2100 BC, an early to middle Bronze Age archaeological culture of the middle Volga from about where the Don-Volga canal begins up to the Samara bend, with an easterly extension north of present Kazakhstan along the Samara River valley to somewhat west of Orenburg.
It is like the Catacomb culture preceded by the Yamna culture, while succeeded by the Sintashta culture. It seems to be seen as an early manifestation of the Srubna culture. There is evidence of influence from the Maykop culture to its south.
The only real things that distinguish it from the Yamna culture are changes in pottery and an increase in metal objects. Tumulus inhumations continue, but with less use of ochre.
It was preceded by the Yamna culture and succeeded by the Srubna and Sintashta culture. It is presumptively early Indo-Iranian (Proto-Indo-Iranian).
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Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II), born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920, Wadowice, Republic of Poland – 2 April 2005, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City), reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the second-longest serving Pope in history and the first non-Italian since 1523.
John Paul II was acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. He was instrumental in ending communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Though criticised by progressives for upholding the Church's teachings against artificial contraception and the ordination of women, and by traditionalists for his support of the Church's Second Vatican Council and its reform, he was also widely praised for his firm, orthodox Catholic stances.
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Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea (Latin: Procopius Caesarensis, Ancient Greek: Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς; c. AD 500 – c. AD 565) was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History. He is commonly held to be the last major historian of the ancient world.
Apart from his own writings, the main source for Procopius' life is an entry in the Suda, a 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia that tells nothing about his early life. He was a native of Caesarea in Palaestina Prima (modern Israel). He would have received a conventional élite education in the Greek classics and then rhetoric, perhaps at the famous School of Gaza, may have attended law school, possibly at Berytus (modern Beirut) or Constantinople, and became a rhetor (barrister or advocate). He evidently knew Latin, as was natural for a man with legal training. In 527, the first year of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I's reign, he became the adsessor (legal adviser) for Belisarius, Justinian's chief military commander who was then beginning a brilliant career.
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Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski (born 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers." Polanski's films have inspired diverse directors, including the Coen brothers,Atom Egoyan,Darren Aronofsky,Park Chan-wook,Abel Ferrara, and Wes Craven.
Born in Paris to Polish parents, he moved with his family back to Poland in 1937, shortly before the outbreak of World War II. He survived the Holocaust and was educated in Poland and became a director of both art house and commercial films. Polanski's first feature-length film, Knife in the Water (1962), made in Poland, was nominated for a United States Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but was beaten by Federico Fellini's 8½. He has since received five more Oscar nominations, along with two Baftas, four Césars, a Golden Globe Award and the Palme d'Or of the Cannes Film Festival in France. In the United Kingdom he directed three films, beginning with Repulsion (1965). In 1968 he moved to the United States, and cemented his status by directing the Oscar-winning horror film Rosemary's Baby (1968).
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Romanians
The Romanians (dated: Rumanians or Roumanians; in Romanian: români pronounced [roˈmɨnʲ] or — historically, but now a seldom-used regionalism — rumâni; dated exonym: Vlachs) are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania.
The Romanian people are a nation in the meaning of ethnos (Romanian: etnie), defined by the sense of sharing a common Romanian culture, descent, and having Romanian as mother tongue, as well as by citizenship or by being subjects to the same country. The Romanian citizenship law legislated in March 1991 establishes the rights of second and third generation descendants of Romanian citizens to obtain a Romanian citizenship, if they speak fluent Romanian and are able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in Romanian history and culture. 89.4 percent of Romania's people declared themselves as Romanians at the 2002 Romanian Census.
In one interpretation of the census results in Moldova, Moldovans are counted as Romanians, which would mean that the latter form part of the majority in that country as well. Romanians are also an ethnic minority in several nearby countries.
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Roxolani
The Roxolani ( from Alanic ruxsalan- "bright alan" ) were a Sarmatian people, who are believed[by whom?] to be an off-shoot of the Alans. Their first recorded homeland lay between the Don and Dnieper rivers; they migrated in the 1st century BC toward the Danube, to what is now the Baragan steppes in Romania.
The Greco-Roman historian Strabo (late 1st century BC-early 1st century AD) described them as "wagon-dwellers" (i.e. nomads) (Geographika, Book VII).
Around 100 BC they invaded the Crimea under their king Tasius in support of the Scythian warlord Palacus but were defeated by Diophantus, general of Mithradates VI.
In the mid-1st century AD, the Roxolani began incursions across the Danube into Roman territory. One such raid in AD 68/69 was intercepted by the Legio III Gallica with Roman auxiliaries, who destroyed a raiding force of 9,000 Roxolanian cavalry encumbered by baggage. Tacitus (Hist. Bk1.79) describes the weight of the armor worn by the 'princes and most distinguished persons' made 'it difficult for such as have been overthrown by the charge of the enemy to regain their feet' The long two-handed kontos lance, the primary melee weapon of the Sarmatians, was unusable in these conditions. The Roxolani avenged themselves in AD 92, when they joined the Dacians in destroying the Roman Legio XXI Rapax.
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Russians
The Russian people (Russian: русские, russkiye) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.
The English term Russians is also used to refer to the citizens of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity; the demonym Russian is translated into Russian as rossiyanin (россиянин, plural rossiyane), while the ethnic Russians are referred to as russkiye (sg. русский, russkiy).
According to the 2010 census, ethnic Russians make up about 81% of the population of Russia.
The modern Russian is formed from two groups, Northern and Southern, which were made up of Kriviches, Ilmen Slavs, Radimichs, Vyatiches and Severians East Slavic tribes. Genetic studies show that modern Russians do not differ significantly from Poles or Slovenians or Ukrainians. Some ethnographers, like Zelenin, affirm that Russians are more similar to Belarusians and Ukrainians than southern Russians to northern Russians. Russians in northern European Russia share moderate genetic similarities with Uralic peoples, who lived in modern north central European Russia and were partly assimilated by the Slavs as the Slavs migrated northeastwards. Among those peoples were Merya and Muromian.
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Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns or Ruthenes (Rusyn: Русины, Rusyns, also sometimes referred to as Carpatho-Russians or Rusnaks) are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century. The use of the term Rusyn was prohibited by some governments, as seen after 1945 in Soviet Transcarpathia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.
Today, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Croatia officially recognize contemporary Rusyns (or Ruthenes) as an ethnic minority. In 2007, Carpatho-Rusyns were recognized as a separate ethnicity in Ukraine by the Zakarpattia Regional Council. Rusyns within Ukraine have Ukrainian citizenship, and most have adopted a Ukrainian ethnic identity. Most contemporary self-identified ethnic Rusyns live outside of Ukraine.
Of the estimated 1.2 million people of Rusyn origin, only 55,000 have officially identified themselves politically or ethnically as such, according to contemporary censuses.[who?] The ethnic classification of Rusyns as a separate East Slavic ethnicity distinct from Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians is, however, controversial. The majority of Ukrainian scholars, as well as some Rusyns when considering their self-identification, consider Rusyns to be an ethnic subgroup of the Ukrainian people. This is disputed by some Lemko scholars.
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Ruthenians
The name Ruthenian (Ukrainian: Русини, Руські, Rusyns, Rus') is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians. With the emergence of Ukrainian nationalism in the mid nineteenth-century, the term went out of use, first in eastern and central Ukraine, and later in western Ukraine.[citation needed] In western Ukraine (namely Carpathian Ruthenia), and among some émigré populations outside of Ukraine, its use has been retained on a small scale (see Pannonian Rusyns).
Originally, the term Rusyn was an ethnonym applied to the eastern Slavic-speaking ethnic group who inhabited the cultural and ethnic region of Rus' (Русь); often written through its Latin variant Ruthenia.
The names "Ruthenians" or "Ruthenes" were the Latin terms referring to Slavic Orthodox people (those who spoke the Ruthenian language) living in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They inhabited the area that is now Belarus, Ukraine and Western Russia (area around Bryansk, Smolensk, Velizh and Vyazma). It was also the ethnonym used by the Ukrainian kozaks to describe themselves.
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Samo
Samo (died 658) was a Frankish merchant from the "Senonian country" (Senonago), probably modern Soignies, Belgium or Sens, France. He was the first ruler of the Slavs (623–658) whose name is known, and established one of the earliest Slav states, a supra-tribal union usually called (King) Samo's empire, realm, kingdom, or tribal union.
The main source of written information on Samo and his empire is the Fredegarii Chronicon, a Frankish chronicle written in the mid-seventh century (c. 660). Though theories of multiple authorship abounded once, the notion of a single "Fredegar" is common scholarly fare today. The last or only Fredegar was the author of the brief account of the Wends in which is found the best, and only contemporary, information on Samo.
All other sources for Samo are derived from Fredegar, and are much more recent. The Gesta Dagoberti I regis Francorum ("Deeds of King Dagobert I of the Franks") was written in the first third of the ninth century. The Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum ("Conversion of the Bavarians and Karantanians") from Salzburg (the Bavarian ecclesiastic centre), written in 871–872, is a very tendentious source, as its name suggests. According mainly to the Conversio, Samo was a Karantanian merchant.
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Saqaliba
Saqaliba (Arabic: صقالبة, sg. Siqlabi) refers to the Slavs, particularly Slavic slaves and mercenaries in the medieval Arab world, in the Middle East, North Africa, Sicily and Al-Andalus. It is generally thought that the Arabic term is a Byzantine loanword: saqlab, siklab, saqlabi etc. is a corruption of Greek Sklavinoi for "Slavs". The word was also often used more generally to refer to all slaves from Central and Eastern Europe.
The Persian chronicler Ibn al-Faqih wrote that there were two types of saqaliba: those with swarthy skin and dark hair that live by the sea and those with fair skin and light hair that live farther inland. Abu Zayd al-Balkhi described three main centers of the Saqaliba - Kuyaba, Slavia, and Artania.
Ibrahim ibn Yaqub placed the people of "Saqalib" in the mountainous regions of Central Balkans, west of the Bulgarians and east from the "other Slavs" (Croats), thus in the Serb lands. The Saqalib had the reputation of being "the most courageous and violent".
There were several major routes of the trade of Slav slaves into the Muslim world: through Central Asia (Mongols, Tatars, Khazars, etc.); through the Mediterranean (Byzantium); through Central and Western Europe to Al-Andalus and further to North Africa (Morocco, Egypt). The Volga trade route and other European routes, according to Ibrahim ibn Jakub, were serviced by Radanites, Jewish merchants. Theophanes mentions that the Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I settled a whole army of 5,000 Slavic mercenaries in Syria in the 660s.
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Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians (Latin Sarmatæ or Sauromatæ, Sanskrit Sakas Greek Σαρμάται, Σαυρομάται) were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD.
Their territory was known as Sarmatia to Greco-Roman ethnographers, corresponding to the western part of greater Scythia (modern Southern Russia, Ukraine, and the eastern Balkans). At their greatest reported extent, around 100 BC, these tribes ranged from the Vistula River to the mouth of the Danube and eastward to the Volga, bordering the shores of the Black and Caspian seas as well as the Caucasus to the south.
The Sarmatians declined in the 4th century with the incursions connected to the Migration period (Huns, Goths). The descendants of the Sarmatians became known as the Alans during the Early Middle Ages, and ultimately gave rise to the modern Ossetic ethnic group.
Sarmatae is in origin probably just one of several tribal names of the Sarmatians which came to be applied to the entire group as an exonym in Greco-Roman ethnography. Strabo in the 1st century names as the main tribes of the Sarmatians the Iazyges, the Roxolani, the Aorsi and the Siraces.
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Saxons
The Saxons (Latin: Saxones, Old English: Seaxe, Old Saxon: Sahson, Low German: Sassen) were a confederation of Germanic tribes on the North German plain, who during the Middle Ages migrated to the British Isles and formed part of the Anglo-Saxons.
The Saxons were originally Ingvaeonic tribes, whose earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein. This area overlapped the area of the Angles, a tribe with which they were frequently closely linked. Saxons participated in the Germanic settlement of Britain during and after the fifth century. It is unknown how many migrated from the continent to Britain, though estimates for the total number of Anglo-Saxon settlers are around two hundred thousand. During the Middle ages, because of international Hanseatic trading routes and contingent migration during the Middle Ages, Saxons mixed with and had strong influences upon the languages and cultures of the North Germanic and Baltic and Finnic peoples, and also upon the Polabian Slavs and Pomeranian West Slavic people.
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Serbs
The Serbs (Serbian: Срби, Srbi, pronounced [sr̩̂bi]) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs live mainly in Serbia and the disputed territory of Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form significant minorities in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in Romania, Hungary, Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. There is also a large Serbian diaspora in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. More than a million people of Serbian origin live in German-speaking countries, including Luxembourg (1%), Austria (1.8%), Switzerland (1%), and Germany (~1%). Outside Europe, there are significant Serbian communities in the United States (198,000 Serbian plus additional 326,000 "Yugoslav" nationals),Canada (72,690 in 2006) and Australia (95,000 in 2006).
The Serbs are a Slavic people, specifically of the South Slavic subgroup, which has its origins in the 6th and 7th century communities developed in Southeastern Europe (see Great Migration). Slav raids on Eastern Roman territory are mentioned in 518, and by the 580s they had conquered large areas referred to as Sclavinia (transl. Slavdom, from Sklavenoi – Σκλαυηνοι, the early South Slavic tribe which is eponymous to the current ethnic and linguistic Indo-European people). In 649, Constantine III relocates conquered Slavs "from the Vardar" to Gordoservon (Serb habitat). Among communities part in the Serb ethnogenesis are the Romanized Paleo-Balkan tribes of Illyrians, Thracians and Dacians, Celts, Greek colonies and Romans.
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Silesians
Silesians (Silesian: Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: Schläsinger; Polish: Ślązacy; Czech: Slezané; German: Schlesier), are the inhabitants of Silesia in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. A small diaspora community also exists in Karnes County, Texas in the USA and in Ostojićevo in Serbia.
There has been some debate over whether or not a group of Silesians (historically Upper Silesians) constitute a distinct nation. In modern history, they have been often pressured to declare themselves to be either German or Polish or Czech and embrace the language of the current governing nation. Nevertheless, 809,000 people declared Silesian nationality in the Polish national census in 2011, making them the largest minority group in Poland alongside the German minority (93% of Germans in Poland live in the Polish part of Silesia), while 12,231 people declared Silesian nationality in the Czech national census in 2011 (44,446 in 1991) and 6,361 people declared Silesian and Moravian nationality in the Slovak national census.
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Slavic names
Given names originating from the Slavic languages are most popular in Slavic countries such as Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and others.
In pre-Christian traditions, a child younger than 7–10 years old would bear a "substitutional name" (e.g. Niemój "not mine", Nielub "not loved"), whose purpose was to decrease the apparent importance of a child and protect him or her from the curiosity of evil powers. This practice probably derived from the existence of a high fatality rate for young children at that time. A child who survived 7–10 years was worthy of care and was granted adult status and a new adult name during the ritual of a first haircut.
Generally traditional names were dominant until Slavic nations converted to Christianity (e.g. the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church). For instance, the Council of Trent (1545–63) decided that every Catholic should have a Christian name instead of native one.
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Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, (Slovak Slováci, singular Slovák, feminine Slovenka, plural Slovenky) are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.
Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia (circa 5,050,000). There are Slovak minorities in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and sizeable populations of immigrants and their descendants in the U.S. and in Canada.
The first known Slavic states on the territory of present-day Slovakia were the Empire of Samo and the Principality of Nitra, founded sometime in the 8th century.
Great Moravia (833 - ?907) was a Slavic state in the 9th and early 10th centuries, whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. Its formation and rich cultural heritage have attracted somewhat more interest since 19th century. Important developments took place at this time, including the mission of Greek monks Cyril and Methodius, the development of the Glagolitic alphabet (an early form of the Cyrillic script), and the use of Old Church Slavonic as the official and literary language.
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Slovenes
The Slovenes, Slovene people, Slovenians, or Slovenian people (Slovene Slovenci, dual Slovenca, singular Slovenec, feminine Slovenke, dual Slovenki, singular Slovenka), living primarily in Slovenia in South-Central Europe, are the northernmost South Slavic people. The language the Slovenes speak is Slovene, a South Slavic language with significant similarities to the West Slavic languages. Recognised Slovene minorities are present in Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, and there are significant Slovene expatriate communities in the United States and Canada, the European countries, Argentina, and Australia.
Most Slovenes today live within the borders of the independent Slovenia (2,007,711 est. 2008). There are autochthonous Slovene minorities in northeastern parts of Italy (estimated at 83,000 – 100,000), southern Austria (24,855), Croatia (13,200) and Hungary (3,180). Slovenes are recognized as national minorities in all four countries with which Slovenia shares a land border (Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Italy).
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Sorbs
Sorbs (Upper Sorbian: Serbja; Lower Sorbian: Serby also known as Wends, Lusatian Sorbs or Lusatian Serbs) are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages (Wendish, Lusatian) - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and protected as a minority language of Germany. They are predominantly Roman Catholics and Lutheran Protestants.
Sorbs are divided into two geographical groups:
The dialects spoken vary in intelligibility in different areas.
Lusatian tribes are noted in the work of the Bavarian Geographer. The document contains a list of the tribes in Central-Eastern Europe east of the Elbe and north of the Danube to the Volga rivers to the Black and Caspian Sea most of them of Slavic origin. Having settled by the Elbe, Spree and Neisse in the 6th century, Sorbian tribes divided into two main groups, which have taken their names from the characteristics of the area where they had settled. Sorbs living on the swampy broads of the Lower Spree have taken their name from the word marsh. The Milceni (ancestors of Upper Sorbs) settled on fertile soil around Upper Spree, the name derives from the word měl’ (loess soil). Both groups were separated from each other by a wide and uninhabited forest range. The rest of the tribes settled themselves between the Elbe and Saale. Among many Slavic tribes Bavarian Geographer noted also few lusatian tribes:
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Sredny Stog culture
The Sredny Stog culture (named after the Ukrainian village of Seredny Stih where it was first located, for which Sredny Stog is the conventional Russian-language designation) dates from the 4500-3500 BC. It was situated just north of the Sea of Azov between the Dnieper and the Don. One of the best known sites associated with this culture is Dereivka, located on the right bank of the Omelnik, a tributary of the Dnieper, and is the most impressive site within the Sredny Stog culture complex, being about 2,000 square meters in area.
It seems to have had contact with the agricultural Cucuteni-Trypillian culture in the west, and was a contemporary of the Khvalynsk culture. Yuri Rassamakin suggests that it should be considered an areal term, with at least four distinct cultural elements.
Inhumation was in a ground level pit, not yet capped by a tumulus (kurgan). The deceased was placed on his back with the legs flexed. Ochre was used. Expert Dmytro Telegin has divided Sredny Stog into two distinct phases. Phase II (ca. 4000-3500 BC) also knew corded ware pottery, which it may have originated, and stone battle-axes of the type later associated with expanding Indo-European cultures to the West. Most notably, it has perhaps the earliest evidence of horse domestication (in phase II), with finds suggestive of cheek-pieces (psalia).
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Srubna culture
The Srubna culture (Russian: Сру́бная культу́ра, Ukrainian: Зрубна́ культу́ра, also English: Timber-grave culture), was a Late Bronze Age (18th-12th centuries BC) culture. It is a successor to the Yamna culture (Pit Grave culture) and the Poltavka culture.
It occupied the area along and above the north shore of the Black Sea from the Dnieper eastwards along the northern base of the Caucasus to the area abutting the north shore of the Caspian Sea, west of the Ural Mountains to come up against the domain of the approximately contemporaneous and somewhat related Andronovo culture.
The name comes from Russian cруб (srub), "timber framework", from the way graves were constructed. Animal parts were buried with the body.
The economy was mixed agriculture and livestock breeding. The historical Cimmerians have been suggested as descended from this culture.
The Srubna culture is succeeded by Scythians and Sarmatians in the 1st millennium BC, and by Khazars and Kipchaks in the first millennium AD.
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Tadeusz Kościuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ([taˈdɛuʂ kɔɕˈt͡ɕuʂkɔ] ( listen); February 12, 1746 – October 15, 1817) was Polish-Lithuanian and American general and military leader during the Kościuszko Uprising. He is a national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States, and Belarus. He led the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia as Supreme Commander of the Polish National Armed Force (Najwyższy Naczelnik Siły Zbrojnej Narodowej).
Before commanding the 1794 Uprising, he fought in the American Revolutionary War as a colonel in the Continental Army. In 1783, in recognition of his dedicated service, he was brevetted by the Continental Congress to the rank of brigadier general in a mass promotion given to all officers who had served during the war and became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[citation needed] The United States also gave him a land grant.
On a visit to America in 1798, Kościuszko collected his back pay and entrusted it to his friend Thomas Jefferson in his will, directing him to spend the American money on freeing and educating black slaves, including Jefferson's. Kościuszko died in 1817, but Jefferson never carried out the terms of his will, nor did a friend to whom he transferred the executorship. In 1852 Chief Justice Roger Taney of the U.S. Supreme Court transferred the money, by then worth more than $50,000, to Kościuszko's heirs in Poland, ruling that his American will had been invalid.
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Tatars
Tatars (Tatar: Tatarlar / Татарлар, sometimes spelled Tartars) are a Turkic people, numbering around 7 million. The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of 5.5 million, 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan, 1 million in the republic of Bashkortostan and other 2.5 million in different regions of Russia. Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.
The Tatars originated with the Tatar confederation in the north-eastern Gobi desert in the 5th century. After subjugation in the 9th century by the Khitans, they migrated southward. In the 13th century Mongol Empire, they were subjugated under Genghis Khan and reassigned once again particularly by his son Jochi. Under the leadership of his grandson Batu Khan, they moved westwards, forming part of the Golden Horde which dominated the Eurasian steppe during the 14th and 15th centuries. In Europe, they were assimilated by the local populations or their name spread to the conquered peoples: Kipchaks, Kimaks and others; and elsewhere with Uralic-speaking peoples, as well as with remnants of the ancient Greek colonies in the Crimea and Caucasians in the Caucasus.
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Terek Cossacks
The Terek Cossack Host (Russian: Терское казачье войско) was a Cossack host created in 1577 from free Cossacks who resettled from the Volga to the Terek River. In 1792 it was included in the Caucasus Line Cossack Host and separated from it again in 1860, with the capital of Vladikavkaz. In 1916 the population of the Host was 255,000 within an area of 1.9 million desyatinas.
Many of the early members of the Terek Cossacks were Ossetians.
The earliest known records of Slavic settlements on the lower Terek River date to 1520 when the Ryazan Principality was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Moscow and a lone group left and settled in the natural haven of the Terek River (modern northern Chechnya). The early settlement was located at the mouth of the Aktash River. This formed the oldest Cossack group, the Mountain Cossacks (Гребенские казаки Grebenskiye Kazaki) who settled on both banks of the river.
In 1559-71 the Tsardom of Russia, in the course of several campaigns, built several fortifications, during which the first Terka was built, later taken over by the still independent Cossacks. In 1577, after the Volga Cossacks were defeated by the strelets Ivan Murashkin, many scattered, some of whom settled in the Terek basin and Voevoda Novosiltsev built the second Terka on the Terek, marking the start of the Terek Cossacks. In 1584 this Terka was again taken over by Cossacks, some of whom were recruited by the Georgian King Simon.
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Tomislav of Croatia
King Tomislav (died 928) was a ruler of Croatia in the Middle Ages. He reigned from 910 until 928, first as Duke (dux Croatorum) of Dalmatian Croatia in 910–925, and then became first King (rex Croatorum) of the Croatian Kingdom in 925–928.
He was probably the son of Muncimir, Duke of Dalmatian Croatia. Tomislav was one of the most prominent members of the House of Trpimirović. He united the Croats of Dalmatia and the Slavs of Pannonia into a single Kingdom in 925. He ruled over the territory of today's Croatia and Bosnia, rounding off his state from the Adriatic Sea to the Drava River, and from the Raša River in Istria to the Drina River.
