1.
Czech Social Democratic Party
–
The Czech Social Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic. It holds 50 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, making it the largest party, ČSSD leads the governing Cabinet of the Czech Republic since 2013. The Social Democratic Czechoslavonic party in Austria was founded on 7 April 1878 in Austria-Hungary representing the Kingdom of Bohemia in the Austrian parliament and its role in the political life of the empire was one of the factors that lead to the creation of independent Czechoslovak Republic. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the party one of the leading parties of the first Czechoslovak Republic. After the re-establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1945, the party returned to its pre-existing structure, in 1948, after the Communist Party assumed the parliamentary majority, the Czech Social Democratic Party was incorporated into Communist Party. Under the reformist environment in 1968, there were talks about allowing the recreation of a Social Democratic party and it was only after the Velvet Revolution in 1989, when the party was recreated. After the 1998 parliamentary election, the party won the most seats, as a result, the party formed a minority government under party leader Miloš Zeman. With only 74 seats out of 200, the government had the confidence and supply from the Civic Democratic Party, the party won the elections of 2002 with 70 of 200 representatives in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic. The chairman of the party in years 2006-2010 was Jiří Paroubek and his predecessor was Stanislav Gross from 26 June 2004 to 26 April 2005. Gross resigned after a scandal which arose due to his inability to explain the source of resources used to pay for his home. Grosss predecessor Vladimír Špidla was forced to resign in 2004 after the ČSSD lost in the 2004 European Parliamentary elections, in the June 2 and 3,2006 elections, the party won 32. 3% of the vote and 74 out of 200 seats. The election at first caused a stalemate since the centre-right parties, hence the ČSSD went into opposition. Following the 2010 legislative elections, the ČSSD gained 22, the Chairman of ČSSD Bohuslav Sobotka has become the new Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. In economic matters, the party platform is typical of Western European social democratic parties. It supports a mixed economy, a welfare state. The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1938, after the splitup of Austria-Hungary, the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers Party in the Republic of Austria split from the main party. Official website Party basic data in English
Czech Social Democratic Party
2.
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
–
The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia is a communist party in the Czech Republic. It has a membership of 42,994 and is a party of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left bloc in the European Parliament. For most of the first two decades after the Velvet Revolution, the party was isolated and accused of extremism. After the 2012 regional elections, it began governing in coalition with the ČSSD in 10 regions and it has never been part of governing coalition in executive branch. Its youth organisation was banned from 2006 to 2010, and there have been calls from parties to outlaw the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia. Until 2013 it was the political party in Czech Republic printing its own newspapers. The new partys organization was more democratic and decentralized than the previous party. In 1990, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, a federation of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, later, the Communist Party of Slovakia changed its name to the Party of the Democratic Left, and the federation broke up in 1992. Delegates approved the new program but rejected the name change, during 1991 and 1992 factional tensions increased, with the partys conservative anti-revisionist wing increasingly vocal in criticizing Svoboda. There was an increase in popularity of the anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist Clubs amongst rank, on the partys other wing, the Democratic Left became increasingly critical of the slow pace of the reforms and began demanding a referendum of members to change the name. In December 1991 the Democratic Left split off and formed the short-lived Party of Democratic Labour, the referendum on changing the name was held in 1992, with 75. 94% voting not to change the name. The partys second congress, held in Kladno in December 1992 and it passed resolutions reinterpreting the 1990 program as a starting point for the KSČM, rather than a definitive statement of a post-communist program. Svoboda, who was hospitalized due to an attack by an anti-communist extremist, in 1993, Svoboda attempted to expel the members of the For Socialism platform, a group in the party that wanted a restoration of the pre-1989 communist regime. However, with only the support of the KSČMs Central Committee. He withdrew his resignation after the Central Committee agreed to move the next congress forward to June 1993 to resolve the issues of its name. At the 1993 congress, held in Prostějov, Svobodas proposals were rejected by two-thirds majorities. Svoboda did not seek reelection as chairman, and neocommunist Miroslav Grebeníček was elected chairman, Grebeníček and his supporters were critical of what they termed the inadequacies of the pre-1989 regime but supported the retention of the partys communist character and program. After the partys congress in 1992, several groups split away
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
–
Czech Republic
3.
Czech Republic
–
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Czech Republic
–
Přemysl Ottokar II,
King of Bohemia (1253–1278) and
Duke of Austria (1251–1278)
Czech Republic
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Flag
Czech Republic
–
The
Crown of Saint Wenceslas is the 4th oldest in Europe
Czech Republic
–
The
Defenestration of Prague sparked the
Thirty Years' War
4.
Slovakia
–
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Slovakias territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million and comprises mostly ethnic Slovaks, the capital and largest city is Bratislava. The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries, in the 7th century, they played a significant role in the creation of Samos Empire and in the 9th century established the Principality of Nitra. In the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the Kingdom of Hungary, which became part of the Habsburg Empire. After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a separate Slovak Republic existed in World War II as a client state of Nazi Germany. In 1945, Czechoslovakia was reëstablished under Communist rule as a Soviet satellite, in 1989 the Velvet Revolution ended authoritarian Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The country maintains a combination of economy with universal health care. The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2009, Slovakia is also a member of the Schengen Area, NATO, the United Nations, the OECD, the WTO, CERN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. The Slovak economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and its legal tender, the Euro, is the worlds 2nd most traded currency. Although regional income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes, in 2016, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 165 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 11th in the world. Slovakia is the world’s biggest per-capita car producer with a total of 1,040,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2016 alone, the car industry represents 43 percent of Slovakia’s industrial output, and a quarter of its exports. Radiocarbon datingputs the oldest surviving archaeological artefacts from Slovakia – found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom – at 270,000 BC and these ancient tools, made by the Clactonian technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia. Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era come from the Prévôt cave near Bojnice, the most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium, discovered near Gánovce, a village in northern Slovakia. The most well-known finds include the oldest female statue made of mammoth-bone, the statue was found in the 1940s in Moravany nad Váhom near Piešťany. Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary period have come from the sites of Zákovská, Podkovice, Hubina and these findings provide the most ancient evidence of commercial exchanges carried out between the Mediterranean and Central Europe. The Bronze Age in the territory of modern-day Slovakia went through three stages of development, stretching from 2000 to 800 BC
Slovakia
–
A
Venus from
Moravany nad Váhom, which dates back to 22,800 BC.
Slovakia
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Flag
Slovakia
–
Left: A
Celtic Biatec coin Right: Five
Slovak crowns
Slovakia
–
A Roman inscription at the castle hill of
Trenčín (178–179 AD).
5.
Prague
–
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. It is the 14th largest city in the European Union and it is also the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city has a temperate climate, with warm summers and chilly winters. Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its history and it was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prague is home to a number of cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence. Main attractions include the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The city has more than ten major museums, along with theatres, galleries, cinemas. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city, also, it is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe. Prague is classified as an Alpha- global city according to GaWC studies, Prague ranked sixth in the Tripadvisor world list of best destinations in 2016. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city more than 6.4 million international visitors annually. Prague is the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Istanbul, the region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes, around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map of Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis. In the following century, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in Levý Hradec, Butovice and in the Šárka valley. The construction of what came to be known as the Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, the first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest. The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which was founded in 1344, but completed in the 20th century. The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied, I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars. She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c.1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya. The region became the seat of the dukes, and later kings of Bohemia, under Roman Emperor Otto II the area became a bishopric in 973
Prague
–
Montage of Prague, clockwise from top: Panorama of
Prague Castle and
Charles Bridge,
Dancing House,
Star Villa,
Old Town Square,
Wenceslas Square,
Wallenstein Palace, Royal Garden at Prague Castle,
St. Vitus Cathedral and
Municipal House.
