Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Saint Petersburg, formerly Leningrad, Rus. Sankt-Peterburg, city (1990 est. pop. 5,036,000), capital of the Leningrad region (although not administratively part of it) and the administrative center of...

(Encyclopedia) Moore, Michael, 1954–, American documentary filmmaker, author, and activist, b. Flint, Mich. A highly personal, populist, and frequently controversial and polarizing documentary filmmaker, he made h...

(Encyclopedia) Michael I (Michael Rangabe), d. c.845, Byzantine emperor (811–13), son-in-law of Nicephorus I. He supported orthodoxy against iconoclasm and recalled Theodore of Studium from exile. He recognized (8...

(Encyclopedia) Ivan V, 1666–96, czar of Russia (1682–96), son of Czar Alexis by his first wife. Ivan was mentally retarded, and on the death of his elder brother, Feodor III, his succession was opposed by the su...

(Encyclopedia) Ivan VI, 1740–64, czar of Russia (1740–41), great-grandson of Ivan V. He was the son of Prince Anthony Ulric of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and of Anna Leopoldovna. An infant, he succeeded his great-a...

(Encyclopedia) Asser, Tobias Michael Carel tōbēˈäs mēˈkhāl käˈrəl äsˈər [key], 1838–1913, Dutch jurist. He was a delegate to many international conferences, including the Hague Conference of 1899, and...

(Encyclopedia) Howard, Michael, 1941–, British politician, leader of the Conservative party (2003–5), b. Llanelli, Wales, as Michael Hecht. The son of immigrants (his father changed the family name after becomin...

(Encyclopedia) Moscow mŏsˈkou, –kō [key], Rus. Moskva, city (1991 est. pop. 8,802,000), capital of Russia and of Moscow region and the administrative center of the Central federal district, W central European R...

(Encyclopedia) Shuvalov, Piotr Andreyevich, Count pyôˈtər əndrāˈəvĭch sho͞oväˈləf [key], 1827–89, Russian administrator and diplomat. An adviser to Czar Alexander II, he opposed the czar's reforms and ...

(Encyclopedia) John III (John Sobieski) sôbyĕˈskē [key], 1624–96, king of Poland (1674–96), champion of Christian Europe against the Ottomans. Born to an ancient noble family, he was appointed (1668) command...