Tomislav defeated the Magyar mounted invasions of the Arpads in battle and forced them across the Drava River. Tomislav annexed a part of Pannonian Croatia to his Croatian Dalmatia. This included the area between the rivers Drava, Sava and Kupa, so his Duchy bordered with Bulgaria for a period of time. This was the first time that the two Croatian Realms were united, and all Croats were in one state.
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Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups that live in northern, central and western Asia, northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. The term Turkic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people including existing societies such as the Turkish, Azerbaijani, Chuvashes, Kazakhs, Tatars, Kyrgyzs, Turkmens, Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Bashkirs, Qashqai, Gagauzs, Yakuts, Crimean Karaites, Krymchaks, Karakalpaks, Karachays, Nogais and as well as past civilizations such as the Göktürks, Kumans, Kipchaks, Avars, Bulgars, Turgeshes, Khazars, Seljuk Turks, Ottoman Turks, Mamluks, Timurids and possibly Huns and the Xiongnu.
The distribution of people of Turkic cultural background ranges from Siberia, across Central Asia, to Eastern Europe. As of 2011[update] the largest groups of Turkic people live throughout Central Asia—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan, in addition to Turkey and Iran. Additionally, Turkic people are found within Crimea, East Turkistan region of western China, northern Iraq, Pakistan, Israel, Russia, Afghanistan, and the Balkans: Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, and former Yugoslavia. A small number of Turkic people also live in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Small numbers inhabit eastern Poland and the south-eastern part of Finland. There are also considerable populations of Turkic people (originating mostly from Turkey) in Germany, United States, and Australia, largely because of migrations during the 20th century.
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Ukrainians
Ukrainians (Ukrainian: Українці, Ukrayintsi, [ukrɑˈjinʲtsʲi]) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens. According to some dictionary definitions, a descriptive name for the "inhabitants of Ukraine" is Ukrainian or Ukrainian people.Russians and Belarusians are considered the closest relatives of Ukrainians, while Rusyns are either considered another closely related group, or an ethnic subgroup of Ukrainians.
Ethnonym Ukrainians became widely accepted only in the 20th century, so modern Ukrainians identify their ancestry with differently named historical Slavic groups, who are often called Ukrainians too, in retrospect. The oldest recorded ethnonyms used for Ukrainian ancestors are Rusy, Rusyny, and Rusychi (from term Rus'). From the 9th to 12th centuries those names applied to the population of Kievan Rus', as the united state of Rusy is restrospectively called. Similar names were adopted by the proto-Russian and proto-Belarusian inhabitants of the northern principalities of Rus', reflecting the common origin of all those East Slavic peoples.
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Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe who in 429 under king Genseric entered Africa and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Malta and the Balearics. In 455, they sacked the city of Rome. Their kingdom collapsed in the Vandalic War of 533–4, in which Justinian I managed to reconquer the Africa province for the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
Renaissance and Early Modern writers characterized the Vandals as barbarians, "sacking and looting" Rome. This led to the use of the term "vandalism", to describe any senseless destruction, particularly the "barbarian" defacing of artworks. However, modern historians tend to regard the Vandals during the transitional period (from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages) as perpetuators, not destroyers, of Roman culture.
The name of the Vandals has often been connected to that of Vendel,[citation needed] the name of a province in Uppland, Sweden, which is also eponymous of the Vendel period of Swedish prehistory, corresponding to the late Germanic Iron Age leading up to the Viking Age. The connection would be that Vendel is the original homeland of the Vandals prior to the Migration Period, and retains their tribal name as a toponym.
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Varangians
The Varangians or Varyags (Old Norse: Væringjar; Swedish: Väringar; Greek: Βάραγγοι, Βαριάγοι, Varangoi, Variagoi; Russian and Ukrainian: Варяги, Varyagi / Varyahy; Belarusian: Варагі, Varahi) was the name given by Greeks and East Slavs to Vikings, who between the 9th and the 11th centuries ruled the medieval state of Rus', and formed the Byzantine Varangian Guard.
According to the 12th century Kievan Primary Chronicle, a group of Varangians known as the Rus' settled in Novgorod in 864, under the leadership of Rurik. Before Rurik, the Rus' might have ruled an earlier hypothetical polity. Rurik's relative Oleg conquered Kiev in 882, and established the state of Kievan Rus', which was later ruled by Ruriks descendants. The name of the Rus' is the origin of the name Russia.
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Vlachs
Vlach ( /ˈvlɑːk/ or /ˈvlæk/) is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Wallachians, Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs. Groups that have historically been called Vlachs include: modern-day Romanians or Daco-Romanians, Aromanians or Macedo-Romanians, Morlachs, Megleno-Romanians and Istro-Romanians. Since the creation of the Romanian state, the term in English has mostly been used for those living outside Romania.
The Vlachs, which would develop into the modern Romanian ethnicity, do not become tangible before the High Middle Ages in Kedrenos (11th century), and their prehistory during the Migration period is a matter of scholarly speculation but according to the linguists and to many scholars, the existence of the present Eastern Romance languages prove the survival of the Thraco-Romans in the low-Danube basin during the Migration period and the Vlachs are all being well considered descendants of Romanised peoples of the area (incl. Thracians, Dacians and Illyrians).
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Vučedol culture
The Vučedol culture (Croatian: Vučedolska kultura) was an Indo-European culture that flourished between 3000 and 2200 BC (the Eneolithic period of earliest copper-smithing), centered in Syrmia and eastern Slavonia on the right bank of the Danube river, but possibly spreading throughout the Pannonian plain and western Balkans and southward. Sometimes called the Vučedol civilization, though apparently illiterate, it was contemporary with the Sumer period in Mesopotamia, the Early Dynastic period in Egypt and the earliest settlements of Troy (Troy I and II).
Following the Baden culture, another wave of Indo-European people came to the banks of the Danube. One of the major places they occupied is present-day Vučedol ("Wolf's Valley"), a location six kilometers downstream from the center of the town of Vukovar, Croatia. It is estimated that the site had once been home to about 3000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest and most important European centers of its time.Coordinates: 45°21′N 19°00′E / 45.35°N 19°E / 45.35; 19 According to some opinions, proto-Illyrians descended from this wave of Indo-European settlers. According to other opinions, this culture might be a predecessor of the Mycenaean Greeks.[citation needed]
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World War I
World War I (WWI), which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939 (World War II), and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centred around the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; but, as Austria–Hungary had taken the offensive against the agreement, Italy did not enter into the war). These alliances both reorganised (Italy fought for the Allies), and expanded as more nations entered the war. Ultimately more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of enormous increases in lethality of weapons, thanks to new technology, without corresponding improvements in protection or mobility. It was the sixth-deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nations involved.
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Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslaveni, Jugosloveni; Cyrillic script: Југословени; Slovene: Jugoslovani; Macedonian: Југословени; Bulgarian: югославяните) is a designation that was originally designed to refer to a united South Slav people. It has been used in two connotations, the first in an ethnic or supra-ethnic connotation, and the second as a term for citizens of the former Yugoslavia. Cultural and political advocates of Yugoslav identity have historically ascribed the identity to be applicable to all people of South Slav heritage, including those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and the presently disputed region of Kosovo, Slovenia, and the Republic of Macedonia.
Ethnic Yugoslavs referred to those who exclusively viewed themselves as Yugoslavs with no other ethnic self-identification. Yugoslavs has also historically been used referred to a Yugoslav supra-ethnic nation that has "tribal" ethnicities, such as Croats, Serbs, and others within it.
In the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the official designation for those who declared themselves Yugoslav was with quotation marks, "Yugoslavs" (introduced in census 1971). Quotation marks were meant to distinguish Yugoslav ethnicity from Yugoslav citizenship – which was written without quotation marks. Shortly before the dissolution of Yugoslavia many of those who had identified themselves as ethnic "Yugoslavs" reverted to or adopted traditional nationalities such as Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Muslims by nationality, Slovenes—and other small Yugoslav groups in Yugoslavia not officially represented by the state, including Bulgarians, Janjevci, Bunjevci, and Šokci. Some also decided to turn to sub-national regional identifications, especially in multi-ethnic historical regions like Istria, Vojvodina, or Bosnia. The Yugoslav designation however continues to be used by some.
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Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (Russian: Ю́рий Алексе́евич Гага́рин,Russian pronunciation: [ˈjurʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ɡɐˈɡarʲɪn]; 9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1961.
Gagarin became an international celebrity, and was awarded many medals and honours, including Hero of the Soviet Union, the nation's highest honour. Vostok 1 marked his only spaceflight, but he served as backup crew to the Soyuz 1 mission (which ended in a fatal crash). Gagarin later became deputy training director of the Cosmonaut Training Centre outside Moscow, which was later named after him. Gagarin died in 1968 when a MiG 15 training jet he was piloting crashed.
Yuri Gagarin was born in the village of Klushino near Gzhatsk (now in Smolensk Oblast, Russia), on 9 March 1934. The adjacent town of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin in 1968 in his honour. His parents, Alexey Ivanovich Gagarin and Anna Timofeyevna Gagarina, worked on a collective farm. While manual labourers are described in official reports as "peasants", his mother was reportedly a voracious reader, and his father a skilled carpenter. Yuri was the third of four children, and his elder sister helped raise him while his parents worked. Like millions of people in the Soviet Union, the Gagarin family suffered during Nazi occupation in World War II. After a German officer took over their house, the family constructed a small mud hut where they spent a year and nine months until the end of the occupation. His two older siblings were deported to Nazi Germany for slave labour in 1943, and did not return until after the war. In 1946, the family moved to Gzhatsk.
wn.com/Yuri_Gagarin -
Šokci
Šokci (Croatian: Šokci, Hungarian: Sokácok) are an ethnographic group of South Slavs who mainly identify as Croats. They are not considered a separate ethnicity in Croatia and elsewhere, while in Serbia they are. They have a distinct culture and tradition, differentiating them from other Croats. They live in various settlements along the Danube and Sava rivers in the historic regions of Slavonia, Baranja, Srem and western Bačka. These regions today span eastern Croatia, northern Serbia (the Vojvodina province), and southeastern Hungary.
Šokci are considered to be a native population of Slavonia and Syrmia in Croatia.
The origin of the first Šokci people is not completely clear. In the Early Middle Ages there was a toponym called Succi or Succus which had in ancient times divided the Illyrians from the Thracians in Pannonia.[citation needed]Matija Petar Katančić thought the Šokci to be descendants of the original Thracian tribes, but the prevalent opinion of modern scholars, based on etymology, is that they were Catholics who moved from the south, across the Sava from Bosnia, by the end of the Ottoman wars in Europe, as the Turks were retreating. The Šokci in Baranja are considered to be descendents of settlers from a mass migration of Croats from an area near Srebrenica, Bosnia into the region after the Ottoman retreat in the 18th century. Regardless of when exactly they settled there, Šokci are considered to be an indigenous Croatian population of Slavonia and Vojvodina, which distinguishes them from the majority of the present-day population of these regions who are descendants of latter settlers. The feeling of being indigenous rather than a settler is an important characteristic of the population.
wn.com/Šokci
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Chess Openings- Slav Defense (Queens Gambit Declined)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:03
- Updated: 25 Dec 2012
The Slav Defense is a very popular defense in the queens gambit declined lines. The Slav Defense looks to protect his d5 pawn with his cpawn instead of using his e 4 pawn and without blocking in his bishop. Because there are so many variations in the Slav Defense it has become one of the most popular openings for grandmasters to play in chess. www.thechesswebsite.com Chess Software used in the video can be found at http and www.chessok.com
http://wn.com/Chess_Openings_Slav_Defense_Queens_Gambit_Declined
The Slav Defense is a very popular defense in the queens gambit declined lines. The Slav Defense looks to protect his d5 pawn with his cpawn instead of using his e 4 pawn and without blocking in his bishop. Because there are so many variations in the Slav Defense it has become one of the most popular openings for grandmasters to play in chess. www.thechesswebsite.com Chess Software used in the video can be found at http and www.chessok.com
Chess World.net: Chess Openings: The Slav Defence, Part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:52
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
►Playlists: www.chessworld.net ►Kingscrusher's Greatest Hit Videos! : tinyurl.com ►Play FREE online chess at www.chessworld.net Letsplaychess.com Opening Systems The Slav Defence, Part 1
http://wn.com/Chess_Worldnet_Chess_Openings_The_Slav_Defence,_Part_1
►Playlists: www.chessworld.net ►Kingscrusher's Greatest Hit Videos! : tinyurl.com ►Play FREE online chess at www.chessworld.net Letsplaychess.com Opening Systems The Slav Defence, Part 1
- published: 30 Nov 2008
- views: 21632
- author: kingscrusher
Arkona - Slav'sia Rus'
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:59
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
new video!
http://wn.com/Arkona_Slav'sia_Rus'
slavthread (that feel when slav)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:21
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/slavthread_that_feel_when_slav
Slavic Nations
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:03
- Updated: 28 Dec 2012
Slavic nations are countries that share a common culture, common linguistic family, and common ethnic bond. Each Slavic ethnicity is part of the larger Slavic world, one which has evolved over centuries and form different culture existing today. Slavs are united by pre-Christian and Christian unity. While the idea of Pan-Slavism and a Slav Union has collapsed after Yugoslavia's breakup, and sequential inter-ethnic conflicts and historic conflicts, Slavs still appreciate their cultural heritage that they can even respect in the worse of times - even when they have been at war. For some, real Slavic unity may never come until there is a political and economic revolution and change within Slav majority nations. And, until the squabbles of the past is supplemented by true Slavic governments seeking real cultural unity, which does not exist today.
http://wn.com/Slavic_Nations
Slavic nations are countries that share a common culture, common linguistic family, and common ethnic bond. Each Slavic ethnicity is part of the larger Slavic world, one which has evolved over centuries and form different culture existing today. Slavs are united by pre-Christian and Christian unity. While the idea of Pan-Slavism and a Slav Union has collapsed after Yugoslavia's breakup, and sequential inter-ethnic conflicts and historic conflicts, Slavs still appreciate their cultural heritage that they can even respect in the worse of times - even when they have been at war. For some, real Slavic unity may never come until there is a political and economic revolution and change within Slav majority nations. And, until the squabbles of the past is supplemented by true Slavic governments seeking real cultural unity, which does not exist today.
- published: 04 Aug 2010
- views: 71620
- author: lilsteller
The Slavs - Documentary [1/3]
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:55
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
Documentary film about the Slavs, originally called "Z Vzhoda" or "From East". This Slovenian documentary with English subtitles and three parts telling us the history and culture of the Early Slavs.
http://wn.com/The_Slavs_Documentary_1_3_
Documentary film about the Slavs, originally called "Z Vzhoda" or "From East". This Slovenian documentary with English subtitles and three parts telling us the history and culture of the Early Slavs.
- published: 19 Mar 2010
- views: 68947
- author: Blad771
Arkona - Slav'sia Rus' ! (HD resolution)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:59
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
videoclip in HD resolution
http://wn.com/Arkona_Slav'sia_Rus'_!_HD_resolution
Chess Openings - Semi Slav
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:29
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
The Semi Slav is a very popular opening for black in defense of the Queen's Gambit from white. It is seen at all levels of play and is thought to be one of the more sound defenses against the Queens Gambit. It is similar to the Slav defense, so if you haven't seen that video already make sure you check it out. chess software used in video can be found at www.chesscentral.com and http
http://wn.com/Chess_Openings_Semi_Slav
The Semi Slav is a very popular opening for black in defense of the Queen's Gambit from white. It is seen at all levels of play and is thought to be one of the more sound defenses against the Queens Gambit. It is similar to the Slav defense, so if you haven't seen that video already make sure you check it out. chess software used in video can be found at www.chesscentral.com and http
- published: 15 Feb 2011
- views: 36280
- author: thechesswebsite
Chess World.net: Chess Openings: The Slav Defence, Part 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:59
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
►Playlists: www.chessworld.net ►Kingscrusher's Greatest Hit Videos! : tinyurl.com ►Play FREE online chess at www.chessworld.net Letsplaychess.com Opening systems The Slav Defence, Part 2
http://wn.com/Chess_Worldnet_Chess_Openings_The_Slav_Defence,_Part_2
►Playlists: www.chessworld.net ►Kingscrusher's Greatest Hit Videos! : tinyurl.com ►Play FREE online chess at www.chessworld.net Letsplaychess.com Opening systems The Slav Defence, Part 2
- published: 30 Nov 2008
- views: 10655
- author: kingscrusher
Chess World.net: Chess Openings: The Slav Defence, Part 3
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:47
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
►Playlists: www.chessworld.net ►Kingscrusher's Greatest Hit Videos! : tinyurl.com ►Play FREE online chess at www.chessworld.net Letsplaychess.com Opening systems The Slav Defence, Part 3
http://wn.com/Chess_Worldnet_Chess_Openings_The_Slav_Defence,_Part_3
►Playlists: www.chessworld.net ►Kingscrusher's Greatest Hit Videos! : tinyurl.com ►Play FREE online chess at www.chessworld.net Letsplaychess.com Opening systems The Slav Defence, Part 3
- published: 30 Nov 2008
- views: 7055
- author: kingscrusher
Mitologia Słowiańska // Slavic Mythology
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:06
- Updated: 28 Dec 2012
Music : Arkona - Zov Bitvy
http://wn.com/Mitologia_Słowiańska_Slavic_Mythology
Traditional clothes of the East Slavs
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:03
- Updated: 20 Dec 2012
The East Slavs are a Slavic ethnic group, the speakers of East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, by the seventeenth century they evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian people. Modern East Slavic people and ethnic groups include: 1) RUSSIANS -Pomors -Lipovan Russians -Cossacks 2)UKRAINIANS -Bojko -Hutsuls -Lemkos -Poleszuks 3) BELARUSSIANS -Poleszuks 4)RUSYNS -Lemkos
http://wn.com/Traditional_clothes_of_the_East_Slavs
The East Slavs are a Slavic ethnic group, the speakers of East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, by the seventeenth century they evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian people. Modern East Slavic people and ethnic groups include: 1) RUSSIANS -Pomors -Lipovan Russians -Cossacks 2)UKRAINIANS -Bojko -Hutsuls -Lemkos -Poleszuks 3) BELARUSSIANS -Poleszuks 4)RUSYNS -Lemkos
- published: 09 Jan 2009
- views: 8500
- author: SrboRuskinja
![The Slavs - Documentary [2/3]](http://web.archive.org./web/20121229192900im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3_ATfyUB4xo/default.jpg "The Slavs - Documentary [2/3]")
The Slavs - Documentary [2/3]
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:34
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
Documentary film about the Slavs, originally called "Z Vzhoda" or "From East". This Slovenian documentary with English subtitles and three parts telling us the history and culture of the Early Slavs.
http://wn.com/The_Slavs_Documentary_2_3_
Documentary film about the Slavs, originally called "Z Vzhoda" or "From East". This Slovenian documentary with English subtitles and three parts telling us the history and culture of the Early Slavs.
- published: 19 Mar 2010
- views: 11401
- author: Blad771
Chess Lesson #8, Part L (Semi-Slav Defense)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:50
- Updated: 30 Jul 2012
Semi-Slav Defense: Complete Chess Course at: www.freewebs.com Visit my Chess Blog at: www.kingkibitz.paidtoblog.com
http://wn.com/Chess_Lesson_8,_Part_L_Semi-Slav_Defense
Semi-Slav Defense: Complete Chess Course at: www.freewebs.com Visit my Chess Blog at: www.kingkibitz.paidtoblog.com
- published: 22 Feb 2009
- views: 5693
- author: KensOfficeUSA
Red Bull Diary - Day 02 - Profiles Slav, Alcolil, Exen, Zoob
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:27
- Updated: 10 Dec 2012
ILLFLOWPRODUCTION WWW.BBOYWORLD.COM RED BULL BC ONE www.redbullbcone.com DAY 02 PROFILES of first 4 participants - Alcolil , Exen , Slav , Zoob
http://wn.com/Red_Bull_Diary_Day_02_Profiles_Slav,_Alcolil,_Exen,_Zoob
ILLFLOWPRODUCTION WWW.BBOYWORLD.COM RED BULL BC ONE www.redbullbcone.com DAY 02 PROFILES of first 4 participants - Alcolil , Exen , Slav , Zoob
- published: 03 Aug 2012
- views: 18496
- author: MaliceTM
Leonid Kritz - Try the Chebanenko Slav in 60 Minutes
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:51
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
chessbase-shop.com In this Video Leonid Kritz shows you how to play the Chebanenko Slav with 5.c5!
http://wn.com/Leonid_Kritz_Try_the_Chebanenko_Slav_in_60_Minutes
chessbase-shop.com In this Video Leonid Kritz shows you how to play the Chebanenko Slav with 5.c5!
