title: Lucchese crime family

text: On March 27, 2018, Lucchese crime family soldier, Dominick Capelli, and nine associates were arrested as part of Operation "The Vig Is Up". Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that it was the biggest loan sharking case investigated by the United States Attorney General Office. Over 47 people were identified as loansharking victims, who were allegedly charged exorbitant weekly loan rates averaging over 200 percent per year, effectively creating a high-cost debt trap for all individuals taking out such loans. The accused were alleged to have operated out of New Rochelle, New York and the Bronx. It was also said that the defendants ran an illegal bookmaking operation which generated over $1.5 million in annual wagers.


title: Lucchese crime family

text: In a separate indictment in April 2018, Lucchese soldier Anthony Grado and associate Lawrence "Fat Larry" Tranese were arrested for forcing a doctor to prescribe them with over 230,000 oxycodone pills from 2011 through to 2013. It was noted that Grado ordered one of his peers to stab the unidentified Brooklyn-based doctor during a visit, who complied with the task. Grado was recorded threatening the doctor, saying, "If the prescriptions go in anybody’s hands besides mine, I’ll put a bullet right in your head”. Both men pleaded guilty on April 5, 2018. The investigation was conducted by wiretaps, surveillance cameras, car bugs, undercover officers, hidden cameras and cost over $1 million. Grado was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and Tranese to over three years.


title: Lucchese crime family

text: In October 2018, associate Vincent Zito was murdered at his home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. He was found shot twice in the back of his head and a handgun was recovered beside his body. Zito was allegedly a loanshark. His brother Anthony Zito was jailed for extortion in 1971 and was a known associate of current Lucchese boss Vic Amuso.


title: Lucchese crime family

text: In May 2019, government witness and former Lucchese soldier John Pennisi testified in the trial against Eugene Castelle and revealed the current leadership of the crime family. Pennisi testified that in 2017, imprisoned for life boss Vic Amuso sent a letter to Underboss Steven Crea which stated that Brooklyn based mobster Michael “Big Mike” DeSantis would take over as acting boss replacing Bronx based Matthew Madonna. The testimony from Pennisi stated that if the Bronx faction refused to step aside, imprisoned boss Amuso had approved of a hit list that included a captain and several members of the Bronx faction. During Pennisi's testimony, he revealed that the Lucchese family operates with a total of seven crews – two in The Bronx, two on Long Island, one in Manhattan, one in New Jersey, and John Castellucci's-Brooklyn crew (formerly Amuso-Casso's old crew), which is now based in Tottenville section of Staten Island. Law-enforcement agents have stated that Brooklyn based mobster Patrick "Patty" Dellorusso is the new acting underboss and that the Bronx-based mobster Andrew DiSimone is the new Consigliere.


title: Lucchese crime family

text: On December 16, 2020, soldier John Perna pled guilty to aggravated assault of the husband of Dina Cantin, who has appeared on Real Housewives of New Jersey. Perna was hired by Thomas Manzo, who is the ex-husband of Cantin; Perna carried out the assault in exchange for a discounted price for his wedding reception.


title: Lucchese crime family

text: On September 13, 2022, five Lucchese members and associates were indicted and accused of running an extensive and long-running illegal gambling operation. Arrested for the scheme was family soldier Anthony Villani, and associates James "Quick" Coumoutsos, Dennis Filizzola, Michael "Platinum" Praino, and Louis "Tooch" Tucci, Jr. The five men faced charges included racketeering, money laundering, illegal gambling, and attempted extortion.


title: Lucchese crime family

text: The street boss is considered the go-to-guy for the boss and is responsible to pass on orders to lower ranking members. In some instances a "Ruling panel" (of capos) substituted the Street boss role.


title: Lucchese crime family

text: According to the May 2019, testimony of government witness and former Lucchese soldier John Pennisi the Lucchese family operates with a total of seven crews – two in The Bronx, two on Long Island, one in Manhattan, one in New Jersey, and one Brooklyn crew.


title: Lucchese crime family

text: The Lucchese family used members to take control of various unions in the United States. The members extorted money from the unions by blackmail, strong-arming, violence and other methods. Similar to the other four crime families of New York City they worked on controlling entire unions. With the mob having control over a union, they controlled the entire market. Bid-rigging allows the mob to get a percentage of the income on the construction deal, only allowing certain companies to bid on jobs after they pay them first. The mob also allows companies to use non-union workers to work on jobs, in which case the companies must give a kickback to the mob. Unions give mob members jobs on the books to show a legitimate source of income. The Mafia members get into high union positions and embezzling money from the organization.


title: Lucchese crime family

text: The "French Connection Crew" (1967–1973) was an organization, closely aligned with the Lucchese family, who were responsible for the theft of approximately $70 million in heroin taken from the NYPD property room.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Škoda Auto a.s. (), often shortened to Škoda, is a Czech automobile manufacturer established in 1925 as the successor to Laurin & Klement and headquartered in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. Škoda Works became state owned in 1948. After 1991, it was gradually privatized to the German Volkswagen Group, becoming a partial subsidiary in 1994 and a wholly owned subsidiary in 2000.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Škoda automobiles are sold in over 100 countries and in 2018, total global sales reached 1.25 million units, an increase of 4.4% from the previous year. The operating profit was €1.6 billion in 2017, an increase of 34.6% over the previous year. As of 2017, Škoda's profit margin was the second highest of all Volkswagen AG brands after Porsche.


title: Škoda Auto

text: The Škoda Works were established as an arms manufacturer in 1859. ŠKODA AUTO (and its predecessor Laurin & Klement) is the fifth-oldest company producing cars, and has an unbroken history alongside Daimler, Opel, Peugeot, and Tatra.


title: Škoda Auto

text: As with many long-established car manufacturers, the company which would become Škoda Auto started in the early 1890s by manufacturing bicycles. Škoda (then Laurin & Klement) factories were founded in 1896 as a velocipede manufacturer.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In , 26-year-old Václav Klement (1868–1938), who was a bookseller in Mladá Boleslav, Kingdom of Bohemia (today's Czech Republic, then part of Austria-Hungary), was unable to obtain spare parts to repair his German bicycle. Klement returned his bicycle to the manufacturers, Seidel and Naumann, with a letter, in Czech, asking them to carry out repairs, only to receive a reply, in German, stating: "If you want us to answer you, we insist that you convey your message in a language we understand." Not satisfied with the reply and realising the business potential, Klement, despite having no technical experience, decided to start a bicycle repair shop, which Václav Laurin and he opened in 1896 in Mladá Boleslav. Before going into partnership with Klement, Laurin was an established bicycle manufacturer in the nearby town of Turnov.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 1898, after moving to their newly built factory, the pair bought a Werner "Motocyclette". Laurin & Klement's first motorcyclette, powered by an engine mounted on the handlebars driving the front wheels, proved dangerous and unreliable – an early accident on it cost Laurin a front tooth. To design a safer machine with its structure around the engine, the pair wrote to German ignition specialist Robert Bosch for advice on a different electromagnetic system.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Their new Slavia motorcycle made its debut in 1899, and the company became the first motorcycle factory in Central Europe. In 1900, with a company workforce of 32, Slavia exports began and 150 machines were shipped to London for the Hewtson firm. Shortly afterwards, the press credited them as makers of the first motorcycle.


title: Škoda Auto

text: By 1905, the firm was manufacturing automobiles, making it the second-oldest car manufacturer in the Czech lands after Tatra. The company, with an area of , had a workforce of 320 and used 170 special machine tools, power-driven by of steam power. The first model, Voiturette A, was a success and the company was established both within Austria-Hungary and internationally.


title: Škoda Auto

text: After World War I, the Laurin & Klement company began producing trucks, but in 1924, after running into problems and being affected by a fire on their premises, the company sought a new partner.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Meanwhile, "Akciová společnost, dříve Škodovy závody" (Limited Company, formerly the Škoda Works), an arms manufacturer and multisector concern in Pilsen, which had become one of the largest industrial enterprises in Europe and the largest in Czechoslovakia, sought to enlarge its non-arms manufacturing base, so acquired Laurin & Klement in 1925. It also started manufacturing cars in cooperation with Hispano-Suiza. Most of the later production took place under Škoda's name.


title: Škoda Auto

text: An assembly line was used for production from 1930 onwards. In the same year, a formal spin-off of the car manufacture into a new company, "Akciová společnost pro automobilový průmysl" or abbreviated "ASAP", took place. ASAP remained a wholly owned subsidiary of the Škoda Works, and continued to sell cars under the Škoda marque. Apart from the factory in Mladá Boleslav, it included also the firm's representation, sales offices, and services, as well as a central workshop in Prague. At the time, the car factory in Mladá Boleslav covered an area of 215,000 m and employed 3,750 blue-collar and 500 white-collar workers.


title: Škoda Auto

text: After a decline caused by the economic depression, Škoda introduced a new line of cars in the 1930s which significantly differed from its previous products. A new design of chassis with backbone tube and all-around independent suspension was developed under the leadership of chief engineer Vladimír Matouš and modelled on the one first introduced by Hans Ledwinka in Tatra. First used on model Škoda 420 Standard in 1933, it aimed at solving insufficient torsional stiffness of the ladder frame.


title: Škoda Auto

text: The new design of chassis became the basis for models Popular (845–1,089 cc), Rapid (1,165–1,766 cc), Favorit (1,802–2,091 cc), and Superb (2,492–3,991 cc). While in 1933 Škoda had a 14% share of the Czechoslovak car market and occupied third place behind Praga and Tatra, the new line made it a market leader by 1936, with a 39% share in 1938.


