title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is currently home to the largest Armenian church in the world, the Cathedral of Saint Gregory the Illuminator. It was consecrated in 2001, during the 1700th anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Church and the adoption of Christianity as the national religion in Armenia.


title: Yerevan

text: After the capture of Yerevan by the Russians as a result of the Russo-Persian War of 1826–28, many Russian Orthodox churches were built in the city under the orders of the Russian commander General Ivan Paskevich. The Saint Nikolai Cathedral opened during the second half of the 19th century, was the largest Russian church in the city. The Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God was opened in 1916 in Kanaker-Zeytun.


title: Yerevan

text: However, most of the churches were either closed or demolished by the Soviets during the 1930s. The Saint Nikolai Cathedral was entirely destroyed in 1931, while the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God was closed and converted first into a warehouse and later into a club for the military personnel. Religious services resumed in the church in 1991, and in 2004 a cupola and a belfry were added to the building. In 2010, the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Holy Cross Russian Orthodox church took place with the presence of Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow. The church was eventually consecrated on 7 October 2017, with the presence of Catholicos Karekin II, Russian bishops and the church benefactor Ara Abramyan.


title: Yerevan

text: According to Ivan Chopin, there were eight mosques in Yerevan in the middle of the 19th century. The 18th-century Blue Mosque of Yerevan was restored and reopened in the 1990s, with Iranian funding, and is currently the only active mosque in Armenia, mainly serving Iranian Shia visitors.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is home to tiny Yezidi, Molokan, Neopagan, Baháʼí and Jewish communities, with the Jewish community being represented by the Jewish Council of Armenia. A variety of nontrinitarian communities, considered dangerous sects by the Armenian Apostolic Church, are also found in the city, including Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists and Word of Life.


title: Yerevan

text: Medical services in Armenia, other than maternity services, are not subsidized by the government. However, the government annually allocates a certain amount from the state budget for the medical needs of socially vulnerable groups.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is a major healthcare and medical service centre in the region. Several hospitals of Yerevan, refurbished with modern technologies, provide healthcare and conduct medical research, such as Shengavit Medical Center, Erebouni Medical Center, Izmirlian Medical Center, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Medical Center, Nork-Marash Medical Center, Armenia Republican Medical Center, Astghik Medical Center, Armenian American Wellness Center, and Mkhitar Heratsi Hospital Complex of the Yerevan State Medical University. The municipality runs 39 polyclinics/medical centers throughout the city.


title: Yerevan

text: The Research Center of Maternal and Child Health Protection has operated in Yerevan since 1937, while the Armenicum Clinical Center was opened in 1999, where research is conducted mainly related to infectious diseases, including HIV, immunodeficiency disorders and hepatitis.


title: Yerevan

text: The Liqvor Pharmaceuticals Factory, operating in Yerevan since 1991, is currently the largest medicine manufacturer of Armenia.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is Armenia's principal cultural, artistic, and industrial center, with a large number of museums, important monuments and the national public library. It also hosts Vardavar, the most widely celebrated festival among Armenians, and is one of the historic centres of traditional Armenian carpet weaving.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is home to a large number of museums, art galleries and libraries. The most prominent of these are the National Gallery of Armenia, the History Museum of Armenia, the Cafesjian Museum of Art, the Matenadaran library of ancient manuscripts, and the Armenian Genocide Museum at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex.


title: Yerevan

text: Founded in 1921, the National Gallery of Armenia and the History Museum of Armenia are the principal museums of the city. In addition to having a permanent exposition of works by Armenian painters, the gallery houses a collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures by German, American, Austrian, Belgian, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Italian, Dutch, Russian and Swiss artists. It usually hosts temporary expositions.


title: Yerevan

text: The Armenian Genocide Museum is located at the foot of the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex and features numerous eyewitness accounts, texts and photographs from the time. It comprises a memorial stone made of three parts, the latter of which is dedicated to the intellectual and political figures who, as the museum's site says, "raised their protest against the Genocide committed against the Armenians by the Turks," such as Armin T. Wegner, Hedvig Büll, Henry Morgenthau Sr., Franz Werfel, Johannes Lepsius, James Bryce, Anatole France, Giacomo Gorrini, Benedict XV, Fridtjof Nansen, and others.


title: Yerevan

text: Cafesjian Museum of Art within the Yerevan Cascade is an art centre opened on 7 November 2009. It showcases a massive collection of glass artwork, particularly the works of the Czech artists Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová. The front gardens showcase sculptures from Gerard L. Cafesjian's collection.


title: Yerevan

text: The Erebuni Museum founded in 1968, is an archaeological museum housing Urartian artifacts found during excavations at the Erebuni Fortress. The Yerevan History Museum and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation History Museum are among the prominent museums that feature the history of Yerevan and the First Republic of Armenia respectively. The Military Museum within the Mother Armenia complex is about the participation of Armenian soldiers in World War II and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.


title: Yerevan

text: The city is also home to a large number of art museums. Sergei Parajanov Museum opened in 1988 is dedicated to Sergei Parajanov's art works in cinema and painting. Komitas Museum opened in 2015, is a musical art museum devoted to the renowned Armenian composer Komitas. Charents Museum of Literature and Arts opened in 1921, Modern Art Museum of Yerevan opened in 1972, and the Middle East Art Museum opened in 1993, are also among the notable art museums of the city.


title: Yerevan

text: Biographical museums are also common in Yerevan. Many renowned Armenian poets, painters and musicians are honored with house-museums in their memory, such as poet Hovhannes Tumanyan, composer Aram Khachaturian, painter Martiros Saryan, novelist Khachatur Abovian, and French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour.


title: Yerevan

text: Recently, many museums of science and technology have opened in Yerevan, such as the Museum of Armenian Medicine (1999), the Space Museum of Yerevan (2001), Museum of Science and Technology (2008), Museum of Communications (2012) and the Little Einstein Interactive Science Museum (2016).


title: Yerevan

text: The National Library of Armenia located on Teryan Street is the chief public library of the city and the entire republic. It was founded in 1832 and is operating in its current building since 1939. Another national library of Yerevan is the Khnko Aper Children's Library, founded in 1933. Other major public libraries include the Avetik Isahakyan Central Library founded in 1935, the Republican Library of Medical Sciences founded in 1939, the Library of Science and Technology founded in 1957, and the Musical Library founded in 1965. In addition, each administrative district of Yerevan has its own public library (usually more than one library).


title: Yerevan

text: The Matenadaran is a library-museum and a research centre, regrouping 17,000 ancient manuscripts and several bibles from the Middle Ages. Its archives hold a rich collection of valuable ancient Armenian, Ancient Greek, Aramaic, Assyrian, Hebrew, Latin, Middle and Modern Persian manuscripts. It is located on Mashtots Avenue at central Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: On 6 June 2010, Yerevan was named as the 2012 World Book Capital by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Armenian capital was chosen for the quality and variety of the programme it presented to the selection committee, which met at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris on 2 July 2010.


title: Yerevan

text: The National Archives of Armenia founded in 1923, is a scientific research centre and depositary, with a collection of around 3.5 million units of valuable documents.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is one of the historic centers of traditional Armenian carpet. Various rug fragments have been excavated in areas around Yerevan dating back to the 7th century BCE or earlier. The tradition was further developed from the 16th century when Yerevan became the central city of Persian Armenia. However, carpet manufacturing in the city was greatly enriched with the flock of Western Armenian migrants from the Ottoman Empire throughout the 19th century, and the arrival of Armenian refugees escaping the genocide in the early 20th century. Currently, the city is home to the Arm Carpet factory opened in 1924, as well as the Tufenkian handmade carpets (since 1994), and Megerian handmade carpets (since 2000).