- published: 20 Oct 2011
- views: 4413
- author: ChessBaseProducts
LIVE Blitz Chess Commentary #105: Slav Defense
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 16:05
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
★ FACEBOOK facebook.com ★ TWITTER twitter.com ★ GOOGLE+ plus.google.com ★ LIVESTREAM twitch.tv This is a blitz chess game I played against a random opponent who was selected from the ChessNetwork Cafe on ChessCube. The game was livestreamed at www.twitch.tv/ChessNetwork. Time controls are set at 5 minutes per player. Opening: Slav Defense
http://wn.com/LIVE_Blitz_Chess_Commentary_105_Slav_Defense
★ FACEBOOK facebook.com ★ TWITTER twitter.com ★ GOOGLE+ plus.google.com ★ LIVESTREAM twitch.tv This is a blitz chess game I played against a random opponent who was selected from the ChessNetwork Cafe on ChessCube. The game was livestreamed at www.twitch.tv/ChessNetwork. Time controls are set at 5 minutes per player. Opening: Slav Defense
- published: 05 Aug 2012
- views: 4023
- author: ChessNetwork
![Slav - The Stigma [HD]](http://web.archive.org./web/20121229192900im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aXHh83IoK5I/default.jpg "Slav - The Stigma [HD]")
Slav - The Stigma [HD]
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:37
- Updated: 05 Oct 2012
Music and Lyrics © 2011 by Slav. All rights reserved. www.myspace.com www.twitter.com Camera: Krzysztof Krefta Video post-production: OkaKadr www.youtube.com * The Stigma I'm not welcome with embrace So my hands are always clean I don't find myself in nightmares 'Cause no one dreams of me Should the brand ever be removed Let the flower bloom and die Should the brand ever be removed The stigma is all I am inside Overwhelming sorrow is better than nothing that you feel I can nestle against the floor While your arms are empty Should the brand ever be removed Let the flower bloom and die Should the brand ever be removed The stigma is all I am inside Heart of mine won't turn to stone Trembling when they pass me by And the brand is the reason why You look at me from time to time Should the brand ever be removed Let the flower bloom and die Should the brand ever be removed The stigma is all I am inside
http://wn.com/Slav_The_Stigma_HD_
Music and Lyrics © 2011 by Slav. All rights reserved. www.myspace.com www.twitter.com Camera: Krzysztof Krefta Video post-production: OkaKadr www.youtube.com * The Stigma I'm not welcome with embrace So my hands are always clean I don't find myself in nightmares 'Cause no one dreams of me Should the brand ever be removed Let the flower bloom and die Should the brand ever be removed The stigma is all I am inside Overwhelming sorrow is better than nothing that you feel I can nestle against the floor While your arms are empty Should the brand ever be removed Let the flower bloom and die Should the brand ever be removed The stigma is all I am inside Heart of mine won't turn to stone Trembling when they pass me by And the brand is the reason why You look at me from time to time Should the brand ever be removed Let the flower bloom and die Should the brand ever be removed The stigma is all I am inside
- published: 29 May 2011
- views: 3992
- author: slavmusiclips
Watch Carlsen smashing Slav defense: Magnus Carlsen vs Zaven Andriasian
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:29
- Updated: 28 Dec 2012
Magnus Carlsen (2450) - Zaven Andriasian (2311) [D17] WYCC 2003 - B14 Halkidiki (8.3), 30.10.2003 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4 e6 7.Nxf5 exf5 8.e3 Bd6 9.Bxc4 0--0 10.Qf3 g6 11.h3 h5 12.Bd2 [12.0--0 0--0 is a book move] 12...Nbd7 13.0--0--0 a6 14.g4 fxg4 15.hxg4 hxg4 [15...Nxg4 16.Qg2] 16.Qg2 b5 17.Ba2 [17.axb5 axb5] 17...c5 18.Ne4 Qe7 [18...Nxe4 19.Qxe4] 19.Nxd6 Qxd6 20.dxc5 Qe7 [20...Qxc5+ 21.Bc3 b4 22.Rxd7 bxc3 23.Rxf7 cxb2+ 24.Kb1 Rxf7 25.Qxa8+] 21.Bc3 Rac8 22.Rxd7 Qxc5 [22...Qxd7 23.Qh2; 22...Nxd7 23.Rh8#] 23.Kb1 b4 24.Qxg4 Black resigned 24...bxc3 [24...Nxg4 25.Rh8#] 25.Qxg6# 1--0
http://wn.com/Watch_Carlsen_smashing_Slav_defense_Magnus_Carlsen_vs_Zaven_Andriasian
Magnus Carlsen (2450) - Zaven Andriasian (2311) [D17] WYCC 2003 - B14 Halkidiki (8.3), 30.10.2003 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4 e6 7.Nxf5 exf5 8.e3 Bd6 9.Bxc4 0--0 10.Qf3 g6 11.h3 h5 12.Bd2 [12.0--0 0--0 is a book move] 12...Nbd7 13.0--0--0 a6 14.g4 fxg4 15.hxg4 hxg4 [15...Nxg4 16.Qg2] 16.Qg2 b5 17.Ba2 [17.axb5 axb5] 17...c5 18.Ne4 Qe7 [18...Nxe4 19.Qxe4] 19.Nxd6 Qxd6 20.dxc5 Qe7 [20...Qxc5+ 21.Bc3 b4 22.Rxd7 bxc3 23.Rxf7 cxb2+ 24.Kb1 Rxf7 25.Qxa8+] 21.Bc3 Rac8 22.Rxd7 Qxc5 [22...Qxd7 23.Qh2; 22...Nxd7 23.Rh8#] 23.Kb1 b4 24.Qxg4 Black resigned 24...bxc3 [24...Nxg4 25.Rh8#] 25.Qxg6# 1--0
- published: 06 Nov 2011
- views: 28010
- author: MatoJelic
Slaver Slav - I Ain't Nice
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:19
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
The music video to Slaver Slav's hit song "I Ain't Nice" from his album "Still Stabbin'" on Setback Records. The video was directed by Bones Willis. Slaver Slav was the preeminent bad boy of rap, the top recording act at Setback Records. He's responsible for the hit album "I'm Smackin' And Stabbin' Somebody". At the tender age of 16, Slaver Slav was released from prison after serving 17 years for aggravated battery. He released his first single "Put Me In Jail Again And I'll Smack The Stank Off You" about a month later. The rest is history. His music is highly regarded in the rap community. He is notable for his groundbreaking flow and bad boy style. In fact, the rapper Flavor Flav named himself as a reference to the music pioneer Slaver Slav. Watch it in High Quality, it's much better that way. Also, add "&fmt;=18" after the video link to get the best Stereo sound quality. --- Haha! Yeah! Slaver Slav! Unos, dos, tres, yeah Girls keep talkin' 'bout what they like I don't care 'Cause I ain't nice I talk to you once, don't call me twice Kiss my ass, girl I ain't nice I got no manners I wear bandanas Word on the street is I'm bananas I got a lot of money I'm cold as ice So get out my face, hoe I ain't nice I ain't nice, I ain't nice, haha, Slaver Slav! --- PLEASE READ: I am not associated with Setback Records, Slaver Slav or Bones Willis. Totally no copyright infringement was intended by uploading this video.
http://wn.com/Slaver_Slav_I_Ain't_Nice
The music video to Slaver Slav's hit song "I Ain't Nice" from his album "Still Stabbin'" on Setback Records. The video was directed by Bones Willis. Slaver Slav was the preeminent bad boy of rap, the top recording act at Setback Records. He's responsible for the hit album "I'm Smackin' And Stabbin' Somebody". At the tender age of 16, Slaver Slav was released from prison after serving 17 years for aggravated battery. He released his first single "Put Me In Jail Again And I'll Smack The Stank Off You" about a month later. The rest is history. His music is highly regarded in the rap community. He is notable for his groundbreaking flow and bad boy style. In fact, the rapper Flavor Flav named himself as a reference to the music pioneer Slaver Slav. Watch it in High Quality, it's much better that way. Also, add "&fmt;=18" after the video link to get the best Stereo sound quality. --- Haha! Yeah! Slaver Slav! Unos, dos, tres, yeah Girls keep talkin' 'bout what they like I don't care 'Cause I ain't nice I talk to you once, don't call me twice Kiss my ass, girl I ain't nice I got no manners I wear bandanas Word on the street is I'm bananas I got a lot of money I'm cold as ice So get out my face, hoe I ain't nice I ain't nice, I ain't nice, haha, Slaver Slav! --- PLEASE READ: I am not associated with Setback Records, Slaver Slav or Bones Willis. Totally no copyright infringement was intended by uploading this video.
- published: 23 Aug 2008
- views: 267439
- author: PanekPL
Magnus Carlsen Beats Kasparov's Slav Defense ... Almost (Magnus Carlsen vs Garry Kasparov)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:02
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
♕ PGN/ARTICLE ►: www.onlinechesslessons.net ♕ Other game they played ►: www.onlinechesslessons.net ♕ facebook.com ♕ twitter.com Carlsen opens with 1. d4 and Kasparov responds with a weird sideline of the Slav Defense on 6. ...Qa5 - most likely trying to take Carlsen out of his comfort zone and into an opening he had not studied extensively. Carlsen responds very logically with 7. Nd2 and 8. Qc2, calmly defending the important d4 square and breaking the pin on the c3 knight. With 9. ...e5!? Kasparov aims to immmediately sharpen play, however Carlsen refuses to be baited into uncharted waters and calmly plays 10. 0-0. Kasparov's 11. ...Qb6 seems to be inaccurate as just 3 moves later he plays 14. ...Qc7 - making room for his d7 knight to maneuver to b6. Extreme complications ensue and Kasparov is forced to embark on a very awkward maneuver to avoid material loss, leading to a strong initiative for Carlsen after 23. Qc5 Rd8 24. d5! - introducing extreme pressure against Kasparov's badly coordinated and developed pieces. Carlsen's position looked nearly winning after 29. Rfe1, although after Kasparov 29. ...Bb7, it became apparent that if white played 30. Nxa5, black could sacrifice his bishop with 30. ...Bxg2 - leading to a very advantageous position for black. Instead of 29. Rfe1, Carlsen could have played 29. Bc7 which would led to a winning endgame for white as he would capture the a5 pawn and have 2 extra, connected passed pawns. However, after 29. Rfe1 Bb7 ...
http://wn.com/Magnus_Carlsen_Beats_Kasparov's_Slav_Defense_Almost_Magnus_Carlsen_vs_Garry_Kasparov
♕ PGN/ARTICLE ►: www.onlinechesslessons.net ♕ Other game they played ►: www.onlinechesslessons.net ♕ facebook.com ♕ twitter.com Carlsen opens with 1. d4 and Kasparov responds with a weird sideline of the Slav Defense on 6. ...Qa5 - most likely trying to take Carlsen out of his comfort zone and into an opening he had not studied extensively. Carlsen responds very logically with 7. Nd2 and 8. Qc2, calmly defending the important d4 square and breaking the pin on the c3 knight. With 9. ...e5!? Kasparov aims to immmediately sharpen play, however Carlsen refuses to be baited into uncharted waters and calmly plays 10. 0-0. Kasparov's 11. ...Qb6 seems to be inaccurate as just 3 moves later he plays 14. ...Qc7 - making room for his d7 knight to maneuver to b6. Extreme complications ensue and Kasparov is forced to embark on a very awkward maneuver to avoid material loss, leading to a strong initiative for Carlsen after 23. Qc5 Rd8 24. d5! - introducing extreme pressure against Kasparov's badly coordinated and developed pieces. Carlsen's position looked nearly winning after 29. Rfe1, although after Kasparov 29. ...Bb7, it became apparent that if white played 30. Nxa5, black could sacrifice his bishop with 30. ...Bxg2 - leading to a very advantageous position for black. Instead of 29. Rfe1, Carlsen could have played 29. Bc7 which would led to a winning endgame for white as he would capture the a5 pawn and have 2 extra, connected passed pawns. However, after 29. Rfe1 Bb7 ...
- published: 12 Sep 2012
- views: 13330
- author: OnlineChessLessons
photo: US Navy / HMC Josh Ives
27 Dec 2012
Imperial adventures are nothing new in the Middle East. Neither is their glorification, as Peter O’Toole’s pained Lawrence of Arabia eternally reminds us. But for a decade or so now, things have been heating up, as if to coincide with climate change and fears of declining petroleum reserves ... The Belly for Belligerence? ... The question loomed over beltway intelligentsia like an ephemeral Gordian knot ... We’re All Hawks Now ... While George W ... ....(size: 9.3Kb)
photo: AP / Ben Curtis
28 Dec 2012
The president of Central African Republic (CAR) has urgently called on France and other foreign powers to help his government fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territory and approaching the capital. Speaking to crowds in Bangui, a city of some 600,000, Francois Bozize on Thursday pleaded with foreign powers to do what they could. He pointed in particular to France, Central African Republic's former colonial ruler ... 516 Share ... News ... ....(size: 19.5Kb)
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal
27 Dec 2012
Washington. Six people, including two young children, were left dead in weather-related accidents, as winter snowstorms complicated travel for many Americans in the Midwest and Northeast on Wednesday. Snow totals in parts of Indiana ranged from 6 to 12 inches, CNN reported. About 350 snowploughs were clearing roads throughout the city. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told residents they should avoid nonessential travel ... IANS ... ....(size: 2.2Kb)
photo: AP / K.M.Chaudary
27 Dec 2012
Large crowds of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) supporters are gathering to mark the fifth anniversary of the murder of ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Ms Bhutto died in a gun and bomb attack during her 2007 election campaign. Hundreds of thousands of people have set up camp near the Bhutto family's ancestral home in Sindh province ... He cannot contest an election until his 25th birthday. Show of strength ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)
photo: AP / Maya Alleruzzo
27 Dec 2012
CAIRO — President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt took responsibility on Wednesday for “mistakes” during the run-up to ratification of the new Constitution and urged Egyptians to appreciate the fierce disagreements about it as a “healthy phenomenon” of their new democracy. Times Topic. Egypt News — Revolution and Aftermath. Related. Egypt Opposition Gears Up After Constitution Passes (December 24, 2012) ... Twitter List....(size: 11.8Kb)
Reuters
29 Dec 2012
SKOPJE (Reuters) - Several thousand people rallied in front of the headquarters of Macedonia's rightist ruling party on Saturday demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and early elections ... It put growth next year at 2 percent of GDP ... Parliamentary elections in Macedonia are tentatively slated for 2015 ... The country is also facing tensions between its Macedonian Slav majority and ethnic Albanian minority....(size: 2.0Kb)
Ha'aretz
28 Dec 2012
"Just imagine a group of blind people who encounter an elephant for the first time in their lives. They place their hands on it and touch it in order to understand what kind of animal it is ... the origin of the Jewish people. ... The Khazar Empire consisted of various peoples (Iranians, Turks, Slavs, Caucasians and others ), and ruled over a vast territory stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea during the medieval period ... Elhaik ... ....(size: 13.2Kb)
CounterPunch
28 Dec 2012
Nancy Lanza who stockpiled food and semi-automatic weapons. She believed that an economic collapse was imminent and prepared to defend herself from the resulting social chaos. Nancy included her son Adam in these activities, taking him to shooting ranges for target practice ... During the 19th and 20th centuries, white mobs attacked Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican immigrants as well as the Irish and Slavs who were not yet considered white ... ....(size: 11.6Kb)
noodls
25 Dec 2012
(Source. International Ice Hockey Federation). The imposing monument to Bakshkir national hero Salavat Yulayev looks over the Belaya river in Ufa. Photo. City of Ufa. UFA - The 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship will be held in the Russian city of Ufa from 26 December 2012 to 5 January 2013. It is the most eastern venue in the 37 years of the tournament ... Note ... Turks, Slavs and Finno-Ugric peoples ... ALEXANDER YAKOBSON. distributed by....(size: 6.2Kb)
Deccan Chronicle
22 Dec 2012
New Delhi. Grandmaster and Asian champion Parimarjan Negi got off to a good start in the AICF-AAI Chess Cup holding top seed Radoslav Wojtaszek of Poland to a draw here at the AAI institute ... Playing black the Indian said he was quite satisfied with his preparation ... Playing the white side of a Chabanenko Slav, Abhijeet got a symbolic advantage out of the opening which grew after Sasikiran poarted with his light Bishop for a Knight ... ....(size: 2.9Kb)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
22 Dec 2012
Friday. 5 p.m.1. TINSELTOWN, ASTORIA ... One building is now the separately run and recently renovated Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Avenue; 718-777-6888; movingimage.us), which is free on Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m ... 8 p.m.2 ... Long known as a Greek neighborhood, Astoria is now wildly diverse, with Colombians, Brazilians and Slavs, and a big Middle Eastern commercial district at the north end of Steinway Street known as Little Egypt ... ....(size: 9.8Kb)
The Times of India
21 Dec 2012
NEW DELHI. Grandmaster and Asian champion Parimarjan Negi got off to a good start as he held top seed Radoslav Wojtaszek of Poland to a draw in the AICF-AAI Chess Cup at the AAI institute on Friday ... Playing the white side of a Chabanenko Slav, Abhijeet got a symbolic advantage out of the opening, which grew after Sasikiran parted with his light Bishop for a Knight ... The players repeated the moves to share the point after 42 moves ... ....(size: 2.8Kb)
All About Jazz
21 Dec 2012
2012 has been another banner year, but one with an ever-present problem. so much good music, but so little time. While there are many other recordings worthy of attention—and inclusion—with the usual condition that only albums that have been reviewed are eligible for selection, here are just a few of the top recorded events in jazz and beyond for 2012, in no particular order.. Jazz New Releases ... Dream Logic ... Slav to the Rhythm....(size: 3.5Kb)
Otago Daily Times
20 Dec 2012
Girish Rae has fought in two kickboxing events in as many weeks and all he has got to show for it is a broken nose ... ''It's disappointing, but that's the way the cookie crumbles,'' Rae said ... Christchurch man Brad Riddell won the eight-man contest, while former Dunedin man Chase Hayley, now fighting out of Melbourne, lost his Commonwealth light-heavyweight title fight to Aucklander Slav Alexeichik. . . ....(size: 2.7Kb)
noodls
20 Dec 2012
(Source. PFA - Professional Footballers' Association) Published 2012/12/20 03.16 by Jesse Broekx. A Zenit St Petersburg supporters' group has called for non-white and gay players to be excluded from the team ... In an open letter, they said ... "We only want players from our brotherly Slav nations, such as Ukraine and Belarus as well as from the Baltic states and Scandinavia ... distributed by ... (noodl. 17029145) ....(size: 3.2Kb)
ESPN
19 Dec 2012
The Zenit St Petersburg fan group responsible for a controversial 'manifesto' concerning black and gay players has insisted its message was misrepresented. PA PhotosHulk and Axel Witsel became the first black players to represent Zenit after signing for the club in September ... The group added that Russians, along with the "brotherly Slav nations", Baltic states and Scandinavia, better understood the club's mentality and culture ... ....(size: 3.8Kb)
The Independent
18 Dec 2012
Zenit St Petersburg manager Luciano Spalletti has distanced the club from a group of supporters who have called for “sexual minorities” and non-Europeans to be excluded from the playing staff ... In a section headed "The mentality of the human", the letter published on landscrona.ru read ... "We only want players from other brotherly Slav nations, such as Ukraine and Belarus as well as from the Baltic states and Scandinavia....(size: 2.2Kb)
The Independent
18 Dec 2012
Zenit St Petersburg manager Luciano Spalletti has distanced the club from a group of supporters who have called for “sexual minorities” and non-Europeans to be excluded from the playing staff ... In a section headed "The mentality of the human", the letter published on landscrona.ru read ... "We only want players from other brotherly Slav nations, such as Ukraine and Belarus as well as from the Baltic states and Scandinavia....(size: 2.2Kb)
"Slav" redirects here. For other uses, see Slav (disambiguation).
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The Slavic peoples are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. From the early 6th century they spread to inhabit most of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans.[18] In addition to their main population centre in Europe, some East Slavs (Russians) also settled later in Siberia[19] and Central Asia.[20] Part of all Slavic ethnicities emigrated to other parts of the world.[21][22] Over half of Europe's territory is inhabited by Slavic-speaking communities.[23] The worldwide population of people of Slavic descent is close to 400 million for which they rank fourth among panethnicities in the world.
Modern nations and ethnic groups called by the ethnonym Slavs are considerably diverse both in appearance and culturally, and relations between them – even within the individual ethnic groups themselves – are varied, ranging from a sense of connection to feelings of mutual hostility.[24]
Present-day Slavic people are classified into East Slavic (including Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians), West Slavic (including Poles, Czechs and Slovaks),[25] and South Slavic (including Bulgarians, Macedonians, Slovenes, Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs and Montenegrins). For a more comprehensive list, see the ethnocultural subdivisions.
Contents |
Ethnonym[link]
See also: Sclaveni
The Slavic autonym is reconstructed in Proto-Slavic as Slověninъ. The oldest documents written in Old Church Slavonic and dating from the 9th century attest Словѣне Slověne to describe the Slavs. Other early Slavic attestations include Old East Slavic Словене Slověně for "an East Slavic group near Novgorod." However, the earliest written references to the Slavs under this name are in other languages. In the 6th century AD Procopius writing in Byzantine Greek, refers to the Σκλάβοι Sklaboi, Σκλαβηνοί Sklabēnoi, Σκλαυηνοί Sklauenoi, Σθλαβηνοί Sthlauenoi, or Σκλαβῖνοι Sklabinoi,[26] while his contemporary Jordanes refers to the Sclaveni in Latin.[27]
The Slavic autonym Slověninъ is usually considered a derivation from slovo "word," originally denoting "people who speak/hear (the same language)," i.e. people who understand each other, in contrast to Slavic word denoting "foreign people" – němci, meaning "mumbling, murmuring people" (from Slavic němъ – "mumbling, mute"). The latter word may be the derivation of words to denote German/Germanic people in many later Slavic languages: e.g., Polish Niemiec, Ukrainian Німець, Czech Němec, Slovak Nemec, Russian and Bulgarian Немец, Slovene Nemec, Serbian Немац, Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian Nijemac etc.[28]
Proposals for the etymology of Slověninъ propounded by some scholars enjoy much less support. B.P. Lozinski argues that the word slava once had the meaning of worshipper, in this context meaning "practicer of a common Slavic religion," and from that evolved into an ethnonym.[29] S.B. Bernstein speculates that it derives from a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *(s)lawos, cognate to Ancient Greek λαός laós "population, people," which itself has no commonly accepted etymology.[30] Controversial claims exist that Slav actually means Slave, derived from the Medieval Latin sclavus, first recorded around 800 A.D. Sclavus comes from Byzantine Greek sklabos (pronounced sklävs) "Slav," which appears around 580 A.D.[31] Meanwhile others have pointed out that the suffix -enin indicates a man from a certain place, which in this case should be a place called Slova or Slava, possibly a river name. The Old East Slavic Slavuta for the Dnieper River was argued by Henrich Bartek (1907–1986) to be derived from slova and also the origin of Slovene.[32]
History[link]
Discourse on The Early Slavs[link]
The term Slav has different meanings depending upon the context in which it is used. This term refers to a culture (or cultures) living north of the Danube River, east of the Elbe River, and west of the Vistula River during the five hundred thirties CE.[33] In addition, Slav is an identifier for the common ethnic group.[34] Furthermore, Slav denotes any language with linguistic ties to the modern Slavic language family.[35] Despite the various notions of Slav, it is unclear whether any of these descriptions add to an accurate representation of that group's history, since historians, such as George Vernadsky, Florin Curta, and Michael Karpovich have called into question how, why, and to what degree the Slavs were cohesive as a society between the sixth and ninth centuries CE.[36] When discussing the existing evidence which specialists use to construct a plausible history of the Slavs, the information tends to fall into three different avenues of research: the archeological, the historiographic, and the linguistic.
Archaeologically, a myriad of physical evidence exists from this time period pertaining to the Slavs. This evidence ranges from hill forts, to ceramic pots and fragments, and abodes. However, there are three major problems in studying the spread of early Slavic groups by purely archaeological methods. Archaeologists face difficulties in distinguishing what finds are truly Slavic and what are not.[37] In addition, many of these findings are either inaccurately carbon-dated or so isolated that they do not reflect organized Slavic settlement.[38] The combination of these facts makes it difficult to create a reliable chronology of ceramic materials, hill forts, houses, brooches, and other small artifacts. As a result, using archaeological finds without other forms of evidence prevents us from concluding anything about the Slavs and is consequently not wholly reliable for historical debates about this group.[39] The lack of grave sites also diminishes archaeologists' abilities to assess how the Slavs changed as a people, both in terms of their social behavior and their migratory patterns.[citation needed] Consequently, discerning where in northern Europe Slavic groups lived during the sixth to ninth centuries represents a challenge. The cumulative effects of these difficulties circumvents the construction of a thorough history of Slavic development in Northern Europe during this period through archaeological evidence alone.[original research?]
Historiographically, a number of sources exist which describe the Slavs. However, there are several problems using these texts to build upon the available knowledge of the early Slavs, even when used in a multi-disciplinary fashion. The useful historical information about the Slavs from these texts are either mostly cryptic or lack any mention of their sources of information to confirm their findings.[40] Moreover, these works tend to discuss the Slavs only in terms of their effects on surrounding empires, in particularly with the Byzantines and the Franks. The variety of names from historiographic texts which refer to the Slavs, such as the Antes, Sclaveni, and Venethi, in addition to the locales and regions which they at one point or another occupied, makes it laborious to establish a geographical boundary for major Slavic settlement. In particular, this is a troublesome task when the names of these places have not always remained the same or even survived. Most importantly, the majority of the texts utilized to describe the Slavs during this period are either second-hand accounts or describe an encounter with these groups years, decades, or centuries after it occurred. While earlier texts contextualize the Slavs' early history and later development, texts written about an event long after it had occurred are removed from the time period in question, making the relevant information less reliable. Unfortunately, neither earlier nor later texts directly aid to our understanding of the Slavs during the five hundreds to eight hundreds CE.
Linguistically, the pursuit of a Slavic history is also problematic. This pursuit has focused on three main areas of study: Slavic geographical names, names of flora and fauna, and an examination of "lexical and structural similarities and differences between Slavic and other languages.[41]" The use of ethnic identifiers in written texts during and after the 500s CE, such as the description of the Slavs as Antes, Sclaveni, and Venethi by their immediate neighbors, produces problems when dealing with a group so often perceived as a unified society. Moreover, the concept of ethnicity during this period was so fluid that different ethnicities would be ascribed to the same group depending upon the situation of the encounter, such as in Michal Parczewski's map. This map, which is a conglomeration of different written fragments about the Slavs' homeland, selectively draws upon these fragments. In order to validate his preconceived theories about Slavic migration, Parczewski omitted information from his sources which directly contradicted his conclusions, thus making the map of Slavic settlement in relation to their neighbors during the sixth century CE extremely suspect.[42] Moreover, the association of particular styles of pots and burials with specific ethnonyms by archaeologists, and extremely selective use of historiographic materials, presumes a direct connection between language and ethnicity. These facts reinforce how subjective ethnic identification can be, especially in a region where many tribal groups existed and identified themselves as distinct from one another.[43]
The history of the early Slavs is inseparable from the political agenda behind much nineteenth and twentieth century archaeological, linguistic, and historiographic research. Florin Curta, an expert on the history of the early Slavs, contends that the process of creating such a history "was a function of both ethnic formation and ethnic identification."[44] However, this process became extremely blurred by a myriad of interests. These agendas ranged from Pan-Slavic researchers in Central and Eastern Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,[45] to post-World War Two European nations strengthening their newfound legitimacy,[46] to contemporary politicization of historical, archaeological, and linguistic discourse.[47]
Origins[link]
Main article: Early Slavs
Homeland debate[link]
The location of the Slavic homeland has been the subject of significant debate. The Prague-Penkov-Kolochin complex of cultures of the 6th to 7th centuries CE are generally accepted to reflect the expansion of Slavic-speakers at that time.[48] Serious candidates for the core from which they expanded are cultures within the territories of modern Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine. The proposed frameworks are:
- Milograd culture hypothesis: The pre-Proto-Slavs (or Balto-Slavs) were the bearers of the Milograd culture (7th century BCE to 1st century CE) of northern Ukraine and southern Belarus.