title: Škoda Auto

text: During the occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II, the Škoda Works were turned into part of the "Reichswerke Hermann Göring" serving the Nazi German war effort by producing components for military terrain vehicles, military planes, other weapons components and cartridge cases. Vehicle output decreased from 7,052 in 1939 to 683 in 1944, of which only 35 were passenger cars. Between January and May 1945, 316 trucks were produced. The UK and US air forces bombed the Škoda works repeatedly between 1940 and 1945. The final massive air raid took place on 25 April 1945, and resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Škoda armament works and about 1,000 dead or injured.


title: Škoda Auto

text: When, by July 1945, the Mladá Boleslav factory had been reconstructed, production of Škoda's first post-World War II car, the 1101 series, began. It was essentially an updated version of the pre-World War II Škoda Popular. In the autumn of 1948, Škoda (along with all other large manufacturers) became part of the communist planned economy, which meant it was separated from the parent company, Škoda Works. In spite of unfavourable political conditions and losing contact with technical development in noncommunist countries, Škoda retained a good reputation until the 1960s, producing models such as the Škoda 440 Spartak, 445 Octavia, Felicia, and Škoda 1000 MB.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In late 1959, the Škoda Felicia, a compact four-cylinder convertible coupe, was imported into the United States for model year 1960. Its retail price was around US$2,700, for which one could purchase a V8 domestic car that was larger, more comfortable, and had more luxury and convenience features (gasoline retailed for less than 30 cents per US gallon, so fuel economy was not of primary importance in the United States at that time). Those Felicias that made it to American ownership soon had a number of reliability problems, further damaging the car's reputation. The Felicia was, therefore, a poor seller in the U.S., and leftover cars ended up being hied off at a fraction of the original retail list. Since that time, Škoda automobiles have not been imported into the U.S. for retail sale.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In the late 1980s, Škoda (then named "Automobilové závody, národní podnik" or abbreviated "AZNP") was still manufacturing cars that conceptually dated back to the 1960s. Rear-engined models such as the Škoda 105/120 (Estelle) and Rapid sold steadily and performed well against more modern makes in races such as the RAC Rally in the 1970s and 1980s. They won their class in the RAC rally for 17 years running. They were powered by a , engine. In spite of its dated image and becoming the subject of negative jokes – What do you call a Škoda with a sunroof? A skip! – Škodas remained a common sight on the roads of the United Kingdom and Western Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Sport versions of the Estelle and earlier models were produced, using the name "Rapid". Soft-top versions were also available. The Rapid was once described as the "poor man's Porsche", and had significant sales success in the UK during the 1980s.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 1987, the Favorit was introduced, and was one of a trio of compact front-wheel drive hatchbacks from the three main Eastern Bloc manufacturers around that time, the others being VAZ's Lada Samara and Zastava's Yugo Sana. The Favorit's appearance was the work of the Italian design company Bertone. With some motor technology licensed from western Europe, but still using the Škoda-designed 1289 cc engine, Škoda engineers designed a car comparable to western production. The technological gap was still there, but began closing rapidly. The Favorit was very popular in Czechoslovakia and other Eastern Bloc countries. It also sold well in Western Europe, especially in the UK and Denmark due to its low price and was regarded as solid and reliable. However, it was perceived as having poor value compared with contemporary Western European designs. The Favorit's trim levels were improved and it continued to be sold until the introduction of the Felicia in 1994.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Until 1990, Škoda was still making its outdated range of rear-engined small family cars, although it had started production of the Favorit front-wheel drive hatchback in 1987 as an eventual replacement.


title: Škoda Auto

text: The fall of communism with the Velvet Revolution brought great changes to Czechoslovakia, and most industries were subject to privatization. In the case of Škoda Automobile, the state authorities brought in a strong foreign partner. The tender for privatization was announced in 1990; 24 different companies were registered for the tender, while only eight of them expressed a serious interest – BMW, GM, Renault, Volvo, Volkswagen, Ford, Fiat, and Mercedes-Benz. In August 1990, VW and Renault were on the shortlist.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Renault first offered to terminate Favorit production and replace it with the outdated Renault 18 derivative and new Renault Twingo, which would have eliminated the Škoda brand. This offer was declined and Renault prepared a new one. They offered a 60:40 joint venture (40% share of Renault), while Škoda Favorit production was to be retained and produced side by side with the Renault 19, and producing engine units, gearboxes, and other components for Renault. Total investment would have been US$2.6 billion (US$ billion in 2019).


title: Škoda Auto

text: Volkswagen offered to continue Favorit production and preserve the Škoda brand, including retention of research and development. Volkswagen offered a purchase of 30% Škoda share, gradually increasing to 70%. Volkswagen's total investment would have been US$6.6 billion (US$ billion in 2019) by 2000. The government inclined on the Renault side, while the Škoda trade union preferred VW, because it offered significantly larger potential for development of the company.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Volkswagen was chosen by the Czech government on 9 December 1990, and as a result, on 28 March 1991 a joint-venture partnership agreement with Volkswagen took place, marked by the transfer of a 30% share to the Volkswagen Group on 16 April 1991, raised later on 19 December 1994 to 60.3% and the year after, on 11 December 1995, to 70% of its shares, with the aim of making VW the largest and controlling shareholder of Škoda. On 30 May 2000, Volkswagen AG bought the remaining 30% of the company, thus making Škoda Auto a wholly owned subsidiary of the group.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Backed by Volkswagen Group expertise and investments, the design – both style and engineering – has improved greatly. The 1994 model Felicia was effectively a reskin of the Favorit, but quality and equipment improvements helped, and in the Czech Republic, the car was perceived as good value for money and became popular. Sales improved across Europe, including the United Kingdom, where the Felicia was one of the best-ranking cars in customer satisfaction surveys.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Volkswagen AG chairman Ferdinand Piëch personally chose Dirk van Braeckel as head of design, and the subsequent Octavia and Fabia models made their way to the demanding European Union markets. They are built on common Volkswagen Group floorpans. The Fabia, launched at the end of 1999, formed the basis for later versions of the Volkswagen Polo and SEAT Ibiza, while the Octavia, launched in 1996, has shared its floorpan with a host of cars, the most popular of which is the Volkswagen Golf Mk4.


title: Škoda Auto

text: The perception of Škoda in Western Europe has completely changed since the takeover by VW, in stark comparison with the reputation of the cars throughout the 1980s described by some as "the laughing stock" of the automotive world. As technical development progressed and attractive new models were marketed, Škoda's image was initially slow to improve. In the UK, a major change was achieved with the ironic "It is a Škoda, honest" campaign, which began in 2000 when the Fabia launched. In a 2003 advertisement on British television, a new employee on the production line is fitting Škoda badges on the car bonnets. When some attractive-looking cars come along, he stands back, not fitting the badge, since they look so good they "cannot be Škodas". This market campaign worked by confronting Škoda's image problem head-on – a tactic which marketing professionals regarded as high risk. By 2005, Škoda was selling over 30,000 cars a year in the UK, a market share over 1%. For the first time in its UK history, a waiting list developed for deliveries from Škoda. UK owners have consistently ranked the brand at or near the top of customer satisfaction surveys since the late 1990s.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 1991, Škoda built 172,000 units, exporting 26% of its production to 30 countries, while in 2000, it built 435,000 units, exporting 82% of its production to 72 countries.


title: Škoda Auto

text: One of the most important years for Škoda Auto was 2010, in terms of both products and management. On 1 September 2010, Prof. Dr. H.C. Winfried Vahland assumed responsibility for the management of the company, becoming the CEO of Škoda Auto. In the same year, Škoda set forth plans to double the company's annual sales to at least 1.5 million by 2018 (later known as the 'Growth Strategy', ).


title: Škoda Auto

text: At the 2010 Paris Motor Show in September 2010, the company unveiled the Octavia Green E Line. This e-car concept was the forerunner to the e-car test fleet that Škoda released in 2012. The final first-generation Octavia (Tour) was produced at the Mladá Boleslav plant in November 2010. The worldwide production of this model exceeded 1.4 million units since its release in 1996. In 2010 for the first time in history, China overtook German sales to become Škoda's largest individual market.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 2011, Škoda Auto celebrated its 20-year partnership with the Volkswagen Group. More than 75,000 visitors attended an open-house event held in Mladá Boleslav in the April. Earlier that year, the company provided details on its 2018 Growth Strategy: for at least one new or completely revised model to be released every six months. With this in mind, the company redesigned its logo and CI, which was presented at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Škoda's main attraction at the event was the Vision"D" design concept, a forerunner to the future third-generation Octavia. Škoda presented the Mission"L" design study at the IAA in Frankfurt am Main in September, which was to become the basis of the company's forthcoming compact model the European Rapid.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In the same year, the company started production of the new Rapid model in Pune, India (October 2011), and launched the Škoda Citigo at Volkswagen's Bratislava plant (November 2011).


