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Maldives

(Encyclopedia)Maldives mălˈdēvz, –dīvz [key], Dhivehi Dhivehi Raajje, officially Republic of Maldives, republic (2015 est. pop. 418,000), 115 sq mi (298 sq km), off the coast of S Asia in the N Indian Ocean. ...

Moore, Barrington

(Encyclopedia)Moore, Barrington, 1913–2005, American sociologist and political scientist. Moore wrote a number of books on historical sociology that focus on Soviet society. Based at the Russian Research Center a...

Schleicher, Kurt von

(Encyclopedia)Schleicher, Kurt von, 1882–1934, German general. A leading Reichswehr (army) figure after World War I, Schleicher wielded great power in the years before Adolf Hitler came to power (1933). He was wa...

Meinecke, Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Meinecke, Friedrich frēˈdrĭkh mīˈnĕkə [key], 1862–1954, German historian and intellectual figure. Educated at the Univ. of Berlin, he became a professor there in 1914 and directed (1893–193...

Mahan, Alfred Thayer

(Encyclopedia)Mahan, Alfred Thayer məhănˈ [key], 1840–1914, U.S. naval officer and historian, b. West Point, N.Y. A Union naval officer in the Civil War, he later lectured on naval history and strategy at the ...

president

(Encyclopedia)president, in modern republics, the chief executive and, therefore, the highest officer in a government. Many nations of the world, including the United States, France, Germany, India, and the majorit...

Alliance for Progress

(Encyclopedia)Alliance for Progress, Span. Alianza para el Progreso, U.S. assistance program for Latin America begun in 1961 during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. It was created principally to counter the appea...

Decembrists

(Encyclopedia)Decembrists dĭsĕmˈbrĭsts [key], in Russian history, members of secret revolutionary societies whose activities led to the uprising of Dec., 1825, against Czar Nicholas I. Formed after the Napoleon...

Gayoom, Maumoon Abdul

(Encyclopedia)Gayoom, Maumoon Abdul mämo͞onˈ äbˈdo͞ol gīo͞omˈ [key], 1937–, Maldivian political leader, president of the Maldives (1978–2008), b. Malé. He studied at Al-Azhar Univ. in Cairo, then was ...

Wolf, Christa

(Encyclopedia)Wolf, Christa krēsˈtä vôlf [key], 1929–2011, German novelist. After attending the universities of Jena and Leipzig, she worked as an editor of literary journals. A committed communist in her ear...