title: Yerevan

text: The Yerevan Vernissage open-air exhibition-market formed in the late 1980s on Aram Street, features a large collection of different types of traditional Armenian hand-made art works, especially woodwork sculptures, rugs and carpets. On the other hand, the Saryan park located near the opera house, is famous for being a permanent venue where artists exhibit their paintings.


title: Yerevan

text: The Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art founded in 1992 in Yerevan, is a creativity centre helping to exchange experience between professional artists in an appropriate atmosphere.


title: Yerevan

text: Jazz, classical, folk and traditional music are among several genres that are popular in the city of Yerevan. A large number of ensembles, orchestras and choirs of different types of Armenian and international music are active in the city.


title: Yerevan

text: The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra founded in 1925, is one of the oldest musical groups in Yerevan and modern Armenia. The Armenian National Radio Chamber Choir founded in 1929, won the First Prize of the Soviet Union in the 1931 competition of choirs among the republics of the Soviet Union. Folk and classical music of Armenia was taught in state-sponsored conservatoires during the Soviet days. The Sayat-Nova Armenian Folk Song Ensemble was founded in Yerevan in 1938. Currently directed by Tovmas Poghosyan, the ensemble performs the works of prominent Armenian "gusans" such as Sayat-Nova, Jivani, and Sheram.


title: Yerevan

text: In 1939, the Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet was opened. It is home to the Aram Khatchaturian concert hall and the Alexander Spendiarian auditorium of the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet.


title: Yerevan

text: The Komitas Chamber Music House opened in 1977, is the home of chamber music performers and lovers in Armenia. In 1983, the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex was opened. It is currently the largest indoor venue in Armenia.


title: Yerevan

text: The National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia (founded in 1961), Yerevan State Brass Band (1964), Folk Instruments Orchestra of Armenia (1977), Gusan and Folk Song Ensemble of Armenia (1983), Hover Chamber Choir (1992), Shoghaken Folk Ensemble (1995), Yerevan State Chamber Choir (1996), State Orchestra of Armenian National Instruments (2004), and the Youth State Orchestra of Armenia (2005), are also among the famous musical ensembles of the city of Yerevan. The Ars lunga piano-cello duo achieved international fame since its foundation in 2009 in Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: Armenian religious music remained liturgical until Komitas introduced polyphony by the end of the 19th century. Starting from the late 1950s, religious music became widely spread when Armenian chants (also known as "sharakans") were performed by the soprano Lusine Zakaryan. The state-run Tagharan Ensemble of Yerevan founded in 1981 and currently directed by Sedrak Yerkanian, also performs ritual and ancient Armenian music.


title: Yerevan

text: Jazz is also among the popular genres in Yerevan. The first jazz band in Yerevan was founded in 1936. Currently, many jazz and ethno jazz bands are active in Yerevan such as Time Report, Art Voices, and Nuance Jazz Band. The Malkhas jazz club founded by renowned artist Levon Malkhasian, is among the most popular clubs in the city. The[Yerevan Jazz Fest is an annual jazz festival taking place every autumn since 2015, organized by the Armenian Jazz Association with the support of the Yerevan Municipality.


title: Yerevan

text: Armenian rock has been originated in Yerevan in the mid 1960s, mainly through Arthur Meschian and his band "Arakyalner" "(Disciples)". In the early 1970s, there were a range of professional bands in Yerevan strong enough to compete with their Soviet counterparts. In post-Soviet Armenia, an Armenian progressive rock scene has been developed in Yerevan, mainly through Vahan Artsruni, the Oaksenham rock band, and the Dorians band. The Armenian Navy Band founded by Arto Tunçboyacıyan in 1998 is also famous for jazz, avant-garde and folk music. Reggae is also becoming popular in Yerevan mainly through the Reincarnation musical band.


title: Yerevan

text: The Cafesjian Center for the Arts is known for its regularly programmed events including the "Cafesjian Classical Music Series" on the first Wednesday of each month, and the "Music Cascade" series of jazz, pop and rock music live concerts performed every Friday and Saturday.


title: Yerevan

text: Open-air concerts are frequently held in curtain location in Yerevan during summer, such as the Cafesjian Sculpture Garden on Tamanyan Street, the Freedom Square near the Opera House, the Republic Square, etc. The famous KOHAR Symphony Orchestra and Choir occasionally performs open-air concerts in the city.


title: Yerevan

text: Traditional dancing is very popular among Armenians. During the cool summertime of the Yerevan city, it is very common to find people dancing in groups at the Northern Avenue or the Tamanyan Street near the cascade.


title: Yerevan

text: Professional dance groups were formed in Yerevan during the Soviet days. The first group was the Armenian Folk Music and Dance Ensemble founded in 1938 by Tatul Altunyan. It was followed by the State Dance Ensemble of Armenia in 1958. In 1963, the Berd Dance Ensemble was formed. The Barekamutyun State Dance Ensemble of Armenia was founded in 1987 by Norayr Mehrabyan.


title: Yerevan

text: The Karin Traditional Song and Dance Ensemble founded in 2001 by Gagik Ginosyan is known for revitalizing and performing the ancient Armenian dances of the historical regions of the Armenian Highlands, such as Hamshen, Mush, Sasun, Karin, etc.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is home to many theatre groups, mainly operating under the support of the ministry of culture. Theatre halls in the city organize several shows and performances throughout the year. Most prominent state-run theatres of Yerevan are the Sundukyan State Academic Theatre, Paronyan Musical Comedy Theatre, Stanislavski Russian Theatre, Hrachya Ghaplanyan Drama Theatre, and the Sos Sargsyan Hamazgayin State Theatre. The Edgar Elbakyan Theatre of Drama and Comedy is among the prominent theatres run by the private sector.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is also home to several specialized theatres such as the Tumanyan Puppet Theatre, Yerevan State Pantomime Theatre, and the Yerevan State Marionettes Theatre.


title: Yerevan

text: Cinema in Armenia was born on 16 April 1923, when the Armenian State Committee of Cinema was established upon a decree issued by the Soviet Armenian government.


title: Yerevan

text: In March 1924, the first Armenian film studio; "Armenfilm" ( "Hayfilm," "Armenkino") was opened in Yerevan, starting with a documentary film called "Soviet Armenia". "Namus" was the first Armenian silent black and white film, directed by Hamo Beknazarian in 1925, based on a play of Alexander Shirvanzade, describing the ill fate of two lovers, who were engaged by their families to each other since childhood, but because of violations of "namus" (a tradition of honor), the girl was married by her father to another person. The first produced sound film was "Pepo" directed by Hamo Beknazarian in 1935.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is home to many movie theatres including the Moscow Cinema, Nairi Cinema, Hayastan Cinema, Cinema Star multiplex cinemas of the Dalma Garden Mall, and the KinoPark multiplex cinemas of Yerevan Mall. The city also hosts a number of film festivals:


title: Yerevan

text: In addition to the film and other arts festivals, the city organizes many public celebrations that greatly attract the locals as well as the visitors. Vardavar is the most widely celebrated festival among Armenians, having it roots back to the pagan history of Armenia. It is celebrated 98 days (14 weeks) after Easter. During the day of Vardavar, people from a wide array of ages are allowed to douse strangers with water. It is common to see people pouring buckets of water from balconies on unsuspecting people walking below them. The Swan Lake of the Yerevan Opera is the most popular venue for the Vardavar celebrations.


