1.
Sevastopol
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Sevastopol or traditionally Sebastopol is a city located in the southwestern region of the Crimean Peninsula on the Black Sea. Sevastopol has a population of 393, 304 , concentrated mostly near the Bay of Sevastopol, the location and navigability of the citys harbours have made Sevastopol a strategically important port and naval base throughout history. The city has been a home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, although relatively small at 864 square kilometres, Sevastopols unique naval and maritime features provide the basis for a robust economy. The city enjoys mild winters and moderate summers, characteristics that help make it a popular seaside resort and tourist destination. The city is also an important centre for marine biology, in particular, the name of Sevastopolis was originally chosen in the same etymological trend as other cities in the Crimean peninsula that was intended to reflect its ancient Greek origins. It is a compound of the Greek adjective, σεβαστός and the noun πόλις, Σεβαστός is the traditional Greek equivalent of the Roman honorific Augustus, originally given to the first emperor of the Roman Empire, Augustus and later awarded as a title to his successors. Despite its Greek origin, the name itself is not from Ancient Greek times, the city was probably named after the Empress Catherine II of Russia who founded Sevastopol in 1783. She visited the city in 1787 accompanied by Joseph II, the Emperor of Austria, in the west of the city, there are well-preserved ruins of the ancient Greek port city of Chersonesos, founded in the 5th century BC by settlers from Heraclea Pontica. This name means peninsula, reflecting its location, and is not related to the ancient Greek name for the Crimean Peninsula as a whole. In English the current spelling has the pronunciation /səˈvæstəˌpoʊl/ or /ˌsɛvəˈstoʊpəl/, whilst the spelling has the pronunciation /sᵻˈbæstəpəl, -pɒl/ or /səˈbæstəˌpoʊl. Ukrainian, Севастополь, Russian, Севастополь, pronounced in Ukrainian, in the 6th century BC a Greek colony was established in the area of the modern-day city. The Greek city of Chersonesus existed for almost two years, first as an independent democracy and later as part of the Bosporan Kingdom. In the 13th and 14th centuries it was sacked by the Golden Horde several times and was totally abandoned. The modern day city of Sevastopol has no connection to the ancient and medieval Greek city, five years earlier, Alexander Suvorov ordered that earthworks be erected along the harbour and Russian troops be placed there. In February 1784, Catherine the Great ordered Grigory Potemkin to build a fortress there, the realisation of the initial building plans fell to Captain Fyodor Ushakov who in 1788 was named commander of the port and of the Black Sea squadron. It became an important naval base and later a commercial seaport, in 1797, under an edict issued by Emperor Paul I, the military stronghold was again renamed to Akhtiar. Finally, on 29 April,1826, the Senate returned the name to Sevastopol. One of the most notable involving the city is the Siege of Sevastopol carried out by the British, French, Sardinian, and Turkish troops during the Crimean War
2.
Tolyatti
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Tolyatti, also known in English as Togliatti, is a city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is the largest city in Russia which does not serve as the center of a federal subject. Internationally, the city is best known as the home of Russias largest car manufacturer AvtoVAZ and it was founded in 1737 as a fortress called Stavropol by the Russian statesman Vasily Tatishchev. Informally it was referred as Stavropol-on-Volga to distinguish from Stavropol. In 1964, the city was renamed Tolyatti, within the framework of administrative divisions, Tolyatti serves as the administrative center of Stavropolsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the city of oblast significance of Tolyatti—an administrative unit with the equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Tolyatti is incorporated as Tolyatti Urban Okrug, other industries have moved into Tolyatti because it is close to abundant supplies of electricity and water. Petrochemicals are well represented in the city, among the significant enterprises based there are TogliattiAzot and KuibyshevAzot. Other industries include building materials production, ship repair and electrical equipment, in 2011 the Togliatti Special Economic Zone was launched in order to develop the region further and diversify the economy of the city. Several auto-component producers have since been registered, as well as large industrial manufacturers, by November 2012 the value of project investment totalled 10 billion Rubles and around 3000 jobs were being created. The transport system is developed in the city. Public transport includes buses and trolley-buses, and so-called alternative transport or marshrutkas. External transport routes are provided by two bus stations, two stations and a city harbour. Tolyatti has its airport as well, but it is used by personal aircraft only, the city is linked to the federal road network by the M5 Ural highway. A recent notable event was the 1998 opening of the large Tatishchev Monument near the Volga, the Transfiguration Cathedral was completed in 2002. Education is represented by one hundred public and ten private schools. Current Montreal Canadiens defensemen Alexei Emelin, and Former Washington Capitals winger Viktor Kozlov, Tolyatti is represented in almost every kind of team sports. Tolyattis Lada-sponsored Ice Hockey Club broke the Moscow teams domination of the game, mens football, basketball, speedway and handball teams also take part in national championships
3.
Sormovsky City District
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Sormovsky District, or Sormovo, is one of the eight districts of the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It occupies the corner of the city, adjacent to the Volga River. The village originally known as Soromovo had existed since 1542, in 1849, the Sormovo Works—soon one of Russias most important machine-building plants, later known as Krasnoye Sormovo—was founded, its owner had the village renamed to more euphonic Sormovo. Although legally a village, it grew into a large workers settlement, in 1922, Sormovo became a city, in 1929, it was amalgamated into the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It is one of the industrial districts. Besides Krasnoye Sormovo, its well-known enterprises include the Volga Shipyard, the May Day demonstration, mentioned in The Mother by Maxim Gorky, took place in Sormovo,1902. The district does not have good, conveniently accessible beaches on the Volga shoreline, instead, the locals prefer to use sand beaches on several artificial lakes, which formed several decades ago in the pits left from defunct sand quarries. Sokol Aircraft Plant and its airfield are located just south of the border of Sormovsky City District, between 1956 and 1970, the territory of todays Moskovsky District was part of the Sormovsky District, meaning that during that time the Sormovo Airfield was actually within the Sormovsky District
4.