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 2012, Škoda introduced two new mass production models. The European version of the Rapid premiered at the Paris Motor Show. This car was a successor to the first-generation Octavia in terms of its price bracket. The second model was the third-generation Octavia, which premiered in December 2012. In the same month, local production of the Yeti was launched at the Nizhny Novgorod GAZ factory.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 2012, Škoda, introduced an emission-free (on the street) fleet of Octavia Green E Line e-cars on Czech roads to be used by external partners. Since internal tests on the fleet in late 2011, the e-fleet had driven more than 250,000 km. During the same year, Škoda celebrated several milestones, including 14 million Škoda cars being produced since 1905 (January), three million Fabias (May), 500,000 Superbs at the Kvasiny plant (June), and 5 years of Škoda operations in China.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Massive rejuvenation of the model range was a major tune for 2013 at Škoda: The Czech car maker launched the third-generation Octavia Combi and Octavia RS (both liftback and estate), as well as facelifted Superb and Superb Combi. They were accompanied by brand new members of the Rapid family as the Rapid Spaceback, the first Škoda hatchback car in the compact segment, and the Chinese version of the Rapid. The Yeti also faced significant changes. With the facelift, two design variants of Škoda's compact SUV are now available, the city-likeoriented Yeti and rugged Yeti Outdoor. Chinese customers were also given a Yeti with an extended wheelbase.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 2015, Volkswagen admitted that it had installed pollution-cheating software in many of its cars to fool regulators that its cars met emissions standards, when in fact they polluted at much higher levels than government standards. About 1.2 million Škoda cars worldwide were fitted with this emissions-cheating device. Škoda stated that Volkswagen would recall and cover refitting costs for all of the cars affected by the scandal.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 2015, Škoda was voted the most reliable car brand in the UK. A corporate strategy was launched in 2015 to produce a range of all-electric cars from 2019.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Škoda Auto started to manufacture the large, seven-seat SUV Škoda Kodiaq in 2016, it was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in October 2016, and sales began at early 2017. In the second half of 2017, sales began of the new compact SUV Škoda Karoq, which officially replaced the Škoda Yeti. The automaker introduced in December 2018 a new small family car, the Škoda Scala. In February 2019, the company introduced in Geneva the new subcompact crossover Škoda Kamiq.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 2015, new Škoda chairman Bernhard Maier stated that the Volkswagen Group "is working on a modular, new electric platform and we are in the team", and "there is no alternative to electrification." New Škoda corporate "Strategy 2025", which replaces the previous "Strategy 2018", aims to start production of a fully electric vehicle in 2020, and five electric models across different segments by 2025.


title: Škoda Auto

text: The all-electric Škoda Enyaq iV available for sale since September 2020. In 2017,Auto Shanghai, Škoda displayed its Vision E concept for an all-electric 300-bhp coupé-SUV, with level 3 autonomy capability and range. It is based on the VW MEB platform and Škoda Auto will also manufacture electric-vehicle batteries for the Volkswagen Group in its facility in the Czech Republic. The second development stage, the Škoda Vision iV, was revealed in March 2019.


title: Škoda Auto

text: A plug-in hybrid car, the Škoda Superb iV, was available for sale from early 2020, and a small SUV model Škoda Kamiq with a natural gas-electric hybrid powertrain and a hybrid Fabia from later the same year. By March 2018, the electrification plan was expanded to 10 electrified models for 2025 - six fully electric cars and four plugin-hybrids. Out of these, five models are to be available by 2020. In 2018, the brand launched its largest-ever investment plan of €2 billion over five years into its electrification.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Škoda has maintained sound financial stability over recent years. In 2013, the brand achieved sales revenues totalling €10.3 billion (2012: €10.4 billion). Due to the weak economic situation in many European countries and the expansion of the model range, operating profit reached a modest €522 million (2012: €712 million). Škoda achieved a successful start to 2014. As well as recording the highest number of deliveries to customers in a first quarter ever (247,200; up 12.1%), it recorded a significant increase in sales revenue (23.7%) to almost €3 billion. Operating profit increased 65.2% to €185 million over the previous year.


title: Škoda Auto

text: ! 1994 !! 1995 !! 1996 !! 1997 !! 1998 !! 1999 !! 2000 !! 2001 !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015 !! 2016 !! 2017 !! 2018!! 2019!! 2020!! 2021


title: Škoda Auto

text: ! 172,000 || 210,000 || 261,000 || 336,334 || 363,500 || 385,330 || 435,403 || 460,252 || 445,525 || 449,758 || 451,675 || 492,111 || 549,667 || 630,032 || 674,530 || 684,226 || 762,600 || 879,200 || 949,412 || 920,800 || 1,037,200 || 1,055,500 || 1,127,700 || 1,200,500 || 1,253,700 || 1,242,816 || 1,004,816 || 878,202


title: Škoda Auto

text: As of August 2016, Škoda was being sold in 102 countries. In 2020, the top markets for Škoda by number of sales were China (173,300), Germany (161,775), Russia (94,632), Czech Republic (83,249), Great Britain (58,431) and Poland (56,152). In the Asia-Pacific region, Škoda is also being sold in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Brunei and India. Škoda is also planning to expand into Iran, where imports are to be started from 2018 and production of vehicles by 2020. Expansion strategy also includes Singapore.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Škoda cars are now made in factories in the Czech Republic, China, India and Slovakia. A smaller number of Škoda models are additionally manufactured in Solomonovo, Ukraine through local partner. Till 2020 also there was manufacturing in Öskemen, Kazakhstan. The following table lists the factories and their production models in 2019.


title: Škoda Auto

text: The Škoda brand has been engaged in motor sport since 1901, and has gained a number of titles with various vehicles around the world. The team had competed as a manufacturer in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (before it merged with ERC in 2013) and World Rally Championship between 1999 and 2005. Now it competes in the European Rally Championship and WRC-2.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Until the final season of IRC in 2012, Škoda Motorsport was the most successful manufacturer with a total of 27 points, winning the rallying series in 2010–2012. Since 2013, When the two competing series were merged, it continued to compete in the European Rally Championship.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Škoda Motorsport drivers won with the Škoda Fabia S2000 the European Rally Championships in 2012–2014.


title: Škoda Auto

text: Following a long history of class victories in lower levels of motorsport, Škoda became a participant in the FIA World Rally Championship in the 1999 season, with World Rally Car models of the Škoda Octavia. Škoda's best result with the Octavia WRC was Armin Schwarz's third place at the 2001 Safari Rally. From mid 2003, the Octavia was replaced by the smaller Škoda Fabia. Škoda used the 2004 season to develop the car further, but did not achieve much success the following season. However, at the season-ending Rally Australia, 1995 world champion Colin McRae was running second before retiring. Škoda then withdrew from the series, and the 2006 season saw Škoda represented by the semi-privateer Red Bull Škoda Team. Jan Kopecký drove the Fabia WRC to fifth place at the Rally Catalunya, and as late as the 2007 Rallye Deutschland the Fabia still achieved a fifth-place result, again in the hands of Kopecký. Former works Ford and Citroen driver François Duval also drove a Fabia WRC in 2006 for the privateer First Motorsport team, achieving a sixth-place finish in Catalunya.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 2009, Škoda entered the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) for the first time, using the Fabia S2000, winning three rallies and finishing second in both the drivers and manufacturers championship. In 2010, Škoda won a total of seven IRC events winning both the manufacturers and driver championship for Juho Hänninen. These achievements were repeated in the following two seasons, with Andreas Mikkelsen as the drivers' champion. In 2013, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge was merged with the European Rally Championship (ERC) and the team gained the drivers' championship title once again for Jan Kopecký. The car was also raced by privateers in several championships, including Red Bull, Barwa, Rene Georges and Rufa in the 2010 Super 2000 World Rally Championship.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In August 2011, a special Škoda Octavia vRS set a world record at the Bonneville Speedway and became the fastest production car in the world with an engine up to two litres, when it hit . The current fastest production Škoda car is the Škoda Superb III, with a top speed of and an acceleration from in 5.8 seconds.


title: Škoda Auto

text: In 1923, two different trademarks were registered at the Office for Innovation and Model Registration in Plzeň. The first depicted a winged arrow pointing to the right with five feathers in a circle and the second was a winged arrow with three feathers. The famous winged arrow with three feathers still forms the Škoda logo today. The "ŠKODA" text was added to the logo in 1936. The arrow represents speed, the wings progress and freedom, the eye precision and the circle unity, completeness, world and harmony. The story goes that, on his travels through the US, Emil Škoda had once been so taken with a Native American's feathered headdress that he had returned to Pilsen with a relief image which inspired the logo.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: The Young and the Restless (often abbreviated as Y&R) is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wisconsin). First broadcast on March 26, 1973, "The Young and the Restless" was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes, five times a week. The show expanded to one-hour episodes on February 4, 1980. In 2006, the series began airing previous episodes weeknights on SOAPnet until 2013, when it moved to TVGN (now Pop). As of July 1, 2013, Pop still airs previous episodes on weeknights. The series is also syndicated internationally.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: "The Young and the Restless" originally focused on two core families: the wealthy Brooks family and the working class Foster family. After a series of recasts and departures in the early 1980s, all the original characters except Jill Foster Abbott were written out. Bell replaced them with new core families, the Abbotts and the Williamses. Over the years, other families such as the Newman family, the Barber/Winters family, and the Baldwin-Fishers were introduced. Despite these changes, one of its most enduring storylines was the four-decade feud between Jill Abbott and Katherine Chancellor, the longest rivalry on any American soap opera.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: Since its television debut, "The Young and the Restless" has won 11 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. It is also currently the highest-rated daytime drama on American television, a rank it has held for 32 years as of the end of the 2019–20 season. As of 2008, it had appeared at the top of the weekly Nielsen ratings in that category for more than 1,000 weeks since 1988. As of December 12, 2013, according to Nielsen ratings, "The Young and the Restless" marked an unprecedented 1,300 weeks, or 25 years, as the highest-rated daytime drama. The serial is also a sister series to "The Bold and the Beautiful", as several actors have crossed over between shows. The serial aired its 12,500th episode on May 1, 2022. Currently, the series has been renewed by CBS to run through the 2023–2024 television season.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: Well-known celebrities that have made an appearance on the show include Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Wayne Gretzky, Il Divo, Enrique Iglesias, and many others. Some well-known celebrities such as Eva Longoria, David Hasselhoff, Tom Selleck, and Paul Walker got their jumpstart on The Young and The Restless.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: To compete with the youthful ABC soap operas, "All My Children", "One Life to Live", and "General Hospital", CBS executives wanted a new daytime serial that was youth oriented. William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell created "The Young and the Restless" in 1972 for the network under the working title, "The Innocent Years!" "We were confronted with the very disturbing reality that young America had lost much of its innocence," Bell said. "Innocence as we had known and lived it all our lives had, in so many respects, ceased to exist." They changed the title of the series to "The Young and the Restless" because they felt it "reflected the youth and mood of the early seventies." The Bells named the fictional setting for the show after the real Genoa City, Wisconsin, a community on U.S. Route 12 in Wisconsin along the Illinois-Wisconsin state line located between their then-home in Chicago and their annual summer vacation spot in Lake Geneva.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: "The Young and the Restless" began airing on March 26, 1973, replacing the canceled soap opera, "Where the Heart Is". Bell worked as head writer from the debut of the series until his retirement in 1998. He wrote from his home in Chicago while production took place in Los Angeles, California. Originally, Bell wanted to shoot the series in New York City; however, CBS executives felt that Los Angeles would be more cost effective. John Conboy acted as the show's first executive producer, staying in the position until 1982. Bell and H. Wesley Kenney became co-executive producers that year until Edward Scott took over in 1989. Bell then became senior executive producer. Other executive producers included David Shaughnessy, John F. Smith, Lynn Marie Latham, Josh Griffith, Maria Arena Bell, and Paul Rauch.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In the mid-1980s, Bell and his family moved to Los Angeles to create a new soap opera. During this time, his three children, William Jr., Bradley Bell, and Lauralee Bell, each became involved in soap operas. Lauralee Bell worked as an actress on "The Young and the Restless". Bradley Bell co-created "The Bold and the Beautiful" with his father. William Bell Jr. became involved in the family's production companies as president of Bell Dramatic Serial Co. and Bell-Phillip Television Productions Inc. "It's worked out very well for us because we really all worked in very different aspects of the show," William Bell Jr. said. "With my father and I, it was a great kind of partnership and pairing in the sense that he had a total control of the creative side of the show and I didn't have even the inclination to interject in what he was doing."