title: Yerevan

text: In August 2015, Teryan Cultural Centre supported by the Yerevan Municipality has launched its first Armenian traditional clothing festival known as the "Yerevan Taraz Fest".


title: Yerevan

text: As one of the ancient winemaking regions, many wine festivals are celebrated in Armenia. Yerevan launched its first annual wine festivals known as the "Yerevan Wine Days" in May 2016. The "Watermelon Fest" launched in 2013 is also becoming a popular event in the city. The "Yerevan Beer Fest" is held annually during the month of August. It was first organized in 2014.


title: Yerevan

text: Many public and private TV and radio channels operate in Yerevan. The Public TV of Armenia has been in service since 1956. It became a satellite television in 1996. Other satellite TVs include the Armenia TV owned by the Pan-Armenian Media Group, Kentron TV owned by Gagik Tsarukyan, Shant TV and Shant TV premium. On the other hand, Yerkir Media, Armenia 2, Shoghakat TV, Yerevan TV, 21TV and the TV channels of the Pan-Armenian Media Group are among the most notable local televisions of Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: Notable newspapers published in Yerevan include the daily newspapers of Aravot, Azg, Golos Armenii and Hayastani Hanrapetutyun.


title: Yerevan

text: Many of the structures of Yerevan had been destroyed either during foreign invasions or as a result of the devastating earthquake in 1679. However, some structures have remained moderately intact and were renovated during the following years.


title: Yerevan

text: Erebuni Fortress, also known as "Arin Berd", is the hill where the city of Yerevan was founded in 782 BCE by King Argishti I. The remains of other structures from earlier periods are also found in Shengavit.


title: Yerevan

text: The 4th-century chapel of the Holy Mother of God and the 6th-century Tsiranavor Church both located in Avan District at the north of Yerevan, are among the oldest surviving Christian structures of the city. Originally a suburb at the north of Yerevan, Avan was eventually absorbed by the city's gradual expansion. The district is also home to the remains of Surp Hovhannes Chapel dating back to the 12–13th centuries.


title: Yerevan

text: Katoghike Church; a medieval chapel (a section of once much larger basilica) in the centre of Yerevan, built in 1264, is one of the best preserved churches of the city. Zoravor Surp Astvatsatsin Church is also among the best surviving churches of Yerevan, built 1693–94 right after the devastating earthquake, on the ruins of a medieval church. Saint Sarkis Cathedral rebuilt in 1835–42, is the seat of Araratian Pontifical Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.


title: Yerevan

text: The Blue Mosque or "Gök Jami", built between 1764 and 1768 at the centre of the city, is currently the only operating mosque in Armenia.


title: Yerevan

text: The Red Bridge of Hrazdan River is a 17th-century structure, built after the 1679 earthquake and later reconstructed in 1830.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan Opera Theater or the Armenian National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre opened in 1933, is a major landmark in the city along with the Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran opened in 1959, and Tsitsernakaberd monument of the Armenian genocide opened in 1967.


title: Yerevan

text: Moscow Cinema, opened in 1937 on the site of Saint Paul and Peter Church of the 5th century, is an important example of the Soviet-era architecture. In 1959, a monument was erected near the Yerevan Railway Station dedicated to the legendary Armenian hero David of Sassoun. The monumental statue of Mother Armenia is a female personification of the Armenian nation, erected in 1967, replacing the huge statue of Joseph Stalin in the Victory park.


title: Yerevan

text: Komitas Pantheon is a cemetery opened in 1936 where many famous Armenians are buried, while the Yerablur Pantheon, is a military cemetery where over 1,000 Armenian martyrs of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are buried since 1990.


title: Yerevan

text: Many new notable buildings were constructed after the independence of Armenia such as the Yerevan Cascade, and the Saint Gregory Cathedral opened in 2001 to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia. In May 2016, a monumental statue of the prominent Armenian statesman and military leader Garegin Nzhdeh was erected at the centre of Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is served by the Zvartnots International Airport, located west of the city center. It is the primary airport of the country. Inaugurated in 1961 during the Soviet era, Zvartnots airport was renovated for the first time in 1985 and a second time in 2002 in order to adapt to international norms. It went through a major facelift starting in 2004 with the construction of the new Arrival and Departure halls, opened in 2006 and 2007. In October 2011, a new passenger terminal complex was opened, housing state of the art facilities and technology. This made Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport one of the largest, busiest and most modern airports of the Caucasus region. In December 2019, yearly passenger flow at Zvartnots International Airport exceeded 3 million passengers for the first time in Armenia's history.


title: Yerevan

text: A second airport, Erebuni Airport, is located just south of the city. Since the independence, "Erebuni" is mainly used for military or private flights. The Armenian Air Force has equally installed its base there and there are several MiG-29s stationed on Erebuni's tarmac.


title: Yerevan

text: Public transport in Yerevan is heavily privatized and mostly handled by around 60 private operators. As of May 2017, 39 city bus lines are being operated throughout Yerevan. These lines mostly consist of about 425 Bogdan, Higer City Bus and Hyundai County buses. However, the market share these buses in public transit is only about 39.1%.


title: Yerevan

text: But the 50.4% of public transit is still served by "public vans", locally known as marshrutka. These are about 1210 Russian-made GAZelle vans with 13 seats, that operate same way as buses, having 79 different lines with certain routes and same stops. According to Yerevan Municipality office, in future, marshrutkas should be replaced by ordinary larger buses. Despite having about 13 seats, the limit of passengers is not controlled, so usually these vans carry many more people who stand inside.


title: Yerevan

text: The Yerevan trolleybus system has been operating since 1949. Some old Soviet-era trolleybuses have been replaced with comparably new ones. As of May 2017, only 5 trolleybus lines are in operation (2.6% share), with around 45 units in service. The trolleybus system is owned and operated by the municipality.


title: Yerevan

text: The tram network that operated in Yerevan since 1906 was decommissioned in January 2004. Its operation had a cost 2.4 times higher than the generated profits, which pushed the municipality to shut down the network, despite a last-ditch effort to save it towards the end of 2003. Since the closure, the rails have been dismantled and sold.


title: Yerevan

text: Due to being dispersed among dozens of private operators, the transportation is barely regulated, with only trip fee is being a subject of regulation. Thus, the quality of vehicles is often inadequate, with no certain regulations for safety. Unlike the majority of world capitals, there is no established ticketing system in Yerevan's public transportation. Passengers need to pay the money directly to the driver when getting out of the vehicle. The fare -being one of the few things that is regulated- is fixed and controlled by authorities. A one-way trip costs AMD 100 (around US$0.21) for all buses and public vans, while it is AMD 50 for trolleybuses.


title: Yerevan

text: The central station in Nor Kilikia neighborhood serves as bus terminal for inter-city transport, serving outbound routes towards practically all the cities of Armenia as well as abroad, notably Tbilisi and Tabriz.


