Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Shelepin, Aleksandr əlyĭksänˈdər shĕlĕˈpĭn [key], 1918–94, political leader in the Soviet Union. Active in the Young Communist League from the early 1940s, he later became its head (1952–...

(Encyclopedia)  Russian and Soviet Rulers since 1462(including dates of rule) House of Rurik House of Godunov Usurpers House of Romanov Provisional Government(premiers) Soviet Russia (1917–22) and the U...

(Encyclopedia) Turgenev, Ivan Sergeyevich ēvänˈ syĭrgāˈəvĭch to͞orgāˈnyĭf [key], 1818–83, Russian novelist, dramatist, and short-story writer, considered one of the foremost Russian writers. He came fr...

(Encyclopedia) Prokofiev, Sergei Sergeyevich syĭrgāˈ syĭrgāˈəvĭch prōkôfˈēĕf [key], 1891–1953, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Prokofiev achieved wide popularity with his lively music, in wh...

(Encyclopedia) Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich lāyōnēdˈ ĭlyēchˈ brĕzhˈnĕf [key], 1906–82, Soviet leader. He joined (1931) the Communist party and rose steadily in its hierarchy. In 1952 he became a secretary of ...

(Encyclopedia) Zhukov, Georgi Konstantinovich gēôrˈgē kənstəntyēˈnəvĭch zho͞oˈkôf [key], 1896–1974, Soviet marshal. He fought in the October Revolution (1917) and in the civil war (1918–20), which b...

(Encyclopedia) Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeyevich po͝oshˈkĭn, Rus. əlyĭksänˈdər syĭrgāˈyəvĭch po͞oshˈkĭn [key], 1799–1837, Russian poet and prose writer, among the foremost figures in Russian literatur...

(Encyclopedia) Kosygin, Alexei Nikolayevich əlyĭksyāˈ nyĭkə līˈəvĭch kəsēˈgĭn [key], 1904–80, Soviet political leader. A member of the Communist party from 1927, he joined its central committee in 19...

(Encyclopedia) Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962, major cold war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. In response to the Bay of Pigs Invasion and other American actions against Cuba as well as to P...

(Encyclopedia) Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich mēkhəyēlˈ sĭrgāˈyəvich gərbəchofˈ ...