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nihilism

(Encyclopedia)nihilism nīˈəlĭzəm [key], theory of revolution popular among Russian extremists until the fall of the czarist government (1917); the theory was given its name by Ivan Turgenev in his novel Father...

Syktyvkar

(Encyclopedia)Syktyvkar sĭktĭfkärˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 232,000), capital of Komi Republic, NW European Russia, a port on the Sysola River near its entry into the Vychegda. Lumbering and the manufacture of wo...

Derbent

(Encyclopedia)Derbent dyĭrbyĕntˈ [key], city, SE European Russia, in Dagestan, on the Caspian Sea. It st...

Pärnu

(Encyclopedia)Pärnu pärˈno͞o [key], Ger. Pernau, Rus. Pyarnu, city (1994 pop. 51,963), SW Estonia, on the Gulf of Riga. A seaport, it exports timber and flax and is also a beach and health resort. It was founde...

Krasnodar

(Encyclopedia)Krasnodar krəsˌnədärˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 621,000), capital of Krasnodar Territory, SE European Russia, on the Kuban River. A river port and railroad junction, it has petroleum refineries and ...

Kerch Strait

(Encyclopedia)Kerch Strait, shallow channel, c.25 mi (40 km) long, connecting the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea and separating Crimea in the west from Russia's Taman Peninsula in the east. Its northern end, openin...

Emancipation, Edict of

(Encyclopedia)Emancipation, Edict of, 1861, the mechanism by which Czar Alexander II freed all Russian serfs (one third of the total population). All personal serfdom was abolished, and the peasants were to receive...

Plekhanov, Georgi Valentinovich

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

German Volga Republic

(Encyclopedia)German Volga Republic, former autonomous republic of the USSR, c.18,000 sq mi (46,600 sq km), along the lower Volga of SW Russia. Its largely German population was descended from the German colonists ...

Herzen, Aleksandr Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Herzen, Aleksandr Ivanovich əlyĭksänˈdər ēväˈnəvĭch hârˈtsĭn [key], 1812–70, Russian revolutionary leader and writer. A member of the aristocracy, he was appalled at the brutality of hi...