Palace
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A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which housed the Imperial residences, in many parts of Europe, the term is also applied to ambitious private mansions of the aristocracy. Many historic palaces are now put to uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels. The word is sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions. The word palace comes from Old French palais, from Latin Palātium, the original palaces on the Palatine Hill were the seat of the imperial power while the capitol on the Capitoline Hill was the religious nucleus of Rome. Long after the city grew to the seven hills the Palatine remained a residential area. Emperor Caesar Augustus lived there in a purposely modest house only set apart from his neighbours by the two trees planted to flank the front door as a sign of triumph granted by the Senate. His descendants, especially Nero, with his Golden House, enlarged the house, the word Palātium came to mean the residence of the emperor rather than the neighbourhood on top of the hill. Palace meaning government can be recognized in a remark of Paul the Deacon, AD790 and describing events of the 660s, When Grimuald set out for Beneventum, he entrusted his palace to Lupus. At the same time, Charlemagne was consciously reviving the Roman expression in his palace at Aachen, in the 9th century, the palace indicated the housing of the government too, and the constantly travelling Charlemagne built fourteen. In the Holy Roman Empire the powerful independent Electors came to be housed in palaces and this has been used as evidence that power was widely distributed in the Empire, as in more centralized monarchies, only the monarchs residence would be a palace. In modern times, the term has been applied by archaeologists and historians to large structures that housed combined ruler, court, in informal usage, a palace can be extended to a grand residence of any kind. The earliest known palaces were the residences of the Egyptian Pharaohs at Thebes, featuring an outer wall enclosing labyrinthine buildings. Other ancient palaces include the Assyrian palaces at Nimrud and Nineveh, the Minoan palace at Knossos, the Brazilian new capital, Brasília, hosts modern palaces, most designed by the citys architect Oscar Niemeyer. The Alvorada Palace is the residence of the Brazils president. The Planalto Palace is the official workplace, the Jaburu Palace is the official residence of Brazils vice-president. In Canada, Government House is a given to the official residences of the Canadian monarchy. The use of the term Government House is a custom from the British Empire
5.
Pioneer movement
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A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence, the adolescents then typically join the Young Communist League. In countries ruled by Communist Parties, membership of the movement is officially optional. However, membership provides many benefits, so the vast majority of children join the movement. There were many newspapers and magazines published for Young Pioneers in millions of copies, the Pioneer movement was modeled on the Scout movement, but there are some distinct differences. Most notably, the Scout movement is independent of government control, some features, however, are reminiscent of the Scout movement. The two movements share some principles like preparedness and promotion of sports and outdoor skills, the pioneer movement also includes teaching of communist principles. Opponents of Communist states claim that this is a form of indoctrination, a member of the movement is known as a pioneer, and a kerchief or necktie — typically red, but sometimes light blue — is the traditional item of clothing worn by a pioneer. The pioneer organization is named after a famous party member that is considered a suitable role model for young communists. In the Soviet Union it was Vladimir Lenin, in East Germany, the Thälmann pioneers were taught the slogan Ernst Thälmann is my role model. We wear our red scarf with pride, Albania, which severed diplomatic relations with the USSR in 1961, also had a variant of Pioneer organization, called Pioneers of Enver, named after the communist ruler of Albania, Enver Hoxha. Cyprus Finland - Democratic Union of Finnish Pioneers The Czech Republic – Nowadays Pionýr is a non-political organisation organizing leisure time for children, hungary Laos, the Young Pioneers in Laos are under the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Youth Union. Mexico North Korea Portugal – Pioneiros de Portugal, connected to the Portuguese Communist Party, the communist parties in Russia and other countries continue to run a pioneer organization, but membership tends to be quite limited. There were also an organization called chavdarcheta – these were the youngest children, the difference between the two was the distinctive scarf, which was sky-blue in the chavdarcheta movement and red in the pioneri movement. Czechoslovak Socialist Republic – Pioneer Organization of the Socialist Youth Union and its Pioneers were linked to the Malawi Congress Party, the only political party allowed in what was at the time a one-party state. Republic of Mali – Young Pioneers /Jeunes Pionniers, Socialist youth brigades established by the US-RDA of Modibo Keïta, Republic of Niger – Young Pioneers /Jeunes Pionniers non-communist youth paramilitary group, one of several set up in post independence Africa, funded by and modeled on the Israeli Nahal. Republic of Upper Volta / Burkina Faso – Pioneers of the Revolution, the movement of Thomas Sankara
6.
Soviet Union
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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
7.
Soviet Bloc
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The Eastern Bloc was the group of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact. The terms Communist Bloc and Soviet Bloc were also used to denote groupings of states aligned with the Soviet Union, although these terms might include states outside Central and Eastern Europe. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who viewed the Soviet Union as a socialist island, Eastern Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Bessarabia in northern Romania were recognized as parts of the Soviet sphere of influence. Lithuania was added in a secret protocol in September 1939. During the Occupation of East Poland by the Soviet Union, the Soviets liquidated the Polish state, Soviet authorities immediately started a campaign of sovietization of the newly Soviet-annexed areas. Soviet authorities collectivized agriculture, and nationalized and redistributed private and state-owned Polish property, the international community condemned this initial annexation of the Baltic states and deemed it illegal. In June 1941, Germany broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact by invading the Soviet Union, from the time of this invasion to 1944, the areas annexed by the Soviet Union were part of Germanys Ostland. Thereafter, the Soviet Union began to push German forces westward through a series of battles on the Eastern Front, from 1943 to 1945, several conferences regarding Post-War Europe occurred that, in part, addressed the potential Soviet annexation and control of countries in Central Europe. I think that if I give him everything I possibly can and ask for nothing from him in return, noblesse oblige, he wont try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace. While meeting with Stalin and Roosevelt in Tehran in 1943, Churchill stated that Britain was vitally interested in restoring Poland as an independent country, Britain did not press the matter for fear that it would become a source of inter-allied friction. In February 1945, at the conference at Yalta, Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of influence in Central Europe. Stalin eventually was convinced by Churchill and Roosevelt not to dismember Germany, after resistance by Churchill and Roosevelt, Stalin promised a re-organization of the current pro-Soviet government on a broader democratic basis in Poland. He stated that the new primary task would be to prepare elections. In addition to reparations, Stalin pushed for war booty, which would permit the Soviet Union to directly seize property from conquered nations without quantitative or qualitative limitation, a clause was added permitting this to occur with some limitations. At first, the Soviets concealed their role in other Eastern Bloc politics, as a young communist was told in East Germany, its got to look democratic, but we must have everything in our control. Moscow-trained cadres were put into crucial power positions to fulfill orders regarding sociopolitical transformation, elimination of the bourgeoisies social and financial power by expropriation of landed and industrial property was accorded absolute priority. These measures were publicly billed as reforms rather than socioeconomic transformations, the bloc system permitted the Soviet Union to exercise domestic control indirectly. Crucial departments such as responsible for personnel, general police, secret police
8.