Prague
–
The mythological princess
Libuše prophesies the glory of Prague.
Prague
–
The
Prague astronomical clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.
Prague
–
A view of one of the bridge towers of the Charles Bridge
6.
Communism
–
Communism includes a variety of schools of thought, which broadly include Marxism, anarchism, and the political ideologies grouped around both. The primary element which will enable this transformation, according to analysis, is the social ownership of the means of production. Likewise, some communists defend both theory and practice, while others argue that historical practice diverged from communist principles to a greater or lesser degree, according to Richard Pipes, the idea of a classless, egalitarian society first emerged in Ancient Greece. At one time or another, various small communist communities existed, in the medieval Christian church, for example, some monastic communities and religious orders shared their land and their other property. Communist thought has also traced back to the works of the 16th-century English writer Thomas More. In his treatise Utopia, More portrayed a society based on ownership of property. In the 17th century, communist thought surfaced again in England, criticism of the idea of private property continued into the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century, through such thinkers as Jean Jacques Rousseau in France. Later, following the upheaval of the French Revolution, communism emerged as a political doctrine, in the early 19th century, Various social reformers founded communities based on common ownership. But unlike many previous communist communities, they replaced the emphasis with a rational. Notable among them were Robert Owen, who founded New Harmony in Indiana, in its modern form, communism grew out of the socialist movement in 19th-century Europe. As the Industrial Revolution advanced, socialist critics blamed capitalism for the misery of the new class of urban factory workers who labored under often-hazardous conditions. Foremost among these critics were Marx and his associate Friedrich Engels, in 1848, Marx and Engels offered a new definition of communism and popularized the term in their famous pamphlet The Communist Manifesto. The 1917 October Revolution in Russia set the conditions for the rise to power of Lenins Bolsheviks. The revolution transferred power to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, in which the Bolsheviks had a majority, the event generated a great deal of practical and theoretical debate within the Marxist movement. Marx predicted that socialism and communism would be built upon foundations laid by the most advanced capitalist development, Russia, however, was one of the poorest countries in Europe with an enormous, largely illiterate peasantry and a minority of industrial workers. Marx had explicitly stated that Russia might be able to skip the stage of bourgeois rule, the moderate Mensheviks opposed Lenins Bolshevik plan for socialist revolution before capitalism was more fully developed. The Great Purge of 1937–1938 was Stalins attempt to destroy any possible opposition within the Communist Party and its leading role in the Second World War saw the emergence of the Soviet Union as a superpower, with strong influence over Eastern Europe and parts of Asia. The European and Japanese empires were shattered and Communist parties played a role in many independence movements
Communism
–
Vladimir Lenin after his return to
Petrograd
Communism
Communism
–
USSR postage stamp depicting the states ruled by self-proclaimed communist parties, launching the first artificial satellite,
Sputnik 1
Communism
–
A demonstration of the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Moscow, December 2011
7.
Political spectrum
–
A political spectrum is a system of classifying different political positions upon one or more geometric axes that symbolize independent political dimensions. Most long-standing spectra include a wing and left wing, which originally referred to seating arrangements in the French parliament after the Revolution. According to the simplest left–right axis, communism and socialism are usually regarded internationally as being on the left, liberalism can mean different things in different contexts, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right. Those with an intermediate outlook are classified as centrists or moderates, politics that rejects the conventional left–right spectrum is known as syncretic politics. Political scientists have noted that a single left–right axis is insufficient for describing the existing variation in political beliefs. As seen from the Speakers seat at the front of the Assembly, the aristocracy sat on the right, originally, the defining point on the ideological spectrum was the Ancien Régime. The Right thus implied support for aristocratic or royal interests, and the church, while The Left implied support for republicanism, secularism, and civil liberties. Because the political franchise at the start of the revolution was relatively narrow, the original Left represented mainly the interests of the bourgeoisie and their political interests in the French Revolution lay with opposition to the aristocracy, and so they found themselves allied with the early capitalists. However, this did not mean that their interests lay with the laissez-faire policies of those representing them politically. As capitalist economies developed, the aristocracy became less relevant and were replaced by capitalist representatives. This evolution has often pulled parliamentary politicians away from laissez-faire economic policies, for almost a century, social scientists have considered the problem of how best to describe political variation. In 1950, Leonard W. Submitting the results to factor analysis and this system was derived empirically, rather than devising a political model on purely theoretical grounds and testing it, Fergusons research was exploratory. As a result of method, care must be taken in the interpretation of Fergusons three factors, as factor analysis will output an abstract factor whether an objectively real factor exists or not. Although replication of the Nationalism factor was inconsistent, the finding of Religionism and Humanitarianism had a number of replications by Ferguson, shortly afterward, Hans Eysenck began researching political attitudes in Great Britain. He believed that there was something similar about the National Socialists on the one hand. Submitting this value questionnaire to the process of factor analysis used by Ferguson. Such analysis produces a factor whether or not it corresponds to a real-world phenomenon, Eysencks dimensions of R and T were found by factor analyses of values in Germany and Sweden, France, and Japan. According to Eysenck, members of both ideologies were tough-minded, in this context, Eysenck carried out studies on nazism and communist groups, claiming to find members of both groups to be more dominant and more aggressive than control groups
Political spectrum
–
A multi-axis political chart, contrasting between libertarian and authoritarian socialism.
8.
Far-left politics
–
Far-left politics or extreme-left politics is a branch of politics further to the left of the left-right spectrum than the standard political left. Far-left politics are generally the province of extra-governmental groups and those espousing them are typically opposed to their governments, dr. March sees four major subgroups within contemporary European far-left politics, communists, democratic socialists, populist socialists and social populists. Hloušek and Kopeček add secondary characteristics to those identified by March and Mudde, such as anti-Americanism, anti-globalization, opposition to NATO and these people include both authoritarians and libertarians. McClosky and Chong surveyed a number of militant, revolutionary groups in the US and they argue that, like far-right extremists. The term ultra-leftism has two overlapping uses, one usage is a generally pejorative term for certain types of positions on the far left that are extreme or intransigent. The term is also used—pejoratively or not—to refer to a current of Marxist communism. Ultra-left currents within left communism are often subject to criticisms from other factions of the left, the left communist organization International Communist Current refuses to work with leftist groups except for other left communists or anarchists. Gilles Dauvé, a left communist theorist, argues that all bourgeois regimes should be opposed, the term ultra left is rarely used in English, in which people tend to speak broadly of left communism as a minor variant of traditional Marxism. In opposition to Bolshevism, the left generally places heavy emphasis upon the autonomy. The term has been popularised in the United States by the Socialist Workers Party, a number of far-left parties gave birth to militant organisations during the 1960s and 1970s, such as the Red Brigades and the Red Army Faction. These groups generally aimed to overthrow capitalist systems and replace them with socialist societies
Far-left politics
–
French posters of support to the Tunisian Revolution (and feminism below
9.