title: Yerevan

text: The Yerevan Metro named after Karen Demirchyan, ( ("Karen Dyemirchyani anvan Yerevani metropoliten kayaran")) is a rapid transit system that serves the capital city since 1981. It has a single line of length with 10 active stations and 45 units in service. The interiors of the stations resemble that of the former western Soviet nations, with chandeliers hanging from the corridors. The metro stations had most of their names changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of the Republic of Armenia.


title: Yerevan

text: A northeastern extension of the line with two new stations is currently being developed. The construction of the first station ("Ajapnyak") and of the tunnel linking it to the rest of the network will cost US$18 million. The time of the end of the project has not yet been defined. Another long-term project is the construction of two new lines, but these have been suspended due to lack of finance.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan has a single central railway station (several railway stations of suburbs have not been used since 1990) that is connected to the metro via the "Sasuntsi Davit" station. The railway station is made in Soviet-style architecture with its long point on the building roof, representing the symbols of communism: red star, hammer and sickle. Due to the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades of Armenia, there is only one international train that passes by once every two days, with neighboring Georgia being its destination. For a sum of 9 000 to 18 000 dram, it is possible to take the night train to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. This train then continues to its destination of Batumi, on the shores of the Black sea in the summer season.


title: Yerevan

text: The only railway that goes to Iran to the south passes by the closed border of Nakhchivan. For this reason, there are no trains that go south from Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: During the first decade of the 21st century, the South Caucasus Railway CJSC — which is the current operator of the railway system in Armenia—announced its readiness to put the Yerevan-Gyumri-Kars railway line in service in case the Armenian-Turkish protocols are ratified and the opening of the borders between the two countries is achieved.


title: Yerevan

text: The Yerevan-Ararat-Yerevan route is temporarily not in operation, while the Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan route will operate starting from 2 October 2017.


title: Yerevan

text: Armenia is among the top 10 safest countries where one can wander around and go home alone safely at night. Yerevan prides itself on having connections 24/7 as taxis are available at any time of the day or night. Taxicab service companies cover the entire city in addition to many online taxi service providers, including GG Taxi, Utaxi and Yandex.Taxi.


title: Yerevan

text: , the share of Yerevan in the annual total industrial product of Armenia is 41%. The industry of Yerevan is quite diversified including chemicals, primary metals and steel products, machinery, rubber products, plastics, rugs and carpets, textiles, clothing and footwear, jewellery, wood products and furniture, building materials and stone-processing, alcoholic beverages, mineral water, dairy product and processed food. Even though the economic crisis of the '90s ravaged the industry of the country, several factories remain always in service, notably in the petrochemical and the aluminium sectors.


title: Yerevan

text: Armenian beverages, especially Armenian cognac and beer, have a worldwide fame. Hence, Yerevan is home to many leading enterprises of Armenia and the Caucasus for the production of alcoholic beverages, such as the Yerevan Ararat Brandy Factory, Yerevan Brandy Company, Yerevan Champagne Wines Factory, "Beer of Yerevan" (Kilikia Beer) brewery, Armco Brandy Factory, Proshyan Brandy Factory and Astafian Wine-Brandy Factory. The 2 tobacco producers in Yerevan are the "Cigaronne" and "Grand Tabak" companies.


title: Yerevan

text: Carpet industry in Armenia has a deeply rooted history with ancient traditions, therefore, carpet production is rather developed in Yerevan with three major factories that also produce hand-made rugs. The "Megerian Carpet" factory is the leading in this sector.


title: Yerevan

text: Other major plants in the city include the "Nairit" chemical and rubber plant, Rusal Armenal aluminum foil mill, "Grand Candy" Armenian-Canadian confectionery manufacturers, "Arcolad" chocolate factory, "Marianna" factory for dairy products, "Talgrig Group" for wheat and flour products, "Shant" ice cream factory, "Crown Chemicals" for paints, "ATMC" travertine mining company, Yerevan Watch Factory "AWI watches", Yerevan Jewellry Plant, and the mineral water factories of "Arzni", "Sil", and "Dilijan Frolova".


title: Yerevan

text: Food products include processed meat, all types of canneries, wheat and flour, sweets and chocolate, dried fruits, soft drinks and beverages. Building materials mainly include travertine, crushed stones, asphalt and asphalt concrete.


title: Yerevan

text: As an attractive outsourcing location for Western European, Russian and American multinationals, Yerevan headquarters many international companies. It is Armenia's financial hub, being home to the Central Bank of Armenia, the Armenian Stock Exchange (NASDAQ OMX Armenia), as well as the majority of the country's largest commercial banks. , the city dominates over 85% of the annual total services in Armenia, as well as over 84% of the annual total retail trade.


title: Yerevan

text: Many subsidiaries of Russian service companies and banks operate in Yerevan, including Gazprom, Ingo Armenia, Rosgosstrakh and VTB Bank. The ACBA-Credit Agricole is a subsidiary of the French Crédit Agricole, while the HSBC Bank Armenia is also operating in Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: The construction sector has experienced a significant growth during the 1st decade of the 21st century. Starting from 2000, Yerevan has witnessed a massive construction boom, funded mostly by Armenian millionaires from Russia and the United States, with an extensive and controversial redevelopment process in which many 18th and 19th-century buildings have been demolished and replaced with new buildings. This growth was coupled with a significant increase in real estate prices.


title: Yerevan

text: Many major construction projects has been conducted in Yerevan, such as the Northern Avenue and the rehabilitation of "Old Yerevan" on Aram Street. The Northern Avenue is completed and was opened in 2007, while the "Old Yerevan" project is still under development. In the past few years, the city centre has also witnessed major road reconstruction, as well as the renovation of the Republic square, funded by the American-Armenian billionaire Kirk Kerkorian. On the other hand, the Argentina-based Armenian businessman Eduardo Eurnekian took over the airport, while the cascade development project was funded by the US based Armenian millionaire Gerard L. Cafesjian.


title: Yerevan

text: However, the sector has significantly dropped by the end of the 1st decade of the 21st century, as a result of the global real estate crisis in 2007–09. In 2013, Yerevan dominated over 58% of the annual total construction sector of Armenia.


title: Yerevan

text: In February 2017, the urban development committee of the government revealed its plans for the upcoming major construction projects in the city. With a total cost of US$300 million, a new business district will rise at the centre of the city, to replace the current Firdowsi shopping area. The committee has also announced the construction of "Noy" (Noah) ethnographic residential district at the western vicinity of Kentron District, with an approximate cost of US$100 million.


title: Yerevan

text: The location of the city on the shores of Hrazdan river has enabled the production of hydroelectricity. As part of the Sevan–Hrazdan Cascade, three hydroelectric power plants are established within the administrative territory of Yerevan: Kanaker HPP, Yerevan-1 HPP, and Yerevan-3 HPP. The entire plant was privatized in 2003, and is currently owned by RusHydro.


title: Yerevan

text: The city is also home to the Yerevan Thermal Power Plant, a unique facility in the region for its quality and high technology, situated in the southern part of the city. Originally opened in 1961, a modern plant was built in 2007, furnished with a new gas-steam combined cycled turbine, to generate electric power. In March 2017, the construction of a new thermal power plant was launched with an initial investment of US$258 million and an envisaged capacity of 250 megawatts. The power station will be in service in 2019.


title: Yerevan

text: In addition to the mobile network providers, many other small and middle-size companies are also involved in internet services. Access to the Internet in Armenia is largely unfettered. However, according to Article 11 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Police, law enforcement has the right to block content to prevent criminal activity.