title: The Young and the Restless

text: After William J. Bell's 1998 retirement, a number of different head writers took over the position, including Kay Alden, Trent Jones, John F. Smith, Lynn Marie Latham, Scott Hamner, Josh Griffith, Maria Arena Bell, and Hogan Sheffer.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In 2012, former "General Hospital" executive producer Jill Farren Phelps was hired as the new executive producer of the soap, replacing Bell. Griffith was also named the sole head writer. On August 15, 2013, it was speculated and reported by several online sources that Griffith had resigned as head-writer of the serial. Further speculation adds that Shelly Altman may take over as the new scribe, alongside Tracey Thomson or Jean Passanante may be brought aboard as co-head scribe. On September 12, 2013, it was announced that Passanante and Altman were named head writers of the show, with Thomson promoted to co-head writer.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: On September 18, 2014, former "All My Children", "Santa Barbara" and "General Hospital" head writer Charles Pratt Jr. was named as the new head writer of the show. Passanante, Altman and Thomson have been demoted to breakdown writers. Pratt was also named as co-executive producer sharing the credit with Phelps. On June 7, 2016, Serial Scoop announced that Phelps had been terminated from her position as executive producer; a replacement was not named at the time of their reporting. The following morning, Sony Pictures Television confirmed to several list of soap opera media outlets that Phelps had been let go from her position; British television producer Mal Young was announced as Phelps' replacement. Phelps' last appearance as executive producer was July 12, 2016, while Young's first appearance occurred the following day on July 13. On September 13, 2016, it was announced that Pratt was named as executive producer and show-runner of Lee Daniels' "Star". The same day, Daytime Confidential revealed that former "Generations" and "Days of Our Lives" head writer Sally Sussman, who previously had positions with the show, such as Associate Head Writer, was in-talks to replace Pratt as Head Writer. On September 15, 2016, it was confirmed that Sussman was named as the soap's new head writer.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: On September 21, 2016, Daytime Confidential reported that after ten years since leaving the soap, Alden had been re-hired to be a story consultant under Sussman's regime. Sussman's tenure as head writer began taping on October 20, 2016, and began airing on December 7, 2016. On June 20, 2017, CBS announced its decision to renew the serial for three years. On July 31, 2017, it was announced that both Alden and Sussman would retire from their positions; Young was named as Sussman's successor as head writer. Sussman last aired as head writer on October 24, 2017. Young's tenure as head writer aired on October 25, 2017. In December 2018, Young announced his decision to leave the serial, citing that it was a "good time to move on", and cited his desire to pursue his own project. Anthony Morina was announced as executive producer, while Griffith was named co-executive producer and head writer.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: On January 30, 2020, CBS announced it had renewed the serial through 2024. In a statement, CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl stated: "It's a remarkable achievement and a testament to the extraordinary cast, gifted writers, talented producers and supremely passionate fans, as well as our tremendous partnership with ["Y&R" studio] Sony Pictures Television."


title: The Young and the Restless

text: On March 20, 2020, after 32 years and over 1,500 consecutive weeks, "The Young and the Restless" was no longer the number-one soap opera in the United States, having been dethroned by "The Bold and the Beautiful," which took 33 years since its 1987 debut to attain that position. "The Young and the Restless" then reclaimed the number-one spot the following week. On April 20, 2020, CBS announced plans to begin airing a week of vintage episodes, following the soap's shutdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic; production on the soap would resume in the summer of 2020. On December 1 of the same year, the serial aired its 12,000th episode.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: On August 19, 2021, it was reported that actress Briana Thomas had filed a lawsuit against Sony Pictures Television and CBS Studios, alleging sexual harassment on the set from showrunner Tony Morina.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: On September 29, 2022, a day before the premiere of "The Young and The Restless"’ 50th Season, the show announced that they would be producing showcasts, an audio form of the show’s episodes. Episodes of the showcast will be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: Taped at CBS Television City, studios 41 and 43 in Hollywood since its debut on March 26, 1973, the show was packaged by the distribution company Columbia Pictures Television, which has now been replaced by Sony Pictures Television. "The Young and the Restless" originally aired as a half-hour series on CBS and was the first soap opera to focus on the visual aspects of production, creating "a look that broke with the visual conventions of the genre." Similar to the radio serials that had preceded them, soap operas at the time primarily focused on dialogue, characters, and story, with details like sets as secondary concerns. "The Young and the Restless" stood out by using unique lighting techniques and camera angles, similar to Hollywood-style productions. The style of videotaping included using out-of-the-ordinary camera angles and a large number of facial close-ups with bright lighting on the actors' faces. Conboy said he used lighting to create "artistic effects". Those effects made the series look dark, shadowy, and moody. "The Young and the Restless"' look influenced the taping styles of other soap operas. When H. Wesley Kenney replaced Conboy as executive producer, he balanced the lighting of the scenes.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: Due to the success of the series, CBS and its affiliates pressured Bell to lengthen the series from 30 minutes to a full hour. Bell attributed the show's fall from number one in the Nielsen ratings to this change, since the lengthening of the show led to the departure of a number of cast members. "The issue of performing in a one-hour show had not been part of their contracts," Bell said. This forced the show to recast multiple main characters and eventually phase out the original core families in favor of new ones. The show expanded to one hour on February 4, 1980, replacing the long-running serial "Love of Life." On June 8, 1981, it moved to 12:30 p.m. Eastern, the slot occupied by "Search for Tomorrow" since its premiere in 1951, which ultimately led to the latter show moving to NBC after a disastrous experiment in another timeslot, alienating that program's loyal viewers. It airs 11:00 a.m. on most stations in the Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones, usually as a lead-in to the local noon news for most CBS stations outside the Eastern Time Zone (though some stations in the Central Time Zone opt to air it at 11:30 a.m.).


title: The Young and the Restless

text: Exteriors used in the late 1980s and early 1990s (and reused years later) included locations in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, including Allegheny General Hospital, One Oxford Centre, the Duquesne Club, Hampton Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and the state correctional institution - Pittsburgh. Phillip Chancellor died in the Richland, Pennsylvania area, where the police chief was not told and believed the accident really happened.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: On June 27, 2001, "The Young and the Restless" became the first daytime soap opera to be broadcast in high-definition. In September 2011, its sister soap "The Bold and the Beautiful" became the last soap to make the transition from Standard-definition television to High-definition television before "One Life to Live" ended its ABC run on January 13, 2012, and began its TOLN run online on April 29, 2013. On April 24, 2006, Soapnet began airing same-day episodes of the series. The final airing on SoapNet was on June 28, 2013. The soap has moved from SoapNet to TV Guide Network. The same day episodes begin airing on TVGN (now Pop) weeknights on July 1, 2013.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: Co-creators William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell centered "The Young and the Restless" around two core families, the wealthy Brooks' and the poor Fosters. Bell borrowed this technique of soap opera building from his mentor, Irna Phillips.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: While casting for the series, Bell and executive producer John Conboy auditioned 540 actors for the 13 main characters. They assembled the youngest group of actors ever cast on a soap opera at the time, hiring mostly unknown actors whom they considered "glamorous model types". Chemistry between actors also factored into the criteria for casting. The stories focused on the younger characters, with an emphasis in fantasy. The fantasy element was reflected in the love story between Jill Foster and the millionaire Phillip Chancellor II; the Leslie Brooks, Brad Elliot, and Lorie Brooks love triangle; and Snapper Foster's romance with Chris Brooks.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: Sexuality also played a major role in the stories. Formerly, soap operas did not delve into the sexual side of their romances. Bell changed that, first during his time as head writer of "Days of Our Lives" and again on "The Young and the Restless". William Gray Espy's Snapper Foster is considered the "first to discover sex on a soap opera." During the story, the character is engaged to Chris Brooks (Trish Stewart) and having a sexual relationship with Sally McGuire (Lee Crawford). Other plots reflected sexual themes as well. For the first time in the genre, the dialogue and the story situations included explicit sexual themes such as premarital intercourse, impotence, incest, and rape. The first two rape storylines that would be told on the serial were controversial at the time as they reflected a more introspective and analytic storytelling style, the first time rape storylines would be addressed in this manner in the genre. The first, in 1973–74, revolved around the rape of Chris Brooks and the aftermath, in which she entertained (and, eventually, rejected) the idea that she was perhaps at fault for her attack. The second, in 1976, involved Chris's sister Peggy (Pamela Peters Solow) and was meant to serve as a cut-and-dried story in which no viewer could justify this attack, committed out of the blue by an authority figure.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: The series also explored social issues. Jennifer Brooks underwent the first mastectomy on a soap opera. Other social issue storylines included bulimia, alcoholism, and cancer. Lesbianism was also touched on with Katherine Chancellor, who flirts with Jill while drunk in 1974 and has a brief relationship with Joann Curtis (Kay Heberle) in 1977.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: When the series lengthened from a half-hour to an hour in 1980, multiple cast members who portrayed characters from the original core families departed because their contracts only bound them to performing in a half-hour show. A number of the characters were recast until one of the few remaining original actors, Jaime Lyn Bauer, who portrayed Lorie Brooks, decided to leave. When she announced her intention not to renew her contract, Bell decided to replace the original core families. "As I studied the remaining cast, I realized I had two characters- Paul Williams, played by Doug Davidson, and Jack Abbott, played by Terry Lester- both of whom had a relatively insignificant presence on the show," Bell said. "They didn't have families. Hell, they didn't even have bedrooms. But these became the two characters I would build our two families around."