Comintern
–
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization that advocated world communism. The Comintern had seven World Congresses between 1919 and 1935 and it also had thirteen Enlarged Plenums of its governing Executive Committee, which had much the same function as the somewhat larger and more grandiose Congresses. The Comintern was officially dissolved by Joseph Stalin in 1943, while the differences had been evident for decades, World War I proved the issue that finally divided the revolutionary and reformist wings of the workers movement. The socialist movement had been historically antimilitarist and internationalist, and therefore opposed workers serving as fodder for the bourgeois governments at war. This especially since the Triple Alliance comprised two empires, while the Triple Entente gathered France and Britain into an alliance with Russia, karl Marxs The Communist Manifesto had stated that the working class has no country and exclaimed Proletarians of all countries, unite. Massive majorities voted in favor of resolutions for the Second International to call upon the working class to resist war if it were declared. Nevertheless, within hours of the declarations of war, almost all the socialist parties of the combatant states announced their support for the war, the only exceptions were the socialist parties of the Balkans. To Lenins surprise, even the Social Democratic Party of Germany voted in favor of war credits, Socialist parties in neutral countries mostly supported neutrality rather than total opposition to the war. The International divided into a left and a reformist right. Lenin condemned much of the center as social-pacifists for several reasons, Lenins term social-pacifist aimed in particular at Ramsay MacDonald, leader of the Independent Labour Party in Britain, who opposed the war on grounds of pacifism, but did not actively resist it. Discredited by its passivity towards world events, the Second International dissolved in the middle of the war in 1916, the victory of the Russian Communist Party in the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917 was felt throughout the world. An alternative path to power to parliamentary politics was demonstrated, with much of Europe on the verge of economic and political collapse in the aftermath of the carnage of the Great War, revolutionary sentiments were widespread. The Bolsheviks believed that required a new international to ferment revolution in Europe. The Comintern was founded at a Congress held in Moscow March 2–6,1919, there were 52 delegates present from 34 parties. They decided to form an Executive Committee with representatives of the most important sections, the Congress decided that the Executive Committee would elect a five-member bureau to run the daily affairs of the International. However, such a bureau was not formed and Lenin, Trotsky, Zinoviev was assisted by Angelica Balabanoff, acting as the secretary of the International, Victor L. Kibaltchitch and Vladmir Ossipovich Mazin. Lenin, Trotsky and Alexandra Kollontai presented material, the main topic of discussion was the difference between bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat. The central policy of the Comintern under Lenins leadership was that Communist parties should be established across the world to aid the international proletarian revolution, in this period, the Comintern was promoted as the General Staff of the World Revolution
Comintern
–
The Communist International published a theoretical magazine in a variety of European languages from 1919 to 1943.
Comintern
–
Second Congress of the Communist International. 1920.
Comintern
–
Boris Kustodiyev. Festival of the II Congress of Comintern on the Uritsky Square (former Palace square) in Petrograd
10.
Cominform
–
Founded in 1947, Cominform is the common name for what was officially referred to as the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers Parties. The intended purpose of Cominform was to coordinate actions between Communist parties under Soviet direction and it had its own newspaper, For Lasting Peace, for Peoples Democracy. In other aspects, Cominform was also used to repel against the anti-communist expansion, Cominform was a Soviet-dominated organization of Communist parties founded in September 1947 at a conference of Communist party leaders in Szklarska Poręba, Poland. Soviet leader Josef Stalin called the conference in response to divergences among communist governments on whether or not to attend the Paris Conference on Marshall Plan in July 1947, Cominform was initially located in Belgrade. After the expulsion of Yugoslavia from the group in June 1948, the expulsion of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia from Cominform for Titoism initiated the Informbiro period in that countrys history. The Cominform was dissolved in 1956 after Soviet rapprochement with Yugoslavia and the process of De-Stalinization
Cominform
–
Eastern Bloc
11.
Red (color)
–
Red is the color at the longer-wavelengths end of the spectrum of visible light next to orange, at the opposite end from violet. Red color has a predominant light wavelength of roughly 620–740 nanometers, light with a longer wavelength than red but shorter than terahertz radiation and microwave is called infrared. Red is one of the secondary colors, resulting from the combination of yellow. Traditionally, it was viewed as a primary colour, along with yellow and blue, in the RYB color space and traditional color wheel formerly used by painters. Reds can vary in shade from light pink to very dark maroon or burgundy. Red is the color of cyan. In nature, the red color of blood comes from hemoglobin, the red color of the Grand Canyon and other geological features is caused by hematite or red ochre, both forms of iron oxide. It also causes the red color of the planet Mars, the color of autumn leaves is caused by pigments called anthocyanins, which are produced towards the end of summer, when the green chlorophyll is no longer produced. One to two percent of the population has red hair, the color is produced by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin. Since red is the color of blood, it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger, modern surveys in the United States and Europe show red is also the color most commonly associated with heat, activity, passion, sexuality, anger, love and joy. In China, India and many other Asian countries it is the color of symbolizing happiness, since the 19th century, red has also been associated with socialism and communism. The word red is derived from the Old English rēad, the word can be further traced to the Proto-Germanic rauthaz and the Proto-Indo European root rewdʰ-. In Sanskrit, the word means red or blood. In the Akkadian language of Ancient Mesopotamia and in the modern Inuit language of Inuit, the words for colored in Latin and Spanish both also mean red. In Portuguese the word for red is vermelho, which comes from Latin vermiculus, in the Russian language, the word for red, Кра́сный, comes from the same old Slavic root as the words for beautiful—красивый and excellent—прекрасный. Thus Red Square in Moscow, named long before the Russian Revolution, in heraldry, the word gules is used for red. Red can vary in hue from orange-red to violet-red, and for each hue there is a variety of shades and tints. Red hematite powder was found scattered around the remains at a grave site in a Zhoukoudian cave complex near Beijing
Red (color)
–
Pure, or solid red, the color of most ripe
strawberries.
Red (color)
–
Red
Red (color)
–
Scarlet is one quarter of the way between the colors red and orange. It is the color worn by a
cardinal of the
Roman Catholic Church..
Red (color)
–
The
cardinal takes its name from the color worn by Roman Catholic
cardinals.
12.
Czech language
–
Czech, historically also Bohemian, is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group. It is spoken by over 10 million people and is the language of the Czech Republic. Czech is closely related to Slovak, to the point of being intelligible to a very high degree. In the later 18th to mid-19th century, the written standard was codified in the context of the Czech National Revival. The main vernacular, known as Common Czech, is based on the vernacular of Prague, the Moravian dialects spoken in the eastern part of the country are mostly also counted as Czech, although some of their eastern variants are closer to Slovak. The Czech phoneme inventory is moderate in size, comprising five vowels, words may contain uncommon consonant clusters, including one consonant represented by the grapheme ř, or lack vowels altogether. Czech orthography is simple, and has used as a model by phonologists. Czech is classified as a member of the West Slavic sub-branch of the Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family and this branch includes Polish, Kashubian, Upper and Lower Sorbian and Slovak. Slovak is by far the closest genetic neighbor of Czech, the West Slavic languages are spoken in an area classified as part of Central Europe. Around the 7th century, the Slavic expansion reached Central Europe, the West Slavic polity of Great Moravia formed by the 9th century. The Christianization of Bohemia took place during the 9th and 10th centuries, the Bohemian language is first recorded in writing in glosses and short notes during the 12th to 13th centuries. Literary works written in Czech appear in the early 14th century, the first complete Bible translation also dates to this period. Old Czech texts, including poetry and cookbooks, were produced outside the university as well, literary activity becomes widespread in the early 15th century in the context of the Bohemian Reformation. There was no standardization distinguishing between Czech and Slovak prior to the 15th century, the publication of the Kralice Bible between 1579 and 1593 became very important for standardization of the Czech language in the following centuries. In 1615, the Bohemian diet tried to declare Czech to be the official language of the kingdom. After the Bohemian Revolt which was defeated by the Habsburgs in 1620 and this emigration together with other consequences of the Thirty Years War had a negative impact on the further use of the Czech language. In 1627, Czech and German became official languages of the Kingdom of Bohemia and in the 18th century German became dominant in Bohemia and Moravia, the modern standard Czech language originates in standardization efforts of the 18th century. Changes include the shift of í to ej and é to í and the merging of í
Czech language
–
The
Bible of Kralice was the first complete
translation of the Bible into the Czech language. Its six volumes were first published between 1579 and 1593.