Moscow
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Moscow is the capital and most populous city of Russia, with 13.2 million residents within the city limits and 17.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a Russian federal city, Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth and it is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe, the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, and the Moscow International Business Center. Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia, the city is well known for its architecture, particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basils Cathedral with its brightly colored domes. Moscow is the seat of power of the Government of Russia, being the site of the Moscow Kremlin, the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament also sit in the city and it is recognized as one of the citys landmarks due to the rich architecture of its 200 stations. In old Russian the word also meant a church administrative district. The demonym for a Moscow resident is москвич for male or москвичка for female, the name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the Moskva River. There have been proposed several theories of the origin of the name of the river and its cognates include Russian, музга, muzga pool, puddle, Lithuanian, mazgoti and Latvian, mazgāt to wash, Sanskrit, majjati to drown, Latin, mergō to dip, immerse. There exist as well similar place names in Poland like Mozgawa, the original Old Russian form of the name is reconstructed as *Москы, *Mosky, hence it was one of a few Slavic ū-stem nouns. From the latter forms came the modern Russian name Москва, Moskva, in a similar manner the Latin name Moscovia has been formed, later it became a colloquial name for Russia used in Western Europe in the 16th–17th centuries. From it as well came English Muscovy, various other theories, having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists. The surface similarity of the name Russia with Rosh, an obscure biblical tribe or country, the oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow dates from the Neolithic. Within the modern bounds of the city other late evidence was discovered, on the territory of the Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Setun River and Kuntsevskiy forest park, etc. The earliest East Slavic tribes recorded as having expanded to the upper Volga in the 9th to 10th centuries are the Vyatichi and Krivichi, the Moskva River was incorporated as part of Rostov-Suzdal into the Kievan Rus in the 11th century. By AD1100, a settlement had appeared on the mouth of the Neglinnaya River. The first known reference to Moscow dates from 1147 as a place of Yuri Dolgoruky. At the time it was a town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality
9.
Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject, situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 271703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad, between 1713 and 1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the government bodies moved to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is one of the cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of consulates, international corporations, banks. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress, at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in a then called Ingermanland. A small town called Nyen grew up around it, Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, which was on the White Sea to the north, on May 1703121703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans, and soon replaced the fortress. On May 271703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia, tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712,9 years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war, he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital as early as 1704. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the bank of the Neva, near the Peter. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan, by 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets, in 1716, Peter the Great appointed French Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, in 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met opposition from the Russian nobility—resulting in several attempts on his life
10.
Yekaterinburg
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At the 2010 Census, it had a population of 1,349,772. Yekaterinburg is the industrial and cultural centre of the Ural Federal District. Between 1924 and 1991, the city was named Sverdlovsk after the Communist party leader Yakov Sverdlov, Vasily Tatishchev and Georg Wilhelm de Gennin founded Yekaterinburg in 1723 and named it after the wife of Tsar Peter the Great, Yekaterina, who later became empress regnant Catherine I. The official date of the foundation is November 18,1723. It was granted town status in 1796, the city was one of Russias first industrial cities, prompted at the start of the eighteenth century by decrees from the Tsar requiring the development in Yekaterinburg of metal-working businesses. The city was built, with use of iron, to a regular square plan with iron works. These were surrounded by fortified walls, so that Yekaterinburg was at the time both a manufacturing centre and a fortress at the frontier between Europe and Asia. It therefore found itself at the heart of Russias strategy for development of the entire Ural region. With the growth in trade and the administrative importance, the ironworks became less critical. Small manufacturing and trading businesses proliferated, following the October Revolution, the family of deposed Tsar Nicholas II were sent to internal exile in Yekaterinburg where they were imprisoned in the Ipatiev House in the city. Other members of the Romanov family were killed at Alapayevsk later the same day, on July 16,1918, the Czechoslovak legions were closing on Yekaterinburg. The Bolsheviks executed the deposed imperial family, believing that the Czechoslovaks were on a mission to rescue them, the Legions arrived less than a week later and captured the city. In 1977, the Ipatiev House was demolished by order of Boris Yeltsin, Yeltsin later became the first President of Russia and represented the people at the funeral of the former Tsar in 1998. On August 24,2007, the BBC reported that Russian archaeologists had found the remains of two children of Russias last Tsar, the discoveries in 2007 are thought to be those of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria. Archaeologist Sergei Pogorelov said bullets found at the site indicate the children had been shot. He told Russian television the newly unearthed bones belonged to two people, a young male aged roughly 10–13 and a young woman about 18–23. The Tsars remains were given a funeral in July 1998. During the 1930s, Yekaterinburg was one of several developed by the Soviet government as a centre of heavy industry
11.