- Chernoles culture hypothesis: The pre-Proto-Slavs were the bearers of the Chernoles culture (750–200 BCE) of northern Ukraine, and later the Zarubintsy culture (3rd century BCE to 1st century CE).
- Lusatian culture hypothesis: The pre-Proto-Slavs were present in north-eastern Central Europe since at least the late 2nd millennium BCE, and were the bearers of the Lusatian culture (1300–500 BCE), and later the Przeworsk culture (2nd century BCE to 4th century CE).
- Danube basin hypothesis: postulated by Oleg Trubachyov;[49] sustained at present by Florin Curta,[50] also supported by an early Medieval Slavic narrative source - Nestor's Chronicle
Research history[link]
The starting point in the autochtonic/allochtonic debate was the year 1745, when Johann Christoph de Jordan published De Originibus Slavicis. The works of Slovak philologist and poet Pavel Jozef Šafárik (1795–1861) has influenced generations of scholars. The foundation of his theory was the work of Jordanes, Getica. Jordanes had equated the Sclavenes and the Antes to the Venethi (or Venedi) also known from much earlier sources, such as Pliny the Elder, Tacitus, and Ptolemy.
Pavel Jozef Šafárik bequeathed to posterity not only his vision of a Slavic history, but also a powerful methodology for exploring its Dark Ages: language.[50]
The Polish scholar Tadeusz Wojciechowski (1839–1919) was the first to use place names to write Slavic history. He was followed by A. L. Pogodin and the Polish botanist, J. Rostafinski.
The first to introduce archaeological data into the scholarly discourse about the early Slavs, Lubor Niederle (1865–1944), endorsed Rostafinski’s theory in his multi-volume work The Antiquities of the Slavs. Vykentyi V.Khvoika (1850–1914), a Ukrainian archaeologist of Czech origin, linked the Slavs with Neolithic Cucuteni culture. A. A. Spicyn (1858–1931) assigned to the Antes the finds of silver and bronze in central and southern Ukraine. Czech archaeologist Ivan Borkovsky (1897–1976) postulated the existence of a pottery "Prague type" which was a national, exclusively Slavic, pottery. Boris Rybakov, has issue a theory that made a link between both Spicyn’s "Antian antiquities" and the remains excavated by Khvoika from Chernyakhov culture and that those should be should be attributed to the Slavs.[50]
From the 19th century onwards, the debate became politically charged, particularly in connection with the history of the Partitions of Poland and German imperialism known as Drang nach Osten. The question whether Germanic or Slavic peoples were indigenous on the land east of the Oder river was used by factions to pursue their respective German and Polish political claims to governance of those lands.
Geneticists entered the debate in the 21st century. See the Genetics section below.
Earliest accounts[link]
The relationship between the Slavs and a tribe called the Veneti east of the river Vistula in the Roman period is uncertain. The name may refer both to Balts and Slavs.
Further information: Vistula Veneti
The Slavs under name of the Antes and the Sclaveni make their first appearance in Byzantine records in the early 6th century. Byzantine historiographers under Justinian I (527-565), such as Procopius of Caesarea, Jordanes and Theophylact Simocatta describe tribes of these names emerging from the area of the Carpathian Mountains, the lower Danube and the Black Sea, invading the Danubian provinces of the Eastern Empire.
Procopius wrote in 545 that "the Sclaveni and the Antae actually had a single name in the remote past; for they were both called Spori in olden times." He describes their social structure and beliefs:
For these nations, the Sclaveni and the Antae, are not ruled by one man, but they have lived from of old under a democracy, and consequently everything which involves their welfare, whether for good or for ill, is referred to the people. It is also true that in all other matters, practically speaking, these two barbarian peoples have had from ancient times the same institutions and customs. For they believe that one god, the maker of lightning, is alone lord of all things, and they sacrifice to him cattle and all other victims.
He mentions that they were tall and hardy:
"They live in pitiful hovels which they set up far apart from one another, but, as a general thing, every man is constantly changing his place of abode. When they enter battle, the majority of them go against their enemy on foot carrying little shields and javelins in their hands, but they never wear corselets. Indeed, some of them do not wear even a shirt or a cloak, but gathering their trews up as far as to their private parts they enter into battle with their opponents. And both the two peoples have also the same language, an utterly barbarous tongue. Nay further, they do not differ at all from one another in appearance. For they are all exceptionally tall and stalwart men, while their bodies and hair are neither very fair or blond, nor indeed do they incline entirely to the dark type, but they are all slightly ruddy in color. And they live a hard life, giving no heed to bodily comforts...".[51]
Jordanes tells us that the Sclaveni had swamps and forests for their cities.[52] Another 6th-century source refers to them living among nearly impenetrable forests, rivers, lakes, and marshes.[53]
Menander Protector mentions a Daurentius (577-579) that slew an Avar envoy of Khagan Bayan I. The Avars asked the Slavs to accept the suzerainty of the Avars, he however declined and is reported as saying: "Others do not conquer our land, we conquer theirs [...] so it shall always be for us".[54]
Scenarios of ethnogenesis[link]
File:Slavarchaeology.png
Areas of Slavic 'homeland', according to Mallory
The Globular Amphora culture stretches from the middle Dniepr to the Elbe in the late 4th and early 3rd millennia BC. It has been suggested as the locus of a Germano-Balto-Slavic continuum (compare Germanic substrate hypothesis), but the identification of its bearers as Indo-Europeans is uncertain. The area of this culture contains numerous tumuli – typical for IE originators.
The Chernoles culture {8th to 3rd c. BC, sometimes associated with the "Scythian farmers" (Scythians were never farmers, they were nomads that lived off their livestock) of Herodotus} is "sometimes portrayed as either a step in the development of the Slavic languages or at least some form of late Indo-European to the evolution of the Slavic stock."[55] The Milograd culture (700 BC - 100 AD), centered roughly on present-day Belarus, north of the contemporaneous Chernoles culture, has also been proposed as ancestral to either Slavs or Balts.
The ethnic composition of the bearers of the Przeworsk culture (2nd c. BC to 4th c. AD, associated with the Lugii) of central and southern Poland, northern Slovakia and Ukraine, including the Zarubintsy culture (2nd c. BC to 2nd c. AD, also connected with the Bastarnae celto-germanic tribe, that was eventually resettled in the Balkans by the romans) and the Oksywie culture are other candidates.
The area of southern Ukraine is known to have been inhabited by Scythian and Sarmatian tribes prior to the foundation of the Gothic kingdom. Early Slavic stone stelae found in the middle Dniester region are markedly different from the Scythian and Sarmatian stelae found in the Crimea.
The (Gothic) Wielbark Culture displaced the eastern Oksywie part of the Przeworsk culture from the 1st century AD, some modern historians dispute the link between the Wielbark culture and the Goths. While the Chernyakhov culture (2nd to 5th c. AD, identified with the multi-ethnic kingdom established by the Goths) leads to the decline of the late Sarmatian culture in the 2nd to 4th centuries, the western part of the Przeworsk culture remains intact until the 4th century, and the Kiev culture flourishes during the same time, in the 2nd-5th c. AD. This latter culture is recognized as the direct predecessor of the Prague-Korchak and Pen'kovo cultures (6th-7th c. AD), the first archaeological cultures the bearers of which are indisputably identified as Slavic.
Proto-Slavic is thus likely to have reached its final stage in the Kiev area; there is, however, substantial disagreement in the scientific community over the identity of the Kiev culture's predecessors, with some scholars tracing it from the Ruthenian Milograd culture, others from the "Ukrainian" Chernoles and Zarubintsy cultures and still others from the "Polish" Przeworsk culture.
Genetics[link]
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This article may contain inappropriate or misinterpreted citations that do not verify the text. Please help improve this article by checking for inaccuracies. (help, talk, get involved!) (January 2011) |
Further information: Genetic history of Europe
The modern Slavic peoples carry a variety of Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups and Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups. Yet two paternal haplogroups predominate: R1a1a [M17] and I2a2a [L69.2=T/S163.2]. The frequency of Haplogroup R1a ranges from 63.39% in the Sorbs, through 56.4% in Poland, 54% in Ukraine, 52% in Russia, Belarus, to 15.2% in Republic of Macedonia, 14.7% in Bulgaria and 12.1% in Herzegovina.[56] The correlation between R1a1a [M17] and the speakers of Indo-European languages, particularly those of Eastern Europe (Russian) and Central and Southern Asia, was noticed in the late 1990s. From this Spencer Wells and colleagues, following the Kurgan hypothesis, deduced that R1a1a arose on the Pontic-Caspian steppe.[57]
Specific studies of Slavic genetics followed. In 2007 Rębała and colleagues studied several Slavic populations with the aim of localizing the Proto-Slavic homeland.[58] The significant findings of this study are that:
- Two genetically distant groups of Slavic populations were revealed: One encompassing all Western-Slavic, Eastern-Slavic, and few Southern-Slavic populations (north-western Croats and Slovenes), and one encompassing all remaining Southern Slavs. According to the authors most Slavic populations have similar Y chromosome pools — R1a. They speculate that this similarity can be traced to an origin in the middle Dnieper basin of Ukraine during the Late Glacial Maximum 15 kya.[59]
- However, some southern Slavic populations such as Bulgarians, Serbs, southern Croats and Macedonians are clearly separated from the tight DNA cluster of the rest of the Slavic populations. According to the authors this phenomenon is explained by "...the extensive contribution of the I HG to the Y chromosomes of the first people who settled in the Balkan region before the Slavic expansion to the genetic heritage of Southern Slavs the R1A percentage in the Balkans it's ~ 15% according with one of the maps on this page...."[59]
Marcin Woźniak and colleagues (2010) searched for specifically Slavic sub-group of R1a1a [M17]. Working with haplotypes, they found a pattern among Western Slavs which turned out to correspond to a newly-discovered marker, M458, which defines subclade R1a1a7. This marker correlates remarkably well with the distribution of Slavic-speakers today. The team, led by Peter Underhill, which discovered M458 did not consider the possibility that this was a Slavic marker, since they used the "evolutionary effective" mutation rate, which gave a date far too old to be Slavic. Woźniak and colleagues pointed out that the pedigree mutation rate, giving a later date, is more consistent with the archaeological record.[60]
Pomors are distinguished by the presence of Y Haplogroup N among them. Postulated to originate from southeast Asia, it is found at high rates in Uralic peoples. Its presence in Pomors (called "Northern Russians" in the report) attests to the non-Slavic tribes (mixing with Finnic tribes of northern Eurasia).[61]
On the other hand I2a1b1 (P41.2) is typical of the South Slavic populations, being highest in Bosnia-Herzegovina (>50%).[62] Haplogroup I2a2 is consistent with the Dinaric - North Danubian type which is 12-18000 years old. The P37.2 shorthand is present in all I2 carriers, and most of the today carriers of I2 HG in the Balkans and NW Ukraine are of subclade M-423 and M-223 which is also commonly found in north-eastern Italians.[63] There is also a high concentration of I2a2a in north-east Romania, Moldova and western Ukraine. According to original studies, Hg I2a2 was believed to have arisen in the west Balkans sometime after the LGM, subsequently spreading from the Balkans through Central Russian Plain. Recently, Ken Nordtvedt has split I2a2 into two clades - N (northern) and S (southern), in relation where they arose compared to Danube river.[64] He proposes that N is slightly older than S. He recalculated the age of I2a2 to be ~ 12550 years and proposed that the current distribution is explained by a Dinaric expansion to the area north-east of the Carpathians. There is a much lower level of I2a2a among Greeks, 8.4%, and Albanians,17%(non including those in Kosovo and R. of Macedonia), Macedonia, 18% but higher amongst Romanians:I 22.2%, I* M-170 8%, I1a* M-253 1.7%, I2a(formerI1b*)P37.2 17.7% and I2b1(former I1c*) M-223 1.9%,I HG total = 44.4%, Moldavians, total=56.6%, Gagauz, total=63.3%(all these three populations are virtually identical), Aromanians, Vlachs, which retain their non-Slavic languages, than in present-day majority South Slavic-speaking nations. We have to look here regardless of the languages people speak today and rather at the paleo-genetical makeup of these populations, rather at the whole I HG and its subclades, that originated in the Dinaric-Carpathic basin 18000 ya and expanded Northward all the way to Scandinavia and NW Europe, consequently being the Proto-Germanic, viking root. The other major European Haplo Groups are R1B in Western Europe and R1A in the Eur-Asian Steppe, R1a reached Europe much later with the kurgan culture maybe 5000 ya conquering the Gumelnița-Karanovo, Cucuteni-Tripolie matriarchal cultures of the Old Europe.
In 2008, biochemist Boris Abramovich Malyarchuk (Russian: Борис Абрамович Малярчук) et al. of the Institute of Biological Problems of the North, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, Russia, used a sample (n=279) of Czech individuals to determine the frequency of "Mongoloid" "mtDNA lineages".[65] Malyarchuk found Czech mtDNA lineages were typical of "Slavic populations" with "1.8%" Mongoloid mtDNA lineage.[65] Malyarchuk added that "Slavic populations" "almost always" contain Mongoloid mtDNA lineage.[65] Malyarchuk said the Mongoloid component of Slavic people was partially added before the split of "Balto-Slavics" in 2,000-3,000 BCE with additional Mongoloid mixture occurring among Slavics in the last 4,000 years.[65] Malyarchuk said the "Russian population" was developed by the "assimilation of the indigenous pre-Slavic population of Eastern Europe by true Slavs" with additional "assimilation of Finno-Ugric populations" and "long-lasting" interactions with the populations of "Siberia" and "Central Asia".[65] Malyarchuk said that other Slavs "Mongoloid component" was increased during the waves of migration from "steppe populations (Huns, Avars, Bulgars and Mongols)", especially the decay of the "Avar Khaganate".[65]
Migrations[link]
According to eastern homeland theory, prior to becoming known to the Roman world, Slavic speaking tribes were part of the many multi-ethnic confederacies of Eurasia - such as the Sarmatian, Hun and Gothic empires.[66] The Slavs emerged from obscurity when the westward movement of Germans in the 5th and 6th centuries AD (thought to be in conjunction with the movement of peoples from Siberia and Eastern Europe: Huns, and later Avars and Bulgars) started the great migration of the Slavs, who settled the lands abandoned by Germanic tribes fleeing the Huns and their allies: westward into the country between the Oder and the Elbe-Saale line; southward into Bohemia, Moravia, much of present day Austria, the Pannonian plain and the Balkans; and northward along the upper Dnieper river. Perhaps some Slavs migrated with the movement of the Vandals to Iberia and north Africa.[67]
Around the 6th century, Slavs appeared on Byzantine borders in great numbers.[68] The Byzantine records note that grass would not regrow in places where the Slavs had marched through, so great were their numbers. After a military movement even the Peloponnese and Asia Minor were reported to have Slavic settlements.[69] This southern movement has traditionally been seen as an invasive expansion.[70] By the end of the 6th century, Slavs had settled the Eastern Alps region.
Early Slavic states[link]
When their migratory movements ended, there appeared among the Slavs the first rudiments of state organizations, each headed by a prince with a treasury and a defense force. Moreover, it was the beginnings of class differentiation, and nobles pledged allegiance either to the Frankish/ Holy Roman Emperors or the Byzantine Emperors.
In the 7th century, the Frankish merchant Samo, who supported the Slavs fighting their Avar rulers, became the ruler of the first known Slav state in Central Europe, which, however, most probably did not outlive its founder and ruler. This provided the foundation for subsequent Slavic states to arise on the former territory of this realm with Carantania being the oldest of them. Very old also are the Principality of Nitra and the Moravian principality (see under Great Moravia). In this period, there existed central Slavic groups and states such as the Balaton Principality, but the subsequent expansion of the Magyars, as well as the Germanisation of Austria, separated the northern and southern Slavs. The First Bulgarian Empire was founded in AD 681, the Slavic language Old Bulgarian became the main and official of the empire in AD 864. Bulgaria was instrumental in the spread of Slavic literacy and Christianity to the rest of the Slavic world.
Assimilation[link]
Throughout their history, Slavs came into contact with non-Slavic groups. In the postulated homeland region (present-day Northern Ukraine), they had contacts with Sarmatians and the Germanic Goths. After their subsequent spread, they began assimilating non-Slavic peoples. For example, in the Balkans, there were indigenous Dinaric people, such as Illyrians, Greeks and romanized (North of the Jireček Line, Dacians) or hellenized (South of the Jirecek-line) Thracians . Over time, due to the larger number of Slavs, the descendants of the most of the indigenous populations of the Balkans were Slavicized. The Thracians and Illyrians vanished from history during this period - although the modern Albanian nation claims to be the descendent of the Illyrian race which they are based on language and paleo-genetics. Exceptions are Greece, where the smaller number of Slavs scattered about came to be Hellenized (aided in time by more Greeks returning to Greece in the 9th century and the role of the church and administration)[71] and Romania where slavic people were more transient and unable to upset the more numerous indigenous romanized dacian population, en route to present-day Greece, Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria and East Thrace whereby the Slavic population had come to assimilate the indigenous romanized thracians. Bulgars were also assimilated by local Slavs but their ruling status and subsequent land cast the nominal legacy of Bulgarian country and people onto all future generations. The Romance speakers within the fortified Dalmatian cities managed to retain their culture and language for a long time,[72] as Dalmatian Romance was spoken until the high Middle Ages. However, they too were eventually assimilated into the body of Slavs. In contrast, the Roman-Gepids-Gothic-Carpi-Dacians-Roxolani-Taifali in Dacia managed to maintain their Latin-based language, despite much Slavic influence. After centuries of peaceful co-existence, and the later influx of Pechenegs, Bulgars, Cumans, Uz,these groups fused to form the today Romanians.
In the western Balkans, south Slavs and Germanic Gepids intermarried with Avar invaders, eventually producing a Slavicised population. In central Europe, the Slavs intermixed with Germanic and Celtic, while the eastern Slavs encountered Uralic and Scandinavian peoples. Scandinavians (Varangians) and Finnic peoples were involved in the early formation of the Rus state but were completely Slavicised after a century. Some Finno-Ugric tribes in the north were also absorbed into the expanding Rus population.[61] At the time of the Magyar migration, the present-day Hungary was inhabited by Slavs, numbering about 200,000,[73] who were either assimilated or enslaved by the Magyars.[73] In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as the Kipchaks and the Pechenegs, caused a massive migration of East Slavic populations to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north.[74] In the Middle Ages, groups of Saxon ore miners settled in medieval Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria where they were Slavicised.
Polabian Slavs (Wends) settled in parts of England (Danelaw), apparently as Danish allies.[75] Polabian-Pomeranian Slavs are also known to have even settled on Norse age Iceland[citation needed]. Saqaliba refers to the Slavic mercenaries and slaves in the medieval Arab world in North Africa, Sicily and Al-Andalus. Saqaliba served as caliph's guards.[76][77] In the 12th century, there was intensification of Slavic piracy. The Wendish Crusade was started against the Polabian Slavs in 1147, as a part of the Northern Crusades. Niklot, pagan chief of the Slavic Obodrites began his open resistance when Lothar III, Holy Roman Emperor invaded Slavic lands. In August 1160 Niklot was killed and German colonization (Ostsiedlung) of the Elbe-Oder region began. In Hanoverian Wendland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lusatia invaders started germanization. Early forms of germanization were described by German monks: Helmold in the manuscript Chronicon Slavorum and Adam of Bremen in Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum.[78] The Polabian language survived until the beginning of the 19th century in what is now the German state of Lower Saxony.[79]
Cossacks, although Slavic-speaking and Orthodox Christians, came from a mix of ethnic backgrounds, including Tatars and other Turks. Many early members of the Terek Cossacks were Ossetians.
The Gorals of southern Poland and northern Slovakia are partially descended from Romance-speaking Vlachs who migrated into the region from the 14th to 17th centuries and were absorbed into the local population. The population of Moravian Wallachia also descend of this population.
Conversely, some Slavs were assimilated into other populations. Although the majority continued south, attracted by the riches of the territory which would become Bulgaria, a few remained in the Carpathian basin and were ultimately assimilated into the Magyar or Romanian population. There is a large number of river names and other placenames of Slavic origin in Romania.[80] Similarly, the populations of the respective eastern parts of Austria and Germany are to some degree made up of people with Slavic ancestry.
Modern history[link]
.JPG)
As of 1878, there were only three free Slavic states in the world: Russian Empire, Serbia and Montenegro. Bulgaria was also free but was de jure vassal to the Ottoman Empire until official independence was declared in 1908. In the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire of approximately 50 million people, about 23 million were Slavs. The Slavic peoples who were, for the most part, denied a voice in the affairs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were calling for national self-determination. During World War I, representatives of the Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes set up organizations in the Allied countries to gain sympathy and recognition.[81] In 1918, after World War I ended, the Slavs established such independent states as Czechoslovakia, the Second Polish Republic, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
One of Hitler's ambitions at the start of World War II was to exterminate, expel, or enslave most or all East and West Slavs from their native lands and killing 30 millions Slavic people, so as to make living space for German settlers. This plan of genocide[82] was to be carried into effect gradually over 25 to 30 years.
Because of the vastness and diversity of the territory occupied by Slavic people, there were several centers of Slavic consolidation. In the 19th century, Pan-Slavism developed as a movement among intellectuals, scholars, and poets, but it rarely influenced practical politics and did not find support in some nations that had Slavic origins. Pan-Slavism became compromised when the Russian Empire started to use it as an ideology justifying its territorial conquests in Central Europe as well as subjugation of other ethnic groups of Slavic origins such as Poles and Ukrainians, and the ideology became associated with Russian imperialism. The common Slavic experience of communism combined with the repeated usage of the ideology by Soviet propaganda after World War II within the Eastern bloc (Warsaw Pact) was a forced high-level political and economic hegemony of the USSR dominated by Russians. A notable political union of the 20th century that covered most South Slavs was Yugoslavia, but it ultimately broke apart in the 1990s along with the Soviet Union.
The word "Slavs" was used in the national anthem of the Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Yugoslavia (1943–1992) and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003), later Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006).
Former Soviet states such as Kazakhstan, have very large minority Slavic populations with most being Russians. Also former satellite states and Warsaw Pact territories also have large minority Slavic populations also being Russian or Ukrainian and those from the three Slavic states in the Soviet Union. As of now, Kazakhstan have the largest Slavic minority population, with all if not most, being Russians.
Population[link]
The worldwide population of people of Slavic descent is close to 400 million. The three largest Slavic ethnic groups are Russians (150 million), Poles (60 million), and Ukrainians (50 million). Other Slavic ethnic groups include Czechs (11 million), Serbs (10,5 million), Bulgarians (10 million), Belarusians (10 million), Croats (8 million), Slovaks (7 million), Bosniaks (3 million), Macedonians (3 million), Slovenes (2,5 million), Montenegrins (700 000). Polish and Serbians make up the largest Slavic populations or Slavic-descended American population in the United States.