Czech language
–
regions where Czech is the language of the majority
Czech language
–
Jan Hus
Czech language
–
Josef Dobrovský, whose writing played a key role in reviving Czech as a written language
13.
Slovak language
–
Slovak /ˈsloʊvæk, -vɑːk/ is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages. Slovak is the language of Slovakia where it is spoken by approximately 5.51 million people. Slovak uses the Latin script with modifications that include the four diacritics placed above certain letters The primary principle of Slovak spelling is the phonemic principle. The secondary principle is the principle, forms derived from the same stem are written in the same way even if they are pronounced differently. An example of principle is the assimilation rule. In addition, the rules are present, When a voiced consonant is at the end of a word before a pause. For example, pohyb is pronounced /poɦip/ and prípad is pronounced /priːpat/, the assimilation rule, Consonant clusters containing both voiced and voiceless elements are entirely voiced if the last consonant is a voiced one, or voiceless if the last consonant is voiceless. For example, otázka is pronounced /otaːska/ and vzchopiť sa is pronounced /fsxopitsːa/ and this rule applies also over the word boundary. For example, prísť domov /priːzɟ domou̯/ and viac jahôd /vi̯adz jaɦu̯ot/, the voiced counterpart of ch /x/ is /ɣ/, and the unvoiced counterpart of h /ɦ/ is /x/. Most foreign words receive Slovak spelling immediately or after some time, for example, weekend is spelled víkend, software – softvér, gay – gej, and quality is spelled kvalita. Personal and geographical names from languages using Latin alphabets keep their original spelling unless a fully Slovak form of the name exists. Slovak features some heterophonic homographs, the most common examples being krásne /ˈkraːsne/ versus krásne /ˈkraːsɲe/, Some examples include the following, Speváčka spieva. My speváčky spievame. and so forth, adjectives, pronouns and numerals agree in person, gender and case with the noun to which they refer. Botanic or zoological terms are exceptions as is the naming of Holy Spirit in a majority of churches, word order in Slovak is relatively free, since strong inflection enables the identification of grammatical roles regardless of word placement. This relatively free word order allows the use of word order to convey topic, Some examples are as follows, Ten veľký muž tam dnes otvára obchod. = That big man opens a store there today, – The word order does not emphasize any specific detail, just general information. Ten veľký muž dnes otvára obchod tam, = That big man is today opening a store there. – This word order emphasizes the place, dnes tam otvára obchod ten veľký muž
Slovak language
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regions where Slovak is the language of the majority
14.
Communist
–
Communism includes a variety of schools of thought, which broadly include Marxism, anarchism, and the political ideologies grouped around both. The primary element which will enable this transformation, according to analysis, is the social ownership of the means of production. Likewise, some communists defend both theory and practice, while others argue that historical practice diverged from communist principles to a greater or lesser degree, according to Richard Pipes, the idea of a classless, egalitarian society first emerged in Ancient Greece. At one time or another, various small communist communities existed, in the medieval Christian church, for example, some monastic communities and religious orders shared their land and their other property. Communist thought has also traced back to the works of the 16th-century English writer Thomas More. In his treatise Utopia, More portrayed a society based on ownership of property. In the 17th century, communist thought surfaced again in England, criticism of the idea of private property continued into the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century, through such thinkers as Jean Jacques Rousseau in France. Later, following the upheaval of the French Revolution, communism emerged as a political doctrine, in the early 19th century, Various social reformers founded communities based on common ownership. But unlike many previous communist communities, they replaced the emphasis with a rational. Notable among them were Robert Owen, who founded New Harmony in Indiana, in its modern form, communism grew out of the socialist movement in 19th-century Europe. As the Industrial Revolution advanced, socialist critics blamed capitalism for the misery of the new class of urban factory workers who labored under often-hazardous conditions. Foremost among these critics were Marx and his associate Friedrich Engels, in 1848, Marx and Engels offered a new definition of communism and popularized the term in their famous pamphlet The Communist Manifesto. The 1917 October Revolution in Russia set the conditions for the rise to power of Lenins Bolsheviks. The revolution transferred power to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, in which the Bolsheviks had a majority, the event generated a great deal of practical and theoretical debate within the Marxist movement. Marx predicted that socialism and communism would be built upon foundations laid by the most advanced capitalist development, Russia, however, was one of the poorest countries in Europe with an enormous, largely illiterate peasantry and a minority of industrial workers. Marx had explicitly stated that Russia might be able to skip the stage of bourgeois rule, the moderate Mensheviks opposed Lenins Bolshevik plan for socialist revolution before capitalism was more fully developed. The Great Purge of 1937–1938 was Stalins attempt to destroy any possible opposition within the Communist Party and its leading role in the Second World War saw the emergence of the Soviet Union as a superpower, with strong influence over Eastern Europe and parts of Asia. The European and Japanese empires were shattered and Communist parties played a role in many independence movements
Communist
–
Vladimir Lenin after his return to
Petrograd
Communist
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USSR postage stamp depicting the states ruled by self-proclaimed communist parties, launching the first artificial satellite,
Sputnik 1
Communist
–
A demonstration of the
Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Moscow, December 2011
15.
Czechoslovakia
–
From 1939 to 1945, following its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany, the state did not de facto exist but its government-in-exile continued to operate. From 1948 to 1990, Czechoslovakia was part of the Soviet bloc with a command economy and its economic status was formalized in membership of Comecon from 1949, and its defense status in the Warsaw Pact of May 1955. A period of liberalization in 1968, known as the Prague Spring, was forcibly ended when the Soviet Union, assisted by several other Warsaw Pact countries. In 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the two states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Form of state 1918–1938, A democratic republic, 1938–1939, After annexation of Sudetenland by Nazi Germany in 1938, the region gradually turned into a state with loosened connections among the Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian parts. A large strip of southern Slovakia and Carpatho-Ukraine was annexed by Hungary, 1939–1945, The region was split into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak Republic. A government-in-exile continued to exist in London, supported by the United Kingdom, United States and its Allies, after the German invasion of Russia, Czechoslovakia adhered to the Declaration by United Nations and was a founding member of the United Nations. 1946–1948, The country was governed by a government with communist ministers, including the prime minister. Carpathian Ruthenia was ceded to the Soviet Union, 1948–1989, The country became a socialist state under Soviet domination with a centrally planned economy. In 1960, the country became a socialist republic, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It was a state of the Soviet Union. 1989–1990, The federal republic consisted of the Czech Socialist Republic, 1990–1992, Following the Velvet Revolution, the state was renamed the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, consisting of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Neighbours Austria 1918–1938, 1945–1992 Germany Hungary Poland Romania 1918–1938 Soviet Union 1945–1991 Ukraine 1991–1992 Topography The country was of irregular terrain. The western area was part of the north-central European uplands, the eastern region was composed of the northern reaches of the Carpathian Mountains and lands of the Danube River basin. Climate The weather is mild winters and mild summers, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean from the west, Baltic Sea from the north, and Mediterranean Sea from the south. The area was long a part of the Austro Hungarian Empire until the Empire collapsed at the end of World War I, the new state was founded by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who served as its first president from 14 November 1918 to 14 December 1935. He was succeeded by his ally, Edvard Beneš. The roots of Czech nationalism go back to the 19th century, nationalism became a mass movement in the last half of the 19th century
Czechoslovakia
–
Czechoslovak troops in Vladivostok (1918)
Czechoslovakia
–
Flag since 1920
Czechoslovakia
–
The car in which Reinhard Heydrich was killed
Czechoslovakia
–
Spartakiad in 1960
16.