Tbilisi
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Tbilisi, commonly known by its former name Tiflis, is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of roughly 1.5 million inhabitants. Founded in the 5th century by the monarch of Georgias ancient precursor the Kingdom of Iberia, Tbilisi has since served, with intermissions, as the capital of various Georgian kingdoms and republics. Under Russian rule, from 1801 to 1917 Tiflis was the seat of the Imperial Viceroy governing both sides of the entire Caucasus. Tbilisis varied history is reflected in its architecture, which is a mix of medieval, classical, Middle Eastern, Art Nouveau, historically, Tbilisi has been home to people of diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, though it is overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox Christian. Archaeological studies of the region have indicated human settlement in the territory of Tbilisi as early as the 4th millennium BC, according to an old legend, the present-day territory of Tbilisi was covered by forests as late as 458. One widely accepted variant of the legend of Tbilisis founding states that King Vakhtang I Gorgasali of Georgia went hunting in the wooded region with a falcon. The Kings falcon allegedly caught or injured a pheasant during the hunt, King Vakhtang became so impressed with the hot springs that he decided to cut down the forest and build a city on the location. The name Tbilisi derives from Old Georgian Tbilisi, and further from Tpili, the name Tbili or Tbilisi was therefore given to the city because of the areas numerous sulphuric hot springs that came out of the ground. King Dachi I Ujarmeli, who was the successor of Vakhtang I Gorgasali, Tbilisi was not the capital of a unified Georgian state at that time and did not include the territory of Colchis. It was, however, the city of Eastern Georgia/Iberia. During his reign, King Dachi I oversaw the construction of the wall that lined the citys new boundaries. From the 6th century, Tbilisi grew at a steady pace due to the favourable and strategic location which placed the city along important trade. Tbilisis favourable and strategic location did not necessarily bode well for its existence as Eastern Georgias/Iberias capital, in the year 627, Tbilisi was sacked by the Byzantine/Khazar armies and later, in 736–738, Arab armies entered the town under Marwan II Ibn-Muhammad. After this point, the Arabs established an emirate centered in Tbilisi, in 764, Tbilisi, still under Arab control was once again sacked by the Khazars. In 853, the armies of Arab leader Bugha Al-Turki invaded Tbilisi in order to enforce its return to Abbasid allegiance, the Arab domination of Tbilisi continued until about 1050. In 1068, the city was again sacked, only this time by the Seljuk Turks under Sultan Alp Arslan. In 1122, after fighting with the Seljuks that involved at least 60,000 Georgians and up to 300,000 Turks. After the battles for Tbilisi concluded, David moved his residence from Kutaisi to Tbilisi, making it the capital of a unified Georgian State, from 12–13th centuries, Tbilisi became a dominant regional power with a thriving economy and a well-established social system/structure
12.
Kiev
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Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population in July 2015 was 2,887,974, Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many industries, higher education institutions. The city has an infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport. The citys name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, during its history, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. The city probably existed as a centre as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kiev was a tributary of the Khazars, until seized by the Varangians in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of the Kievan Rus, completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbours, first the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, followed by Poland. The city prospered again during the Russian Empires Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century, in 1917, after the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence from the Russian Empire, Kiev became its capital. From 1919 Kiev was an important center of the Armed Forces of South Russia and was controlled by the White Army. From 1921 onwards Kiev was a city of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was proclaimed by the Red Army, during World War II, the city again suffered significant damage, but quickly recovered in the post-war years, remaining the third largest city of the Soviet Union. During the countrys transformation to an economy and electoral democracy. Kievs armament-dependent industrial output fell after the Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science, Kiev emerged as the most pro-Western region of Ukraine where parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections. As a prominent city with a history, its English name was subject to gradual evolution. The early English spelling was derived from Old East Slavic form Kyjev, the name is associated with that of Kyi, the legendary eponymous founder of the city. Early English sources use various names, including Kiou, Kiow, Kiew, on one of the oldest English maps of the region, Russiae, Moscoviae et Tartariae published by Ortelius the name of the city is spelled Kiou. On the 1650 map by Guillaume de Beauplan, the name of the city is Kiiow, in the book Travels, by Joseph Marshall, the city is referred to as Kiovia
13.
Irkutsk
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Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and one of the largest cities in Siberia. In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovyo near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading, in 1661, Yakov Pokhabov built an ostrog or small fort nearby. The ostrog gained official town rights from the government in 1686, the first road connection between Moscow and Irkutsk, the Siberian Road, was built in 1760, and benefited the town economy. Many new products, often imported from China via Kyakhta, became available in Irkutsk for the first time, including gold, diamonds, fur, wood, silk. In 1821, as part of the Speransky reforms, Siberia was administratively divided at the Yenisei River, in the early 19th century, many Russian artists, officers, and nobles were sent into exile in Siberia for their part in the Decembrist revolt against Tsar Nicholas I. By the end of the 19th century, there was one exiled man for every two locals, people of varying backgrounds, from members of the Decembrist uprising to Bolsheviks, had been in Irkutsk for many years and had greatly influenced the culture and development of the city. As a result, Irkutsk eventually became a cultural and educational center in Eastern Siberia. Three-quarters of the city was destroyed, including approximately 4,000 houses, however, the city quickly rebounded, with electricity arriving in 1896, the first theater being built in 1897 and a major train station opened in 1898. The first train arrived in Irkutsk on August 16 of that year, by 1900, the city had earned the nickname of The Paris of Siberia. During the Russian Civil War, which broke out after the October Revolution, Irkutsk became the site of many furious, in 1920, Aleksandr Kolchak, the once-feared commander of the largest contingent of anti-Bolshevik forces, was executed in Irkutsk, which effectively destroyed the anti-Bolshevik resistance. Irkutsk was the center of the short-lived East Siberian Oblast. The city subsequently became the center of Irkutsk Oblast after East Siberian Oblast was divided into Chita Oblast. During the Communist years, the industrialization of Irkutsk and Siberia in general was heavily encouraged, the large Irkutsk Reservoir was built on the Angara River between 1950 and 1959 in order to facilitate industrial development. The Epiphany Cathedral, the palace, a school of medicine, a museum, a military hospital. The Aleksandr Kolchak monument, designed by Vyacheslav Klykov, was unveiled in 2004, on July 27,2004, the Irkutsk Synagogue was gutted by a conflagration. In December 2016,62 people in Irkutsk died in a mass methanol poisoning, the city proper lies on the Angara River, a tributary of the Yenisei,72 kilometers below its outflow from Lake Baikal and on the bank opposite the suburb of Glaskovsk. The river, 580-meter wide, is crossed by the Irkutsk Hydroelectric Dam, the Irkut River, from which the town takes its name, is a smaller river that joins the Angara directly opposite the city. The main portion of the city is separated from several landmarks—the monastery, the fort and the port, as well as its suburbs—by another tributary, the Ida River