title: Yerevan

text: HayPost is the official national postal operator of Armenia. Based in Yerevan, it currently operates through 900 postal offices across Armenia.


title: Yerevan

text: Tourism in Armenia is developing year by year and the capital city of Yerevan is one of the major tourist destinations. The city has a majority of luxury hotels, modern restaurants, bars, pubs and nightclubs. Zvartnots airport has also conducted renovation projects with the growing number of tourists visiting the country. Numerous places in Yerevan are attractive for tourists, such as the dancing fountains of the Republic Square, the State Opera House, the Cascade complex, the ruins of the Urartian city of Erebuni (Arin Berd), the historical site of Karmir Blur (Teishebaini), etc. The largest hotel of the city is the Ani Plaza Hotel. The Armenia Marriott Hotel is located at the Republic Square at the centre of Yerevan, while the Radisson Blu Hotel is located near the Victory Park. Other major chains operating in central Yerevan include the Grand Hotel Yerevan of the "Small Luxury Hotels of the World", the Best Western Congress Hotel, the DoubleTree by Hilton, the Hyatt Place, the Ibis Yerevan Center, and The Alexander, a Luxury Collection Hotel of Marriott International.


title: Yerevan

text: The location of Yerevan itself, is an inspiring factor for the foreigners to visit the city in order to enjoy the view of the biblical mount of Ararat, as the city lies on the feet of the mountain forming the shape of a Roman amphitheatre.


title: Yerevan

text: There are many historical sites, churches and citadels in areas and regions surrounding the city of Yerevan, such as Garni Temple, Zvartnots Cathedral, the monasteries of Khor Virap and Geghard, etc.


title: Yerevan

text: Being among the top 10 safest cities in the world, Yerevan has an extensive nightlife scene with a variety of nightclubs, live venues, pedestrian zones, street cafés, jazz cafés, tea houses, casinos, pubs, karaoke clubs and restaurants. Casino Shangri La and Pharaon Complex are among the largest leisure and entertainment centres of the city.


title: Yerevan

text: Many world-famous music stars, Russian music celebrities, as well as Armenian singers from diaspora, occasionally perform in concerts in Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: The Yerevan Zoo founded in 1940, the Yerevan Circus opened in 1956, and the Yerevan Water World opened in 2001, are among the popular entertaining centres in the city.


title: Yerevan

text: The Northern Avenue that connects the Opera House with Abovyan street is a popular pedestrian zone in Yerevan with modern residential buildings, business centres, restaurants, bars and cafés. Another popular landmarks is the Yerevan Cascade and the "Cafesjian Sculpture Garden" on Tamanyan Street with its pedestrian zone, featuring many coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and pubs at the sidewalks. The "Cafesjian Center for the Arts" regularly organizes art events throughout the year, including classical music series, traditional folk dance events, and live concerts of jazz, pop and rock music.


title: Yerevan

text: As of 2017, Yerevan has three shopping malls: Dalma Garden Mall opened in October 2012, followed by Yerevan Mall in February 2014, and Rossia Mall in March 2016.


title: Yerevan

text: International study conducted by Mercer and published in 2019 identified Yerevan to offer higher quality of living, than other capital cities of Transcaucasia.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan is a major educational centre in the region. , the city is home to more than 250 schools, of which about 210 are state-owned, with 3/4 of them run by the municipality and the rest run by the ministry of education. The rest of the schools (about 40) are privately owned. The municipality also runs 160 kindergartens throughout the city.


title: Yerevan

text: The QSI International School, École Française Internationale en Arménie, Ayb School, Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex and Khoren and Shooshanig Avedisian School are among the prominent international or private schools in Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: , around 60 higher education institutions are accredited and licensed to operate in the Republic of Armenia. Yerevan is home to about 50 universities, nearly half of which are public. Yerevan State University, American University of Armenia, Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University, Yerevan State Medical University and Armenian State Pedagogical University are the top rated universities of Armenia and among the top rated in the region.


title: Yerevan

text: Under the Soviet rule, Yerevan has turned into a major centre for science and research. The Armenian National Academy of Sciences is the pioneer of scientific research in Armenia. It was founded in 1943 as the Armenian Branch of the Soviet Academy of Sciences to become the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activities in the fields of science in Armenia. It has many divisions, including Mathematical and Technical Sciences, Physics and Astrophysics, Natural Sciences, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Armenology and Social Sciences.


title: Yerevan

text: After the independence, many new research centres were opened in the city, such as the CANDLE Synchrotron Research Institute (2010), Tumo Center for Creative Technologies (2011), and Nerses Mets Medical Research and Education Center (2013).


title: Yerevan

text: After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, over 40,000 Russian professionals and programmers arrived in Yerevan. Half stayed briefly and then moved on while the rest reestablished themselves using internet connections that kept Armenia connected to the world while Russia was increasingly cut off. In addition to IT experts the exodus included many bloggers, journalists and activists who faced arrest for criticizing the war in Ukraine. Interviews indicated that none of the exiles encountered hostility in Yerevan. They can enter Armenia without visas or passports and remain six months; Russian is widely spoken.


title: Yerevan

text: Football is the most played and popular sport in Yerevan and the entire country. Yerevan city is home to about a dozen of competing in the Armenian Premier League and the Armenian First League, with the most successful clubs being Pyunik, Alashkert, Ararat Yerevan, Ararat-Armenia, Urartu and Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: Hrazdan Stadium in Yerevan is the largest sports venue of Armenia. The 2nd-largest stadium in the city is the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium which currently serves as the primary home ground of the Armenia national football team.


title: Yerevan

text: The Football Academy of Yerevan operated by the Football Federation of Armenia is an up-to-date training academy complex, opened in 2010.


title: Yerevan

text: As of 2017, there are around 130 mini-football pitches among the courtyards of the Yerevan neighborhoods, built by the municipal authorities.


title: Yerevan

text: Armenia has always excelled in chess with its players being very often among the highest ranked and decorated. The headquarters of the Chess Federation of Armenia is located in the Tigran Petrosian Chess House of Yerevan. Already in primary school, chess education is offered. The city is home to a large number of chess teams and training schools. In 1996, despite the severe economic conditions in the country, Yerevan hosted the 32nd Chess Olympiad. In 2006, the four members from Yerevan of the Armenian chess team won the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin and repeated the feat at the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden. Armenian won the chess Olympiad for the 3rd time in 2012 in Istanbul. The Yerevan-born leader of the chess national team; Levon Aronian, is one of the top chess players in the world.


title: Yerevan

text: Despite the popularity of basketball in Armenia, the country's national team only recently made headlines internationally through winning the 2016 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries. However, the country's best players are diaspora Armenians, mainly from the United States and Russia.


title: Yerevan

text: The first ever season of the professional domestic basketball competition of Armenia, known as Armenia Basketball League A, was launched in October 2017 with 7 participating teams. Yerevan is represented by 4 clubs: Engineer Yerevan, FIMA Basketball, BC Grand Sport and BC Urartu.


title: Yerevan

text: Tennis is also among the popular sports in Yerevan. Several tennis clubs operate in the city, with many of them founded during the Soviet days. Incourt Tennis Club -founded in 1974– is the largest in the city, with many indoor and outdoor courts. Ararat Tennis Club founded in 1990, is also among the prominent clubs in the city. Tennis clubs are also found within the Yerevan State Sports College of Olympic Reserve since 1971, and the Yerevan Football Academy since 2010.