Klement Gottwald
–
Klement Gottwald was a Czechoslovak Communist politician, who was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until 1945 when he became the Chairman until 1953. Klement Gottwald was born in Heroltice as the son of a poor peasant. Before the First World War, he was trained in Vienna as a carpenter, Klement Gottwald was married to Marta Gottwaldová who, like him, came from a poor family and was an illegitimate child. Although his wife stood by him through his endeavours, and was his faithful companion, from 1915 to 1918 Gottwald was a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army. It is believed that he fought in the Battle of Zborov, which would mean that he fought there against future General and President Ludvík Svoboda, according to military historian Alex Notebooks, although the idea is possible, it has not been confirmed. Thomas Jakl of the Military History Institute called Gottwalds participation in Zborova a legend - Gottwald had to be at the time of the battle in a hospital in Vienna, in the summer of 1918, Gottwald deserted from the army. After the establishment of the first Czechoslovak Republic, he served for two years in the Czechoslovak army, from 1920 to 1921 he worked in Rousinov as a Stolarski worker. After the collapse of the Union of Workers sports associations, the Communist-oriented party of the split off in 1921. Gottwald was able to unify the organization to grain considerable power in the local districts, in June 1921, he participated in the first Spartakiada in Prague. In September 1921 he moved from Rousinov to Banská Bystrica, where he became the editor of the communist magazine Hlas Ludu, at the same time, he was planning FDTJ events at the Banská Bystrica district. He became the mayor of the district, and was the managing director of the 47th district of the FDJT. Later, he moved to Žilina and became editor in chief of the magazine Spartacus, in 1922 he moved to Vrútek, where by decision of the KSČ Central Committee, they merged a number of communist magazines and their editors together. In 1924, the editorial staff moved to Ostrava, where Gottwald finally resettled. In 1926, he became a functionary of the Communist Party, from 1926 to 1929 he worked in Prague, where he aided the Secretariat of the KSČ to form a pro-Moscow opposition against the then in power anti-Moscow leadership. Since 1928 he was a member of the Comintern, in February 1929, at the Fifth Congress of the KSČ, he was elected into party as General Secretary, alongside Guttmann, Šverma, Slansky, Kopecky and the Reimans. In September and October of 1938 Gottwald was one of the leaders of the opposition against the adoption of the Munich Agreement. After the banning of the Communist Party he emigrated to the Soviet Union in November 1938, while there - he held opposed the policy corresponding to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of 1939. This proved helpful for Gottwald - as it would help secure Communist influence in post-war Czechoslovakia, on 10 May 1945 Gottwald returned to Prague as the deputy premier under Zdeněk Fierlinger, and was the chairman of the National Front
Klement Gottwald
–
Klement Gottwald
Klement Gottwald
–
Celebration of International Children's Day 1949, in Budapest, Hungary. The photograph shows the Czechoslovak delegation; left is a portrait of Gottwald, on the right,
Stalin.
17.
One-party state
–
All other parties are either outlawed or allowed to take only a limited and controlled participation in elections. One-party states explain themselves through various methods, most often, proponents of a one-party state argue that the existence of separate parties runs counter to national unity. Others argue that the one party is the vanguard of the people, the Soviet government argued that multiple parties represented the class struggle, which was absent in Soviet society, and so the Soviet Union only had one party, the Communist Party. Some one-party states only outlaw opposition parties, while allowing allied parties to exist as part of a permanent coalition such as a popular front. However, these parties are largely or completely subservient to the ruling party, examples of this are the Peoples Republic of China under the United Front, or the National Front in former East Germany. Others may allow non-party members to run for seats, as was the case with Taiwans Tangwai movement in the 1970s and 1980s. Within their own countries, dominant parties ruling over one-party states are referred to simply as the Party. One-party systems often arise from decolonization because one party has had a dominant role in liberation or in independence struggles. One-party states are often, but not always, considered to be authoritarian or totalitarian, however, not all authoritarian or totalitarian states operate based on one-party rule. Some, especially absolute monarchies and certain military dictatorships, have all political parties illegal. The term communist state is used in the West to apply to states in which the ruling party subscribes to a form of Marxism–Leninism. While the role of the Communist Party is enshrined in the constitution, no party is permitted to campaign or run candidates for election, the party was conceived by the original Black American settlers and their descendants who referred to themselves as Americo-Liberians. Initially, its ideology was influenced by that of the Whig Party in the United States. Over time it developed into a powerful Masonic Order that ruled every aspect of Liberian society for well over a century until it was overthrown in 1980, while the True Whig Party still exists today, its influence has substantially declined
One-party state
–
Presidential republics with a semi-presidential system.
18.
Soviet Union
–
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
Soviet Union
–
Vladimir Lenin addressing a crowd with Trotsky, 1920
Soviet Union
–
Flag
Soviet Union
–
Stalin and
Nikolai Yezhov, head of the
NKVD. After Yezhov was executed, he was
edited out of the image.
Soviet Union
19.
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
–
Approximately 250,000 Warsaw pact troops attacked Czechoslovakia that night, with Romania and Albania refusing to participate. Although East German forces were prepared to participate in the invasion as well,108 Czechoslovakian civilians were killed and around 500 wounded in the invasion. The invasion successfully stopped Alexander Dubčeks Prague Spring liberalisation reforms and strengthened the authority of the authoritarian wing within the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the foreign policy of the Soviet Union during this era was known as the Brezhnev Doctrine. The process of de-Stalinization in Czechoslovakia had begun under Antonín Novotný in the late 1950s and early 1960s, following the lead of Nikita Khrushchev, Novotný proclaimed the completion of socialism, and the new constitution, accordingly, adopted the name Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In the early 1960s, Czechoslovakia underwent an economic downturn, the Soviet model of industrialization applied poorly to Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was already quite industrialized before World War II and the Soviet model mainly took into account less developed economies, novotnýs attempt at restructuring the economy, the 1965 New Economic Model, spurred increased demand for political reform as well. A few months later, at a party meeting, it was decided that actions against the writers who openly expressed support of reformation would be taken. Since only a part of the union held these beliefs. The Prague Spring was a period of liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II. The Prague Spring reforms were an attempt by Dubček to grant additional rights to the citizens of Czechoslovakia in an act of partial decentralization of the economy. The freedoms granted included a loosening of restrictions on the media, speech, a large wave of emigration swept the nation. A spirited non-violent resistance was mounted throughout the country, involving attempted fraternization, painting over and turning street signs, defiance of various curfews, etc. While the Soviet military had predicted that it would take four days to subdue the country the resistance held out for eight months, there were sporadic acts of violence and several suicides by self-immolation, but there was no military resistance. Czechoslovakia remained controlled until 1989, when the revolution ended pro-Soviet rule peacefully, undoubtedly drawing upon the successes of the non-violent resistance twenty years earlier. Gustáv Husák, who replaced Dubček and also president, reversed almost all of Dubčeks reforms. The Prague Spring inspired music and literature such as the work of Václav Havel, Karel Husa, Karel Kryl, the first such fear was that Czechoslovakia would defect from the bloc, injuring the Soviet Unions position in a possible war with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Not only would the loss result in a lack of depth for the USSR. Czechoslovak leaders had no intention of leaving the Warsaw Pact, other fears included the spread of liberalization and unrest elsewhere in Eastern Europe
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
–
©Ladislav Bielik,Šafárikovo námestie, Bratislava: Emil Gallo baring his chest in a gesture of defiance
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
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Barricades and Soviet tanks on fire.
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
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A Prague resident tries to talk with a Soviet soldier.