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Kharkiv
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Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine. In the northeast of the country, it is the largest city of the Slobozhanshchyna historical region, the city has a population of about 1.5 million people. Kharkiv is the centre of Kharkiv Oblast and of the surrounding Kharkiv district. The city was founded in 1654 and after a humble beginning as a small fortress grew to be a centre of Ukrainian industry, trade. Kharkiv was the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, from December 1919 to January 1934 and its industry specializes primarily in machinery and in electronics. There are hundreds of companies in the city, including the Morozov Design Bureau and the Malyshev Tank Factory, Khartron, the Turboatom. Some sources indicate that the city may have named after the Hunnic name for swan. Other sources offer that the city was named after its near-legendary founder, archeological evidence discovered in the area of present-day Kharkiv indicates that a population has existed in that area since the second millennium BC. Cultural artifacts date back to the Bronze Age, as well as those of later Scythian and Sarmatian settlers, there is also evidence that the Chernyakhov culture flourished in the area from the second to the sixth centuries. The city was founded by re-settlers who were running away from the war that engulfed Right-bank Ukraine in 1654, the years before the region was a sparsely populated part of the Cossack Hetmanate. The group of people came onto the banks of Lopan and Kharkiv rivers where a settlement stood. According to archive documents, the leader of the re-settlers was otaman Ivan Kryvoshlyk, at first the settlement was self-governed under the jurisdiction of a voivode from Chuhuiv that is 40 kilometres to the east. The first appointed voivode from Moscow was Voyin Selifontov in 1656 who started to build a local ostrog, at that time the population of Kharkiv was just over 1000, half of whom were local cossacks, while Selifontov brought along a Moscow garrison of another 70 servicemen. The first Kharkiv voivode was replaced in two years after constantly complaining that locals refused to cooperate in building the fort, Kharkiv also became the centre of the local Sloboda cossack regiment as the area surrounding the Belgorod fortress was being heavily militarized. By 1657 the Kharkiv settlement had a fortress with underground passageways, in 1658 Ivan Ofrosimov was appointed as the new voivode, who worked on forcing locals to kiss the cross to show loyalty to the Moscow tsar. The locals led by their otaman Ivan Kryvoshlyk refused, however, with the election of the new otaman Tymish Lavrynov the community sent a request to the tsar to establish a local Assumption market, signed by deans of Kharkiv churches. Relationships with the neighboring Chuhuiv sometimes were non-friendly and often their arguments were pacified by force, with the appointment of the third voivode Vasiliy Sukhotin was completely finished the construction of the city fort. Meanwhile, Kharkiv had become the centre of Sloboda Ukraine, the Kharkiv Fortress was erected around the Assumption Cathedral and its castle was at University Hill
15.
Gentry assembly
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Assembly of the Nobility was a self-governing body of the sosloviye of the Russian nobility in Imperial Russia during 1766-1917. Their official status was defined by the Charter to the Gentry in 1785, the Nobility Assemblies were at the guberniya and uyezd levels. Sometimes it is translated as Gentry Assembly. The chair of an Assembly of Nobility was called Gubernia Marshal of Nobility, after the Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia and subsequent reforms, their purpose became mostly affairs of the nobility. This institution ceased to exist in Russia after the October Revolution, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in 1990 the descendants of Russian nobility founded the Russian Assembly of Nobility, a public non-political organization. Assemblies of nobility typically had clubhouses also called Assembly of Nobility, the most famous one was that of the Moscow Assembly of the Nobility, now known as the House of the Unions
16.
Russian Empire
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The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring powers, the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia. It played a role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleons ambitions to control Europe. The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, with 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, there were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts, they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia. Economically, the empire had an agricultural base, with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs. The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways, the land was ruled by a nobility from the 10th through the 17th centuries, and subsequently by an emperor. Tsar Ivan III laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged and he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. Tsar Peter the Great fought numerous wars and expanded an already huge empire into a major European power, Catherine the Great presided over a golden age. She expanded the state by conquest, colonization and diplomacy, continuing Peter the Greats policy of modernisation along West European lines, Tsar Alexander II promoted numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe involved protecting the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and that connection by 1914 led to Russias entry into the First World War on the side of France, Britain, and Serbia, against the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Russian Empire functioned as a monarchy until the Revolution of 1905. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917, largely as a result of failures in its participation in the First World War. Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country, Poland was divided in the 1790-1815 era, with much of the land and population going to Russia. Most of the 19th century growth came from adding territory in Asia, Peter I the Great introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his country to the European state system. However, this vast land had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those of agriculture in the West, compelling nearly the entire population to farm. Only a small percentage lived in towns, the class of kholops, close to the one of slavery, remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter I converted household kholops into house serfs, thus including them in poll taxation
17.
