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Pinsk

(Encyclopedia)Pinsk pĭnsk, Rus. pēnsk [key], city (1989 pop. 118,636), S Belarus, in the Pripyat Marshes and at the confluence of the Pina and Pripyat rivers. A port on the Pina River (part of the Dnieper-Buh wat...

pogrom

(Encyclopedia)pogrom pōˈgrəm, pōgrŏmˈ [key], Russian term, originally meaning “riot,” that came to be applied to a series of violent attacks on Jews in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th cent. Pogroms...

Charles XII, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles XII, 1682–1718, king of Sweden (1697–1718), son and successor of Charles XI. The regency under which he succeeded was abolished in 1697 at the request of the Riksdag. At the coronation he ...

Brown, Moses

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Moses, 1738–1836, American manufacturer and philanthropist, b. Providence, R.I. He was associated with his brothers John, Joseph, and Nicholas in the family's mercantile activities before est...

Lermontov, Mikhail Yurevich

(Encyclopedia)Lermontov, Mikhail Yurevich mēkhəyēlˈ yo͞orˈyĭvĭch lyĕrˈməntŭf [key], 1814–41, Russian poet and novelist. Given an extensive private education by his wealthy grandmother, Lermontov began...

Stanislaus I

(Encyclopedia)Stanislaus I, 1677–1766, king of Poland (1704–1709, 1733–35) and duke of Lorraine (1735–66). He was born Stanislaus Leszczynski. Early in the Northern War (1700–1721), Charles XII of Sweden ...

Płock

(Encyclopedia)Płock plôtsk [key], city (1993 est. pop. 126,900), Mazowieckie prov., E central Poland, a port on the Vistula River. Płock is a major oil-refining and petrochemical center. Other industries include...

Orlov, Aleksey Grigoryevich, Count

(Encyclopedia)Orlov, Aleksey Grigoryevich, Count əlyĭksyāˈ grĭgôrˈyəvĭch, ərlôfˈ [key], 1737–1808, Russian nobleman; brother of Grigori G. Orlov. He and his brother headed the conspiracy to put Cather...

Kursk

(Encyclopedia)Kursk ko͝orsk [key], city (1989 pop. 424,000), capital of Kursk region, W European Russia, at the confluence of the Tuskor and Seim rivers. An important rail junction, it has machine, chemical, and s...

Baykal-Amur Mainline

(Encyclopedia)Baykal-Amur Mainline (BAM), railroad line linking central Siberian Russia with the Pacific. The BAM parallels the Trans-Siberian RR but passes north rather than south of Lake Baykal. It is 1,928 mi (3...