Religion[link]
Most Slavic populations gradually adopted Christianity (the East Slavs Orthodox Christianity and the West Slavs Roman Catholicism, with South Slavs split by the two religions) between 6th and 10th century, and consequently their old pagan beliefs declined. See also Rodnovery.
The majority of contemporary Slavs who profess a religion are Orthodox, followed by Roman Catholic. A very small minority are Protestant. Bosniaks are the Muslim Slavic ethnic group, Gorani are also Muslims, but their ethnic group is miniature, inhabiting some villages. Religious delineations by nationality can be very sharp; usually in the Slavic ethnic groups the vast majority of religious people share the same religion. Some Slavs are atheist or agnostic: only 19% of Czechs professed belief in god/s in the 2005 Eurobarometer survey, making them one of the most irreligious people in the world. There are Slavic people of Jewish faith. Most of them are Ukrainians.[83]
The main Slavic ethnic groups by religion:
|
Mainly Orthodox Christians
Alphabet[link]The alphabet depends on what religion is usual for the respective Slavic ethnic groups. The Orthodox use the Cyrillic alphabet and the Roman Catholics use Latin alphabet, the Bosniaks which are Muslims also use the Latin. Few Greek Roman and Roman Catholics use the Cyrillic alphabet however. The Serbian language and Montenegrin language can be written using both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, but the Cyrillic remains preferred by a large majority. There is also a Latin script to write in Belarusian, called the Lacinka alphabet. Language[link]Slavic studies began as an almost exclusively linguistic and philological enterprise. As early as 1833, Slavic languages were recognized as Indo-European.[50] Slavic standard languages which are official in at least one country:
Proto-Slavic language[link]
Main article: Proto-Slavic language
Proto-Slavic, the ancestor language of all Slavic languages, is a descendant of common Proto-Indo-European, via a Balto-Slavic stage in which it developed numerous lexical and morphophonological isoglosses with Baltic languages. In the framework of the Kurgan hypothesis, "the Indo-Europeans who remained after the migrations [from the steppe] became speakers of Balto-Slavic".[84] Proto-Slavic, sometimes referred to as Common Slavic or Late Proto-Slavic, is defined as the last stage of the language preceding the geographical split of the historical Slavic languages. That language was uniform, and on the basis of borrowings from foreign languages and Slavic borrowings into other languages, cannot be said to have any recognizable dialects, suggesting a comparatively compact homeland.[85] Slavic linguistic unity was to some extent visible as late as Old Church Slavonic manuscripts which, though based on local Slavic speech of Thessaloniki in Macedonia, could still serve the purpose of the first common Slavic literary language.[86] Ethnocultural subdivisions[link]
Slavs are customarily divided along geographical lines into three major subgroups: East Slavs, West Slavs, and South Slavs, each with a different and a diverse background based on unique history, religion and culture of particular Slavic group within them. The East Slavs may all be traced to Slavic-speaking populations that were loosely organized under the Kievan Rus' empire beginning in the 10th century AD. Almost all of the South Slavs can be traced to ethnic Slavs who mixed with the local European population of the Balkans (Illyrians, Dacians/Thracians, Romans, Celts); the Bulgarians' Slavs also mixed largely with local European tribes but also with the Bulgars. They were particularly influenced by the Orthodox Church, although Roman Catholicism and Latin influences were more pertinent in Dalmatia. The West Slavs and the Croats and Slovenes do not share either of these backgrounds, as they expanded to the West and integrated into the cultural sphere of Western (Roman Catholic) Christianity around this time also mixing with nearby Germanic tribes. In addition there has been a tendency to consider the category of Northern Slavs. Presently this category is considered to be of East and West Slavs, in opposition to South Slavs, however in 19th century opinions about individual languages/ethnicities varied. East Slavs[link]Main article: East Slavs
West Slavs[link]Main article: West Slavs
Czech-Slovak group[link]Lechitic group[link]South Slavs[link]Main article: South Slavs
Eastern group[link]
Western group[link]
Notes to list of ethnocultural divisions[link]^e Extinct ^7 Most Shopi self-declare as Bulgarians, but others declare as Macedonians or Serbs. Their dialect is transitional between west and east South Slavic group. Cognate with Torlaks. ^10 Both occur widely in northeastern Croatia and also in northern Serbia; their Ikavian accent is subequal[clarification needed] as southern Croats in Hercegovina and Dalmatian mainland from where they once emigrated. Considered part of Croats by most of them, although recently (since Yugoslav disaster) some within Serbia consider themselves a separate peoples ^11 These Gorani are a Slavic nation living mainly in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania; not to be confound with other Gorani (or Gorinci) in the highlands of western Croatia (Gorski Kotar county). ^12 A census category recognized as an ethnic group. Most Slavic Muslims (especially in Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia) now opt for Bosniak ethnicity, but some still use the "Muslim" designation. Bosniak and Muslim are considered two ethnonyms for a single ethnicity and the terms may even be used interchangeably. However, a small number of people within Bosnia and Herzegovina declare Bosniak but are not necessarily Muslim by faith. ^13 This identity continues to be used by a minority throughout the former Yugoslav republics. The nationality is also declared by diasporans living in the USA and Canada. There are a multitude of reasons as to why people prefer this affiliation, some published on the article. ^14 Generally, heavily mixed with German people ^15 Most inhabitants of historic Moravia considered themselves as Czechs but significant amount declared their Moravian nationality, different from that Czech (although people from Bohemia proper and Moravia speak the same language). ^16 Not to be confused with Silesians from Poland. Unlike them, Silesians in Czechia speak Czech. Note: Besides ethnic groups, Slavs often identify themselves with the local geographical region in which they live. Some of the major regional South Slavic groups include: Zagorci in northern Croatia, Istrijani in westernmost Croatia, Dalmatinci in southern Croatia, Boduli in Adriatic islands, Vlaji in hinterland of Dalmatia, Slavonci in eastern Croatia, Bosanci in Bosnia, Hercegovci in southern Bosnia (Herzegovina), Krajišnici in western Bosnia, Semberci in northeast Bosnia, Srbijanci in Serbia proper, Šumadinci in central Serbia, Vojvođani in northern Serbia, Sremci in Syrmia, Bačvani in northwest Vojvodina, Banaćani in Banat, Sandžaklije (Muslims in Serbia/Montenegro border), Kosovci in Kosovo, Crnogorci in Montenegro proper, Bokelji in southwest Montenegro, Trakiytsi in Upper Thracian Lowlands, Dobrudzhantsi in north-east Bulgarian region, Balkandzhii in Central Balkan Mountains, Miziytsi in north Bulgarian region, Warmiaks and Masurians in north-east Polish regions Warmia and Mazuria, Pirintsi[88] in Blagoevgrad Province, Ruptsi in the Rhodopes etc. Another interesting note is that the very term Slavic itself was registered in the US census of 2000 by more than 127,000 residents. See also[link]Notes[link]
References[link]
Further reading[link]
External links[link]
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http://wn.com/Slavic_peoples
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Slavi
http://cs.wn.com/Slované
http://es.wn.com/Pueblos eslavos
http://ru.wn.com/Славяне
http://nl.wn.com/Slavische volkeren
http://id.wn.com/Bangsa Slavia
http://pl.wn.com/Słowianie
http://fr.wn.com/Slaves
http://de.wn.com/Slawen
http://hi.wn.com/स्लाव लोग
http://pt.wn.com/Eslavos
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This article is about the Norwegian chess player. For people with a similar name, see Magnus Carlsson (disambiguation).
| Magnus Carlsen | |
|---|---|
 Carlsen in 2010 |
|
| Full name | Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen |
| Country | Norway |
| Born | (1990-11-30) 30 November 1990 (age 21) Tønsberg, Norway |
| Title | Grandmaster |
| FIDE rating | 2835 (May 2012) (No. 1 in the March 2012 FIDE World Rankings) |
| Peak rating | 2835 (January 2012, March 2012) |
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player in history to be ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list. His peak rating is 2835, the second highest in history, after Garry Kasparov.[1]
On 26 April 2004 Carlsen became a Grandmaster at the age of &1000000000000001300000013 years, &10000000000000148000000148 days, making him the third-youngest Grandmaster in history. On 1 January 2010 the new FIDE rating list was published, and at the age of &1000000000000001900000019 years, &1000000000000003200000032 days, he became the youngest chess player in history to be ranked world number one, breaking the record previously held by Vladimir Kramnik.[2] Carlsen was also the 2009 World blitz chess champion.
His performance at the September–October 2009 Nanjing Pearl Spring tournament has been described as one of the greatest in history[3] and lifted him to an Elo rating of 2801, making him the fifth player to achieve a rating over 2800 – and aged 18 years 10 months at the time, by far the youngest to do so.
Based on his rating, Carlsen qualified for the Candidates Tournament which determined the challenger to World Champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2012. In November 2010, however, he announced he was withdrawing from the Candidates tournament.[4]
Contents |
Childhood[link]
Born in Tønsberg, Vestfold, Carlsen currently lives in Haslum, Bærum, near Norway's capital, Oslo. He played his first chess tournament at the age of eight and was later coached at a Norwegian high school (for athletes) by the country's top player, Grandmaster (GM) Simen Agdestein. Agdestein introduced his civil worker Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen, currently an International Master, to Carlsen, and they had one training session every week, along with one of Carlsen's close friends. Becoming an International Master, Carlsen was given a year off from elementary school to participate in international chess tournaments during the fall season of 2003. In that same year, he finished third in the European Under-12 Boys Championship.
Chess career[link]
2004[link]
Carlsen was brought to the attention of the international chess world after his victory in the C group at the Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Carlsen had a score of 10½/13, losing just one game (against the highest rated player of the C group, Dusko Pavasovic).[5] As a result of the victory, he took his first Grandmaster norm and achieved a performance rating of 2702. Particularly notable was his win over Sipke Ernst in the penultimate round, when Carlsen sacrificed material to mate him in just 29 moves.[6] Carlsen won the Audience Prize for that game, as the best game of the round (including the games played in the A and B groups). The first 23 moves in that game had already been played in another game Almagro Llanas-Gustafsson, Madrid 2003 (which ended in a draw), but Carlsen's over-the-board novelty immediately led to a winning position. Carlsen's victory in the C group qualified him to play in the B group in 2005, and it also led Lubomir Kavalek, writing for the Washington Post, to give him the title "Mozart of chess". Agdestein, who was once a young GM at 18, said in an interview that Carlsen was a significantly better player than he was himself at the same age. He also said that Carlsen had an excellent memory and played an unusually wide range of different openings. Carlsen's prowess caught the attention of Microsoft, who became his sponsor.[7]
Carlsen obtained his second GM norm in the Moscow Aeroflot Open in February 2004. In a blitz chess tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland, Carlsen defeated former world champion Anatoly Karpov on 17 March 2004. The blitz tournament was a preliminary event leading up to a rapid knockout tournament beginning the next day, where Carlsen achieved one draw against Garry Kasparov, who was then the top-rated player in the world, before losing to Kasparov after 32 moves of the second game, thus being knocked out of the tournament.[8]
In the sixth Dubai Open Chess Championship, held 18–28 April 2004, Carlsen obtained his third Grandmaster norm (enough for getting the GM title), after getting four wins and four draws before the last game was to be played. As a result of this, he was at the time the world's youngest Grandmaster and the second youngest person ever to hold GM status, after Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine who attained the feat at 12 years and 7 months of age in 2002.[9]
Carlsen was the youngest player ever to participate in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004, but was knocked out in the first round on tie breaks by Levon Aronian.
In July 2004, Carlsen and Berge Østenstad (then the reigning Norwegian champion) tied for first in the Norwegian Chess Championship, each scoring seven out of nine possible points. A two-game match between them was arranged to decide the title. Both games were drawn, which left Østenstad the champion because he had superior tiebreaks in the tournament.
2005[link]
In Smartfish Chess Masters at the Drammen chess festival 2004–05 (Norway) Carlsen defeated Alexei Shirov, ranked number 10[10] in the world.[11] In June 2005 in the Ciudad de Leon rapid chess tournament, Carlsen played a four-game semi-final against Viswanathan Anand, who was ranked second in the world at the time. Magnus lost 3–1. Carlsen was invited to the tournament as the most promising young chess player in 2005.
In the 2005 Norwegian Chess Championship, Carlsen again finished in a shared first place, this time with his mentor Simen Agdestein. A playoff between them was arranged between 7 November and 10 November. This time Carlsen had the better tiebreaks, but the rule giving the player with better tiebreaks scores the title in the event of a 1–1 draw had been revoked previously. The match was closely fought, Agdestein won the first game, Carlsen won the second, so the match went into a phase of two and two rapid games until there was a winner. Carlsen won the first rapid game, Agdestein the second. Then followed a series of three draws until Agdestein won the championship title with a victory in the sixth rapid game.
At the end of 2005 Carlsen participated at the World Chess Cup 2005 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. In the knock-out tournament, he upset the 44th-ranked Georgian Zurab Azmaiparashvili in round one, winning 2–0 at rapid chess after a 1–1 tie in the normal length games, and proceeded to beat Tajik Farrukh Amonatov and Bulgarian Ivan Cheparinov (also after rapid chess) to reach the round of 16. There he lost 1½–2½ to Evgeny Bareev, which prevented him from finishing in the top eight. He then won against Joël Lautier 1½–½ and Vladimir Malakhov 3½–2½ securing him at least a tenth place and therefore a spot in the Candidate Matches. Carlsen became the youngest player to be an official World Championship Candidate.
In October 2005 he took first place at the Arnold Eikrem Memorial in Gausdal with eight out of nine points and a performance rating of 2792 at the age of 14.[12]
2006[link]
In the January 2006 fide list, at the age of 15 years and 31 days, he officially attained 2625 elo rating, which made Carlsen the youngest person to break the 2600 elo barrier. In 2008, Wesley So broke that record. Carlsen qualified for a place in the Corus B group from his 2005 first place in Corus group C. His shared first with Motylev with 9/13 (+6 -1 =6) qualified him to play in the Corus A group in 2007.
In the 2006 Norwegian Chess Championship, Carlsen was close to winning outright, but a last-round loss to Berge Østenstad again tied him for first place with Agdestein. The last-round loss deprived Magnus of beating Agdestein's record of becoming the youngest Norwegian champion ever. Nonetheless, in the play-off 19–21 November Carlsen won 3–1. After two draws in the initial full time games, Magnus won both rapid games in round two, securing his first Norwegian championship.
Magnus won the 2006 Glitnir Blitz Tournament[13] in Iceland. He won 2–0 over Viswanathan Anand (2003 FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion, 2004 Amber Rapid Chess Champion, 2007 FIDE Classical World Champion) in the semi finals. Carlsen also won 2–0 in the finals.[14]
Magnus scored 6/8 in the 37th Chess Olympiad in 2006 against opponents averaging 2627 Elo, gaining 18 Elo (a rating performance of 2820 points). One of his notable wins was against top English grandmaster Michael Adams.[15]
In the Midnight Sun Chess Tournament, Carlsen had some misses and came in second, beaten by Sergei Shipov (FIDE-Elo: 2576).
In the 2006 Biel grandmaster tournament, he achieved second place, after having beaten the eventual winner Alexander Morozevich twice (once with each color).
In the NH Chess Tournament held in Amsterdam in August 2006, Carlsen participated in an 'Experience' v 'Rising Stars' Scheveningen team match. The 'Rising Stars' won the match 22–28, with Carlsen achieving the best individual score for the youngsters, 6½/10 and a 2700 Elo performance, thus winning the right to participate in the 2007 Melody Amber tournament.[16]
In the World Blitz Championship at Rishon LeZion, Israel in September 2006, he was number 8 of 16 participants with 7½/15 points.
In the rapid chess tournament Rencontres nationales et internationales d'échecs in Cap d'Agde, France he got to the semifinal, losing to Sergey Karjakin.
Carlsen achieved a shared eighth place of 10 participants in the Mikhail Tal Memorial in Moscow with two losses and seven draws. In the associated blitz tournament Tal Blitz Cup he received 17½/34 points and ninth place in a group of 18 participants.
2007[link]
In the 2007 Corus chess tournament Carlsen, playing in group A for the first time, had to settle for the last place after nine draws and four losses, scoring 4½ points in 13 rounds.
In the prestigious Linares chess tournament Carlsen met the following top-rated players: Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Peter Svidler, Alexander Morozevich, Levon Aronian, Peter Leko, and Vassily Ivanchuk (replacing Teimour Radjabov). With the significantly lowest Elo rating, he achieved a second place (on tiebreaks) with 7½ points after four wins, seven draws and three losses, and an Elo performance of 2778.
In March 2007, Carlsen played for the first time in the Melody Amber blind and rapid chess tournament in Monte Carlo. In the 11 rounds he achieved eight draws and three losses in the blindfold, and three wins, seven draws and one loss in the rapid part. This resulted in a shared ninth place in the blindfold, shared second place in the rapid (beaten only by Anand), and an eighth place in the overall tournament.
In May–June 2007, he participated in the Candidates Tournament for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007. He was paired with the top seed Levon Aronian. The six-game match was drawn (two wins, two draws, and two losses), with Carlsen coming from behind twice. The four-game rapid playoff was drawn as well (one win, two draws, and one loss), with Carlsen winning the last game to stay in the match. Finally, Aronian won both tiebreaker (blitz) games, to eliminate Carlsen from the Championship.
In the July 2007 FIDE list, at the age of 16 years and 7 months, he officially attained 2710 Elo rating, which made Carlsen the youngest person to break the 2700 Elo barrier. As of January 2011, this record has not been broken.
In July–August 2007, he won the International Chess Festival Biel Grandmaster Tournament 2007, with a +2 record (an Elo performance of 2753). His score was equalled by Alexander Onischuk and by the tie-breaker rule of the tournament, they played a tie-breaker match to determine the winner. After drawing two rapid and two blitz games, Carlsen won the armageddon game. He became the youngest person ever to win a category 18 tournament.
Immediately after the Biel tournament, Carlsen entered the open Arctic Chess Challenge in Tromsø, but his +5=4 and fourth place result was somewhat disappointing. In the first round, Carlsen surprisingly conceded a draw to his classmate Brede Hagen (rated 2034)[17] after having a lost position at one point.[18] A game which attracted some attention was his sixth round win over his own father, Henrik Carlsen.[19]
In December 2007, he reached the semi-final round of the World Chess Cup 2007, after defeating Michael Adams in the round of 16, and Ivan Cheparinov in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final, he was eliminated by the eventual winner Gata Kamsky, ½:1½.
2008[link]
Playing for the second time in the top group A of the Corus chess tournament, Carlsen showed a big improvement over his 2007 performance. His final score was eight points in 13 rounds, an Elo performance of 2830. Carlsen scored five wins (including as Black against former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik), two losses and six draws. He shared first place with Levon Aronian, becoming the youngest person ever to win a category 20 tournament.
At the 2008 Linares chess tournament, Carlsen had another 2800+ Elo performance, scoring eight out of fourteen (five wins, three losses and six draws). He finished in sole second place, ½ point behind the winner, world champion Viswanathan Anand.
In March 2008, Carlsen played for the second time in the Melody Amber blind and rapid chess tournament, which was held in Nice for the first time. In the 11 rounds he achieved four wins, four draws and two losses in the blindfold, and three wins, six draws and two losses in the rapid part. This resulted in a shared fifth place in the blindfold, shared third place in the rapid and a shared second place in the overall tournament.
Carlsen was one of 21 players in the six-tournament FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2009, a qualifier for the World Chess Championship 2012. In the first tournament, in Baku, Azerbaijan, in April–May 2008, he finished in a three-way tie for first place, with another 2800 Elo performance. Carlsen later withdrew from the Grand Prix cycle despite his initial success, citing "dramatic change[s] to ... regulations."[20]
Carlsen won a rapid match against Peter Leko held at Miskolc, Hungary, scoring 5:3 (two wins, six draws).[21]
In June, Carlsen won an annual Aerosvit event.[22] In his strongest tournament performance at that point in his career, he finished undefeated with eight out of eleven (five wins, six draws) in a category 19 field. His Elo performance was 2878.
Playing in a category 18 Biel tournament, Carlsen finished third with six points out of ten (three wins, one loss, six draws), with Elo performance of 2741, his first sub-2800 performance of 2008.
In the Mainz World Rapid Chess Championship, Carlsen finished in second place after losing the final to defending champion Anand 3:1 (two losses, two draws).[23] To reach the final Magnus played against Judit Polgár scoring 1½ point out of two (one win, one draw), against Anand scoring one point out of two (two draws) and against Morozevich scoring one point out of two (two draws).
In the category 21 Bilbao Masters, Carlsen finished second with a 2768 performance rating (three wins, three losses, four draws).
2009[link]
Playing in Group A of the Corus chess tournament, Carlsen tied for fifth with a 2739 performance (two wins, one loss, ten draws).[24]
In the Linares chess tournament, Carlsen finished third with a 2777 performance (three wins, two losses, nine draws). In this tournament, he defeated World Champion Viswanathan Anand[25] and the eventual winner Alexander Grischuk[26] for the first time under classical time controls.
Carlsen tied for second place with Veselin Topalov at the M-Tel Masters (category 21) tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. He lost to eventual winner Alexei Shirov in their final game, dropping him from first.[27]
Carlsen won the category 21 Nanjing Pearl Spring tournament, 2½ points ahead of second-place finisher Topalov, the world's highest-rated player at the time.[28] He scored 8/10 (six wins, four draws, no losses), winning every game as White (against Topalov, Wang Yue, Leko, Radjabov, and Jakovenko), and also winning as Black against Jakovenko. By rating performance, this was one of the greatest results in history, with a performance rating of 3002.[29] This lifted his FIDE rating to 2801, making him the 5th and youngest player to ever surpass 2800.
In the Tal Memorial 2009, played from 5 November to 14 November, Carlsen started with seven straight draws, but finished with wins over Ruslan Ponomariov and Peter Leko. This result put Carlsen in shared second place behind Kramnik and equal with Ivanchuk.[30][31]
After the Tal Memorial, Carlsen won the 2009 World Blitz Championship, played from 16 November to 18 November in Moscow, Russia. His score of 28 wins, 6 draws and 8 losses left him three points ahead of Anand, who finished in second place.[32]
Carlsen entered the 2009 London Chess Classic as the top seed in a field including Kramnik, Hikaru Nakamura, Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Ni Hua, Luke McShane and David Howell. He defeated Kramnik in round one and went on to win the tournament with 13/21 (three points were awarded for a win, and one for a draw; using classical scoring he finished with 5/7) and a performance rating of 2844, one point ahead of Kramnik. This victory has propelled him to the top of the FIDE rating list, surpassing Veselin Topalov.
Carlsen's average rating from the July 2009 and January 2010 FIDE lists will enable him to qualify for the Candidates Tournament of the World Chess Championship 2012 cycle.
In early 2009 Carlsen engaged former world champion Garry Kasparov as a personal trainer.[33] In September 2009 their partnership was confirmed in Norwegian newspapers.[34][35]
In a December 2009 interview with TIME Magazine, in response to a question whether he used computers when studying chess, Carlsen revealed that he does not use a chess set when studying on his own.[36]
He won the Chess Oscar for 2009.[37] The Chess Oscar is awarded to the year's best player according to a worldwide poll of leading chess critics, writers, and journalists conducted by the Russian chess magazine 64.
2010[link]
Ahead of 2010, Carlsen said that he would be playing in fewer tournaments the coming year. The cooperation with Kasparov continued until March that year.[38]
Carlsen won the Corus chess tournament played 16–31 January with 8½ points (five wins, seven draws, one loss). His ninth-round loss to Kramnik ended a streak of 36 rated games undefeated.[39] Carlsen appeared to struggle in the last round against Fabiano Caruana, but saved a draw leaving him half a point ahead of Kramnik and Shirov.[40]
The March 2010 FIDE rating list showed Carlsen with a new peak rating of 2813, a figure that only Kasparov has bettered.[41] In the same month it was announced that Carlsen had split from Kasparov and would no longer be using him as a trainer,[41] although this was put into different context by Carlsen himself in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel stating that they would remain in contact and that he would continue to attend training sessions with Kasparov.[42]
Carlsen shared first place alongside Ivanchuk in the Amber 2010 blindfold and rapid tournament. Carlsen scored 6½ points in the blindfold and 8 points in the rapid, giving 14½ points from a possible 22 points.