title: Yerevan

text: Armenia has produced many Olympic champions in artistic gymnastics during the Soviet days, such as Hrant Shahinyan, Albert Azaryan and Eduard Azaryan. The success of the Armenian gymnasts in the Olympic competitions has greatly contributed in the popularity of the sport. Thus, many prominent competitors represent the country in the European and World championships, including Artur Davtyan and Harutyun Merdinyan.


title: Yerevan

text: Yerevan has many state-owned schools of artistic gymnastics, including the Albert Azaryan School opened in 1964 and the Hrant Shahinyan School opened in 1965.


title: Yerevan

text: Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex is the largest indoor arena in the city and the entire country. It is mostly used for indoor sport events, including ice hockey and figure skating shows. On the other hand, Dinamo and Mika indoor arenas are the regular venues for domestic and regional competitions of basketball, volleyball, handball and futsal.


title: Yerevan

text: Armenia Sports Union ("Spartak Sports Union" between 1935 and 1999) is a sports society mainly involved in individual Olympic sports, including boxing, weightlifting, athletics, wrestling, taekwondo, table tennis, etc.


title: Yerevan

text: The "Yerevan State Sports College of Olympic Reserve" is a large sports and educational complex located in the Malatia-Sebastia District of the city. It was founded in 1971, and is home to individual as well as team sport schools, such as wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, judo, athletics, acrobatic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, cycling, basketball, volleyball and handball.


title: Yerevan

text: In September 2015, the new Olympic Training Complex of Yerevan, locally known as "Olympavan", was opened in Davtashen District. It is a state of the art sports complex, with training facilities for most Olympic individual and team sports, as well as water sports. It is also home to the anti-doping medical centre and a hotel designated to accommodate more than 300 athletes.


title: Yerevan

text: Equestrian sport was introduced to Armenia in 1953. The Hovik Hayrapetyan Equestrian Centre opened in 2001, occupies an area of 85 hectares at the southern Shengavit District of Yerevan. It is the centre of equestrian sport and horse racing in Armenia.


title: Yerevan

text: Golf has been introduced to the citizens of Yerevan in 1999, with the foundation of the Ararat Valley Country Club in the Vahakni neighbourhood of Ajapnyak District. It is the first-ever golf course opened in Armenia as well as the Transcaucasian region.


title: Yerevan

text: Arena Bowling and Billiards Club is an up-to-date sports and leisure centre opened in 2004 and located on Mashtots Avenue in central Yerevan.


title: Yerevan

text: Cycling as a sport is becoming popular among the young generation. The Yerevan Velodrome is an outdoor track cycling venue with international standard, opened in 2011 to replace the old venue of the Soviet days. Edgar Stepanyan of Armenia became champion of the scratch race in the 2015 junior UEC European Track Championships.


title: Yerevan

text: In an attempt to promote figure skating and ice hockey in Armenia, the Irina Rodnina Figure Skating Centre was opened in Yerevan, in December 2015.


title: Yerevan

text: Futsal is also among the popular sports in Armenia. Many companies as well as universities have their own teams who participate in the Armenian Futsal Premier League. Currently, "Futsal Club Leo" based in Yerevan, is considered as the most successful team in the Armenian Futsal Premier League.


title: Yerevan

text: Recently, MMA has gained massive popularity in Armenia, being promoted by "Armfighting" Professional Federation based in Yerevan. It was founded in 2005 by "Hayk Ghukasyan" and currently runs several branches throughout the provinces of Armenia and Artsakh with more than 2,000 athletes.


title: Yerevan

text: With the increased interest in healthy lifestyle and fitness, many large and modern training complexes with indoor and outdoor swimming pools have recently been opened in the city such as the Davit Hambardzumyan Swimming and Diving Olympic School, Orange Fitness Premium Club, DDD Sports Complex, Aqua Land Sports Complex, Gold's Gym, Grand Sport Complex, Reebok Sports Club, and Multi Wellness Sport and Health Center.


title: Yerevan

text: The city of Yerevan is member of many international organizations: the International Assembly of CIS Countries' Capitals and Big Cities (MAG), the Black Sea Capitals' Association (BSCA), the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC), the International Association of Large-scale Communities, and the International Urban Community Lighting Association (LUCI).


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States. The caldera and most of the park are located in the northwest corner of Wyoming. The caldera measures , and postcaldera lavas spill out a significant distance beyond the caldera proper.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: The caldera formed during the last of three supereruptions over the past 2.1 million years: the Huckleberry Ridge eruption 2.1 million years ago (which created the Island Park Caldera and the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff), the Mesa Falls eruption 1.3 million years ago (which created the Henry's Fork Caldera and the Mesa Falls Tuff), and the Lava Creek eruption approximately 640,000 years ago (which created the Yellowstone Caldera and the Lava Creek Tuff).


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: Volcanism at Yellowstone is relatively recent, with calderas created by large eruptions that took place 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago. The calderas lie over the Yellowstone hotspot under the Yellowstone Plateau where light and hot magma (molten rock) from the mantle rises toward the surface. The hotspot appears to move across terrain in the east-northeast direction, and is responsible for the eastern half of Idaho's Snake River Plain, but in fact the hotspot is much deeper than the surrounding terrain and remains stationary while the North American Plate moves west-southwest over it.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: Over the past 16.5 million years or so, this hotspot has generated a succession of explosive eruptions and less violent floods of basaltic lava. Together these eruptions have helped create the eastern part of the Snake River Plain (to the west of Yellowstone) from a once-mountainous region. At least a dozen of these eruptions were so massive that they are classified as supereruptions. Volcanic eruptions sometimes empty their stores of magma so swiftly that the overlying land collapses into the emptied magma chamber, forming a geographic depression called a caldera.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: The oldest identified caldera remnant straddles the border near McDermitt, Nevada–Oregon, although there are volcaniclastic piles and arcuate faults that define caldera complexes more than in diameter in the Carmacks Group of southwest-central Yukon, Canada, which are interpreted to have been formed 70 million years ago by the Yellowstone hotspot. Progressively younger caldera remnants, most grouped in several overlapping volcanic fields, extend from the Nevada–Oregon border through the eastern Snake River Plain and terminate in the Yellowstone Plateau. One such caldera, the Bruneau-Jarbidge caldera in southern Idaho, was formed between 10 and 12 million years ago, and the event dropped ash to a depth of one foot (30 cm) away in northeastern Nebraska and killed large herds of rhinoceros, camel, and other animals at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates there are one or two major caldera-forming eruptions and a hundred or so lava extruding eruptions per million years, and "several to many" steam eruptions per century.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: The loosely defined term "supervolcano" has been used to describe volcanic fields that produce exceptionally large volcanic eruptions. Thus defined, the Yellowstone Supervolcano is the volcanic field that produced the latest three supereruptions from the Yellowstone hotspot; it also produced one additional smaller eruption, thereby creating the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake 174,000 years ago. The three supereruptions occurred 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and approximately 640,000 years ago, forming the Island Park Caldera, the Henry's Fork Caldera, and Yellowstone calderas, respectively. The Island Park Caldera supereruption (2.1 million years ago), which produced the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff, was the largest, and produced 2,500 times as much ash as the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. The next biggest supereruption formed the Yellowstone Caldera (640,000 years ago) and produced the Lava Creek Tuff. The Henry's Fork Caldera (1.2 million years ago) produced the smaller Mesa Falls Tuff, but is the only caldera from the Snake River Plain-Yellowstone hotspot that is plainly visible today.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: Non-explosive eruptions of lava and less-violent explosive eruptions have occurred in and near the Yellowstone caldera since the last supereruption. The most recent lava flow occurred about 70,000 years ago, while a violent eruption excavated the West Thumb of Lake Yellowstone 174,000 years ago. Smaller steam explosions occur as well: an explosion 13,800 years ago left a diameter crater at Mary Bay on the edge of Yellowstone Lake (located in the center of the caldera). Currently, volcanic activity is exhibited via numerous geothermal vents scattered throughout the region, including the famous Old Faithful Geyser, plus recorded ground-swelling indicating ongoing inflation of the underlying magma chamber.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: The volcanic eruptions, as well as the continuing geothermal activity, are a result of a great plume of magma located below the caldera's surface. The magma in this plume contains gases that are kept dissolved by the immense pressure under which the magma is contained. If the pressure is released to a sufficient degree by some geological shift, then some of the gases bubble out and cause the magma to expand. This can cause a chain reaction. If the expansion results in further relief of pressure, for example, by blowing crust material off the top of the chamber, the result is a very large gas explosion.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: According to analysis of earthquake data in 2013, the magma chamber is long and wide. It also has underground volume, of which 6–8% is filled with molten rock. This is about 2.5 times bigger than scientists had previously imagined it to be; however, scientists believe that the proportion of molten rock in the chamber is far too low to allow for another supereruption.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: In October 2017, research from the Arizona State University indicated prior to Yellowstone's last supereruption, magma surged into the magma chamber in two large influxes. An analysis of crystals from Yellowstone's lava showed that prior to the last supereruption, the magma chamber underwent a rapid increase in temperature and change in composition. The analysis indicated that Yellowstone's magma reservoir can reach eruptive capacity and trigger a super-eruption within just decades, not centuries as volcanologists had originally thought.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: In respect of it being 'well-known for its past explosive volcanic eruptions and lava flows as well for its world class hydrothermal system', the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included 'The Yellowstone volcanic and hydrothermal system' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organisation defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with a substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences through history.'