title: The Young and the Restless

text: The characters from the Abbott and Williams families were integrated into the series while the Brooks and Foster families, with the exception of Jill, were phased out. The continuity of the feud between Jill and Katherine, which began in the early years of the show, smoothed the transition. The relationship between the two characters remained a central theme throughout the series and became the longest lasting rivalry in daytime history.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: Another character introduced in the 1980s was Eric Braeden's Victor Newman. Originally, the character was "a despicable, contemptible, unfaithful wife abuser" who was intended to be killed off. Braeden's tenure on the show was meant to last between eight and twelve weeks. "When I saw Eric Braeden's first performance- the voice, the power, the inner strength- I knew immediately that I didn't want to lose this man," Bell said. "He was exactly what the show needed. Not the hateful man we saw on-screen, but the man he could and would become." Bell rewrote the story to save the character and put Braeden on contract. Victor's romance with Nikki Reed became a prominent plot in the series.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: With the success of another iconic character, Kimberlin Brown's Sheila Carter, Bell successfully crossed her over from "The Young and the Restless" to his second soap, "The Bold and the Beautiful", in 1992. The success of the crossover was due to the creativity of Bell, as the nefarious character of Sheila was presumed to have died in a fire on "The Young and the Restless".


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In the 1990s, core black characters were introduced with the Barber and Winters families. Victoria Rowell (Drucilla Barber) and Tonya Williams (Olivia Winters) were cast as the nieces of the Abbott's maid, Mamie Johnson, in 1990. The brothers Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) and Malcolm Winters (Shemar Moore) were introduced as love interests for Olivia and Drucilla. "The Young and the Restless" became popular among black viewers, which Williams and St. John attributed to the writing for the black characters. "I play a CEO at a major corporation, that's something we don't see that often," St. John said. "And the show doesn't use the old African-American stereotypes that we have been seeing on TV, like the hustler, the pimp, the drug dealer. We have come a long way." Though the characters held prominent positions in the fictional work place of Genoa City, they had little interaction with other characters outside of their jobs.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: The serial has won 165 Daytime Emmys, among 360 nominations. The following list summarizes 82 Daytime Emmy awards won by "The Young and the Restless":


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In Canada, the Global Television Network airs new episodes a day ahead of the US broadcast. Most Global stations use "The Young and the Restless" as a late-afternoon lead-in for their local newscasts, but times vary by market. It also airs on NTV in Newfoundland and Labrador which airs the program on a same-day-as-CBS basis.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In Belize, Channel 5 Great Belize Television airs the soap, while rival Channel 7 Tropical Vision Limited also airs the soap.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In Trinidad and Tobago, the show airs weekdays on CBS and has been airing in Trinidad and Tobago since the 1980s. In 1988, 70 percent of Trinidadians and Tobagonians who had access to a television watched daily episodes of "The Young and the Restless", a series that emphasized family problems, sexual intrigue, and gossip.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In Australia, "The Young and the Restless" airs after "Days of Our Lives" on Arena. It previously aired on the Nine Network from April 1, 1974, to February 23, 2007, before joining the W lineup from April 2, 2007, to August 17, 2012. On July 20, 2012, it was announced that the show would move to Arena on August 20 that year after W rebranded as SoHo. Episodes are approximately one week behind those airing in the US at present.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In New Zealand, "The Young and the Restless" aired alongside "Days of Our Lives" on TVNZ 1 from August 25, 1975, to November 6, 2009. The soap was approximately four seasons behind the CBS season due to being preempted by holiday and sporting programming.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In the United Kingdom, "The Young and The Restless" has aired on many TV channels starting in 1990, when episodes from 1987 debuted on Galaxy in a regular weekday timeslot, 14:30-15:30 (and repeated in the early hours of the following morning). When BSB merged with Sky in November 1990 to form BskyB, the soap moved to Sky's flagship channel Sky One and aired at 11:00-12:00 weekdays until the end of 1992. When BskyB's original three-year contract to air the soap expired, Sky chose not to renew it. In 1993, "Y&R" was picked up by satellite channel, UK Living (then known as simply Living, now Sky Witness) in a primetime timeslot 20:00-21:00, picking up where Sky left off. This lasted until late 1995. In 2007, Zone Romantica, now CBS Drama, began broadcasting the show weekdays [four years behind US]. In 2009, when CBS went into partnership with and took over the Chellozone Channels the show was relegated to just one showing a day [in favor of repeating shows such as Dynasty and Dallas in the daytime]. It was attracting around 18–20,000 viewers at midnight in the last week of its broadcast in the UK in August 2010.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In Italy "The Young and the Restless" aired as " from February 1983 to February 1984 on Italia 1, from October 1984 to June 1995 on Rete 4, in the summer of 1995 on Canale 5 and from April 1998 to October 2009 again on Rete 4. They were US episodes shown from autumn 1979 to March 1986, from November 1989 to December 1993 and from November 1998 to January 2007.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: "Nadia's Theme" has been the theme music of "The Young and the Restless" since the show's debut in 1973. The melody, originally titled "Cotton's Dream", was composed by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr. for the 1971 theatrical film "Bless the Beasts and Children". The melody was later renamed "Nadia's Theme" after the American Broadcasting Company television network's sports summary program "Wide World of Sports" lent the music for a montage of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci's routines during the 1976 Summer Olympics; despite the title, Nadia never performed her floor exercises using this piece of music. Instead, she used a piano arrangement of a medley of the songs "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" and "Jump in the Line".


title: The Young and the Restless

text: Botkin wrote a rearranged version of the piece specifically for "The Young and the Restless"' debut. The song remained unchanged, save for a slight remix in 1988 and a three-year stint in the early 2000s, when an alternate, more jazzy arrangement of that tune was used, using portions of the longer closing version of the original theme.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: An LP album was published in 1976 by A&M Records. The track list contains two titles of the French composer Michel Colombier, "Rainbow" and "Emmanuel", a success track which he wrote in memory of the death of his son.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In late September and early October 2012, upon the show's 10,000th episode, the current form of opening credits were updated. In the years prior, fans criticized them for their lack of updates and cast additions (some contract players, such as Adrienne Frantz, and Kimberlin Brown came and went without being added).


title: The Young and the Restless

text: In mid-February 2017, the current form of opening credits were updated to honor the history on CBS Daytime and to carry them into the future as they approach the 44th anniversary.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: "The Young and the Restless" entered CBS' daytime lineup at 12 noon/11 a.m. Central in March 1973, a timeslot where two popular game shows, NBC's "Jeopardy!" (original version, hosted by Art Fleming) and ABC's "Password" (revival of the 1960s hit with Allen Ludden as host), vied for the top spot in the ratings. Quite a number of CBS affiliates in the Eastern Time Zone had for years been running local newscasts at noon, despite CBS giving them a 30-minute break one hour later, at 1 p.m., for that purpose.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: With that scenario, at first, "The Young and the Restless" was at the bottom of the ratings, inheriting "Where the Heart Is"' low numbers and affiliate clearances. However, the youthful and sexually-driven storylines, which appealed perfectly to CBS' desired key demographic of younger women, helped it to rise rapidly, surging to ninth by 1974–75 and third by 1975–76. This eventually led to both "Jeopardy!'s" and "Password's" cancellations during 1975; a succession of shows (of varying formats) on both networks failed to make any significant impact for the next five years, other than perhaps ABC's "The $20,000 Pyramid," which aired at noon/11 from 1978 to 1980. Apart from a dip to sixth in 1980-81 (its first full season at a full hour, when the first half went against ABC's then-top-rated "Family Feud" in the Central Time Zone or the second half against the first part of "All My Children" in the Eastern), it has been one of the five highest-rated soaps since the 1975–76 season. After "Feud's" decline beginning in 1984 (it would be canceled the next year) and the eventual plateauing of "AMC" and NBC's "Days of Our Lives," the latter of which did undergo a brief resurgence in the mid-1980s, "Y&R" widened the ratings lead to the point where ABC and NBC never caught up again, both eventually ceding the Noon/11 time slot back to their local stations by the 1990s. By 1988–89 it had dethroned long-time leader "General Hospital" as the top-rated soap, a position it held until 2020. In 2010, it marked its 1,000th consecutive week n the #1 spot for daytime dramas. During the week of December 2, 2013, the series celebrated its 25th consecutive year as the number one daytime drama. "The Young and the Restless" airs every weeknight on Pop, where it averaged 362,000 viewers from July to September 2013.