In May 2010 it was revealed that Carlsen had helped Viswanathan Anand prepare for the World Chess Championship 2010 against challenger Veselin Topalov, which Anand won 6½-5½ to retain the title. Carlsen had also helped Anand prepare for the World Chess Championship 2007 and World Chess Championship 2008.[43]
In his first tournament since his announced departure from Kasparov, Carlsen played in the Bazna Kings Tournament in Romania on 14–25 June. The tournament was a double round robin event involving Wang Yue, Boris Gelfand, former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov, Teimour Radjabov, and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu. After drawing his first three games, Carlsen won his next four and set a personal livechess rating peak of 2825.1.[44] He finished with 7½/10 and a 2918 performance rating, winning the tournament by two points over Radjabov and Gelfand.[45][46] The victory ensured that Carlsen remained at the top of the Elo rating list. His official rating hit 2826, a figure exceeded only by Kasparov and just 25 points shy of tying Kasparov's all-time record.
Carlsen then played in a rapid tournament 28–30 August at the Arctic Securities Chess Stars tournament in Kristiansund, Norway. The field featured world champion Viswanathan Anand, female world #1 Judit Polgár, and Jon Ludvig Hammer. In the preliminary round robin, Carlsen scored 3½/6 to qualify for the final, second behind Anand.[47] In the final, Carlsen defeated Anand 1½-½ to win the championship.[48]
Following this event, Carlsen suffered setbacks in his next two tournaments. In the 39th Chess Olympiad from 19 September to 4 October, he scored 4½/8, losing three games, to Baadur Jobava, Michael Adams and Sanan Sjugirov; these were his first losses with the black pieces in more than a year.[49] His team, Norway, finished 51st out of 149 teams.[50]
Carlsen's next tournament was the Grand Slam Masters Final on 9–15 October 2010, which he had qualified for automatically by winning three of the previous year's four Grand Slam chess events (2009 Nanjing Pearl Spring, 2010 Corus, 2010 Bazna Kings). Along with Carlsen, the finals consisted of World Champion Viswanathan Anand and the highest two scorers from the preliminary stage held in Shanghai in September, which featured Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Alexei Shirov, and Wang Hao; Shirov and Kramnik qualified.[51][52] The official September 2010 ratings of Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik and Shirov made the Grand Slam final the strongest tournament in chess history, with an average ELO of 2789. In the first round, Carlsen lost on the black side of the Queen's Indian Defense to Kramnik; this was Carlsen's second consecutive loss to Kramnik, and placed his hold on the world #1 ranking in serious jeopardy. In his second round, Carlsen lost with the white pieces to Anand in the Ruy Lopez; this was his first loss as white since January 2010, and dropped him to world #2 in the live rankings behind Anand. Carlsen recovered somewhat in the latter part of the tournament, finishing with 2½/6, including a win over Shirov; the tournament was won by Kramnik with 4/6.[53] Carlsen finished this tournament with a rating of 2802, two points behind Anand at 2804 who officially ended Carlsen's reign at world #1. These setbacks called into question from some whether Carlsen's activities outside chess, such as modelling for G-Star Raw, was distracting him from performing well at the chess board.[54] Carlsen said he did not believe there was a direct connection, and that he was looking forward to the Pearl Spring tournament, where he had scored 8/10 in 2009.[55]
Following the Grand Slam Masters Final, Carlsen's next tournament was the 2010 Pearl Spring chess tournament on 19–30 October in Nanjing, China, against Anand, world #2 Veselin Topalov, Vugar Gashimov, Wang Yue, and Étienne Bacrot.[56] This was the only tournament in 2010 to feature Anand, Carlsen and Topalov, at the time the top three players in the world, and was the first tournament in history to feature three players rated at least 2800. With early wins over Bacrot, Yue, and Topalov with white, Carlsen took the early lead, extending his winning streak with white in Nanjing to eight. This streak was halted by a draw to Anand in round seven, but in the penultimate round Carlsen secured first place by defeating Topalov with the black pieces. This was his second victory in the tournament over the former world #1, and improved his score to 6½/9.[57] The victory clinched Carlsen a place in the 2011 Grand Slam Chess Masters final, his final score of 7/10 (with a performance rating of 2903) was a full point ahead of runner-up Anand, and moved him back to world #1 on the live rankings.
Carlsen next played in the 2010 World Blitz Championship, in Moscow on 16–18 November, attempting to defend his 2009 title. With a score of 23.5/38, he finished in third place behind Teimour Radjabov and winner Levon Aronian.[58]
Carlsen won the 2010 London Chess Classic on 8–15 December in a field comprising world champion Viswanathan Anand, former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, American number one Hikaru Nakamura, and British players Michael Adams, Nigel Short, David Howell, and Luke McShane.[59] Carlsen had a rocky start, losing his Black games to McShane and Anand in rounds 1 and 3, but winning with White against Adams and Nakamura in rounds 2 and 4. He joined the lead with a Black win over Howell in round 5, and managed to stay in the lead following a harrowing draw with Black against Kramnik in round 6, before defeating Short in the last round with White. Since the tournament was played with three points for a win, Carlsen's +4=1-2 score put him ahead of Anand and McShane who scored +2=5 (a more traditional two-points-for-a-win system would have yielded a three-way tie, with Carlsen still on top having the better tiebreaker due to four games with black – Anand and McShane had to play only three times with black).
Carlsen won the Chess Oscar for 2010 by narrowly beating Viswanathan Anand.[60]
2011[link]
Carlsen competed in the GM-A group of the Tata Steel Chess (Corus) tournament on 14–30 January in Wijk aan Zee in an attempt to defend his title;[61] the field included world champion Viswanathan Anand, reigning world blitz champion Levon Aronian, former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Grischuk, Hikaru Nakamura, and former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov among others. Despite losing games with White against Anish Giri and reigning Russian champion Ian Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen finished with 8.0/13, including victories over Kramnik and tournament winner Hikaru Nakamura. Although Carlsen's performance raised his rating from 2814 to 2815, Anand's 8.5/13 score elevated his rating to 2817, making him the official world #1 for the March 2011 FIDE rating list.
The first tournament victory of 2011 came in the Bazna Kings tournament, a double round-robin played in Medias on 11–21 June. Carlsen finished with 6.5 points (+3=7), equal with Sergey Karjakin but with a better tiebreak score. Carlsen won his White games against Nakamura, Nisipeanu, and Ivanchuk and drew the rest of the games.[62] This result raised Carlsen's rating by six points to 2821, and returned Carlsen to first place on the live rating list.
As of November 2011[update], Carlsen is again #1 on the official FIDE rating list with a 2826 rating.
The Grand Slam Chess Final was held as a double-round robin with six players, in São Paulo (25 September – 1 October) and Bilbao (5–11 October). Although Carlsen had a slow start, including a loss against bottom ranked Vallejo Pons, he finished +3=6-1, equal with Ivanchuk (whose +4=3-3 finish was equal due to three points for a win). Carlsen then won the blitz tiebreak against Ivanchuk. The other players were Anand, Aronian, Nakamura, and Vallejo Pons.[63]
Another tournament victory was achieved in the Tal Memorial in Moscow 16–25 November 2011 as a round robin with ten players. Carlsen won two games, against Gelfand and Nakamura, and drew the rest. He finished equal on points with Aronian, and finished ahead since the first tiebreak was the number of Black games; Carlsen had five Black games while Aronian only had four.[64]
In the London Chess Classic, played 3–12 December, Carlsen's streak of tournament victories ended when he finished third, behind Kramnik and Nakamura. Carlsen won three games and drew five. Although he did not win the tournament, Carlsen continued to gain rating points, and rose to a new personal record of 2835.[65]
2012[link]
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At the Tata Steel Chess Tournament held January 14–29, Carlsen finished in a shared second place with 8 points out of 13 (four wins, eight draws, one loss), behind Aronian, and equal with Radjabov and Caruana. Carlsen defeated Gashimov, Aronian, Gelfand, and Topalov, but lost against Karjakin. His score was approximately on par with rating expectations with an overall loss of one point, but he remained in first place on the live rating list.[66]
Playing style[link]
As a teenager, Carlsen became known for his attacking playing style. His win over Sipke Ernst in the 2004 Wijk aan Zee C-group[67] which ended with an epaulette mate was an example of the play that was admired by several other chess players. As he matured, Carlsen found that this risky playing style was not as well suited against the world elite. Around 2005 Carlsen was struggling against more experienced grandmasters, and had trouble getting much out of the opening. To progress, Carlsen became a more universal player, capable of handling all sorts of positions well. In the opening, Carlsen has alternated between various opening moves. Instead of specializing in either 1.d4 or 1.e4, Carlsen has alternated between them, thus making it harder for opponents to prepare against him.[68]
Since the announcement that he was coaching Carlsen, Garry Kasparov has repeatedly stated that Carlsen has a positional style similar to that of past world champions such as Anatoly Karpov, José Capablanca and Vassily Smyslov, rather than the tactical style of Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Tal and himself.[69]
Rating[link]
In the October 2006 FIDE Elo ratings, Carlsen advanced to world number 22 with a rating of 2698.[70] In the January 2007 ratings he dropped to 2690 and rank 24.[71] In the July 2007 ratings, after a series of strong results, Carlsen advanced to become world number 17 with a rating of 2710.[72] On the January 2008 FIDE rating list he was rated at 2733,[73] and on October 2008 he reached 2786 Elo rating.[74] He was placed sixth in the July 2008 list, but if his Aerosvit result had been included he would have been ranked second. The omission of the Aerosvit result, which finished after the cut-off date for the July 2008 list, caused some controversy.[75]
On 5 September 2008, after winning round 4 in the Bilbao Grand Slam chess championship, Carlsen, still under 18, briefly became number one on the unofficial live ratings list.[76][77]
Carlsen's September–October 2009 victory in the Nanjing Pearl tournament raised his official rating to 2801, making him at age 18 the youngest player ever to break 2800.[78] The youngest before him was Vladimir Kramnik at age 25.[79] Besides Carlsen, only Kasparov, Topalov, Kramnik, and Anand had achieved a 2800 rating (Levon Aronian later accomplished the feat in October 2010). Carlsen said that he hoped his victory would mark the "beginning of a new era."[80]
After the Tal Memorial (November 2009) he became number one in the unofficial live chess rating list with his new peak rating of 2805.7, 0.6 point over the number 2, Veselin Topalov.[81]
The official FIDE rankings were published on 1 January 2010, and the 16 games played at the Tal Memorial and the London Chess Classic were enough to raise his rating by 8.6 rating points to 2810.[82] This meant that Carlsen started 2010 by being the official (and, at the age of &1000000000000001900000019 years, &1000000000000003200000032 days, the youngest ever) world number one, and also the first player from a western nation to reach the top in the FIDE rating list since Bobby Fischer in 1972.[83][84] The press coverage of this feat included an interview and article in Time magazine.[85][86]
Standing on each top 100 FIDE list[link]
| Rating list | Rating | Games | Change | World ranking | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2006 | 2625 | 40 | +55 | 89 | 15 years, 01 month |
| April 2006 | 2646 | 13 | +21 | 63 | 15 years, 04 months |
| July 2006 | 2675 | 27 | +29 | 31 | 15 years, 07 months |
| October 2006 | 2698 | 46 | +23 | 21 | 15 years, 10 months |
| January 2007 | 2690 | 11 | −8 | 24 | 16 years, 01 month |
| April 2007 | 2693 | 27 | +3 | 22 | 16 years, 04 months |
| July 2007 | 2710 | 19 | +17 | 17 | 16 years, 07 months |
| October 2007 | 2714 | 25 | +4 | 16 | 16 years, 10 months |
| January 2008 | 2733 | 37 | +19 | 13 | 17 years, 01 month |
| April 2008 | 2765 | 27 | +32 | 5 | 17 years, 04 months |
| July 2008 | 2775 | 16 | +10 | 6 | 17 years, 07 months |
| October 2008 | 2786 | 31 | +11 | 4 | 17 years, 10 months |
| January 2009 | 2776 | 17 | −10 | 4 | 18 years, 01 month |
| April 2009 | 2770 | 27 | −6 | 3 | 18 years, 04 months |
| July 2009 | 2772 | 12 | +2 | 3 | 18 years, 07 months |
| September 2009 | 2772 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 18 years, 09 months |
| November 2009 | 2801 | 10 | +29 | 2 | 18 years, 11 months |
| January 2010 | 2810 | 16 | +9 | 1 | 19 years, 01 month |
| March 2010 | 2813 | 13 | +3 | 1 | 19 years, 03 months |
| May 2010 | 2813 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 years, 05 months |
| July 2010 | 2826 | 10 | +13 | 1 | 19 years, 07 months |
| September 2010 | 2826 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 years, 09 months |
| November 2010 | 2802 | 14 | −24 | 2 | 19 years, 11 months |
| January 2011 | 2814 | 17 | +12 | 1 | 20 years, 01 month |
| March 2011 | 2815 | 13 | +1 | 2 | 20 years, 03 months |
| May 2011 | 2815 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 years, 05 months |
| July 2011 | 2821 | 10 | +6 | 1 | 20 years, 07 months |
| September 2011 | 2823 | 10 | +2 | 1 | 20 years, 09 months |
| November 2011 | 2826 | 10 | +3 | 1 | 20 years, 11 months |
| January 2012 | 2835 | 17 | +9 | 1 | 21 years, 01 month |
| March 2012 | 2835 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 21 years, 03 months |
- bold, new peak rating
Books and films[link]
- Valaker, O; Carlsen, M. (2004). Lær sjakk med Magnus. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. ISBN 978-82-05-33963-7.
- Agdestein, S. (2004). Wonderboy: how Magnus Carlsen became the youngest Chess Grandmaster in the world: the story of the games. Interchess. ISBN 90-5691-131-7.
- The Prince of Chess, a film about Magnus Carlsen (2005) Directed by Øyvind Asbjørnsen.[87]
Beyond chess[link]
Magnus Carlsen modeled for G-Star Raw's Autumn/Winter 2010 advertising campaign.[88]
References[link]
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- ^ Chessvine Article, "Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen"
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- ^ "Linares R12: Carlsen defeats Grischuk, lead narrows". ChessBase News, 6 March 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ Dylan Loeb McClain: "Highly Ranked Youth Loses Tactical Battle to an Old Pro", 'New York Times', 30 May 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
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- ^ Nanjing: Carlsen wins Pearl Spring with 3002 performance, Chessbase, 10 October 2009
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- ^ a b Barden, Leonard (13 March 2010). "World No1 Magnus Carlsen parts company with mentor Garry Kasparov". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/mar/13/chess-magnus-carlsen-garry-kasparov. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
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- ^ Results
- ^ Mark Crowther - Friday 25th June 2010 (2010-06-25). "2010 Bazna Kings Tournament". Chess.co.uk. http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/4th-kings-tournament-2010. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ^ "Arctic Securities Rapid: Carlsen gets 'hammered', reaches final". Chessbase.com. 29 August 2010. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6641. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ "Carlsen beats Anand, wins Arctic Securities Rapid". Chessbase.com. 31 August 2010. http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6644. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- ^ "Team-Composition for federation NOR – Open". chess-results.com. http://www.chess-results.com/tnr36795.aspx?art=20&fed=NOR&lan=1&flag=30&m=-1&wi=1000. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ "Standings | World Chess Olympiad 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk | Всемирная Шахматная Олимпиада Ханты-Мансийск". Ugra-chess.com. http://ugra-chess.com/standings.php. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ^ "Final Chess Masters 2010 in Shanghai and Bilbao". Chessbase.com. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6567. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ^ Mark Crowther - Wednesday 8th September 2010 (2010-09-08). "Shanghai Masters 2010". Chess.co.uk. http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/shanghai-masters-2010. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ^ Valaker, Ole (15 October 2010). "Magnus endte på 3. plass" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. http://www.nettavisen.no/sjakk/article3006142.ece. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ Brenne, Øyvind (11 October 2010). "Bekymret for Sjakk-Carlsen etter "ikke-sportslig styr"" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. http://www.vg.no/sport/artikkel.php?artid=10025454. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ Carlsen, Magnus. "Magnus Carlsen`s Blog". http://www.arcticsec.no/index.php?blog_id=102&button=blog&main_image=35. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ "Nanjing Super Chess Tournament 2010 (updated)". Previews.chessdom.com. 2010-10-30. http://previews.chessdom.com/2010/nanjing-chess-2010. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ^ Doggers, Peter (29 October 2010). "Carlsen wins Pearl Spring 2010". ChessVibes. http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/carlsen-wins-pearl-spring-2010/. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ 2010 World Blitz Chess Championship - Final Standings[dead link]
- ^ John Saunders - Saturday 5th June 2010 (2010-06-05). "Anand and Carlsen to star in London Chess Classic 2010". Chess.co.uk. http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/london-chess-classic-2010/anand-and-carlsen-to-star-in-london-chess-classic-2010. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ^ "And the 2010 Chess Oscar goes... to Magnus Carlsen". ChessVibes. http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/and-the-2010-chess-oscar-goes-to-magnus-carlsen/. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ^ "Schedule – Tata Steel Chess (2011)". Tata Steel Chess Tournamente. http://www.tatasteelchess.com/tournament/schedule/group/1. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "Media Kings Rd10: Carlsen-Karjakin draw, Carlsen wins Medias 2011". ChessBase. 21 June 2011. http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7309. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ Bilbao Masters – Carlsen takes first after blitz tiebreak ChessBase 12 October 2011
- ^ Carlsen catches Aronian in last round, wins Tal Memorial on tiebreak ChessVibes, 25 November 2011
- ^ "Sjakk-Carlsen har aldri vært bedre" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 12 December 2011. http://www.vg.no/sport/artikkel.php?artid=10040819. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- ^ "Wijk aan Zee Rd13: Aronian is sole winner!". ChessBase. 29 January 2012.
- ^ "Magnus Carlsen vs Spike Ernst". Chessgames.com. http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1272702. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
- ^ Grønn, Atle (27 February 2009). "Magnus Carlsens system" (in Norwegian). Dagsavisen. http://www.dagsavisen.no/kultur/article401031.ece. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
- ^ Kasparov on coaching Carlsen, Chessvibes, 11 September 2009
- ^ FIDE: Top 100 Players October 2006 – Archive. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ FIDE: Top 100 Players January 2007 – Archive. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ FIDE: Top 100 Players July 2007 – Archive. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ FIDE: Top 100 Players January 2008 – Archive. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ FIDE: Top 100 Players October 2008 – Archive. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ Anand tops 1 July 2008 FIDE ratings, Carlsen sixth, Chessbase, 30 June 2008
- ^ Bilbao R4: Topalov topples Anand, Carlsen #1 in the world, Chessbase, 5 September 2008
- ^ Name (2011-08-17). "Live Rating on 5 Sep 2008". Chess.liverating.org. http://chess.liverating.org/toplist.php?id=2008090501#. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ^ Magnus "The Red Dragon" dominates Nanjing.
- ^ "Dad Carlsen – This has been a dream". Translate.google.com. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=no&u=http://www.vg.no/sport/artikkel.php%3Fartid%3D574885&ei=OeP-SsLdNIWXtgeoy-WRDg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAsQ7gEwAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.vg.no/sport/artikkel.php%253Fartid%253D574885%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DAs1. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
- ^ Holden, Lillian (9 October 2009). "Magnus: – Håper dette er starten på en ny æra" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. http://www.vg.no/sport/artikkel.php?artid=574885. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ "Kramnik wins Tal Memorial 2009, Carlsen number one", ChessBase News, 14 November 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ^ Magnus Carlsen: Individual Calculations January 2010, FIDE, accessed 2 January 2010
- ^ Norwegian Carlsen is youngest to top chess rankings, AFP, accessed 2 January 2010
- ^ Norwegian teenager to be crowned new chess king, Reuters, accessed 2 January 2010
- ^ Magnus Carlsen: The 19-Year-Old King of Chess, TIME (25 December 2009), Ebden Harell, accessed 2 January 2010
- ^ A Bold Opening for Chess Player Magnus Carlsen, TIME (11 January 2010), Ebden Harell, accessed 2 January 2010
- ^ The Prince of Chess (2005)
- ^ "Magnus Carlsen's new career: fashion model!", ChessBase News, 7 July 2010.
External links[link]
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Magnus Carlsen |
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Magnus Carlsen |
- Magnus Carlsen player profile at ChessGames.com
Official links[link]
- Official website
- Official blog
- Magnus Carlsen on Twitter (as per link from "Blog" section of website)
- Magnus Carlsen rating card at FIDE
News items and interviews[link]
- Mega Magnus in Wijk aan Zee, ChessBase, 27 January 2004
- World's youngest grandmaster, Aftenposten, 26 April 2004
- Magnificent Magnus, the world's youngest grandmaster, ChessBase, 30 April 2004 – extensive interview
- Carlsen and Kasparov in a chat show, YouTube, 18 September 2009 - very impressive how Kasparov is recalling his first encounter with Carlsen in Reykjavik 2004, being on the verge of defeat in game 1, feeling gruesome in hindsight
- Magnus Carlsen: The 19-Year-Old King of Chess, Time.com, 29 September 2009 – interview
- A Bold Opening for Chess Player Magnus Carlsen, Time.com, 11 January 2010
- Magnus Carlsen on his chess career, ChessBase, 15 March 2010 – English translation of Spiegel interview
- The Prince's Gambit—A chess star emerges for the post-computer age (abstract), by D.T. Max, The New Yorker, 21 March 2011
- "The Mozart of Chess", "60 Minutes" segment
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Leinier Domínguez |
World Blitz Chess Champion 2009 |
Succeeded by Levon Aronian |
| Preceded by Veselin Topalov Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand |
World No. 1 1 January 2010 – 31 October 2010 1 January 2011 – 28 February 2011 1 July 2011 – present |
Succeeded by Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan Anand Incumbent |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Carlsen, Magnus |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 30 November 1990 |
| Place of birth | Tønsberg, Norway |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Magnus_Carlsen
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| Zaven Andriasian | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Զավեն Անդրիասյան |
| Country | Armenia |
| Born | (1989-03-11) March 11, 1989 (age 23) |
| Title | Grandmaster |
| FIDE rating | 2615 (May 2012) |
| Peak rating | 2645 (March 2011) |
Zaven Andriasian (sometimes transliterated as Andriasyan; Armenian: Զավեն Անդրիասյան; born March 11, 1989)[1] is an Armenian Grandmaster (2006) of chess. He won the 2005 European Youth Chess Championship for under 16[2] and the 2006 World Junior Chess Championship.[3] In November 2010 he won the Russian Cup Final after defeating Artyom Timofeev in the second game of the final.[4] In January 2012 he came second in the Armenian Chess960 Championship.[5]
As of January 2012[update], his FIDE rating is 2624.
