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Noske, Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Noske, Gustav go͝osˈtäf nôsˈkə [key], 1868–1946, German politician, a Social Democrat. A former member of the Reichstag, he was in charge of the armed forces after the republican revolution of...

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

(Encyclopedia)Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON or MEA), international organization active between 1956 and 1991 for the coordination of economic policy among certain nations then under Communist domi...

Ceauşescu, Nicolae

(Encyclopedia)Ceauşescu, Nicolae nēkŏlīˈ choushĕsˈko͞o [key], 1918–89, Romanian statesman. The son of a peasant, he early became active in the Romanian Communist movement and was arrested as a revolutiona...

Kirov Ballet

(Encyclopedia)Kirov Ballet, one of the two major ballet companies of Russia, the other being the Bolshoi Ballet. In 1991 it was officially renamed the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Ballet; however, on its frequent tours...

Gujral, Inder Kumar

(Encyclopedia)Gujral, Inder Kumar, 1919–2012, Indian political leader, prime minister of India (1997–98), b. Jhelum, British India (now in Pakistan). Active in the Indian independence movement, he was a member ...

Dvina, river, Russia, Belarus, and Latvia

(Encyclopedia)Dvina or Western Dvina, Ger. Düna, Latvian Daugava, Rus. Zapadnaya Dvina, river, c.635 mi (1,020 km) long, in Russia, Belarus, and Latvia. Rising in the Valdai Hills, it flows S and then generally W ...

Leontief, Wassily

(Encyclopedia)Leontief, Wassily lēˈŏntēf [key], 1906–99, American economist, b. Russia, grad. Univ. of Berlin (Ph.D., 1928). The son of a Russian economist, he and his family left the Soviet Union in 1925 bec...

Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isayevich

(Encyclopedia)Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isayevich əlyĭksänˈdər ēsīˈəvĭch sôlˌzhənētˈsĭn [key], 1918–2008, Russian writer widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors of the 20...

icebreaker

(Encyclopedia)icebreaker, ship of special hull design and wide beam, with relatively flat bottom, designed to force its way through ice. When the icebreaker charges into the ice at full speed, its sharply inclined ...

Kundera, Milan

(Encyclopedia)Kundera, Milan mĭlˈän ko͝ondĕrˈə [key], 1929–2023, Czechslovakian-born novel...