Anichkov Palace
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Anichkov Palace is a former imperial palace in Saint Petersburg, at the intersection of Nevsky Avenue and the Fontanka. The palace, situated on the formerly owned by Antonio de Vieira. Designed for the Empress Elizabeth of Russia in a dazzling Baroque style, some suggest architects Bartolomeo Rastrelli and Mikhail Zemtsov were responsible for the design, though its yet to be substantiated. The main frontage faces the river and was connected to it by a Canal. Construction works continued for thirteen years and, when finished in 1754. After his death, the palace reverted to the crown, only to be donated by Catherine the Great of Russia to her own favourite, the architect Ivan Starov was charged with extensive renovations of the palace in the newly-fashionable Neoclassical style, which was effected in 1778 and 1779. Simultaneously a regular park was laid out by an English garden architect, upon Potemkins demise, the palace was restored to the crown and adapted to accommodate Her Imperial Majestys Cabinet. The last major additions were made in the reign of Alexander I. The latter structure was formulated in a rigorous Neoclassical style and many feel that it doesnt complement Rastrellis original work. Three year later, Alexander I bestowed the palace on his sister, several architects worked on the edifice since then, and its interiors were continuously refurbished. Following his marriage the future Tsar Alexander III and his wife, Maria Feodorovna, made it their St. Petersburg residence and it was also the setting for numerous family festivities, including the wedding of Nicholass niece Irina Romanova to Prince Felix Yusupov in 1914. Nicholas IIs mother, after becoming dowager empress, continued to have right of residence in the palace until the February Revolution, after the revolution the Ministry of Provisions moved there instead. Following the October Revolution, the Anichkov Palace was nationalized and designated the St. Petersburg City Museum, since 1934, when it was converted into the Young Pioneer Palace, the palace has housed over hundred after-school clubs for more than 10,000 children. While a small museum inside is open to the public at selected times, Anichkov dvorets – legendy i byli. Official website Anichkov Palace in Encyclopaedia of St. Petersburg
18.
Andrei Zhdanov
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Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov was a Soviet politician. After World War II, he was thought to be the successor-in-waiting to Joseph Stalin and he was Chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet from 20 July 1938–20 June 1947. In June 1940, he was sent to Estonia to supervise the establishment of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Zhdanov took a leading role during the Siege of Leningrad during World War II. After the cease-fire agreement between Finland and the USSR was signed in Moscow on 4 September 1944, Zhdanov directed the Allied Control Commission in Finland until the Paris peace treaty of 1947, Zhdanov was appointed by Joseph Stalin to direct the Soviet Unions cultural policy in 1946. His first action was to censor Russian writers such as Anna Akhmatova and he formulated what became known as the Zhdanov Doctrine. During 1946–1947, Zhdanov was Chairman of the Soviet of the Union, in 1947, he organized the Cominform, designed to coordinate and control the communist parties around the world. In February 1948, he initiated purges among musicians, widely known as a struggle against formalism, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Aram Khachaturian and many other composers were reprimanded during this period. In June 1948, Stalin sent Zhdanov to the Cominform meeting in Bucharest, the purpose of the meeting was to condemn Yugoslavia, but Zhdanov took a more restrained line, in contrast to his co-delegate and rival Georgy Malenkov. This infuriated Stalin, who removed Zhdanov from all his posts, Zhdanov was transferred to a sanatorium, where he died. It is possible that his death was the result of an intentional misdiagnosis, Stalin had talked of Zhdanov being his successor but Zhdanovs ill health gave his rivals, Lavrentiy Beria and Georgy Malenkov, an opportunity to undermine him. He was one of those accused during the U. S. House of Representatives Kersten Committee investigation into the annexation of the Baltic States in 1953. Originating in 1946 and lasting until the late 1950s, Zhdanovs ideological code, known as the Zhdanov doctrine, Zhdanovism or zhdanovshchina, Zhdanov intended to create a new philosophy of artistic creation valid for the entire world. His method reduced all of culture to a sort of chart, Zhdanov and his associates further sought to eliminate foreign influence from Soviet art, proclaiming that incorrect art was an ideological diversion. The one sentence that came to define Zhdanovshchina was “The only conflict that is possible in Soviet culture is the conflict between good and best and this policy officially ended in 1952, seen as having a negative impact on culture within the USSR. On 20 February 1948, Zhdanovshchina shifted its focus towards anti-formalism and that April, many of the persecuted composers were pressed into repenting for displaying “formalism” in their music in a special congress of the Union of Soviet Composers. These composers were not rehabilitated by the Soviet Union until 28 May 1958, Zhdanovs son, Yuri, married Stalins daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva, in 1949. That marriage ended in divorce in 1950, the name reverted to Mariupol in 1989, and the monument was dismantled in 1990. Zhdanov Doctrine Socialist realism Engineers of the human soul Kees Boterbloem, The Life and Times of Andrei Zhdanov, shiela Fitzpatrick, On Stalins Team, The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics
19.
Strip club
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Strip clubs are venues that regularly provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. As of 2005, the size of the strip club industry was estimated to be US$75 billion. In 2002, the size of the U. S. strip club industry was estimated to be US$3.1 billion, profitability of strip clubs, as with other service-oriented businesses, is largely driven by location and customer spending habits. The popularity of a club is an indicator of its quality. The strip club as an outlet for salacious entertainment is a recurrent theme in popular culture, in some media, these clubs are portrayed primarily as gathering places of vice and ill repute. Clubs themselves and various aspects of the business are highlighted in these references, popular Internet sites for strip club enthusiasts also have lists calculated from the inputs of site visitors. Strip clubs are frequent targets of litigation around the world, and the sex industry, some clubs have been linked to organized crime. The term striptease was first recorded in 1938, though stripping, in the sense of women removing clothing to sexually excite men, for example, in Thomas Otways comedy The Soldiers Fortune a character says, Be sure they be lewd, drunken, stripping whores. Its combination with music seems to be as old, the erotic dance of the bee, performed by a woman known as Kuchuk Hanem, was witnessed and described by the French novelist Gustave Flaubert. In this dance the performer disrobes as she searches for an imaginary bee trapped within her garments and it is likely that the women performing these dances did not do so in an indigenous context, but rather, responded to the commercial climate for this type of entertainment. In France during the late 19th century, Parisian shows such as the Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergère were featuring attractive, scantily clad, dancing women and tableaux vivants. This routine, Le coucher dYvette, inspired French acts in theaters and brothels in other parts of the world, the first public act of striptease in modern times is credited to Parisian theater in 1894. In 1905, Dutch dancer Mata Hari, later shot as a spy by the French authorities during World War I, was a success from the debut of her act at the Musée Guimet. The most celebrated segment of her act was her progressive shedding of clothing until she wore just a jeweled bra and some ornaments over her arms and head. Another landmark performance was the appearance at the Moulin Rouge in 1907 of an actress called Germaine Aymos who entered dressed only in three very small shells. In the 1930s, the famous Josephine Baker danced semi-nude in the danse sauvage at the Folies and these shows were notable for their sophisticated choreography and for often dressing the girls in glitzy sequins and feathers. By the 1960s fully nude shows were provided at such places as Le Crazy Horse Saloon, in Britain in the 1930s, Laura Henderson began presenting nude shows at the Windmill Theatre in London
20.