References[link]
- ^ "Ratings of Chess Players of Armenia by November 1, 2009". MIKA Chess Club. http://www.mikacc.am/ratings/2009-2/index7b41.htm. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
- ^ ChessBase.com - Chess News - European Youth Championship the winners
- ^ ChessBase.com - Chess News - Shen Yang and Zaven Andriasian World Junior Champions
- ^ Crowther, Mark (2010-11-22). "The Week in Chess 837: Russian Cup Final 2010". London Chess Center. http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/twic837.html#10. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Hrant Melkumyan becomes Armenia’s Chess 960 champion of 2012". PanArmenian.net. 2012-01-28. http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/90416/Hrant_Melkumyan_becomes_Armenias_Chess_960_champion_of_2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
Notable games[link]
- Zaven Andriasian vs Maxim Rodshtein, World Junior Championship 2006, French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Chistyakov Defense Modern Line (C07), 1-0
- Falko Bindrich vs Zaven Andriasian, World Youth Stars 2007, Semi-Slav Defense: Quiet Variation (D30), 0-1
External links[link]
- Zaven Andriasian player profile at ChessGames.com
- Zaven Andriasian player profile at the Internet Chess Club
- Grandmaster Games Database - Zaven Andriasian
- Rating data
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Andriasian, Zaven |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Chess Grandmaster |
| Date of birth | 1989-03-11 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
  |
This biographical article relating to an Armenian chess figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
http://wn.com/Zaven_Andriasian
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Андриасян, Завен Робертович
http://fr.wn.com/Zaven Andriasian
http://de.wn.com/Sawen Andriasjan
http://it.wn.com/Zaven Andriasian
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaven_Andriasian
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
"Kasparov" redirects here. For other uses, see Kasparov (disambiguation).
| Garry Kasparov (Гарри Кимович Каспаров) |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | Russia |
| Born | (1963-04-13) 13 April 1963 (age 49) Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union |
| Title | Grandmaster |
| World Champion | 1985–93 (Undisputed) 1993–2000 (Classical) |
| FIDE rating | 2812 (May 2012) (inactive) |
| Peak rating | 2851 (July 1999, January 2000) |
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (Russian: Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров, Russian pronunciation: [ˈɡarʲɪ ˈkʲiməvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsparəf]; born Garik Kimovich Weinstein,[1] 13 April 1963) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time.
Kasparov became the youngest ever undisputed World Chess Champion in 1985 at the age of 22 by defeating then-champion Anatoly Karpov.[2] He held the official FIDE world title until 1993, when a dispute with FIDE led him to set up a rival organization, the Professional Chess Association. He continued to hold the "Classical" World Chess Championship until his defeat by Vladimir Kramnik in 2000. He was the first world champion to lose a match to a computer under standard time controls, when he lost to Deep Blue in 1997.
Kasparov's ratings achievements include being rated world No. 1 according to Elo rating almost continuously from 1986 until his retirement in 2005 and holding the all-time highest rating of 2851.[3] He was the world No. 1 ranked player for 255 months, by far the most of all-time and nearly three times as long as his closest rival, Anatoly Karpov. Kasparov also holds records for consecutive tournament victories and Chess Oscars.
Kasparov announced his retirement from professional chess on 10 March 2005, to devote his time to politics and writing. He formed the United Civil Front movement, and joined as a member of The Other Russia, a coalition opposing the administration of Vladimir Putin. He was considered to become a candidate for the 2008 Russian presidential race, but later withdrew. Although he is widely regarded in the West as a symbol of opposition to Putin, support for him in Russia is low.[4]
Early career[link]
Garry Kasparov was born Garik Kimovich Weinstein (Russian: Гарик Вайнштейн) in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union; now Azerbaijan, to an Armenian mother and Russian father.[5][6][7] He first began the serious study of chess after he came across a chess problem set up by his parents and proposed a solution.[8] His father died of leukemia when he was seven years old.[9] At the age of twelve, he adopted his mother's Armenian surname, Gasparyan, modifying it to a more Russified version, Kasparov.[10]
From age 7, Kasparov attended the Young Pioneer Palace in Baku and, at 10 began training at Mikhail Botvinnik's chess school under noted coach Vladimir Makogonov. Makogonov helped develop Kasparov's positional skills and taught him to play the Caro-Kann Defence and the Tartakower System of the Queen's Gambit Declined.[11] Kasparov won the Soviet Junior Championship in Tbilisi in 1976, scoring 7 points of 9, at age 13. He repeated the feat the following year, winning with a score of 8½ of 9. He was being trained by Alexander Shakarov during this time.
In 1978, Kasparov participated in the Sokolsky Memorial tournament in Minsk. He had been invited as an exception but took first place and became a chess master. Kasparov has repeatedly said that this event was a turning point in his life, and that it convinced him to choose chess as his career. "I will remember the Sokolsky Memorial as long as I live", he wrote. He has also said that after the victory, he thought he had a very good shot at the World Championship.[12]
He first qualified for the Soviet Chess Championship at age 15 in 1978, the youngest ever player at that level. He won the 64-player Swiss system tournament at Daugavpils over tiebreak from Igor V. Ivanov, to capture the sole qualifying place.
Kasparov rose quickly through the FIDE (World Chess Federation) rankings. Starting with an oversight by the Russian Chess Federation, he participated in a Grandmaster tournament in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina (then part of Yugoslavia), in 1979 while still unrated (He was a replacement for Viktor Korchnoi who was originally invited but withdrew due to threat of boycott from the Soviet). He won this high-class tournament, emerging with a provisional rating of 2595, enough to catapult him to the top group of chess players (at the time, number 15 in the World[13]). The next year, 1980, he won the World Junior Chess Championship in Dortmund, West Germany. Later that year, he made his debut as second reserve for the Soviet Union at the Chess Olympiad at La Valletta, Malta, and became a Grandmaster.
Toward the top[link]
As a teenager, Kasparov twice tied for first place in the USSR Chess Championship, in 1980–81 and 1981–82. His first win in a superclass-level international tournament was scored at Bugojno, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1982. He earned a place in the 1982 Moscow Interzonal tournament, which he won, to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.[14] At age 19, he was the youngest Candidate since Bobby Fischer, who was 15 when he qualified in 1958. At this stage, he was already the No. 2-rated player in the world, trailing only World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov on the January 1983 list.
Kasparov's first (quarter-final) Candidates match was against Alexander Beliavsky, whom he defeated 6–3 (four wins, one loss).[15] Politics threatened Kasparov's semi-final against Viktor Korchnoi, which was scheduled to be played in Pasadena, California. Korchnoi had defected from the Soviet Union in 1976, and was at that time the strongest active non-Soviet player. Various political maneuvers prevented Kasparov from playing Korchnoi, and Kasparov forfeited the match. This was resolved by Korchnoi allowing the match to be replayed in London, along with the previously scheduled match between Vasily Smyslov and Zoltán Ribli. The Kasparov-Korchnoi match was put together on short notice by Raymond Keene. Kasparov lost the first game but won the match 7–4 (four wins, one loss).
In January 1984, Kasparov became the No. 1 ranked player in the world, with a FIDE rating of 2710. He became the youngest ever world No. 1, a record that lasted 12 years until being broken by Vladimir Kramnik in January 1996; the record is currently held by his former pupil, Magnus Carlsen.
Later in 1984, he won the Candidates' final 8½–4½ (four wins, no losses) against the resurgent former world champion Vasily Smyslov, at Vilnius, thus qualifying to play Anatoly Karpov for the World Championship. That year he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), as a member of which he was elected to the Central Committee of Komsomol in 1987.
1984 World Championship[link]
Main article: World Chess Championship 1984
The World Chess Championship 1984 match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov had many ups and downs, and a very controversial finish. Karpov started in very good form, and after nine games Kasparov was down 4–0 in a "first to six wins" match. Fellow players predicted he would be whitewashed 6–0 within 18 games.[16]
In a strange period, there followed a series of 17 successive draws, some relatively short, and others drawn in unsettled positions. He lost game 27, then fought back with another series of draws until game 32, his first-ever win against the World Champion. Another 15 successive draws followed, through game 46; the previous record length for a world title match had been 34 games, the match of José Raúl Capablanca vs. Alexander Alekhine in 1927.
Kasparov won games 47 and 48 to bring the scores to 5–3 in Karpov's favour. Then the match was ended without result by Florencio Campomanes, the President of Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), and a new match was announced to start a few months later. The termination was controversial, as both players stated that they preferred the match to continue. Announcing his decision at a press conference, Campomanes cited the health of the players, which had been strained by the length of the match.
The match became the first, and so far only, world championship match to be abandoned without result. Kasparov's relations with Campomanes and FIDE were greatly strained, and the feud between them eventually came to a head in 1993 with Kasparov's complete break-away from FIDE.
World Champion[link]
 |
This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2011) |
The second Karpov-Kasparov match in 1985 was organized in Moscow as the best of 24 games where the first player to win 12½ points would claim the World Champion title. The scores from the terminated match would not carry over. But in the event of a 12–12 draw, the title would remain with Karpov. On 9 November 1985, Kasparov secured the title by a score of 13–11, winning the 24th game with Black, using a Sicilian defence. He was 22 years old at the time, making him the youngest ever World Champion, and breaking the record held by Mikhail Tal for over 20 years. Kasparov's win as Black in the 16th game has been recognized as one of the all-time masterpieces in chess history.
As part of the arrangements following the aborted 1984 match, Karpov had been granted (in the event of his defeat) a right to rematch. Another match took place in 1986, hosted jointly in London and Leningrad, with each city hosting 12 games. At one point in the match, Kasparov opened a three-point lead and looked well on his way to a decisive match victory. But Karpov fought back by winning three consecutive games to level the score late in the match. At this point, Kasparov dismissed one of his seconds, Grandmaster Evgeny Vladimirov, accusing him of selling his opening preparation to the Karpov team (as described in Kasparov's autobiography Unlimited Challenge, chapter Stab in the Back). Kasparov scored one more win and kept his title by a final score of 12½–11½.
A fourth match for the world title took place in 1987 in Seville, as Karpov had qualified through the Candidates' Matches to again become the official challenger. This match was very close, with neither player holding more than a one-point lead at any time during the contest. Kasparov was down one full point at the time of the final game, and needed a win to draw the match and retain his title. A long tense game ensued in which Karpov blundered away a pawn just before the first time control, and Kasparov eventually won a long ending. Kasparov retained his title as the match was drawn by a score of 12–12. (All this meant that Kasparov had played Karpov four times in the period 1984–87, a statistic unprecedented in chess. Matches organised by FIDE had taken place every three years since 1948, and only Botvinnik had a right to a rematch before Karpov.)
A fifth match between Kasparov and Karpov was held in New York and Lyon in 1990, with each city hosting 12 games. Again, the result was a close one with Kasparov winning by a margin of 12½–11½. In their five world championship matches, Kasparov had 21 wins, 19 losses, and 104 draws in 144 games.
Break with and ejection from FIDE[link]
With the World Champion title in hand, Kasparov began fighting against FIDE—as Bobby Fischer had done 20 years earlier but this time from within FIDE. Beginning in 1986, he created the Grandmasters Association (GMA), an organization to represent professional chess players and give them more say in FIDE's activities. Kasparov assumed a leadership role. GMA's major achievement was in organizing a series of six World Cup tournaments for the world's top players. A somewhat uneasy relationship developed with FIDE, and a sort of truce was brokered by Bessel Kok, a Dutch businessman.
This stand-off lasted until 1993, by which time a new challenger had qualified through the Candidates cycle for Kasparov's next World Championship defense: Nigel Short, a British Grandmaster who had defeated Anatoly Karpov in a qualifying match, and then Jan Timman in the finals held in early 1993. After a confusing and compressed bidding process produced lower financial estimates than expected,[17] the world champion and his challenger decided to play outside FIDE's jurisdiction, under another organization created by Kasparov called the Professional Chess Association (PCA). This is where a great fracture in the lineage of World Champions began.
In an interview in 2007, Kasparov would call the break with FIDE the worst mistake of his career, as it hurt the game in the long run.[18]
Kasparov and Short were ejected from FIDE, and played their well-sponsored match in London. Kasparov won convincingly by a score of 12½–7½. The match considerably raised the profile of chess in the UK, with an unprecedented level of coverage on Channel 4. Meanwhile, FIDE organized a World Championship match between Jan Timman (the defeated Candidates finalist) and former World Champion Karpov (a defeated Candidates semifinalist), which Karpov won.
There were now two World Champions: PCA champion Kasparov, and FIDE champion Karpov. The title would remain split for 13 years.
Kasparov defended his title in a 1995 match against Viswanathan Anand at the World Trade Center in New York City. Kasparov won the match by four wins to one, with thirteen draws. It was the last World Championship to be held under the auspices of the PCA, which collapsed when Intel, one of its major backers, withdrew its sponsorship in retaliation for Kasparov's choice to play a 1996 match against Deep Blue, which augmented the profile of IBM, one of Intel's chief rivals.[19]
Kasparov tried to organize another World Championship match, under another organization, the World Chess Association (WCA) with Linares organizer Luis Rentero. Alexei Shirov and Vladimir Kramnik played a candidates match to decide the challenger, which Shirov won in a surprising upset. But when Rentero admitted that the funds required and promised had never materialized, the WCA collapsed.
This left Kasparov stranded, and yet another organization stepped in—BrainGames.com, headed by Raymond Keene. No match against Shirov was arranged, and talks with Anand collapsed, so a match was instead arranged against Kramnik.
During this period, Kasparov was approached by Oakham School in the United Kingdom, at the time the only school in the country with a full-time chess coach,[20] and developed an interest in the use of chess in education. In 1997, Kasparov supported a scholarship programme at the school.[21] Kasparov also won the Marca Leyenda trophy that year.
Losing the title and aftermath[link]
The Kasparov-Kramnik match took place in London during the latter half of 2000. Kramnik had been a student of Kasparov's at the legendary Botvinnik/Kasparov chess school in Russia, and had served on Kasparov's team for the 1995 match against Viswanathan Anand.
The better-prepared Kramnik won Game 2 against Kasparov's Grünfeld Defence and achieved winning positions in Games 4 and 6. Kasparov made a critical error in Game 10 with the Nimzo-Indian Defence, which Kramnik exploited to win in 25 moves. As White, Kasparov could not crack the passive but solid Berlin Defence in the Ruy Lopez, and Kramnik successfully drew all his games as Black. Kramnik won the match 8½–6½, and for the first time in 15 years Kasparov had no world championship title. He became the first player to lose a world championship match without winning a game since Emanuel Lasker lost to Capablanca in 1921.
After losing the title, Kasparov won a series of major tournaments, and remained the top rated player in the world, ahead of both Kramnik and the FIDE World Champions. In 2001 he refused an invitation to the 2002 Dortmund Candidates Tournament for the Classical title, claiming his results had earned him a rematch with Kramnik.[22]
Kasparov and Karpov played a four game match with rapid time controls over two days in December 2002 in New York City. Karpov surprised the experts and emerged victoriously, winning two games and drawing one.[23]
Due to Kasparov's continuing strong results, and status as world No. 1 in much of the public eye, he was included in the so-called "Prague Agreement", masterminded by Yasser Seirawan and intended to reunite the two World Championships. Kasparov was to play a match against the FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov in September 2003. But this match was called off after Ponomariov refused to sign his contract for it without reservation. In its place, there were plans for a match against Rustam Kasimdzhanov, winner of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004, to be held in January 2005 in the United Arab Emirates. These also fell through due to lack of funding. Plans to hold the match in Turkey instead came too late. Kasparov announced in January 2005 that he was tired of waiting for FIDE to organize a match and so had decided to stop all efforts to regain the World Championship title.
Retirement from chess[link]
After winning the prestigious Linares tournament for the ninth time, Kasparov announced on 10 March 2005 that he would retire from serious competitive chess. He cited as the reason a lack of personal goals in the chess world (he commented when winning the Russian championship in 2004 that it had been the last major title he had never won outright) and expressed frustration at the failure to reunify the world championship.
Kasparov said he may play in some rapid chess events for fun, but intends to spend more time on his books, including both the My Great Predecessors series (see below) and a work on the links between decision-making in chess and in other areas of life, and will continue to involve himself in Russian politics, which he views as "headed down the wrong path".
Kasparov has been married three times: to Masha, with whom he had a daughter before divorcing; to Yulia, with whom he had a son before their 2005 divorce; and to Daria, with whom he also has a child.[24][25]
Post-retirement chess[link]
On 22 August 2006, in his first public chess games since his retirement, Kasparov played in the Lichthof Chess Champions Tournament, a blitz event played at the time control of 5 minutes per side and 3 second increments per move. Kasparov tied for first with Anatoly Karpov, scoring 4½/6.[26]
Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov played a 12-game match from 21–24 September 2009, in Valencia, Spain. It consisted of four rapid (or semi rapid) games, in which Kasparov won 3–1 and eight blitz games, in which Kasparov also won 6–2, winning the match with total result 9–3. The event took place exactly 25 years after the two players' legendary encounter at World Chess Championship 1984.[27]
Kasparov actively coached Magnus Carlsen for approximately one year beginning in February 2009. The collaboration remained secret until September 2009.[28] Under Kasparov's tutelage, Carlsen in October 2009 became the youngest ever to achieve a FIDE rating higher than 2800, and has risen from world number four to world number one. While the pair initially planned to work together throughout 2010,[29] in March of that year it was announced that Carlsen had split from Kasparov and would no longer be using him as a trainer.[30] According to an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Carlsen indicated that he would remain in contact and that he would continue to attend training sessions with Kasparov,[31] but in fact no further training sessions were held and the cooperation gradually fizzled over the course of the Spring.[32]
In May 2010 it was revealed that Kasparov had aided Viswanathan Anand in preparation for the World Chess Championship 2010 against challenger Veselin Topalov. Anand won the match 6½–5½ to retain the title.[33]
Also in May 2010 he played 30 games simultaneously, winning each one, against players at Tel-Aviv University in Israel.[34]
In January 2011, Kasparov began training the American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. The first of several training sessions was held in New York just prior to Nakamura's participation in the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands.[35] In December 2011, it was announced that the cooperation had come to an end.[36]
Kasparov played two blitz exhibition matches in the Fall of 2011. The first, in September against French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, in Clichy (France), which Kasparov won 1½-½. The second was a longer match consisting of eight blitz games played on October 9, against English grandmaster Nigel Short. Kasparov won again by a score of 4½-3½.
Politics[link]
Kasparov joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1984 and in 1987 was elected to the Central Committee of Komsomol. But in 1990 he left the party and in May took part in the creation of the Democratic Party of Russia. In 1991, Kasparov received the Keeper of the Flame award from the Center for Security Policy (a US think tank) for his contributions "to the defence of the United States and American values around the world".[25][37][38][39][40] Kasparov was in June 1993 involved with the creation of the "Choice of Russia" bloc of parties and in 1996 took part in the election campaign of Boris Yeltsin. In 2001 he voiced his support for the Russian television channel NTV.[6]
In April 2007, it was asserted[41] that Kasparov was a board member of the National Security Advisory Council of Center for Security Policy,[37] a "non-profit, non-partisan national security organization that specializes in identifying policies, actions, and resource needs that are vital to American security".[38] Kasparov confirmed this and added that he was removed shortly after he became aware of it. He noted that he did not know about the membership and suggested he was included in the board by accident because he received the 1991 Keeper of the Flame award from this organization.[39][40] But Kasparov maintained his association with the leadership by giving speeches at think tanks such as the Hoover Institution.[25]
After his retirement from chess in 2005, Kasparov turned to politics and created the United Civil Front, a social movement whose main goal is to "work to preserve electoral democracy in Russia."[42] He has vowed to "restore democracy" to Russia by toppling the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, of whom he is an outspoken critic.[43][44][45]
Kasparov was instrumental in setting up The Other Russia, a coalition which opposes Putin's government. The Other Russia has been boycotted by the leaders of Russia's mainstream opposition parties, Yabloko and Union of Rightist Forces as they are concerned about its inclusion of radical nationalist and left-wing groups such as the National Bolshevik Party and former members of the Rodina party including Viktor Gerashchenko, a potential presidential candidate. But regional branches of Yabloko and the Union of Rightist Forces have opted to take part in the coalition. Kasparov says that leaders of these parties are controlled by the Kremlin,[46] despite the fact that they both publicly oppose to the president's policies.
On 10 April 2005, Kasparov was in Moscow at a promotional event when he was struck over the head with a chessboard he had just signed. The assailant was reported to have said "I admired you as a chess player, but you gave that up for politics" immediately before the attack.[47] Kasparov has been the subject of a number of other episodes since.[48][49]
Kasparov helped organize the Saint Petersburg Dissenters' March on 3 March 2007 and The March of the Dissenters on 24 March 2007, both involving several thousand people rallying against Putin and Saint Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko's policies.[50][51] On 14 April, he was briefly arrested by the Moscow police while heading for a demonstration, following warnings by the prosecution office on the eve of the march, stating that anyone participating risked being detained. He was held for some 10 hours and then fined and released.[52]
He was summoned by FSB for questioning, allegedly for violations of Russian anti-extremism laws.[53] This law was previously applied for the conviction of Boris Stomakhin.[54][55]
Speaking about Kasparov, former KGB general Oleg Kalugin in 2007 remarked: "I do not talk in details—people who knew them are all dead now because they were vocal, they were open. I am quiet. There is only one man who is vocal and he may be in trouble: [former] world chess champion [Garry] Kasparov. He has been very outspoken in his attacks on Putin and I believe that he is probably next on the list."[56]
On 30 September 2007, Kasparov entered the Russian Presidential race, receiving 379 of 498 votes at a congress held in Moscow by The Other Russia.[57]
In October 2007, Kasparov announced his intention of standing for the Russian presidency as the candidate of the "Other Russia" coalition and vowed to fight for a "democratic and just Russia". Later that month he traveled to the United States, where he appeared on several popular television programs, which were hosted by Stephen Colbert, Wolf Blitzer, Bill Maher, and Chris Matthews.
On 24 November 2007, Kasparov and other protesters were detained by police at an Other Russia rally in Moscow. This followed an attempt by about 100 protesters to break through police lines and march on the electoral commission, which had barred Other Russia candidates from parliamentary elections.[58] He was subsequently charged with resisting arrest and organising an unauthorized protest and given a jail sentence of five days. He was released from jail on 29 November.[59] Putin spoke briefly about the incident in an interview with Time magazine later that year, saying: "Why did Mr. Kasparov, when arrested, speak out in English rather than Russian? When a politician works the crowd of other nations rather than the Russian nation, it tells you something."[60]
On 12 December 2007, Kasparov announced that he had to withdraw his presidential candidacy due to inability to rent a meeting hall where at least 500 of his supporters could assemble to endorse his candidacy, as is legally required. With the deadline expiring on that date, he explained it was impossible for him to run. Kasparov's spokeswoman accused the government of using pressure to deter anyone from renting a hall for the gathering and said that the electoral commission had rejected a proposal that separate smaller gatherings be held at the same time instead of one large gathering at a meeting hall.[61]
Kasparov was among the 34 first signatories and a key organiser of the online anti-Putin campaign "Putin must go", started on 10 March 2010.
On January 31, 2012 Kasparov hosted a meeting of opposition leaders planning a mass march on February 4, 2012, the third major opposition rally held since the disputed State Duma elections of December 2011. Among other opposition leaders attending were Alexey Navalny and Yevgenia Chirikova.[62]
Chess ratings achievements[link]
- Kasparov holds the record for the longest time as the No. 1 rated player.
- Kasparov had the highest Elo rating in the world continuously from 1986 to 2005. However, Vladimir Kramnik did equal him in the January 1996 FIDE ratings list.[63] He was also briefly ejected from the list following his split from FIDE in 1993, but during that time he headed the rating list of the rival PCA. At the time of his retirement, he was still ranked No. 1 in the world, with a rating of 2812. His rating has fallen inactive since the January 2006 rating list.[64]
- In January 1990 Kasparov achieved the (then) highest FIDE rating ever, passing 2800 and breaking Bobby Fischer's old record of 2785. He has held the record for the highest rating ever achieved, ever since (as of 2012). On the July 1999 and January 2000 FIDE rating lists Kasparov reached a 2851 Elo rating, the highest rating ever achieved.[65]
- There was a time in the early 90s when Kasparov was over 2800 and the only person in the 2700s was Anatoly Karpov.
- According to the unofficial Chessmetrics calculations, Kasparov was the highest rated player in the world continuously from February 1985 until October 2004.[66] He also holds the highest all-time average rating over a 2 (2877) to 20 (2856) year period and is second to only Bobby Fischer's (2881 vs 2879) over a one-year period.
Olympiads and other major team events[link]
Kasparov played in a total of eight Chess Olympiads. He represented the Soviet Union four times and Russia four times, following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In his 1980 Olympiad debut, he became, at age 17, the youngest player to represent the Soviet Union or Russia at that level, a record which was broken by Vladimir Kramnik in 1992. In 82 games, he has scored (+50 −3 =29), for 78.7% and won a total of 19 medals, including team gold medals all eight times he competed. For the 1994 Moscow Olympiad, he had a significant organizational role, in helping to put together the event on short notice, after Thessaloniki canceled its offer to host, a few weeks before the scheduled dates. Kasparov's detailed Olympiad record, from,[67] follows.
