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Czechoslovakia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Czechoslovakia chĕsˈkōslōvĕnˌskō [key], former federal republic, 49,370 sq mi (127,869 sq km), in central Europe. On Jan. 1, 1993, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (see Slovaki...

Suslov, Mikhail Andreyevich

(Encyclopedia)Suslov, Mikhail Andreyevich mēkhəyēlˈ əndrāˈyəvĭch so͝oslôfˈ [key], 1902–82, Soviet politician and ideologist. A Communist party member since 1921, he rose to prominence in the party hie...

Kun, Béla

(Encyclopedia)Kun, Béla bāˈlŏ ko͞on [key], 1886–1937, Hungarian Communist. A prisoner of war in Russia after 1915, he embraced Bolshevism. After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917 he was sent to ...

Shevardnadze, Eduard Amvrosiyevich

(Encyclopedia)Shevardnadze, Eduard Amvrosiyevich ĕdˈwärd shəvˈärdnädˈzyə [key], 1928–2014, Georgian politician and diplomat. Known for pragmatism rather than polemicism, Shevardnadze served as the head o...

Dubček, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Dubček, Alexander äˌlĕksänˈdĕr do͝obˈchĕk [key], 1921–92, Czechoslovakian political leader. A member of the Slovakian national minority, he was active in the Communist underground in World...

Zinoviev, Grigori Evseyevich

(Encyclopedia)Zinoviev, Grigori Evseyevich grĭgôˈrē yĭfsyāˈəvĭch zēnôˈvēĕf [key], 1883–1936, Soviet Communist leader, originally named Radomyslsky. He joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor part...

Yakovlev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Yakovlev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich əlyĭksänˈdər nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch yäˈkôvlĕf [key], 1923–2005, Russian historian and diplomat, b. Korolevo, studied Columbia Univ. (1958–59), Academy of Soc...

Latvia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Latvia lătˈvēə [key], Latvian Latvija, officially Republic of Latvia, republic (2015 est. pop. 1,993,000), 24,590 sq mi (63,688 sq km), north central Europe. It borders on Estonia in the no...

Parvanov, Georgi Sedefchov

(Encyclopedia)Parvanov, Georgi Sedefchov, 1957–, Bulgarian political leader, president of Bulgaria (2002–12), b. Sirishnik. A historian by profession, he joined the Bulgarian Communist party (BCP) in 1981 and w...

Chernomyrdin, Viktor Stepanovich

(Encyclopedia)Chernomyrdin, Viktor Stepanovich vyēkˈtôr styĭpänˈəvyĭch chərˌnōmĭrˈdən [key], 1938–2010, Soviet and Russian government official. Beginning in 1957, he held positions in the Soviet nat...