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Minsk

(Encyclopedia)Minsk mĭnsk, Rus. mēnsk [key], city (1990 est. pop. 1,610,000), capital of Belarus and of the Minsk region, on a tributary of the Berezina. It is a railroad junction with machine, machine-tool, trac...

Maximilian II, 1527–76, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Maximilian II, 1527–76, Holy Roman emperor (1564–76), king of Bohemia (1562–76) and of Hungary (1563–76), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. Before acceding he evidenced a sy...

Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William, known as the Great Elector, 1620–88, elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), son and successor of George William. At his accession the scattered lands of the Hohenzollern were devasta...

Radek, Karl

(Encyclopedia)Radek, Karl kärl räˈdyĭk [key], 1885–1939?, international Communist leader and journalist, b. Lviv (then in Austrian Poland); his original name was Sobelsohn. Radek participated in the 1905 revo...

Szczecin

(Encyclopedia)Szczecin shchĕˈtsēn [key], Ger. Stettin, city (1994 est. pop. 414,900), capital of Zachodniopomorskie prov., NW Poland, historical capital of the Prussian province of Pomerania, on the Oder near it...

Constantine Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Constantine Nikolayevich kənˌstəntyēnˈ nēkôläyāˈvĭch [key], 1827–92, grand duke of Russia; brother of Czar Alexander II. Constantine supported all the reforms instituted by his brother, w...

Burgundy

(Encyclopedia)Burgundy bo͝orgôˈnyə [key], historic region, E France. The name once applied to a large area embracing several kingdoms, a free county (see Franche-Comté), and a duchy. The administrative region ...

Sudetes

(Encyclopedia)Sudetes so͞odēˈtēz [key], Czech Sudety, Ger. Sudeten, mountain range, along the border of the Czech Republic and Poland, extending c.185 mi (300 km) between the Elbe and Oder rivers. It is continu...

Beltsville swine

(Encyclopedia)Beltsville swine, two breeds of swine developed at the agricultural research center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Md. The breeds are designated Beltsville No. 1 and Beltsville N...

Tusk, Donald

(Encyclopedia)Tusk, Donald to͞osk [key], 1957–, Polish political leader, prime minister of Poland (2007–14), b. Gdańsk. After studying history at Gdańsk Univ., he became active in the Solidarity movement in ...