- Valletta 1980, USSR 2nd reserve, 9½/12 (+8 −1 =3), team gold, board bronze;
- Lucerne 1982, USSR 2nd board, 8½/11 (+6 −0 =5), team gold, board bronze;
- Dubai 1986, USSR 1st board, 8½/11 (+7 −1 =3), team gold, board gold, performance gold;
- Thessaloniki 1988, USSR 1st board, 8½/10 (+7 −0 =3), team gold, board gold, performance gold;
- Manila 1992, Russia board 1, 8½/10 (+7 −0 =3), team gold, board gold, performance silver;
- Moscow 1994, Russia board 1, 6½/10 (+4 −1 =5), team gold;
- Yerevan 1996, Russia board 1, 7/9 (+5 −0 =4), team gold, board gold, performance silver;
- Bled 2002, Russia board 1, 7½/9 (+6 −0 =3), team gold, board gold.
Kasparov made his international teams debut for the USSR at age 16 in the 1980 European Team Championship and played for Russia in the 1992 edition of that championship. He won a total of five medals. His detailed Euroteams record, from,[68] follows.
- Skara 1980, USSR 2nd reserve, 5½/6 (+5 −0 =1), team gold, board gold;
- Debrecen 1992, Russia board 1, 6/8 (+4 −0 =4), team gold, board gold, performance silver.
Kasparov also represented the USSR once in Youth Olympiad competition, but the detailed data is incomplete at http://www.olimpbase.org/1981k/1981in.html; the site http://www.chessmetrics.com, the Garry Kasparov player file, has his individual score from that event.
- Graz 1981, USSR board 1, 9/10 (+8 −0 =2), team gold.
Other records[link]
Kasparov holds the record for most consecutive professional tournament victories, placing first or equal first in 15 individual tournaments from 1981 to 1990.[citation needed] The streak was broken by Vasily Ivanchuk at Linares 1991, where Kasparov placed 2nd, half a point behind him. The details of this record winning streak follow:[14]
- Frunze 1981, USSR Championship, 12½/17, tie for 1st;
- Bugojno 1982, 9½/13, 1st;
- Moscow 1982, Interzonal, 10/13, 1st;
- Nikšić 1983, 11/14, 1st;
- Brussels OHRA 1986, 7½/10, 1st;
- Brussels 1987, 8½/11, tie for 1st;
- Amsterdam Optiebeurs 1988, 9/12, 1st;
- Belfort (World Cup) 1988, 11½/15, 1st;
- Moscow 1988, USSR Championship, 11½/17, tie for 1st;
- Reykjavik (World Cup) 1988, 11/17, 1st;
- Barcelona (World Cup) 1989, 11/16, tie for 1st;
- Skelleftea (World Cup) 1989, 9½/15, tie for 1st;
- Tilburg 1989, 12/14, 1st;
- Belgrade (Investbank) 1989, 9½/11, 1st;
- Linares 1990, 8/11, 1st.
Kasparov won the Chess Oscar a record eleven times.
Books and other writings[link]
Early writings[link]
Kasparov has written a number of books on chess. He published a somewhat controversial[69] autobiography when still in his early 20s, originally titled Child of Change, later retitled Unlimited Challenge. This book was subsequently updated several times after he became World Champion. Its content is mainly literary, with a small chess component of key unannotated games. He published an annotated games collection in 1985: Fighting Chess: My Games and Career[70] and this book has also been updated several times in further editions. He also wrote a book annotating the games from his World Chess Championship 1985 victory, World Chess Championship Match: Moscow, 1985.
He has annotated his own games extensively for the Yugoslav Chess Informant series and for other chess publications. In 1982, he co-authored Batsford Chess Openings with British Grandmaster Raymond Keene and this book was an enormous seller. It was updated into a second edition in 1989. He also co-authored two opening books with his trainer Alexander Nikitin in the 1980s for British publisher Batsford—on the Classical Variation of the Caro-Kann Defence and on the Scheveningen Variation of the Sicilian Defence. Kasparov has also contributed extensively to the five-volume openings series Encyclopedia of Chess Openings.
In 2000, Kasparov co-authored Kasparov Against the World: The Story of the Greatest Online Challenge[71] with grandmaster Daniel King. The 202-page book analyzes the 1999 Kasparov versus the World game, and holds the record for the longest analysis devoted to a single chess game.[72]
[edit] My Great Predecessors series
File:MyGreatPredecessors.jpg
My Great Predecessors, part I
Main article: My Great Predecessors
In 2003, the first volume of his five-volume work Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors was published. This volume, which deals with the world chess champions Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, and some of their strong contemporaries, has received lavish praise from some reviewers (including Nigel Short), while attracting criticism from others for historical inaccuracies and analysis of games directly copied from unattributed sources. Through suggestions on the book's website, most of these shortcomings were corrected in following editions and translations. Despite this, the first volume won the British Chess Federation's Book of the Year award in 2003. Volume two, covering Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov and Mikhail Tal appeared later in 2003. Volume three, covering Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky appeared in early 2004. In December 2004, Kasparov released volume four, which covers Samuel Reshevsky, Miguel Najdorf, and Bent Larsen (none of these three were World Champions), but focuses primarily on Bobby Fischer. The fifth volume, devoted to the chess careers of World Champion Anatoly Karpov and challenger Viktor Korchnoi, was published in March 2006.
[edit] Modern Chess series
File:ModernChess.jpg
Modern Chess, Part One
Main article: My Great Predecessors#Modern Chess
His book Revolution in the 70s (published in March 2007) covers "the openings revolution of the 1970s–1980s" and is the first book in a new series called "Modern Chess Series", which intends to cover his matches with Karpov and selected games. The book "Revolution in the 70s" concerns the revolution in opening theory that was witnessed in that decade. Such systems as the controversial (at the time) "Hedgehog" opening plan of passively developing the pieces no further than the first three ranks are examined in great detail. Kasparov also analyzes some of the most notable games played in that period. In a section at the end of the book, top opening theoreticians provide their own "take" on the progress made in opening theory in the 1980s.
[edit] Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov series
Main article: My Great Predecessors#Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov
Kasparov is publishing three volumes of his games.
Other post-retirement writing[link]
In 2007 he wrote How Life Imitates Chess, an examination of the parallels between decision-making in chess and in the business world.
In 2008 Kasparov published a sympathetic obituary for Bobby Fischer, writing "I am often asked if I ever met or played Bobby Fischer. The answer is no, I never had that opportunity. But even though he saw me as a member of the evil chess establishment that he felt had robbed and cheated him, I am sorry I never had a chance to thank him personally for what he did for our sport."[73]
He is the chief advisor for the book publisher Everyman Chess.
Kasparov works closely with Mig Greengard and his comments can often be found on Greengard's blog (apparently no longer active).
Kasparov is currently collaborating with Max Levchin and Peter Thiel on The Blueprint, a book calling for a revival of world innovation, due out in February 2012 from W. W. Norton & Company.
Chess against computers[link]
Deep Thought, 1989[link]
Kasparov defeated the chess computer Deep Thought in both games of a two-game match in 1989.[74]
Deep Blue, 1996[link]
In February 1996, IBM's chess computer Deep Blue defeated Kasparov in one game using normal time controls, in Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1996, Game 1. However, Kasparov was still able to gain three wins and two draws and win the match.
Deep Blue, 1997[link]
Main article: Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov
In May 1997, an updated version of Deep Blue defeated Kasparov 3½–2½ in a highly publicised six-game match. The match was even after five games but Kasparov was crushed in Game 6. This was the first time a computer had ever defeated a world champion in match play. A documentary film was made about this famous match-up entitled Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine.
Kasparov claimed that several factors weighed against him in this match. In particular, he was denied access to Deep Blue's recent games, in contrast to the computer's team that could study hundreds of Kasparov's.
After the loss Kasparov said that he sometimes saw deep intelligence and creativity in the machine's moves, suggesting that during the second game, human chess players, in contravention of the rules, intervened. IBM denied that it cheated, saying the only human intervention occurred between games. The rules provided for the developers to modify the program between games, an opportunity they said they used to shore up weaknesses in the computer's play revealed during the course of the match. Kasparov requested printouts of the machine's log files but IBM refused, although the company later published the logs on the Internet.[75]
Kasparov's loss to Deep Blue inspired the creation of a new game called Arimaa.[76]
Deep Junior, 2003[link]
In January 2003, he engaged in a six game classical time control match with a $1 million prize fund which was billed as the FIDE "Man vs. Machine" World Championship, against Deep Junior.[77] The engine evaluated three million positions per second.[78] After one win each and three draws, it was all up to the final game. After reaching a decent position Kasparov offered a draw, which was soon accepted by the Deep Junior team. Asked why he offered the draw, Kasparov said he feared making a blunder.[79] Originally planned as an annual event, the match was not repeated.
X3D Fritz, 2003[link]
In November 2003, he engaged in a four-game match against the computer program X3D Fritz, using a virtual board, 3D glasses and a speech recognition system. After two draws and one win apiece, the X3D Man-Machine match ended in a draw. Kasparov received $175,000 for the result and took home the golden trophy. Kasparov continued to criticize the blunder in the second game that cost him a crucial point. He felt that he had outplayed the machine overall and played well. "I only made one mistake but unfortunately that one mistake lost the game."[80]
Books[link]
- The Test of Time (Russian Chess), (1986, Pergamon Pr)
- World Chess Championship Match: Moscow, 1985 (1986, Everyman Chess)
- Child of Change: An Autobiography (1987, Hutchinson)
- London–Leningrad Championship Games (1987, Everyman Chess)
- Unlimited Challenge (1990, Grove Pr)
- The Sicilian Scheveningen (1991, B.T. Batsford Ltd)
- The Queen's Indian Defence: Kasparov System (1991, B.T. Batsford Ltd)
- Kasparov Versus Karpov, 1990 (1991, Everyman Chess)
- Kasparov on the King's Indian (1993, B.T. Batsford Ltd)
- Garry Kasparov's Chess Challenge (1996, Everyman Chess)
- Lessons in Chess (1997, Everyman Chess)
- Kasparov Against the World: The Story of the Greatest Online Challenge (2000, KasparovChess Online)
- My Great Predecessors Part I (2003, Everyman Chess)
- My Great Predecessors Part II (2003, Everyman Chess)
- Checkmate!: My First Chess Book (2004, Everyman Mindsports)
- My Great Predecessors Part III (2004, Everyman Chess)
- My Great Predecessors Part IV (2004, Everyman Chess)
- My Great Predecessors Part V (2006, Everyman Chess)
- How Life Imitates Chess, (2007, William Heinemann Ltd)
- Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 1: Revolution in the 70s, (2007, Everyman Chess)
- Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 2: Kasparov vs Karpov 1975–1985, (2008, Everyman Chess)
- Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 3: Kasparov vs Karpov 1986–1987, (2009, Everyman Chess)
- Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 4: Kasparov vs Karpov 1988–2009, (2010, Everyman Chess)
- Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, part I; (2011, Everyman Chess)
- The Blueprint: Reviving Innovation, Rediscovering Risk, and Rescuing the Free Market; (2013, W. W. Norton & Co)
See also[link]
- Kasparov versus the World
- List of people who have beaten Garry Kasparov in chess
- List of chess games between Kasparov and Kramnik
- Committee 2008
Notes[link]
- ^ Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, part I, 2011, ISBN 978-1-85744-672-2, pp. 16–17
- ^ Ruslan Ponomariov won the disputed FIDE title, at the age of 18, when the world title was split
- ^ "Who is the Strongest Chess Player?". Bill Wall. Chess.com. 27 October 2008. http://www.chess.com/article/view/who-is-the-strongest-chess-player. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
- ^ Conor Sweeney, Chris Baldwin, Putin "heir" on course to win Russia election: poll
- ^ Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov: "I am absolutely sure that the Garry Kasparov, who became leader of the chess world, professed the same values as Garik Weinstein, who once, following the example of his father, became fascinated by chess..."
- ^ a b Biography on Kasparov.ru site (Russian)
- ^ White King and Red Queen by Daniel Johnson, ISBN 1-84354-609-4
- ^ Unlimited Challenge, an autobiography by Garry Kasparov with Donald Trelford, ISBN 0-00-637358-5
- ^ Kasparov: The World's Chess Champion, by Anne Kressler, From Azerbaijan International (3.3) Autumn 1995. (Accessed 31 March 2008)
- ^ Hooper, David & Whyld, Kenneth (1996). Oxford Companion To Chess. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280049-3. OCLC 34618196.
- ^ Ham, Stephen (2005). "The Young King" (PDF). Chesscafe. http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review506.pdf. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "ICC Help: interview". Internet Chess Club. http://www.chessclub.com/help/interview. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "FIDE Rating List: January 1980". OlimpBase. http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/Elo198001e.html. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ^ a b Chessmetrics Player Profile: Garry Kasparov
- ^ "World Chess Championship 1982–84 Candidates Matches". Mark Weeks' Chess Pages. http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/8284$cix.htm. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ 1984 Karpov – Kasparov Title Match Highlights Mark Weeks' Chess Pages
- ^ Nigel Short: Quest for the Crown, by Cathy Forbes
- ^ 'My decision to break away from fide was a mistake', DNA, 10 September 2007. Accessed 11 September 2007.
- ^ Intel: The Grudge Inside?
- ^ Tradition with an eye on the future
- ^ Kasparov's master class to launch chess scholarship in Britain
- ^ "BGN/Dortmund Event" (Press release). This Week in Chess. 6 September 2001. http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/owenbrain.html. Retrieved 11 August 2001.
- ^ Anatoly Karpov wins X3D Rapid Match, ChessBase News, 21 December 2002
- ^ Emma Cowing, "Kasparov makes his first political move on Putin", The Scotsman, 13 July 2006.
- ^ a b c David Remnick (1 October 2007). "The Tsar's Opponent: Garry Kasparov takes aim at the power of Vladimir Putin". New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/01/071001fa_fact_remnick?printable=true. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
- ^ "The Credit Suisse Blitz – in pictures". Chessbase. 27 August 2006. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3310. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Kasparov and Karpov to play 12 games match in Valencia". Chessdom. http://previews.chessdom.com/kasparov-karpov-valencia-2009. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
- ^ "Breaking news: Carlsen and Kasparov join forces". Chessbase. 7 September 2009. http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5742. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ^ Magnus Carlsen: "My job is to improve my chess", ChessVibes, 7 September 2009
- ^ Barden, Leonard (13 March 2010). "World No1 Magnus Carlsen parts company with mentor Garry Kasparov". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/mar/13/chess-magnus-carlsen-garry-kasparov. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
- ^ "Magnus Carlsen on his chess career", ChessBase News, 15.03.2010.
- ^ "NIC's Cafe: Last Call", New in Chess Magazine, 2011/07, p. 6.
- ^ "Chess News – Anand in Playchess – the helpers in Sofia". Chessbase. 19 May 2010. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6346. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
- ^ Kasparov beats 30 challengers in simultaneous p... JPost – Israel
- ^ Peterson, Macauley. "The Spirit of Saint Louis" New in Chess Magazine, 2001/07, p. 12.
- ^ "Now it's official: Kasparov no longer training Nakamura". Chessbase Publishing. Chessbase. http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7764. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Center for Security Policy Annual Report 2006" (PDF). pp. 23. http://216.105.98.164/modules/newsmanager/inside%20the%20ctr%20images%20pdfs/AnnualReport2006.pdf#page=23. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ a b "The Center's Role in National Security Policy". Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070807064124/http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/Home.aspx?SID=75. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ a b "1991: Keeper of the Flame Award". Center for Security Policy. 18 April 2007. Archived from the original on 17 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070917022412/http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/Modules/NewsManager/ShowSectionNews.aspx?CategoryID=62&SubCategoryID=63&NewsID=3445. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ a b "Неудобные вопросы" (in Russian). 18 April 2007. http://www.kasparov.ru/material.php?id=462668EB23D6F. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Political Death of Kasparov" (in Russian). Front Line. 5 April 2007. http://vz.ru/politics/2007/4/5/76063.print.html. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Russian Chess Legend Kasparov to Establish United Civil Front". MOSNEWS.com. 18 May 2005. http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/05/18/kasparovfront.shtml.
- ^ "Kasparov leads demonstration against Putin's rule". The Independent on Sunday. 10 June 2007. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kasparov-leads-demonstration-against-putins-rule-452536.html. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
- ^ "Chess champ Kasparov's new gambit: politics". Chicago Sun-Times. 12 March 2005. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20050312/ai_n13466947. Retrieved 11 August 2007. [dead link]
- ^ Applebaum, Anne (21 April 2007). "Why Putin will stop at nothing to smash the new Russian revolution". The Spectator (UK). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_20070421/ai_n19047082. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Non-partying system". http://www.kasparov.ru/material.php?id=46B73D00E4AC1.
- ^ "Pictures of the Moscow assault". The Federal Post. Chessbase. 22 April 2005. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2344. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Kasparov manhandled by police at Moscow protest". The Moscow Times. Chessbase. 16 May 2005. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2393. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Breaking news: Kasparov assaulted again". Mosnewsm.com. Chessbase. 30 June 2005. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2486. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Anti-Kremlin protesters beaten by police". CNN. 3 March 2007. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070314235206/http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/03/russia.protest.ap/index.html. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Russian opposition demo quashed". London: BBC News. 25 March 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6492447.stm. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Kasparov arrested at Moscow rally". London: BBC News. 17 April 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6554989.stm. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ Buckley, neil (18 April 2007). "Russian intelligence to quiz Kasparov over "inciting extremism"". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/27e706a8-ed4a-11db-9520-000b5df10621.html. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Jewish Activist Convicted in Russia" (Press release). UCSJ. 20 November 2006. http://www.fsumonitor.com/stories/112006PR.shtml. Retrieved 11 August 2001.
- ^ Chelysheva, Oksana (18 April 2007). "Statement from the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society following its forced closure". Front Line. http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/144. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ Rivkin, Amanda (July 2007). "Seven Questions: A Little KGB Training Goes a Long Way". Foreign Policy. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3911. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Kasparov Joins Russian Presidential Race". Associated Press. 30 September 2007. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RVTN2O0&show_article=1. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
- ^ "Kasparov seized by Russian Police". London: BBC News. 24 November 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7110910.stm. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
- ^ Misha Japaridze (28 November 2007). "Kasparov released from Moscow jail". Associated Press. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-11-29-kasparov-released_N.htm. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
- ^ A Bible, But No E-mail Time magazine
- ^ Andrew E. Kramer, "Kasparov Says He Was Forced to End Bid for Presidency", The New York Times, 13 December 2007.
- ^ "Protest Organizers Meet to Settle on Demands". The Moscow Times. 1 February 2012. pp. 12–27. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/protest-organizers-meet-to-settle-on-demands/452086.html. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ "All Time rankings". http://chess.eusa.ed.ac.uk/Chess/Trivia/AlltimeList.html.
- ^ "FIDE Archive: Top 100 Players July 2005". World Chess Federation. 18 April 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070629035231/http://www.fide.com/ratings/toparc.phtml?cod=81. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ The Week in Chess 270, The Week in Chess, 10 January 2000.
- ^ "Summary 1985–2005". Chessmetrics. http://chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/Summary.asp?Params=198520SSSSS3S000000000000111000000000000010100. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Kasparov, Garry". http://www.olimpbase.org/players/ssimw2af.html.
- ^ "Kasparov, Garry". http://www.olimpbase.org/playerse/ssimw2af.html.
- ^ Kasparov's Child of Change by Edward Winter chesshistory.com
- ^ ISBN 0-7855-0863-5
- ^ ISBN 0-9704813-0-6
- ^ Winter, Edward "Chess Records" Chess Notes
- ^ The Chessman, TIME, 26 January 2008
- ^ Hsu, Feng-hsiung (2002). Behind Deep Blue: Building the Computer that Defeated the World Chess Champion. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09065-3.
- ^ Kasparov versus Deep Blue – Replay the Games, IBM Research Website
- ^ Gary Stix, Frederik Joelving and Melinda Wenner (November 6, 2009). "MIND Reviews: Brainy Gifts". Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mind-reviews-brainy-gifts. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Kasparov vs Deep Junior in January 2003". ChessBase. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=599. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Kasparov: "Intuition versus the brute force of calculation"". CNN. 10 February 2003. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games/02/08/cnna.kasparov/. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ Shabazz, Damian. "Kasparov & Deep Junior fight 3–3 to draw!". The Chess Drum. http://www.thechessdrum.net/tournaments/Kasparov-DeepJr/. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ "Kasparov vs X3D Fritz match finishes 2–2 after game four draw". ChessBase. 19 November 2003. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1312. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
Further reading[link]
- Borik, Otto (1991). Kasparov's Chess Openings: A World Champion's Repertoire. Trafalgar Square Pub. ISBN 0-943955-39-4.
- Stohl, Igor (2005). Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess Games, Volume 1. Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-904600-32-8.
- Stohl, Igor (2006). Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess Games, Volume 2. Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-904600-43-3.
- Károlyi, Tibor; Aplin, Nick (2007). Kasparov's Fighting Chess 1993–1998. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8994-4.
- Károlyi, Tibor; Aplin, Nick (2007). Kasparov's Fighting Chess 1999–2005. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-8984-2.
- Károlyi, Tibor; Aplin, Nick (2009). Kasparov: How His Predecessors Misled Him About Chess. Batsford. ISBN 978-1-906388-26-3.
External links[link]
|
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Garry Kasparov |
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Garry Kasparov |
- Garry Kasparov player profile at ChessGames.com
- Grandmaster Games Database – Garry Kasparov
- The Other Russia, Civic Coalition for Democracy – Official site
- (Russian) Другая Россия – Official site
- (Russian) Сайт «Марш несогласных» – March of the Discontented
- (Russian) Итоговое заявление участников конференции «Другая Россия» Concluding statement by the participants, kasparov.ru
- United Civil Front, a civic political movement to ensure Democracy in the Russian Federation, initiated by Garry Kasparov
- Garry Kasparov, "Man of the Year?", OpinionJournal, 23 December 2007
- Edward Winter, List of Books About Fischer and Kasparov
- (Russian) Garry Kasparov's LiveJournal
- The Chess Master and the Computer article by Kasparov from The New York Review of Books
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anatoly Karpov |
FIDE World Chess Champion 1985–93 |
Succeeded by Anatoly Karpov |
| Classical World Chess Champion 1985–2000 |
Succeeded by Vladimir Kramnik |
|
| Preceded by Peter Svidler |
Russian Chess Champion 2004 |
Succeeded by Sergei Rublevsky |
| Achievements | ||
| Preceded by Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Karpov Vladimir Kramnik |
World No. 1 1 January 1984 – 30 June 1985 1 January 1986 – 31 December 1995 1 July 1996 – 31 March 2006 |
Succeeded by Anatoly Karpov Vladimir Kramnik Veselin Topalov |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kasparov, Garry Kimovich |
| Alternative names | Каспаров, Гарри Кимович (Russian) |
| Short description | Russian chess grandmaster and World Chess Champion. |
| Date of birth | 13 April 1963 |
| Place of birth | Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union |
| Date of death | living |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Garry_Kasparov
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The Slavic peoples are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. From the early 6th century they spread to inhabit most of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. In addition to their main population centre in Europe, some East Slavs (Russians) also settled later in Siberia and Central Asia. Part of all Slavic ethnicities emigrated to other parts of the world. Over half of Europe's territory is inhabited by Slavic-speaking communities. The worldwide population of people of Slavic descent is close to 400 million for which they rank fourth among panethnicities in the world.
Modern nations and ethnic groups called by the ethnonym Slavs are considerably diverse both in appearance and culturally, and relations between them – even within the individual ethnic groups themselves – are varied, ranging from a sense of connection to feelings of mutual hostility.