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: The source of the Yellowstone hotspot is controversial. Some geoscientists hypothesize that the Yellowstone hotspot is the effect of an interaction between local conditions in the lithosphere and upper mantle convection. Others suggest an origin in the deep mantle (mantle plume). Part of the controversy is the relatively sudden appearance of the hotspot in the geologic record. Additionally, the Columbia Basalt flows appeared at the same approximate time in the same place, prompting speculation that they share a common origin. As the Yellowstone hotspot traveled to the east and north, the Columbia disturbance moved northward and eventually subsided.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: An alternate theory to the mantle plume model was proposed in 2018. It is suggested that the volcanism may be caused by upwellings from the lower mantle resulting from water-rich fragments of the Farallon Plate descending from the Cascadia subduction region, sheared off at a subducted spreading rift.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: Volcanic and tectonic actions in the region cause between 1,000 and 2,000 measurable earthquakes annually. Most are relatively minor, measuring a magnitude of 3 or weaker. Occasionally, numerous earthquakes are detected in a relatively short period of time, an event known as an earthquake swarm. In 1985, more than 3,000 earthquakes were measured over a period of several months. More than 70 smaller swarms were detected between 1983 and 2008. The USGS states these swarms are likely caused by slips on pre-existing faults rather than by movements of magma or hydrothermal fluids.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: In December 2008, continuing into January 2009, more than 500 quakes were detected under the northwest end of Yellowstone Lake over a seven-day span, with the largest registering a magnitude of 3.9. Another swarm started in January 2010, after the Haiti earthquake and before the Chile earthquake. With 1,620 small earthquakes between January 17, 2010, and February 1, 2010, this swarm was the second-largest ever recorded in the Yellowstone Caldera. The largest of these shocks was a magnitude 3.8 that occurred on January 21, 2010. This swarm subsided to background levels by February 21. On March 30, 2014, at 6:34 AM MST, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck Yellowstone, the largest recorded there since February 1980. In February 2018, more than 300 earthquakes occurred, with the largest being a magnitude 2.9.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: The last supereruption of the Yellowstone Caldera, the Lava Creek eruption 640,000 years ago, ejected approximately of rock, dust and volcanic ash into the atmosphere.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: Geologists closely monitor the elevation of the Yellowstone Plateau, which has been rising as quickly as per year, as an indirect measurement of changes in magma chamber pressure.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: The upward movement of the Yellowstone caldera floor between 2004 and 2008—almost each year—was more than three times greater than ever observed since such measurements began in 1923. From 2004 to 2008, the land surface within the caldera moved upward as much as at the White Lake GPS station. In January 2010, the USGS stated that "uplift of the Yellowstone Caldera has slowed significantly" and that uplift continues but at a slower pace. USGS, University of Utah and National Park Service scientists with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory maintain that they "see no evidence that another such cataclysmic eruption will occur at Yellowstone in the foreseeable future. Recurrence intervals of these events are neither regular nor predictable." This conclusion was reiterated in December 2013 in the aftermath of the publication of a study by University of Utah scientists finding that the "size of the magma body beneath Yellowstone is significantly larger than had been thought". The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory issued a statement on its website stating:


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: Although fascinating, the new findings do not imply increased geologic hazards at Yellowstone, and certainly do not increase the chances of a 'supereruption' in the near future. Contrary to some media reports, Yellowstone is not 'overdue' for a supereruption.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: A study published in "GSA Today", the monthly news and science magazine of the Geological Society of America, identified three fault zones where future eruptions are most likely to be centered. Two of those areas are associated with lava flows aged 174,000–70,000 years, and the third is a focus of present-day seismicity.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: In 2017, NASA conducted a study to determine the feasibility of preventing the volcano from erupting. The results suggested that cooling the magma chamber by 35 percent would be enough to forestall such an incident. NASA proposed introducing water at high pressure 10 kilometers underground. The circulating water would release heat at the surface, possibly in a way that could be used as a geothermal power source. If enacted, the plan would cost about $3.46 billion. On the other hand, according to Brian Wilcox of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, such a project might trigger rather than prevent an eruption.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: Studies and analysis may indicate that the greater hazard comes from hydrothermal activity which occurs independently of volcanic activity. Over 20 large craters have been produced in the past 14,000 years, resulting in such features as Mary Bay, Turbid Lake, and Indian Pond, which was created in an eruption about 1300 BC.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: In a 2003 report, USGS researchers proposed that an earthquake may have displaced more than of water in Yellowstone Lake, creating colossal waves that unsealed a capped geothermal system and led to the hydrothermal explosion that formed Mary Bay.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: Further research shows that very distant earthquakes reach and have effects upon the activities at Yellowstone, such as the 1992 7.3 magnitude Landers earthquake in California's Mojave Desert that triggered a swarm of quakes from more than away, and the 2002 7.9 magnitude Denali fault earthquake away in Alaska that altered the activity of many geysers and hot springs for several months afterward.