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
–
Soviet soldier with a tank shell - possibly having brought it out of a burning tank.
20.
Moscow Kremlin
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It is the best known of the kremlins and includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. Also within this complex is the Grand Kremlin Palace, the complex serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. It had previously used to refer to the government of the Soviet Union. Kremlinology refers to the study of Soviet and Russian politics, the site has been continuously inhabited by Finno-Ugric peoples since the 2nd century BC. Vyatichi built a structure on the hill where the Neglinnaya River flowed into the Moskva River. Up to the 14th century, the site was known as the grad of Moscow, the word Kremlin was first recorded in 1331. The grad was greatly extended by Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy in 1156, destroyed by the Mongols in 1237, dmitri Donskoi replaced the oak walls with a strong citadel of white limestone in 1366–1368 on the basic foundations of the current walls, this fortification withstood a siege by Khan Tokhtamysh. Dmitris son Vasily I resumed construction of churches and cloisters in the Kremlin, the newly built Annunciation Cathedral was painted by Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev, and Prokhor in 1406. The Chudov Monastery was founded by Dmitris tutor, Metropolitan Alexis, while his widow, Eudoxia and it was during his reign that three extant cathedrals of the Kremlin, the Deposition Church, and the Palace of Facets were constructed. The highest building of the city and Muscovite Russia was the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, built in 1505–08, the Kremlin walls as they now appear were built between 1485 and 1495. Spasskie gates of the wall bear a dedication in Latin praising Petrus Antonius Solarius for the design. After construction of the new walls and churches was complete. The Kremlin was separated from the merchant town by a 30-meter-wide moat. The same tsar also renovated some of his grandfathers palaces, added a new palace and cathedral for his sons, and endowed the Trinity metochion inside the Kremlin. The metochion was administrated by the Trinity Monastery and boasted the graceful tower church of St. Sergius, during the Time of Troubles, the Kremlin was held by the Polish forces for two years, between 21 September 1610 and 26 October 1612. The Kremlins liberation by the army of prince Dmitry Pozharsky. During his reign and that of his son Alexis, the eleven-domed Upper Saviour Cathedral, Armorial Gate, Terem Palace, Amusement Palace, following the death of Alexis, the Kremlin witnessed the Moscow Uprising of 1682, from which czar Peter barely escaped. As a result, both of them disliked the Kremlin, three decades later, Peter abandoned the residence of his forefathers for his new capital, Saint Petersburg
Moscow Kremlin
–
View of the Kremlin from the
Moskva River (
Borovitskaya Tower and the
Kremlin Wall in the foreground)
Moscow Kremlin
–
Tsar Cannon and
Tsar Bell, two of the Kremlin's visitor attractions
Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
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Bird's Eye View of the Kremlin from the southwest
21.
Authoritarian
–
Authoritarianism is a form of government characterized by strong central power and limited political freedoms. Individual freedoms are subordinate to the state and there is no constitutional accountability under an authoritarian regime, modern dictatorships use an authoritarian concept to form a government. Linz distinguished new forms of authoritarianism from personalistic dictatorships and totalitarian states, several subtypes of authoritarian regimes have been identified by Linz and others. Bureaucratic-military authoritarian regimes are those governed by a coalition of military officers, mark J. Linz also has identified three other subtypes of authoritarian regime, corporatist or organic-statistic, racial and ethnic democracy and post-totalitarian. Examples include the Soviet Eastern bloc states in the mid-1980s, authoritarian regimes are also sometimes subcategorized by whether they are personalistic or populist. Personalistic authoritarian regimes are characterized by arbitrary rule and authority exercised mainly through patronage networks and coercion rather than through institutitions, personalistic authoritarian regimes have been seen in post-colonial Africa. By contrast, populist authoritarian regimes are mobilizational regimes in which a strong, charismatic, examples include Argentina under Perón, Egypt under Nasser, and Venezuela under Chávez and Maduro. Authoritarianism is characterized by highly concentrated and centralized power maintained by political repression and it uses political parties and mass organizations to mobilize people around the goals of the regime. Adam Przeworski has theorized that authoritarian equilibrium rests mainly on lies, fear, authoritarian political systems may be weakened through inadequate performance to demands of the people. Because the legitimacy of the state is dependent on performance, authoritarian states that fail to adapt may collapse, authoritarianism is marked by indefinite political tenure of the ruler or ruling party or other authority. The transition from a system to a more democratic form of government is referred to as democratization. John Duckitt suggests a link between authoritarianism and collectivism, asserting that both stand in opposition to individualism, Duckitt writes that both authoritarianism and collectivism submerge individual rights and goals to group goals, expectations and conformities. Totalitarianism is a version of authoritarianism. Authoritarianism primarily differs from totalitarianism in that social and economic institutions exist that are not under governmental control, building on the work of Yale political scientist Juan Linz, Paul C. Concomitant role conceptions differentiate totalitarians from authoritarians, authoritarians view themselves as individual beings largely content to control, and often maintain, the status quo. The tyrant is less a person than a function to guide. Consequently, the utilisation of power for personal aggrandizement is more evident among authoritarians than totalitarians, lacking the binding appeal of ideology, authoritarians support their rule by a mixture of instilling fear and granting rewards to loyal collaborators, engendering a kleptocracy. Compared to totalitarianism, the state still maintains a certain distinction between state and society
Authoritarian
–
Salman, King of
Saudi Arabia.
Authoritarian
–
Engelbert Dollfuss 's chancellorship in Austria contained many authoritarian elements.
Authoritarian
–
Robert Mugabe, President of
Zimbabwe.
Authoritarian
–
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of
Turkey.
22.
Purge
–
A group undertaking such an effort is labeled as purging itself. Purges can be nonviolent or violent, with former often resolved by simple removal from office. The earliest use of the term itself was the English Civil Wars Prides Purge, in 1648-1650, the moderate members of the English Long Parliament were purged by the army. Parliament would suffer subsequent purges under the Commonwealth including the purge of the entire House of Lords, counter-revolutionaries such as royalists were purged as well as more radical revolutionaries such as the Levellers. After the Restoration, obstinate republicans were purged while some fled to New England, the term purge is often associated with the Stalinist and Maoist regimes. While leading the USSR, Joseph Stalin imprisoned in Gulag-labor camps and executed, i. e. purged, wreckers, Stalin initiated the most notorious of the CPSU purges, the Great Purge, during the 1930s. Sentences usually involved hard labor in laogai camps and executions, deng Xiaoping had a reputation for returning to power several times after having been purged. North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un have each periodically purged their rivals or perceived threats. The most senior Kim purged those who opposed his sons succession to the leadership of North Korea. Kim Il-sungs most prominent purge was during the August Incident in 1956, most of those involved were executed while some othere fled to the USSR and China. While some purges were carried out under Kim Jong-il, they were not as common as under his father/son. Kim Jong-un purged a number of high-ranking officials and generals installed by his father Kim Jong-il in the formers first years in power, including, most prominently, reports indicate Kim is preparing a massive party purge for 2017. After Frances liberation by the Allies in 1944, the Free French and particularly the French Resistance carried out purges of former collaborationists, the process became known in legal terms as épuration légale. Similar processes in other countries and on other occasions included denazification and decommunization, fidel Castro of Cuba often purged those involved with the Batista regime after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Purges often involved the execution of the condemned, Castro periodically carried out party purges thereafter. One prominent purge was carried out in 1989, when high-ranking general Armando Ochoa was sentenced to death, purges became less common in the 1990s and 2000s. Purges have seldom occurred during the 21st century, however, after the failed 2016 Turkish coup détat attempt, the government of Turkey began a purge against members of its own civil service and the Turkish Armed Forces. The purge focused mainly on public servants and soldiers alleged to be part of the Gülen movement, as part of the purge, about 50,000 officials, including thousands of judges, were dismissed and detained
Purge
–
Media regulation
23.