Casino
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A casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. The industry that deals in casinos is called the gaming industry, casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions. There is much debate whether or not the social and economic consequences of casino gambling outweigh the initial revenue that may be generated. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment events, such as comedy, concerts. The term casino is a confusing linguistic false friend for translators, Casino is of Italian origin, the root casa originally meant a small country villa, summerhouse, or social club. In modern-day Italian, the term designates a bordello, while the gambling house is spelled casinò with an accent. Not all casinos were used for gaming, the Copenhagen Casino was a theatre, known for the mass public meetings often held in its hall during the 1848 Revolution, which made Denmark a constitutional monarchy. Until 1937, it was a well-known Danish theatre, the Hanko Casino in Hanko, Finland—one of that towns most conspicuous landmarks—was never used for gambling. Rather, it was a hall for the Russian nobility which frequented this spa resort in the late 19th century and is now used as a restaurant. In military and non-military usage in German and Spanish, a casino or kasino is an officers mess, in Italian—the source-language of the word—a casino is either a brothel, a mess, or a noisy environment, while a gaming house is called a casinò. The precise origin of gambling is unknown and it is generally believed that gambling in some form or another has been seen in almost every society in history. From the Ancient Greeks and Romans to Napoleons France and Elizabethan England and it was closed in 1774 as the city government felt it was impoverishing the local gentry. In American history, early gambling establishments were known as saloons, the creation and importance of saloons was greatly influenced by four major cities, New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago and San Francisco. It was in the saloons that travelers could find people to talk to, drink with, during the early 20th century in America, gambling became outlawed and banned by state legislation and social reformers of the time. However, in 1931, gambling was legalized throughout the state of Nevada, Americas first legalized casinos were set up in those places. In 1976 New Jersey allowed gambling in Atlantic City, now Americas second largest gambling city, most jurisdictions worldwide have a minimum gambling age. Customers gamble by playing games of chance, in cases with an element of skill, such as craps, roulette, baccarat, blackjack. Most games played have mathematically determined odds that ensure the house has at all times an overall advantage over the players and this can be expressed more precisely by the notion of expected value, which is uniformly negative
21.
Eastern Bloc
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The Eastern Bloc was the group of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact. The terms Communist Bloc and Soviet Bloc were also used to denote groupings of states aligned with the Soviet Union, although these terms might include states outside Central and Eastern Europe. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who viewed the Soviet Union as a socialist island, Eastern Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Bessarabia in northern Romania were recognized as parts of the Soviet sphere of influence. Lithuania was added in a secret protocol in September 1939. During the Occupation of East Poland by the Soviet Union, the Soviets liquidated the Polish state, Soviet authorities immediately started a campaign of sovietization of the newly Soviet-annexed areas. Soviet authorities collectivized agriculture, and nationalized and redistributed private and state-owned Polish property, the international community condemned this initial annexation of the Baltic states and deemed it illegal. In June 1941, Germany broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact by invading the Soviet Union, from the time of this invasion to 1944, the areas annexed by the Soviet Union were part of Germanys Ostland. Thereafter, the Soviet Union began to push German forces westward through a series of battles on the Eastern Front, from 1943 to 1945, several conferences regarding Post-War Europe occurred that, in part, addressed the potential Soviet annexation and control of countries in Central Europe. I think that if I give him everything I possibly can and ask for nothing from him in return, noblesse oblige, he wont try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace. While meeting with Stalin and Roosevelt in Tehran in 1943, Churchill stated that Britain was vitally interested in restoring Poland as an independent country, Britain did not press the matter for fear that it would become a source of inter-allied friction. In February 1945, at the conference at Yalta, Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of influence in Central Europe. Stalin eventually was convinced by Churchill and Roosevelt not to dismember Germany, after resistance by Churchill and Roosevelt, Stalin promised a re-organization of the current pro-Soviet government on a broader democratic basis in Poland. He stated that the new primary task would be to prepare elections. In addition to reparations, Stalin pushed for war booty, which would permit the Soviet Union to directly seize property from conquered nations without quantitative or qualitative limitation, a clause was added permitting this to occur with some limitations. At first, the Soviets concealed their role in other Eastern Bloc politics, as a young communist was told in East Germany, its got to look democratic, but we must have everything in our control. Moscow-trained cadres were put into crucial power positions to fulfill orders regarding sociopolitical transformation, elimination of the bourgeoisies social and financial power by expropriation of landed and industrial property was accorded absolute priority. These measures were publicly billed as reforms rather than socioeconomic transformations, the bloc system permitted the Soviet Union to exercise domestic control indirectly. Crucial departments such as responsible for personnel, general police, secret police
22.