title: The Young and the Restless

text: On the week ending April 6, 2012, "The Young and the Restless" was watched by a new low of an average of 3,960,000 viewers for the week, beating its previous low of 4.209 million in October 2011, as well as being the only week to date below 4 million viewers. Currently, the show is still the most-watched daytime drama; and for the season 2011–12, has a household rating of 3.5, and 1.5 for the Women 18–49 demographic. As of 2008, the Tuesday episodes of "The Young and the Restless" on average is the most-watched daytime drama showing.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White. Members of the Native Tongues collective, the group is regarded as a pioneer of alternative hip hop, influencing numerous hip hop and R&B musicians.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: The group's debut album, "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" (1990), established them as a critically acclaimed act, earning the first five 'mic' rating in "The Source"s history. In 1991, the group saw commercial success with its jazz-infused second album, "The Low End Theory", which heavily shaped alternative hip hop in the 1990s. It was followed by the similarly successful and influential "Midnight Marauders" (1993), and "Beats, Rhymes and Life" (1996), which topped the "Billboard" 200. In 1998, the group disbanded shortly before releasing its fifth album "The Love Movement", but in 2006, the original members reunited and toured sporadically for the next seven years. In 2016, the group released its sixth and final album, "We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service", which received critical acclaim and became its second album to top the "Billboard" 200; it featured posthumous contributions from Phife Dawg, who died eight months before its release.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: A Tribe Called Quest was the most commercially successful act in the Native Tongues, with all six of its albums certified either gold or platinum. John Bush of AllMusic called them "the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s". Kris Ex of "Pitchfork" regarded them as "one of the greatest acts that hip-hop has ever produced". In 2005, A Tribe Called Quest received the Founders Award at the "Billboard" R&B/Hip-Hop Awards, and two years later, the group was honored at the 4th VH1 Hip Hop Honors. In 2017, the group was awarded the Brit Award for International Group.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: Q-Tip (Kamaal Fareed) and Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor) were childhood friends who grew up together in the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Initially, Q-Tip performed as a battle rapper, under the name MC Love Child, occasionally teaming up with Murry Bergtraum High School classmate Ali Shaheed Muhammad as a rapper and DJ duo. In 1985, the duo began making demos over Q-Tip's pause tape beats. Phife Dawg later joined them, though he didn't become a full member until neighborhood friend Jarobi White joined; the group dubbed themselves "Crush Connection" and later "Quest". The group's final name, A Tribe Called Quest, was coined in 1988 by Jungle Brothers, who attended the same high school as Q-Tip and Muhammad; that year, Q-Tip made his first recorded appearances on Jungle Brothers' songs "Black Is Black" and "The Promo". Shortly after, A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Queen Latifah and Monie Love formed the Native Tongues collective, known for their like-minded Afrocentrism, positivity and eclectic sampling. In 1989, Phife Dawg made his first recorded appearance on the song "Buddy (Native Tongue Decision)", the remix of De La Soul's single "Buddy".


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: A Tribe Called Quest hired Kool DJ Red Alert as their first manager. In early 1989, the group signed a demo deal with Geffen Records and produced a five-song demo, which included future single "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo". Geffen decided against offering the group a recording contract, and the group was granted permission to shop for a deal elsewhere. After receiving lucrative offers for multi-album deals from a variety of labels, the group opted for a modest deal offered by Jive Records. Jive was then known as an independent rap label that partly owed its success to building the careers of artists Boogie Down Productions and Too Short. Later that year, the group released their first 12" single, "Description of a Fool".


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: Their debut album, "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm", released on April 10, 1990, was marked by a playful lyrical approach and light-hearted content such as safe sex, vegetarianism and youthful experiences. The music was an eclectic mix of jazz, funk, soul and rock samples. The album was met with critical acclaim; "The Source" rated it five mics, becoming the first album to receive the magazine's highest rating. "NME"s review stated that "This is not rap, it's near perfection." The album only gained momentum after the release of the singles "Bonita Applebum" and "Can I Kick It?", eventually achieving gold certification in 1996.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: A Tribe Called Quest's second album, "The Low End Theory", was released on September 24, 1991, with "Check the Rhime" as the lead single; the song largely established the lyrical interplay between Q-Tip and Phife Dawg. Until then, most of the group's songs had only featured vocals by Q-Tip, but Q-Tip encouraged Phife Dawg to increase his participation despite his recent diabetes diagnosis. Musically, the album fused hip hop with the laid-back atmosphere of jazz, particularly bebop and hard bop, combined with a minimalist approach to production that stripped the sound down to vocals, drums and bass. Mixing engineer Bob Power played a major role on the album, as he was tasked with removing surface noise and static that is typically heard on hip hop songs sampled from old vinyl records. During the recording sessions, White left the group to pursue a career in culinary arts, and they hired Chris Lighty as their new manager after signing to Rush Artist Management.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: Lyrically, the group focused on a range of social issues, from date rape ("The Infamous Date Rape") to consumerism ("Skypager"), while also criticizing the hip hop industry on several songs. Guests on the album included Leaders of the New School, Brand Nubian, Vinia Mojica and Ron Carter, who played double bass on the song "Verses from the Abstract". Additional singles included "Jazz (We've Got)" and "Scenario"; a live performance of "Scenario" with Leaders of the New School on "The Arsenio Hall Show" led to greater popularity. Leaders member Busta Rhymes attracted attention with his verse in the song, which led to him launching a successful solo career.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: "The Low End Theory" received widespread acclaim from critics. "The Source" gave the group its second consecutive five mic rating, praising their "progressive sound" and "streetwise edge", also noting that "Those who questioned Phife's microphone techniques on the first album will swallow those doubts as he practically steals the show on this one." The album peaked at #45 on the "Billboard" 200 and was certified gold on February 19, 1992; it reached platinum status by 1995. In the aftermath of their success, the group contributed the song "Hot Sex" to the soundtrack for the film "Boomerang" in 1992.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: Conrad Tillard, then known variously as the Hip Hop Minister and Conrad Muhammad, became a fixture in hip-hop in 1993 after he arranged a meeting and a truce in a feud between rising bands Wreckx-N-Effect and A Tribe Called Quest, that Tillard said threatened to turn Harlem into a "war zone."


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: A Tribe Called Quest released their third album, "Midnight Marauders", on November 9, 1993. The lead single, "Award Tour", became the group's highest charting single and helped to land the album at #8 on the "Billboard" 200. The production, still rooted in jazz, was a return to the eclectic sounds found on "People's Instinctive Travels", with a more prominent funk influence, including grittier drums. The voice of a "tour guide", on the intro and at the end of several tracks, added further cohesion to the album.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: "Midnight Marauders" saw improved lyrical interplay between Phife Dawg and Q-Tip, as evidenced on the singles "Electric Relaxation" and "Oh My God"; the popularity of "Electric Relaxation" led to it becoming the opening theme song for the sitcom "The Wayans Bros.", from 1995 to 1996. Topics on the album include police harassment ("Midnight"), religious faith ("God Lives Through"), hip hop ("We Can Get Down") and use of the word nigga ("Sucka Nigga"). Guests on the album include Large Professor, Busta Rhymes and Raphael Saadiq (credited as Raphael Wiggins).


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: The album received widespread acclaim from critics. "Entertainment Weekly" called the album "as fresh as their first", while "Melody Maker" stated "A Tribe Called Quest have expanded their vision with a lyrical gravitas and a musical lightness of touch that has hitherto eluded them across a whole album". The album was ranked #21 by "The Village Voice" in that year's Pazz & Jop critics' poll. "Midnight Marauders" became A Tribe Called Quest's fastest-selling album; it was certified platinum on January 11, 1995, only 14 months after its release.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: In 1994, at "The Source" Awards, Tupac Shakur performed his song "Out on Bail", interrupting A Tribe Called Quest as they accepted the award for Group of the Year; it was later found that this apparent act of disrespect was accidental. That summer, the group performed as one of a handful of hip hop acts on the Lollapalooza tour, among acts such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Stereolab and The Verve. While on tour, keyboardist Amp Fiddler introduced Q-Tip to a young producer from Detroit named Jay Dee. At the suggestion of Q-Tip, Jay Dee later joined him and Muhammad, forming a production unit known as The Ummah (Arabic for "the [worldwide] Muslim community"), in which each member produced songs individually and received a songwriting credit for their work. The Ummah handled the production of A Tribe Called Quest's next two albums.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: During this period, group members contributed to several notable outside projects with production and guest verses. Phife Dawg, who rapped on "Oh My God" that he owned "more condoms than TLC", made an appearance on the song "Intro-lude" from that group's album, "CrazySexyCool", in 1994. That year, Q-Tip produced the single "One Love" from Nas' debut album "Illmatic" and appeared on the song "Get It Together" by Beastie Boys, from their album "Ill Communication". In 1995, Muhammad co-produced the single "Brown Sugar" from D'Angelo's debut album of the same name, and Q-Tip produced three songs for Mobb Deep while serving as a mixing engineer for their album "The Infamous". The group contributed "Glamour and Glitz" to "The Show: The Soundtrack" that year, before returning the following year with their next album.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: "Beats, Rhymes and Life", the group's fourth album, was released on July 30, 1996, supported by the singles "1nce Again" and "Stressed Out". It was recorded during the turbulent East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry, with the tracks "Get a Hold", "Keeping It Moving" and "Baby Phife's Return" referring to it. The Ummah's production style, a minimalist R&B and jazz-infused sound, was a departure from the group's previous albums. Jay Dee, a big fan of A Tribe Called Quest, contributed five beats to the album, including both singles. Lyrically, the album featured a less playful, more philosophical approach by the group. Consequence, Q-Tip's cousin, and an aspiring rapper, was present on six songs. Phife Dawg later stated that this period was when he began to lose interest in the group:


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: The album debuted at #1 on the "Billboard" 200 and went gold before the end of the year; it was certified platinum in 1998. Critical reception was divided, but mostly positive; "Rolling Stone" called the album "near-flawless", while "The Source" awarded it four mics. "Melody Maker" felt that it provided "both their best and worst thus far." It was nominated for Best Rap Album and "1nce Again" was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1997 Grammy Awards.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: In 1997, the group was featured on the Fugees single "Rumble in the Jungle", alongside Busta Rhymes and John Forté, from the "When We Were Kings" soundtrack. They also appeared on the soundtrack "", with the song "Same Ol' Thing". In Europe, they released "The Jam EP", which included the aforementioned song, "Mardi Gras at Midnight" (featuring Rah Digga) and two songs from "Beats, Rhymes and Life", "Get a Hold" and "Jam". That year also saw the first reunion of the three Native Tongues groups since 1989, when Jungle Brothers invited A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul to guest on "How Ya Want It We Got It", a song from their album "Raw Deluxe".


