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Armenian language

(Encyclopedia)Armenian language, member of the Thraco-Phrygian subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Indo-European). There is evidence that in ancient times a distinct subfamily of Indo-European l...

Slavic languages

(Encyclopedia)Slavic languages, also called Slavonic languages, a subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. Because the Slavic group of languages seems to be closer to the Baltic group than to any other, ...

Magyars

(Encyclopedia)Magyars mŏdˈyärz, măgˈyärz [key], the dominant people of Hungary, but also living in Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Serbia. Although in the past it was thought a common origin existed among the...

Orthodox Eastern Church

(Encyclopedia)Orthodox Eastern Church, community of Christian churches whose chief strength is in the Middle East and E Europe. Their members number some 300 million worldwide. The Orthodox agree doctrinally in acc...

Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeyevich

(Encyclopedia)Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeyevich nyĭkēˈtə syĭrgāˈyəvĭch khro͝oschôfˈ [key], 1894–1971, Soviet Communist leader, premier of the USSR (1958–64), and first secretary of the Communist party ...

Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich

(Encyclopedia)Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich vlŭdēmˈyĭr vlŭdēmˌyĭrˈəvyĭch po͞oˈtyĭn [key], 1952–, Russian government official and political leader, b. Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). After graduating...

Catherine II

(Encyclopedia)Catherine II or Catherine the Great, 1729–96, czarina of Russia (1762–96). Catherine increased the power and prestige of Russia by skillful diplomacy and by extending Russia's western boundary i...

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(Encyclopedia)North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), established under the North Atlantic Treaty (Apr. 4, 1949) by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, N...

Hasidism

(Encyclopedia)Hasidism or Chassidism both: hăsˈĭdĭzˌəm, khă– [key] [Heb.,=the pious], Jewish religious movement founded in Poland in the 18th cent. by Baal-Shem-Tov. Its name derives from Hasidim. Hasidism...

Yalta Conference

(Encyclopedia)Yalta Conference, meeting (Feb. 4–11, 1945), at Yalta, Crimea, USSR, of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. Most of ...