Velvet revolution
–
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from November 17 to December 29,1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia combined students, the result was the end of 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia, and the subsequent dismantling of the planned economy and conversion to a parliamentary republic. On November 17,1989, riot police suppressed a student demonstration in Prague and that event sparked a series of demonstrations from November 19 to late December. By November 20, the number of protesters assembled in Prague grew from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated 500,000, a two-hour general strike involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia was held on November 27. On November 24, the top leadership of the Communist Party, including General Secretary Miloš Jakeš. Two days later, the legislature deleted the sections of the Constitution giving the Communists a monopoly of power. Barbed wire and other obstructions were removed from the border with West Germany, on December 10, President Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948, and resigned. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the parliament on December 28. In June 1990, Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946, the term Velvet Revolution was coined by Rita Klímová, the dissidents English translator who later became the ambassador to the United States. The term was used internationally to describe the revolution, although the Czechs also used the term internally, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Slovakia used the term Gentle Revolution, the term that Slovaks used for the revolution from the beginning. The Czech Republic continues to refer to the event as the Velvet Revolution, the Communist Party seized power on February 25,1948. No official opposition parties operated thereafter, dissidents published home-made periodicals, but they faced persecution by the secret police. Thus, the public did not openly support the dissidents for fear of dismissal from work or school. A writer or filmmaker could have his/her books or films banned for an attitude towards the socialist regime. These rules were easy to enforce, as all schools, media and they were under direct supervision and often were used as accusatory weapons against rivals. The nature of blacklisting changed gradually after the introduction of Mikhail Gorbachevs policies of Glasnost, the Czechoslovak Communist leadership verbally supported Perestroika, but made few changes. Speaking about the Prague Spring of 1968 was taboo, the first anti-government demonstrations occurred in 1988 and 1989, but these were dispersed and participants were repressed by the police. By the late 1980s, discontent with living standards and economic inadequacy gave way to support for economic reform
Velvet revolution
–
Václav Havel honoring the deaths of those who took part in the Prague protest.
Velvet revolution
–
Non-violent protesters face armed policemen, holding grenades and automatic weapons
Velvet revolution
–
Memorial of the student demonstrations of November 17, in Prague
Velvet revolution
–
Memorial of the Velvet revolution in Bratislava (Námestie SNP)
24.
Civic Forum
–
The Civic Forum was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The corresponding movement in Slovakia was called Public Against Violence, the Civic Forums purpose was to unify the dissident forces in Czechoslovakia and to overthrow the Communist regime. In this, they succeeded when the Communists gave up power in November 1989 after only 10 days of protests, playwright Václav Havel, its leader and founder, was elected president on December 29,1989. Those elections garnered Civic Forum 36 percent of the vote, the highest that a Czechoslovakian party ever obtained in a free election and this netted it 68 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, combined with Public Against Violences 19 seats, it commanded a strong majority. The Civic Forum had a loose structure, and most of its leaders came from Prague-based members of the Charter 77 dissident movement. In December 1989, Jan Urban became the Forums chairman after Havels election as president, Urban served until June 1990, when he resigned, stating he did not want a rift between the organization and the president. On October 16,1990, Václav Klaus was elected its new chairman, klauss policies were opposed by other leading figures within the Forum and party unity soon vanished. At the Civic Forum congress in January 1991, the movement divided, the more conservative members, led by Klaus, declared that they would form an independent party, the Civic Democratic Party, with a clearer program advocating a free market. The party elected Klaus as its chairman in February 1991, the more liberal members of Civic Forum, led by federal minister of foreign affairs Jiří Dienstbier, formed the Civic Movement. Klaus stated that the two parties would rule as a coalition until the 1992 elections, however, by July 1991 Klaus declared the inter-party cooperation over. The Civic Democratic Party was victorious in the elections of 1992 while the Civic Movement failed to reach the 5% threshold to enter parliament, timothy Garton Ash, We the People, The Revolution of ’89, Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague. Bernard Wheaton and Zdeněk Kavan, The Velvet Revolution, Czechoslovakia, paal Sigurd Hilde, Slovak Nationalism and the Break-Up of Czechoslovakia
Civic Forum
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Civic Forum Občanské fórum
25.
Criminal organisation
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Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist groups, are politically motivated. Sometimes criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts money from shopkeepers for so-called protection, gangs may become disciplined enough to be considered organized. A criminal organization or gang can also be referred to as a mafia, mob, or crime syndicate, European sociologists define the mafia as a type of organized crime group that specializes in the supply of extra-legal protection and quasi law enforcement. There is a tendency to distinguish organized crime from other forms of crime, such as crime, financial crimes, political crimes, war crime, state crimes. This distinction is not always apparent and academics continue to debate the matter, for example, in failed states that can no longer perform basic functions such as education, security, or governance, organised crime, governance and war sometimes complement each other. The term Oligarchy has been used to describe democratic countries whose political, social and economic institutions come under the control of a few families, in the United States, the Organized Crime Control Act defines organized crime as he unlawful activities of a highly organized, disciplined association. Criminal activity as a process is referred to as racketeering. In the UK, police estimate that organized crime involves up to 38,000 people operating in 6,000 various groups, bureaucratic/corporate organized crime groups are defined by the general rigidity of their internal structures. An estimate on youth street gangs nationwide provided by Hannigan, et al. marked an increase of 35% between 2002 and 2010, the term “street gang” is commonly used interchangeably with “youth gang, ” referring to neighborhood or street-based youth groups that meet “gang” criteria. Some reasons youth join gangs include to feel accepted, attain status, a sense of unity brings together many of the youth gangs that lack the family aspect at home. Zones of transition are deteriorating neighborhoods with shifting populations, in such areas, conflict between groups, fighting, turf wars, and theft promote solidarity and cohesion. Participation in gang-related events during adolescence perpetuate a pattern of maltreatment on their own children years later, klein like Spergel studied the effects on members of social workers’ interventions. More interventions actually lead to greater participation and solidarity and bonds between members. Downes and Rock on Parker’s analysis, strain theory applies, labeling theory, control theory and these may also be defined by age or peer group influences, and the permanence or consistency of their criminal activity. These groups also form their own identity or public representation which are recognizable by the community at large. Some studied street gangs involved in drug dealing - finding that their structure, members saw themselves as organized criminals, gangs were formal-rational organizations, Strong organizational structures, well defined roles and rules that guided members’ behavior. Also a specified and regular means of income, padilla agreed with the two above. However some have found these to be rather than well-defined and lacking persistent focus, there was relatively low cohesion, few shared goals
Criminal organisation
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Criminology and
penology
Criminal organisation
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Jamaican gang leader
Christopher Coke
Criminal organisation
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Mexican drug cartels and their areas of influence.
Criminal organisation
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Tattooed
Yakuza gangsters
26.
