Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Afanasyev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich əlyĭksänˈdər nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch əfənäˈsyəf [key], 1826–71, Russian folklorist. His collections, published from 1866 on, were instrumental in introducing ...

(Encyclopedia) Tolstoy, Aleksey Nikolayevich təlstoiˈ [key], 1883–1945, Russian writer. He was distantly related to Leo Tolstoy. Of aristocratic origin, he opposed the Bolsheviks in 1917 and emigrated to Wester...

(Encyclopedia) Yudenich, Nikolai Nikolayevich nyĭkəlīˈ nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch yo͝odyāˈnyĭch [key], 1862–1933, Russian general. He served in the Russo-Japanese War and in World War I and after the Bolshevik Re...

(Encyclopedia) Pilnyak, Boris əndrāˈyəvĭch vôˈgou [key], 1894–1937?, Russian novelist and short-story writer. Pilnyak first attracted wide attention with his novel The Naked Year (1921, tr. 1928), a loosely...

(Encyclopedia) Kuropatkin, Aleksey Nikolayevich əlyĭksyāˈ nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch ko͞orŭpätˈkĭn [key], 1848–1925, Russian general. He distinguished himself in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. Made minister...

(Encyclopedia) Afinogenov, Aleksandr Nikolayevich əlyĭksänˈdər nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch əfēˌnəgyĕˈnəf [key], 1904–41, Russian playwright. In his early plays he wrote of labor problems and the dangers of str...

(Encyclopedia) Bakst, Lev Nikolayevich lyĕf nyĭkəlīˈəvyĭch bäkst [key], 1868–1924, Russian scene designer and painter. His original, imaginative style and brilliant color exerted a wide influence on costum...

(Encyclopedia) Karloff, Boris kärˈlôf, –lŏf [key], 1887–1969, Anglo-American actor, b. Dulwich, England; his original name was William Henry Pratt. A distinguished character actor with a superb speaking voic...

(Encyclopedia) August Coup, attempted coup (Aug. 18–22, 1991) against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. On the eve of the signing ceremony for a new union treaty for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, memb...

(Encyclopedia) Chernomyrdin, Viktor Stepanovich vyēkˈtôr styĭpänˈəvyĭch chərˌnōmĭrˈdən [key], 1938–2010, Soviet and Russian government official. Beginning in 1957, he held positions in the Soviet nat...