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glasnost

(Encyclopedia)glasnost gläsˈnōst [key], Soviet cultural and social policy of the late 1980s. Following his ascension to the leadership of the USSR in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev began to promote a policy of openness...

August Coup

(Encyclopedia)August Coup, attempted coup (Aug. 18–22, 1991) against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. On the eve of the signing ceremony for a new union treaty for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, memb...

perestroika

(Encyclopedia)perestroika pərˈĕstroyˈkə [key], Soviet economic and social policy of the late 1980s. Perestroika [restructuring] was the term attached to the attempts (1985–91) by Mikhail Gorbachev to transfo...

Larionov, Mikhail

(Encyclopedia)Larionov, Mikhail mēkhəyēlˈ lərĭyôˈnôf [key], 1881–1964, Russian painter. Larionov, together with Natalie Goncharova, was the founder of Rayonism, one of the earliest movements in nonfigura...

Bakunin, Mikhail

(Encyclopedia)Bakunin, Mikhail mēkhəyēlˈ bəko͞oˈnyĭn [key], 1814–76, Russian revolutionary and leading exponent of anarchism. He came from an aristocratic family but entered upon revolutionary activities ...

Baryshnikov, Mikhail

(Encyclopedia)Baryshnikov, Mikhail mĭˈkhail bərĭˌshnĭkävˈ [key], 1948–, Russian-American dancer and choreographer, b. Riga, Latvia (then in the USSR). He studied in Riga and performed with the Kirov Balle...

Dargomijsky, Aleksandr Sergeyevich

(Encyclopedia)Dargomijsky, Aleksandr Sergeyevich əlyĭksänˈdər syĭrgāˈəvĭch därgōmēˈskī [key], 1813–69, Russian composer. He and Glinka brought nationalism to Russian music, strongly influencing the...

Aksakov, Konstantin Sergeyevich

(Encyclopedia)Aksakov, Konstantin Sergeyevich kənstənˌtēnˈ sergyāˈəvĭch äksäˈkôf [key], 1817–60, Russian critic and writer, son of Sergei Timofeyevich Aksakov. Like his brother Ivan, he was an ardent...

Griboyedov, Aleksandr Sergeyevich

(Encyclopedia)Griboyedov, Aleksandr Sergeyevich əlyĭksänˈdər sĭrgāˈəvĭch grēbəyĕˈdəf [key], 1795–1829, Russian playwright and diplomat. His fame rests upon his finest play, Wit Works Woe (1825; tr....

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