First Czechoslovak Republic
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The first Czechoslovak Republic was the Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938. The state was commonly called Czechoslovakia and it was composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia, Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia. After 1933, Czechoslovakia remained the only functioning democracy in central and it also ceded southern parts of Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia to Hungary and the Zaolzie region in Silesia to Poland. This, in effect, ended the First Czechoslovak Republic and it was replaced by Second Czechoslovak Republic, which lasted less than half a year before Germany occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia. The independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed on 28 October 1918 by the Czechoslovak National Council in Prague, several ethnic groups and territories with different historical, political, and economic traditions had to be blended into a new state structure. The full boundaries of the country and the organization of its government was established in the Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk had been recognized by World War I Allies as the leader of the Provisional Czechoslovak Government and he was re-elected in 1925 and 1929, serving as President until 14 December 1935 when he resigned due to poor health. He was succeeded by Edvard Beneš, following the Anschluss of Nazi Germany and Austria in March 1938, the Nazi leader Adolf Hitlers next target for annexation was Czechoslovakia. His pretext was the privations suffered by ethnic German populations living in Czechoslovakias northern and western border regions and their incorporation into Nazi Germany would leave the rest of Czechoslovakia powerless to resist subsequent occupation. To a large extent, Czechoslovak democracy was held together by the countrys first president, as the principal founding father of the republic, Masaryk was regarded similar to the way George Washington is regarded in the United States. Such universal respect enabled Masaryk to overcome seemingly irresolvable political problems, Masaryk is still regarded as the symbol of Czechoslovak democracy. The Constitution of 1920 approved the constitution of 1918 in its basic features. The National Assembly was responsible for legislative initiative and was given control over the executive. Every seven years it elected the president and confirmed the cabinet appointed by him, executive power was to be shared by the president and the cabinet, the latter, responsible to the National Assembly, was to prevail. The reality differed somewhat from this ideal, however, during the presidencies of Masaryk and his successor. The constitution of 1920 provided for the government to have a high degree of control over local government. From 1928 and 1940, Czechoslovakia was divided into the four lands, Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, Slovakia, although in 1927 assemblies were provided for Bohemia, Slovakia, and Ruthenia, their jurisdiction was limited to adjusting laws and regulations of the central government to local needs. The central government appointed one third of the members of these assemblies, the constitution identified the Czechoslovak nation as the creator and principal constituent of the Czechoslovak state and established Czech and Slovak as official languages
First Czechoslovak Republic
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Czechoslovakia 1920–1938.
First Czechoslovak Republic
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Flag (since 1920)
27.
Communist International
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The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization that advocated world communism. The Comintern had seven World Congresses between 1919 and 1935 and it also had thirteen Enlarged Plenums of its governing Executive Committee, which had much the same function as the somewhat larger and more grandiose Congresses. The Comintern was officially dissolved by Joseph Stalin in 1943, while the differences had been evident for decades, World War I proved the issue that finally divided the revolutionary and reformist wings of the workers movement. The socialist movement had been historically antimilitarist and internationalist, and therefore opposed workers serving as fodder for the bourgeois governments at war. This especially since the Triple Alliance comprised two empires, while the Triple Entente gathered France and Britain into an alliance with Russia, karl Marxs The Communist Manifesto had stated that the working class has no country and exclaimed Proletarians of all countries, unite. Massive majorities voted in favor of resolutions for the Second International to call upon the working class to resist war if it were declared. Nevertheless, within hours of the declarations of war, almost all the socialist parties of the combatant states announced their support for the war, the only exceptions were the socialist parties of the Balkans. To Lenins surprise, even the Social Democratic Party of Germany voted in favor of war credits, Socialist parties in neutral countries mostly supported neutrality rather than total opposition to the war. The International divided into a left and a reformist right. Lenin condemned much of the center as social-pacifists for several reasons, Lenins term social-pacifist aimed in particular at Ramsay MacDonald, leader of the Independent Labour Party in Britain, who opposed the war on grounds of pacifism, but did not actively resist it. Discredited by its passivity towards world events, the Second International dissolved in the middle of the war in 1916, the victory of the Russian Communist Party in the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917 was felt throughout the world. An alternative path to power to parliamentary politics was demonstrated, with much of Europe on the verge of economic and political collapse in the aftermath of the carnage of the Great War, revolutionary sentiments were widespread. The Bolsheviks believed that required a new international to ferment revolution in Europe. The Comintern was founded at a Congress held in Moscow March 2–6,1919, there were 52 delegates present from 34 parties. They decided to form an Executive Committee with representatives of the most important sections, the Congress decided that the Executive Committee would elect a five-member bureau to run the daily affairs of the International. However, such a bureau was not formed and Lenin, Trotsky, Zinoviev was assisted by Angelica Balabanoff, acting as the secretary of the International, Victor L. Kibaltchitch and Vladmir Ossipovich Mazin. Lenin, Trotsky and Alexandra Kollontai presented material, the main topic of discussion was the difference between bourgeois democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat. The central policy of the Comintern under Lenins leadership was that Communist parties should be established across the world to aid the international proletarian revolution, in this period, the Comintern was promoted as the General Staff of the World Revolution
Communist International
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The Communist International published a theoretical magazine in a variety of European languages from 1919 to 1943.
Communist International
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Second Congress of the Communist International. 1920.
Communist International
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Boris Kustodiyev. Festival of the II Congress of Comintern on the Uritsky Square (former Palace square) in Petrograd
Communist International
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The Comintern membership card of
Karl Kilbom
28.
Leon Trotsky
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Trotsky initially supported the Menshevik Internationalists faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He joined the Bolsheviks just before the 1917 October Revolution, and he was, alongside Lenin, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Stalin, Sokolnikov and Bubnov, one of the seven members of the first Politburo, founded in 1917 to manage the Bolshevik Revolution. He was a figure in the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War. As the head of the Fourth International, Trotsky continued to oppose the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union from exile, on Stalins orders, he was assassinated in Mexico in August 1940 by Ramón Mercader, a Spanish-born Soviet agent. Trotskys ideas formed the basis of Trotskyism, a school of Marxist thought that opposes the theories of Stalinism. He was written out of the books under Stalin, and was one of the few Soviet political figures who was not rehabilitated by the government under Nikita Khrushchev in the 1950s. It was not until the late 1980s that his books were released for publication in the Soviet Union and his parents were David Leontyevich Bronstein and his wife Anna Lvovna. The family was of Jewish origin, the language they spoke at home was Surzhyk, a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian. Trotskys younger sister, Olga, who grew up to be a Bolshevik. Many anti-Communists, anti-semites, and anti-Trotskyists have noted Trotskys original surname, some authors, notably Robert Service, have also claimed that Trotskys childhood first name was the Yiddish Leiba. The American Trotskyist David North said that this was an apparent attempt to emphasize Trotskys Jewish origins but, contrary to Services claims and he says that it is highly improbable that the family was Jewish, as they did not speak Yiddish, the common language among eastern European Jews. Both North and Walter Laqueur in their books say that Trotskys childhood name was Lyova, when Trotsky was nine, his father sent him to Odessa to be educated in a Jewish school. He was enrolled in a German-language school, which became Russified during his years in Odessa as a result of the Imperial governments policy of Russification. As Isaac Deutscher notes in his biography of Trotsky, Odessa was then a cosmopolitan port city. This environment contributed to the development of the young mans international outlook, although Trotsky said in his autobiography My Life that he was never perfectly fluent in any language but Russian and Ukrainian, Raymond Molinier wrote that Trotsky spoke French fluently. Trotsky became involved in activities in 1896 after moving to the harbor town of Nikolayev on the Ukrainian coast of the Black Sea. At first a narodnik, he initially opposed Marxism but was won over to Marxism later that year by his future first wife, instead of pursuing a mathematics degree, Trotsky helped organize the South Russian Workers Union in Nikolayev in early 1897. Using the name Lvov, he wrote and printed leaflets and proclamations, distributed revolutionary pamphlets, in January 1898, more than 200 members of the union, including Trotsky, were arrested
Leon Trotsky
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Trotsky in 1921
Leon Trotsky
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8-year-old Lyova Bronshtein, 1888
Leon Trotsky
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Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, 1897
Leon Trotsky
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Leon Trotsky with his daughter Nina in 1915