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: A month before "The Love Movement" was released on September 29, 1998, the group announced that it would be their final album. The group cited their frustration with Jive as a significant factor in the breakup. The album, which was centered on the theme of love, was promoted by the single "Find a Way", a song that "innocently wonders about the point at which friendship spills over into sex." Musically, the album saw the return of The Ummah's stripped-down production style from "Beats, Rhymes and Life". Guest appearances by Busta Rhymes, Redman and Noreaga helped to balance the subdued tone of the album.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: "The Love Movement" was certified gold on November 1, 1998, just over a month after its release. Critical reception was mostly positive; "Rolling Stone" remarked that "the mature, accomplished niceness of "The Love Movement" proves that the Tribe still have the skills – they're just short on thrills." The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 1999 Grammy Awards.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: Under the management of Violator, Q-Tip launched a successful solo career, which saw two "Billboard" Hot 100 hits, "Vivrant Thing" and "Breathe and Stop", and the release of the gold-certified album "Amplified" in late 1999. The album featured production by Q-Tip, Jay Dee and DJ Scratch. Despite receiving mostly positive reviews, the album was criticized by the hip hop community for its mainstream sound. The most notable of Q-Tip's critics was Phife Dawg, who took his former partner to task on his solo album "", released in 2000. The Hi-Tek-produced lead single, "Flawless", contained the lines "Go 'head, play yourself with them ho-like hooks / sing ballads if it's all about the Maxwell look". "Ventilation" included production by Jay Dee and Pete Rock.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: Teaming up with two other artists from former groups, Raphael Saadiq of Tony! Toni! Toné! and Dawn Robinson of En Vogue, Muhammad's next project was Lucy Pearl. The group scored two hit singles with "Dance Tonight" and "Don't Mess with My Man", from their self-titled album, which was certified gold a few months after its release in 2000. Following a dispute between Saadiq and Robinson, the latter left the group and was replaced by Joi; however, this new incarnation would only last for the remainder of touring.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: In 2001, Q-Tip changed directions and recorded "Kamaal the Abstract", an album which saw him in the role of singer and bandleader. Unlike his work with A Tribe Called Quest, or his previous solo work, "Kamaal" was constructed around live music and abstract song concepts. Arista Records refused to release the album, doubting its commercial potential, resulting in Q-Tip leaving the label. The following year, he recorded the song "What Lies Beneath" for the "Soundbombing III" compilation, in which he responded to Phife Dawg's comments on "Flawless".


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: In 2003, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg put aside their differences and A Tribe Called Quest briefly returned to the studio, recording the song "I C U (Doin' It)", featuring Erykah Badu. It was intended to be the first single from the Violator compilation, "V3: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly", however, the album was not released. Undeterred by the shelving of "Kamaal the Abstract", Q-Tip recorded "Open" in late 2003, planning to release it the next year. It featured contributions from André 3000, Common and D'Angelo. However, his label, DreamWorks Records, got bought out by Universal Music Group, which eventually led to "Open" also getting shelved.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: On August 27, 2004, A Tribe Called Quest headlined the Street Scene music festival in San Diego. Muhammad focused on developing a stable of artists, most of whom were showcased on his debut solo album, "Shaheedullah and Stereotypes", released later that year. In 2005, the group received the Founders Award at the "Billboard" R&B/Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: In 2006, the group reunited as a touring band, in part, to help Phife Dawg with his mounting medical expenses. They co-headlined that year's Bumbershoot festival in Seattle and performed several sold-out concerts in the U.S., Canada and Japan. The group also appeared on the 2K Sports Bounce Tour, promoting the "NBA 2K7" video game, with a Dan the Automator remix of their song "Lyrics to Go" appearing on the game's soundtrack. According to Phife Dawg at the time, A Tribe Called Quest planned to release an album, as they owed Jive one more in their six-album contract. Speaking about the possibility of a new album showing up that year, Phife Dawg said:


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: In 2007, A Tribe Called Quest was honored at the 4th VH1 Hip Hop Honors, with a tribute performance by Busta Rhymes, Common, Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams. The group was named the headlining act for the 2008 Rock the Bells tour. That year, Phife Dawg received a kidney transplant from his wife. In late 2008, Q-Tip released his long-awaited second album, "The Renaissance", on Universal Motown Records. After being shelved for seven years, "Kamaal the Abstract" was finally released in 2009, on Battery Records.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: The group co-headlined the 2010 Rock the Bells tour. Phife Dawg planned to release his follow-up album, "Songs in the Key of Phife: Volume 1 (Cheryl's Big Son)", that year; however, his health issues delayed the release of the album. The group was the subject of the 2011 documentary, "", directed by Michael Rapaport. In 2012, Q-Tip signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music label and prepared the release of his new album, "The Last Zulu", which later became heavily delayed. At the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, the group took part in a tribute performance for former manager Chris Lighty, who had recently died.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: In 2013, the group performed at a handful of select festivals throughout the summer, including Yahoo! Wireless in London, Splash! in Germany, OpenAir Frauenfeld in Switzerland, and in Los Angeles. In November 2013, two of the four New York shows for West's Yeezus Tour featured A Tribe Called Quest as supporting acts. According to statements made by Q-Tip at the time, these were intended to be A Tribe Called Quest's final performances.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: On November 13, 2015, A Tribe Called Quest reunited to perform on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". That day, the group reissued "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm", in commemoration of its 25th anniversary. The reissue included remixes by Pharrell Williams, J. Cole and CeeLo Green. In addition, they participated in an AMA on Reddit, where users asked the group questions. On the night of their "Tonight Show" appearance, the same night of the terrorist attacks in Paris, the group felt "charged" and put aside their differences, deciding to record a new album, "We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service", in secrecy. Muhammad was unable to attend recording sessions for the album, as he was producing the "Luke Cage" soundtrack with Adrian Younge at the time.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: Phife Dawg died on March 22, 2016, due to complications relating to diabetes. The album was incomplete when Phife Dawg died, but the surviving members continued to work on it following his death. That August, Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid revealed that the label would be releasing a new A Tribe Called Quest album in the near future. "We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service" was subsequently announced in October, with a release date of November 11, 2016; it became the group's second album to debut at #1 on the "Billboard" 200. The day after its release, the group appeared on "Saturday Night Live" and performed in front of a mural of Phife Dawg.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: "We Got It from Here" featured guest appearances by André 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Jack White, Elton John, Kanye West, Anderson Paak, Talib Kweli, Consequence and Busta Rhymes. Promoted by the hit single "We the People...", which opposed Donald Trump's presidential campaign, the album received widespread acclaim from critics. Lyrically, "Rolling Stone" believed that the group "maintain the attitude of the Bohemian everydude funkonauts" that inspired many prominent hip hop artists. AllMusic praised the album's "visionary and pleasingly weird production", which drew from several different genres and sample sources. Speaking with "Billboard", Q-Tip revealed plans for the group to do a final world tour, to promote the album and honor Phife Dawg, before permanently disbanding. It was also announced that a new Phife Dawg solo album, "Forever", mostly completed before his death, would be released in the near future; the album was released in 2022.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: On February 12, 2017, A Tribe Called Quest performed alongside Anderson Paak, Busta Rhymes and Consequence at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. Later that month, the group won the award for best International Group at the 2017 Brit Awards. On May 22, 2017, "We Got It from Here" achieved gold certification, making all six of the group's albums RIAA-certified. The group performed at a number of festivals throughout the summer; they performed their final concert on September 9, 2017 at Bestival in Dorset, England. After disbanding, a short film for the album's opening track, "The Space Program", was released on March 29, 2018 and billed as the group's final video.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: AllMusic critic John Bush called A Tribe Called Quest "without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s", further stating that the group "jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap." At a time when James Brown drum breaks and P-Funk basslines dominated hip hop production, the group successfully bridged the gap between jazz and hip hop, incorporating bebop and hard bop samples and recording with double bassist Ron Carter. The group's production influenced their contemporaries, thus changing the sound of hip hop; Dr. Dre produced his highly regarded debut "The Chronic" after being inspired by "The Low End Theory", and Pete Rock stated, "There were times when I would walk into a record store and see Tip sitting on the floor with his glasses on, going through albums, looking for beats  ... I was like, 'This guy is serious.' Being around [the group] made me step up and become even more serious than I was."


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: Lyrically, A Tribe Called Quest has been regarded for addressing many social issues through Q-Tip's philosophical viewpoints and Phife Dawg's everyman perspectives. "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" influenced several hip hop artists; Scarface asserted that it "really made me want to rap", and Pharrell Williams expressed that it was "the turning point [which] made me see that music was art." Kierna Mayo, former editor-in-chief of "Ebony", said that "The Low End Theory" and "Midnight Marauders" "gave birth to neo-everything. ... That entire class of D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, and Lauryn Hill—and moving on to André 3000, Kanye West, and Talib Kweli—everything that is left of everything begins with Tribe." The group has also been credited for helping launch the solo careers of Busta Rhymes, J Dilla and Consequence.


title: A Tribe Called Quest

text: In 2003, "The Low End Theory" was ranked 154th on "Rolling Stone"'s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In a revised 2020 list, its ranking moved up to 43rd, and "Midnight Marauders" was added to the list at 201st. In 2022, A Tribe Called Quest was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and "The Low End Theory" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: The Turkish War of Independence (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by the Turkish National Movement after parts of the Ottoman Empire were occupied and partitioned following its defeat in World War I. These campaigns were directed against Greece in the west, Armenia in the east, France in the south, loyalists and separatists in various cities, and British and Ottoman troops around Constantinople (İstanbul).