Hanoi
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Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the countrys second largest city by population. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts and 7 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction, the population in 2015 was estimated at 7.7 million people. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam and it was eclipsed by Huế, the imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyễn Dynasty, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam, the city lies on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is 1,760 km north of Ho Chi Minh City and 120 km west of Hai Phong city, October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city. The Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural is a 4 km ceramic mosaic mural created to mark the occasion, Hanoi has had many official and unofficial names throughout history. During the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, it was known first as Long Biên, then Tống Bình, in 866, it was turned into a citadel and named Đại La. This gives it the nickname La Thành, when Lý Thái Tổ established the capital in the area in 1010, it was named Thăng Long. During the Hồ dynasty, it was called Đông Đô, during the Ming Chinese occupation, it was called Đông Quan. During the Lê dynasty, Hanoi was known as Đông Kinh and this gave the name to Tonkin and Gulf of Tonkin. Minh Mạng renamed the city Hà Nội in 1831 and this has remained its official name until modern time. Several unofficial names of Hanoi include, Kẻ Chợ, Tràng An, Hà Thành, Thủ Đô In modern tourism, it is sometimes nicknamed Paris of the Orient, Hanoi has been inhabited since at least 3000 BC. The Cổ Loa Citadel in Dong Anh district served as the capital of the Âu Lạc kingdom founded by the Shu emigrant Thục Phán after his 258 BC conquest of the native Văn Lang. In 197 BC, Âu Lạc Kingdom was annexed by Nanyue, by the year 679, the Tang dynasty changed the regions name into Annan, with Songping as its capital. In order to defeat the people’s uprisings, in the half of the 8th century, Zhang Boyi. In the earlier half of the 9th century, it was built up. In 866, Gao Pian, the Chinese Jiedushi, consolidated and named it Daluocheng, in 1010, Lý Thái Tổ, the first ruler of the Lý Dynasty, moved the capital of Đại Việt to the site of the Đại La Citadel. Claiming to have seen a dragon ascending the Red River, he renamed the site Thăng Long - a name still used poetically to this day
23.
Vietnam
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Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants as of 2016, it is the worlds 14th-most-populous country, and its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976, with Ho Chi Minh City as a historical city as well. The northern part of Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, an independent Vietnamese state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished, in 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnams path towards integration into the world economy. By 2000, it had established relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnams economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world and its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. It is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Vietnam remains one of the worlds four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism. The name Việt Nam is a variation of Nam Việt, a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC. The word Việt originated as a form of Bách Việt. The form Vietnam is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình, the name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558. Then, as recorded, rewarded Yuenan/Vietnam as their nations name, to also show that they are below the region of Baiyue/Bach Viet. Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long and it was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Bội Châus History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the government in Huế and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age, Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can, and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu, Lang Gao and Lang Cuom. The Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, in 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương
24.
Havana
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Havana is the capital city, largest city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet, the sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592, walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U. S. battleship Maine in Havanas harbor in 1898 was the cause of the Spanish–American War. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one, Old Havana, Vedado and the suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses, the current mayor is Marta Hernández of the Communist Party of Cuba. In 2009, the city/province had the third highest income in the country, the city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20% increase from 2005. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana also features a tropical climate, in May 2015, Havana was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Durban, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur. Most native settlements became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining their original Taíno names, an alternate theory is that Habana is derived from the Middle Dutch word havene, referring to a harbour, etymologically related to the English word haven. All attempts to found a city on Cubas south coast failed, however, an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of this river. The town that became Havana finally originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas, the quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havanas harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana – the sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name, the name combines San Cristóbal, patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cubas first cities, the served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555, ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, in order to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the bay also fueled Havanas agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water. On December 20,1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City, later on, the city would be officially designated as Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies by the Spanish Crown
25.
Pyongyang
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Pyongyang is the capital and largest city of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The city was split from the South Pyongan province in 1946 and it is administered as a directly governed city on the same level as provincial governments, as opposed to a special city as Seoul is in South Korea. Pyongyang literally means Flat Land in Korean, one of Pyongyangs many historic names is Ryugyong, or capital of willows, as willow trees have always been numerous throughout the citys history, this served as an inspiration for many poems. Even today, the city has numerous trees, with many buildings. The most notable of these is the impressive Ryugyong Hotel, started in 1987, the citys other historic names include Kisong, Hwangsong, Rakrang, Sŏgyong, Sodo, Hogyong, Changan, and Heijō. During the early 20th century, Pyongyang came to be known among missionaries as being the Jerusalem of the East, due to its status as a stronghold of Christianity. In 1955, archaeologists excavated evidence of occupation in a large ancient village in the Pyongyang area, called Kŭmtan-ni. North Koreans associate Pyongyang with Asadal, or Wanggomsŏng, the first second millennium BC capital of the Gojoseon kingdom according to Korean history books, notably Samguk Yusa. Many South Korean historians deny this claim because other Chinese history books such as the Guanzi, Shanhaijing, Shiji, the connection between the two therefore may have been asserted by North Korea for the use of propaganda. Nevertheless, Pyongyang became a city under Gojoseon. Pyongyang was founded in 1122 BC on the site of the Tangun Dynastys capital and it is likely that the area of Pyongyang belonged to Wiman Joseon, the shortest-lasting part of Gojoseon if both Dangun and Gija Joseon were real, which fell in the Gojoseon–Han War in 108 BC. Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty ordered four commanderies be set up, with Lelang Commandery in the center, several archaeological findings from the later, Eastern Han period in the Pyongyang area seems to suggest that Han forces later launched brief incursions around these parts. The area around the city was called Nanglang during the early Three Kingdoms period, as the capital of Nanglang kingdom, Pyongyang remained an important commercial and cultural outpost after Lelang Commandery was destroyed by an expanding Goguryeo in 313. Goguryeo moved its capital there in 427, according to Christopher Beckwith, Pyongyang is the Sino-Korean reading of the name they gave it in their language, Piarna, or level land. In 668, Pyongyang became the capital of the Protectorate General to Pacify the East established by the Tang dynasty of China, however, by 676, it was taken by Silla, but left on the border between Silla and Balhae. This lasted until the time of the Goryeo dynasty, when the city was revived as Sŏgyŏng although it was never actually a capital of the kingdom and it was the provincial capital of the Pyeongan Province during the Joseon dynasty. During the Japanese invasions of Korea, Pyongyang was captured by the Japanese until the Japanese were defeated in the Siege of Pyongyang, later in the 17th century, it became temporarily occupied during Second Manchu invasion of Korea until peace arrangements were made between Korea and the Manchus. While the invasions made Koreans suspicious of foreigners, the influence of Christianity began to grow after the country opened itself up to foreigners in the 16th century
