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Protestant Union

(Encyclopedia)Protestant Union, in German history, an alliance of German Protestant leaders of cities and states, founded in 1608 for the avowed purpose of defending the lands, person, and rights of each individual...

Teamsters Union

(Encyclopedia)Teamsters Union, U.S. labor union formed in 1903 by the amalgamation of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union. Its full name is the International Brotherhood of Teamste...

African Union

(Encyclopedia)African Union (AU), international organization established in 2002 by the nations of the former Organization of African Unity (OAU). The AU is the successor organization to the OAU, with greater power...

Rochet, Waldeck

(Encyclopedia)Rochet, Waldeck väldĕkˈ rôshāˈ [key], 1905–83, French political leader. A member of the French Communist party, he was named to its central committee in 1936. He was imprisoned and sent to Alg...

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant

(Encyclopedia)Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant: see Islamic State. ...

secret police

(Encyclopedia)secret police, policing organization operating in secrecy for the political purposes of its government, often with terroristic procedures. Many states, including Chile, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Romania,...

Gottwald, Klement

(Encyclopedia)Gottwald, Klement klāməntˈ gôtˈvält [key], 1896–1953, Czechoslovak Communist leader, b. Moravia. After World War I he helped found the Czechoslovak Communist party and served on the party's ce...

Armenia, country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Armenia ärmēˈnēə [key], Armenian Hayastan, officially Republic of Armenia, republic (2020 est. pop. 2,963,000), 11,500 sq mi (29,785 sq km), in the S Caucasus....

Ryazanov, Eldar Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Ryazanov, Eldar Aleksandrovich, 1927–2015, Russian film director and screenwriter, b. Samara, grad. State Institute of Cinematography (1950). Probably Russia's most popular filmmaker, he renowned fo...

Wałęsa, Lech

(Encyclopedia)Wałęsa, Lech lĕkh väwĕnˈzə [key], 1943–, Polish labor and political leader. He worked as an electrician at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk but was dismissed in 1976 for his antigovernment prote...