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serf

(Encyclopedia)serf, under feudalism, peasant laborer who can be generally characterized as hereditarily attached to the manor in a state of semibondage, performing the servile duties of the lord (see also manorial ...

Byzantine Empire

(Encyclopedia)CE5 CE5 Byzantine Empire (c.1000) Byzantine Empire, successor state to the Roman Empire (see under Rome), also called Eastern Empire and East Roman Empire. It was named after Byzantium, which Emp...

Russia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 CE5 Russia, officially the Russian Federation, Rus. Rossiya, republic (2015 est. pop. 143,888,000), 6,591,100 sq mi (17,070,949 sq km). The largest country in the world by area, Russia is bou...

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...

Macedonia, region, Europe

(Encyclopedia)Macedonia măsˌədōˈnēə [key], region, SE Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula, divided among the countries of Greece, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia. A secret terrorist organization working for Mace...

Serbia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Serbia sŭrˈbēä [key], officially Republic of Serbia, republic (2015 est. pop. 8,851,000), 34,116 sq mi (88,361 sq km), W central Balkan Peninsula; formerly the chief constituent republic of...

Siberia

(Encyclopedia)Siberia sībērˈēə [key], Rus. Sibir, vast geographical region of Russia, covering c.2,900,000 sq mi (7,511,000 sq km) and having an estimated population (1992) of 32,459,000. Historically it has h...

Moscow, city, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Moscow mŏsˈkou, –kō [key], Rus. Moskva, city (1991 est. pop. 8,802,000), capital of Russia and of Moscow region and the administrative center of the Central federal district, W central European R...

hurricane

(Encyclopedia)CE5 View into the eye of a hurricane showing the structure of the surrounding cloud wall hurricane, tropical cyclone in which winds attain speeds greater than 74 mi (119 km) per hr. Wind speeds gu...

Lithuania

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Lithuania lĭtho͞oāˈnēə [key], Lithuanian Lietuva, officially Republic of Lithuania, republic (2015 est. pop. 2,932,000), 25,174 sq mi (65,201 sq km), N central Europe. Lithuania borders o...