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Sargsyan, Serzh

(Encyclopedia)Sargsyan or Sarkisyan, Serzh, 1954–, Armenian political leader, president (2008–18) and prime minister (2007–8, 2018) of Armenia, b. Nagorno-Karabakh. He served in the Soviet armed forces (1972�...

Tsvetayeva, Marina Ivanovna

(Encyclopedia)Tsvetayeva or Tsvetaeva, Marina Ivanovna tsvyĭtäˈyəvə [key], 1892–1941, Russian poet. She was a major Russian poet, who survived the civil war, emigrated to Prague and Paris, and returned to Ru...

Turkmenistan

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Turkmenistan to͞orkmyĕˌnyĭstänˈ [key], republic (2015 est. pop. 5,565,000), 188,455 sq mi (488,100 sq km), central Asia. It borders on Afghanistan and Iran in the south, Uzbekistan in the...

Bel and the Dragon

(Encyclopedia)Bel and the Dragon, customary name for chapter 14 of the Book of Daniel, a passage included in the Septuagint and the Apocrypha. It was written possibly in the 1st cent. b.c. as a response to Gentile ...

Volhynia

(Encyclopedia)Volhynia vŏlĭˈnyə [key], Ukr. and Rus. Volyn, Pol. Wołyń, historic region, W Ukraine, around the headstreams of the Pripyat and Western Bug rivers in an area of forests, lakes, and marshlands. O...

mediation

(Encyclopedia)mediation, in law, type of intervention in which the disputing parties accept the offer of a third party to recommend a solution for their controversy. Mediation has long been a part of international ...

Karpinsky, Alexander Petrovich

(Encyclopedia)Karpinsky, Alexander Petrovich əlyĭksänˈdər pētrôˈvĭch kärpēnˈskē [key], 1846–1936, Soviet geologist. From 1869 to 1885 he was at the Mining Institute, St. Petersburg as student and tea...

Cripps, Sir Stafford

(Encyclopedia)Cripps, Sir Stafford, 1889–1952, British statesman. A brilliant and successful patent and corporation lawyer, he joined the Labour party in 1929 and became solicitor general in 1930, being knighted ...

Nkrumah, Kwame

(Encyclopedia)Nkrumah, Kwame kwäˈmā nkro͞oˈmä [key], 1909–72, African political leader, prime minister ...

Riga

(Encyclopedia)Riga rēˈgə [key], city (2011 provisional pop. 657,424), capital of Latvia, on the Daugava (Western Dvina) River near its entry into the Gulf of Riga. A major Baltic port, it is also a rail junction...