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secret police

(Encyclopedia)secret police, policing organization operating in secrecy for the political purposes of its government, often with terroristic procedures. Many states, including Chile, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Romania,...

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

(Encyclopedia)Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Rus. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, former republic. It was established in 1922 and dissolved in 1991. The Soviet Union was the first state...

Stalin, Joseph Vissarionovich

(Encyclopedia)Stalin, Joseph Vissarionovich stäˈlĭn, Rus. vĭsəryôˈnəvĭch stäˈlyĭn [key], 1879–1953, Soviet Communist leader and head of the USSR from the death of V. I. Lenin (1924) until his own deat...

Finland

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Finland, Finnish Suomi swôˈmē [key], officially Republic of Finland, republic (2015 est. pop. 5,482,000), 130,119 sq mi (337,009 sq km), N Europe. It borders on the Gulf of Bothnia and Swede...

Poland

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Poland, Pol. Polska, officially Republic of Poland, republic (2015 est. pop. 38,265,000), 120,725 sq mi (312,677 sq km), central Europe. It borders on Germany in the west, on the Baltic Sea and...

drama, Western

(Encyclopedia)drama, Western, plays produced in the Western world. This article discusses the development of Western drama in general; for further information see the various national literature articles. During ...

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