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Flüe, Nicholas von der, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Flüe, Nicholas von der, Saint fən dĕr flüˈə [key], 1417–87, Swiss patriot and folk hero. He was leader of the cantonal forces fighting Austria and counselor for many years to the duke of Saxon...

kremlin

(Encyclopedia)kremlin krĕmˈlĭn [key], Rus. kreml, citadel or walled center of several Russian cities; the most famous is in Moscow. During the Middle Ages, the kremlin served as an administrative and religious c...

Winton, Sir Nicholas George

(Encyclopedia)Winton, Sir Nicholas George, 1909–2015, British stockbroker who saved the lives of several hundred Czech children on the eve of World War II, b. London as Nicholas George Wertheim (later Wortham); h...

Siberia

(Encyclopedia)Siberia sībērˈēə [key], Rus. Sibir, vast geographical region of Russia, covering c.2,900,000 sq mi (7,511,000 sq km) and having an estimated population (1992) of 32,459,000. Historically it has h...

Rostopchin, Feodor Vasilyevich, Count

(Encyclopedia)Rostopchin, Feodor Vasilyevich, Count fyôˈdər vəsēˈlyəvĭch, rəstəpchēnˈ [key], 1763–1826, Russian general and statesman. He rose rapidly under Czar Paul I, serving as foreign minister fr...

Vansittart, Nicholas, 1st Baron Bexley

(Encyclopedia)Vansittart, Nicholas, 1st Baron Bexley vănˈsĭtärt [key], 1766–1851, British politician. He entered Parliament in 1796, was joint secretary of the treasury (1801–4, 1806–7) and briefly secret...

Scharnhorst, Gerhard Johann David von

(Encyclopedia)Scharnhorst, Gerhard Johann David von gĕrˈhärt yōˈhän däˈvēt fən shärnˈhôrst [key], 1755–1813, Prussian general. A Hanoverian army officer, military writer, and director of the war coll...

papal election

(Encyclopedia)papal election, election of the pope by the college of cardinals meeting in secret conclave in the Sistine Chapel not less than 15 nor more than 18 days after the death of the previous pontiff. In the...

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...

Smolensk

(Encyclopedia)Smolensk smōlĕnskˈ, smô–, Rus. sməlyĕnskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 341,000), capital of Smolensk region, W European Russia, a port on the Dnieper River. It is an important rail junction, a dist...
 

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