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: The ethnic demographics of the modern Turkish Republic were significantly impacted by the earlier Armenian genocide and the deportations of Greek-speaking, Orthodox Christian Rum people. The Turkish nationalist movement carried out massacres and deportations to eliminate native Christian populations—a continuation of the Armenian genocide and other ethnic cleansing operations during World War I. Following these campaigns of ethnic cleansing the historic Christian presence in Anatolia was destroyed, in large part, and the Muslim demographic had increased from 80% to 98%.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: While World War I ended for the Ottoman Empire with the Armistice of Mudros, the Allied Powers continued occupying and seizing land. Ottoman military commanders therefore refused orders from both the Allies and the Ottoman government to surrender and disband their forces. This crisis reached a head when sultan Mehmed VI dispatched Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk), a well-respected and high-ranking general, to Anatolia to restore order; however, Mustafa Kemal became an enabler and eventually leader of Turkish nationalist resistance against the Ottoman government, Allied powers, and Christian minorities.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: In an attempt to establish control over the power vacuum in Anatolia, the Allies persuaded Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos to launch an expeditionary force into Anatolia and occupy Smyrna (İzmir), beginning the Turkish War of Independence. Many different national congresses banded together which led to the establishment of the Grand National Assembly (GNA) in Ankara, a counter government led by Mustafa Kemal made up of remaining elements of the Committee of Union and Progress. The Allied powers meanwhile pressured the Ottoman government into suspending the Constitution, shuttering the Chamber of Deputies, and signing the Treaty of Sèvres, a treaty unfavorable to Turkish interests that the "Ankara government" declared illegal.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: In the ensuing war, irregular militia known as Kuva-yi Milliye defeated the French forces in the south, and undemobilized units led by Kazım Karabekir Pasha went on to partition Armenia with Bolshevik forces, resulting in the Treaty of Kars (October 1921). The Western Front of the independence war was known as the Greco-Turkish War, in which Greek forces at first encountered unorganized resistance. However İsmet Pasha's organization of Kuva-yi Milliye militia into a regular army paid off when Ankara forces fought the Greeks in the Battles of First and Second İnönü. The Greek army emerged victorious in the Battle of Kütahya-Eskişehir and decided to drive on the nationalist capital of Ankara, stretching their supply lines. The Turks checked the advance in the Battle of Sakarya and counter-attacked in the Great Offensive, which expelled Greek forces from Anatolia in the span of three weeks. The war effectively ended with the recapture of İzmir and the Chanak Crisis, prompting the signing of another armistice in Mudanya.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: The GNA in Ankara was recognized as the legitimate Turkish government, which signed the Treaty of Lausanne (July 1923), a treaty more favorable to Turkey than the Sèvres Treaty. The Allies evacuated Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, the Ottoman government was overthrown and the monarchy abolished, and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (which remains Turkey's primary legislative body today) declared the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923. With the war, a population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, and the abolition of the sultanate, the Ottoman era came to an end, and with Atatürk's reforms, the Turks created the modern, secular nation-state of Turkey. On 3 March 1924, the Ottoman caliphate was also abolished.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: In the summer months of 1918, the leaders of the Central Powers realized that World War I was lost, including the Ottomans'. Almost simultaneously the Palestinian Front and then the Macedonian Front collapsed. First on the Palestine Front, Ottoman armies were soundly defeated by the British. Taking command of the Seventh Army, Mustafa Kemal Pasha accomplished an orderly retreat across hundreds of kilometers of hostile territory to escape from superior British manpower, firepower, and airpower. Edmund Allenby's weeks long conquest of the Levant was devastating, but the sudden decision by Bulgaria to sign an armistice cut communications from Constantinople (İstanbul) to Vienna and Berlin, and opened the undefended Ottoman capital to Entente attack.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: With the major fronts crumbling, Grand Vizier Talât Pasha intended to sign an armistice, and resigned on 8 October 1918 so that a new government would receive less harsh armistice terms. The Armistice of Mudros was signed on 30 October 1918, ending World War I for the Ottoman Empire. Three days later, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)—which governed the Ottoman Empire as a one-party state since 1913—held its last congress, where it was decided the party would be dissolved. Talât, Enver Pasha, Cemal Pasha, and five other high-ranking members of the Committee of Union and Progress escaped the Ottoman Empire on a German torpedo boat later that night, plunging the country into a power vacuum.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: The armistice was signed because the Ottoman Empire had been defeated in important fronts, but the military was intact and retreated in good order. Unlike other Central Powers, the Ottoman Army was not mandated to dissolve its general staff in the armistice. Though the army suffered from mass desertion through out the war which lead to banditry, no mutinies or revolutions were threatening the country's collapse like in Germany, Austria-Hungary, or Russia. Due to the Turkish nationalist policies pursued by the CUP against Ottoman Christians and the dismemberment of the Arab provinces, by 1918 the Ottoman Empire held control over a mostly homogeneous land of Muslim Turks (and Kurds) from Eastern Thrace to the Persian border, though with sizable Greek and Armenian minorities still within its borders.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: On 30 October 1918, the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I, bringing hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I to an end. The Ottoman Army was to demobilize, its navy and air force handed to the Allies, and occupied territory in the Caucasus and Persia to be evacuated. Article VII granted the Allies the right to occupy forts controlling the Turkish Straits; and the vague right to occupy "in case of disorder" any territory if there were a threat to security, especially the six eastern vilayets, where genocide by the CUP government against Armenian Ottomans was committed. For now, the House of Osman escaped the fates of the Hohenzollerns, Habsburgs, and Romanovs to continue ruling their empire, though at the cost of its remaining sovereignty.On 13 November 1918, a French brigade entered Constantinople to begin a "de facto" occupation of the Ottoman capital and its immediate dependencies. This was followed by a fleet consisting of British, French, Italian and Greek ships deploying soldiers on the ground the next day, totaling 50,000 troops in Constantinople. The Allied Powers stated that the occupation was temporary and its purpose was to protect the monarchy, the Caliphate and the minorities. Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe—the British signatory of the Mudros Armistice—stated the Triple Entente's public position that they had no intention to dismantle the Ottoman government or place it under military occupation by "occupying Constantinople". However, dismantling the government and partitioning the Ottoman Empire among the Allied nations had been an objective of the Entente since the start of WWI.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: Greek and Armenian refugees were also to be sent back to their homes that they were forced from under the CUP, but most found their old homes inhabited by equally desperate Rumelian Muslim refugees from the Balkan Wars settled in their properties during the First World War. Ethnic conflict restarted in Ottoman land, especially in the Black Sea, Aegean, Eastern Anatolian and Central Anatolian regions; government officials responsible for resettling Christian refugees often assisted Muslim refugees in these disputes, prompting European powers to continue bringing Ottoman territory under their control.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: A wave of seizures took place in the rest of the country in the following months. British forces demanded that Turkish troops under the command of Ali İhsan Pasha (Sabis) evacuate Mosul, claiming that Christian civilians in Mosul and Zaho were killed en masse, and Article VII required a handover. İhsan Pasha refused this request, but British soldiers entered Mosul anyway without encountering any resistance. On 14 November, joint Franco-Greek troops occupied the town of Uzunköprü in Eastern Thrace as well as the railway axis until the train station of Hadımköy on the outskirts of Constantinople. On 1 December, British troops based in Syria occupied Kilis, Maraş, Urfa and Birecik. Beginning in December, French troops began successive seizures of Ottoman territory in Cilicia, including the towns of Antakya, Mersin, Tarsus, Ceyhan, Adana, Osmaniye, and İslâhiye while French forces embarked by gunboats and sent troops to the Black Sea ports of Zonguldak and Karadeniz Ereğli commanding Turkey's coal mining region. These continued seizures of land prompted Ottoman commanders to refuse demobilization and prepare for renewed conflict.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: The British similarly asked Mustafa Kemal Pasha to turn over the port of Alexandretta (İskenderun), which he reluctantly did, following which he was recalled to Constantinople. He made sure to distribute weapons to the population to prevent them from falling into the hands of Allied forces. Some of these weapons were smuggled to the east by members of Karakol society, a successor to the Special Organization, to be used in case resistance was necessary in Anatolia. Many Ottoman officials participated in efforts to conceal from the occupying authorities details of the burgeoning independence movement spreading throughout Anatolia. Munitions initially seized by the Allies were secretly smuggled out of Constantinople into Central Anatolia, along with Ottoman officers keen to resist any division of Ottoman territories. These operations were conducted through the secret Karakol Organization in order to thwart Allied demands through passive and active resistance.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: Other commanders began refusing orders from the Ottoman government and the Allied powers. After Mustafa Kemal Pasha returned to Constantinople, Ali Fuat Pasha (Cebesoy) brought XX Corps under his command. He marched first to Konya and then to Ankara to organise resistance groups, such as the Circassian çetes he assembled with guerilla leader Çerkes Ethem. Meanwhile, Kazım Karabekir Pasha refused to surrender his intact and powerful four division strong XV Corps in Erzurum.


title: Turkish War of Independence

text: Following the occupation of Constantinople, Mehmed VI Vahdettin dissolved the Chamber of Deputies which was dominated by Unionists elected back in 1914, promising elections for the next year. Vahdettin just ascended to the throne only months earlier with the death of Mehmed V Reşad. He was disgusted with the policies of the CUP, and wished asserted his title as Sultan-Caliph more than his diseased half brother. Greek and Armenian Ottomans declared the termination of their relationship with the Ottoman Empire through their respective patriarchates, and refused to partake in the upcoming election.