title: Yellowstone Caldera

text: In 2016, the USGS announced plans to map the subterranean systems responsible for feeding the area's hydrothermal activity. According to the researchers, these maps could help predict when another supereruption occurs.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: Den of Thieves (released in some countries as Criminal Squad) is a 2018 American heist action film written, directed, and produced by Christian Gudegast. It stars Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evan Jones, Dawn Olivieri, Mo McRae, and Max Holloway. In the film, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department gang look to stop a group of thieves consisting of ex-MARSOC Marines that is planning to rob the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: "Den of Thieves" was distributed by STXfilms and released in the United States on January 19, 2018. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $80 million worldwide. A sequel is in development.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: In Los Angeles, a team of ex-MARSOC Marines led by Ray Merrimen hijack an armored truck. The ensuing shootout with police leaves several dead, including one of Merrimen's crew, as the hijackers escape with the empty truck. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Nick “Big Nick” O'Brien and his team, the Major Crimes Unit, investigates the robbery, making the recently paroled Merrimen his prime suspect. Nick's team kidnap Donnie Wilson, a bartender who confesses to acting as the thieves' unarmed getaway driver. He describes a large sum of cash stolen from a stadium by the crew, but denies knowing their future plans and is released.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: Merrimen and his crew prepare to rob the heavily guarded Federal Reserve: with approximately $30 million in old bills removed from circulation each day, they plan to steal the untraceable money before it is shredded. Nick's team tails Donnie, who is hired as a Chinese food delivery driver, allowing him to deliver inside the Federal Reserve. A confrontation with Nick leads Merrimen's crew to suspect Donnie is an informant. Interrogated at gunpoint, he admits he was questioned by Nick; to his surprise, Merrimen orders him to tell Nick when the heist is taking place. Donnie informs Nick but denies knowing the location. Nick sleeps with Merrimen's girlfriend, who – acting on Merrimen's instructions – reveals the crew will be robbing a bank in Pico Rivera.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: On the day of the heist, as Nick’s team waits nearby running surveillance, Merrimen's crew takes the Pico Rivera Savings & Loan bank hostage, demanding a ransom and a helicopter. When the FBI attempt to negotiate, the crew appears to execute a female hostage. The thieves access the vault and detonate explosives inside, leading Nick to realize this is not their usual M.O. He impatiently storms the bank himself to find the hostages alive, bound and hooded while the thieves have blown their way into the sewers and escaped.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: Merrimen and his right-hand man Enson infiltrate the Federal Reserve, using the stolen armored truck and stadium money to pose as security guards dropping off cash. Donnie, hidden inside a cart of cash, is wheeled inside a counting room as the thieves disrupt the room's power, making it seem like a common brownout. The employees are briefly sent away, and Donnie triggers an electromagnetic pulse to disable the room's cameras as he sends the bills earmarked for shredding safely down the trash chute. Crawling through an air duct to the restroom, he leaves the building in his delivery uniform as Merrimen and Enson depart.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: A garbage truck picks up the trash containing the money and is intercepted by the thieves. Nick's team capture Donnie and beat him into revealing Merrimen's escape route. Stuck in traffic, Merrimen's crew spot Nick’s team approaching and exchange fire; Deputy "Borracho" and thief Bosco are killed. Fleeing on foot with Nick in close pursuit, Enson is killed and Merrimen is severely wounded. Cornered, Merrimen raises his empty gun, forcing Nick to fatally shoot him. Instead of the money, only bags of shredded paper are found in Merrimen's vehicle, and the FBI inform Nick that all currency is accounted for at the Federal Reserve, while Donnie has escaped.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: Nick revisits Donnie's bar only to learn he has quit. Noticing the bar is frequented by Federal Reserve employees, and spotting a picture of Donnie and his friends, Nick realizes Donnie is the heist's true mastermind: gathering information from bar patrons, he was able to plan the entire robbery, and recruited his friends to intercept the money and double-cross Merrimen's crew. Having shipped the money offshore to Panama and escaped to London with his accomplices, Donnie is working at another bar across from a diamond exchange – his next target.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: The film was in development for roughly fourteen years, where director Christian Gudegast and a writing partner had a blind deal with New Line Cinema in 2003. The project was also later supposed to be distributed by Relativity Media at one point as well. Jay Dobyns, who played the character of Wolfgang, was a former Special Agent and undercover operative with the BATFE and served as a consultant for this film.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: Production began in January 2017. Director of photography, Terry Stacey, shot the movie using the Arri Alexa XT Plus digital motion picture camera. Although set in Los Angeles, California, "Den of Thieves" was primarily filmed in and around Atlanta, Georgia. Aerial shots of Los Angeles included the Vincent Thomas Bridge, the Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island and the skyline of Downtown Los Angeles.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: "Den of Thieves" grossed $44.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $35.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $80.5 million, against a production budget of $30 million.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: In the United States and Canada, "Den of Thieves" was released on January 19, 2018 alongside "12 Strong" and "Forever My Girl", as well as the wide expansions of "Phantom Thread", "I, Tonya" and "Call Me by Your Name", and was projected to gross $7–10 million from 2,432 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up performing above projections, debuting to $15.3 million and finishing third at the box office behind holdover "" and "12 Strong". It dropped 43% to $8.6 million in its second week and another 47% to $4.6 million in its third.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a "Rotten" rating, based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, ""Den of Thieves" pays energetic homage to classic heist thrillers of the past; unfortunately, it never comes close to living up to its obvious inspirations." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Den of Thieves (film)

text: In February 2018, it was announced a sequel was in development with Gudegast signed on to return to write and direct. Additionally, Butler and Jackson Jr. were in talks to reprise their roles.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Marcel "Marco" van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he scored 300 goals in a high-profile career, but played his last match in 1993, at the age of 28, due to an injury which forced his retirement two years later. He was later the head coach of Ajax and the Netherlands national team.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Known for his close ball control, attacking intelligence, impeccable headers, and spectacular strikes and volleys, Van Basten was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992 and won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1988, 1989 and 1992. At club level, he won three Eredivisie titles and the Cup Winners' Cup with Ajax, and four Serie A titles and three European Cups with Milan. With the Netherlands, Van Basten won UEFA Euro 1988 where he earned the Golden Boot, scoring five goals, including a memorable volley in the final against the Soviet Union.


title: Marco van Basten

text: In 1998, Van Basten was ranked sixth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, tenth in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS and 12th in the IFFHS' World Player of the Century election. He was also voted eighth in a poll organised by the French magazine "France Football", consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. In 2004, a poll for the 100 greatest Dutch people was held in the Netherlands: Van Basten ranked number 25, the second highest for a football player, behind Johan Cruyff. In 2007, "Sky Sports" ranked Van Basten first on its list of great athletes who had their careers cut short.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Marco van Basten was born on 31 October 1964 in Utrecht and grew up in the "Oog In Al" neighborhood. He began playing for a local team, EDO, when he was six years old. A year later, he moved to UVV Utrecht. After nine years there, he briefly played for another club from Utrecht, Elinkwijk.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Ajax signed 16-year-old Marco for the 1981–82 season after his 19-year-old brother Stanley was rejected. Their father Joop had kept the younger son at another club with the hope that Ajax would take Stanley in professionally. He played his first match for Ajax on 3 April 1982, coming on as a substitute for Johan Cruyff, and scoring a debut goal in the team's 5–0 victory over NEC.


title: Marco van Basten

text: In the 1982–83 season, he competed with the European top scorer and first choice Holland international Wim Kieft for the position of centre forward, and scored nine goals in 20 league matches. Ajax chose to sell Kieft to Italian Serie A club Pisa the following season, and 18 year old Van Basten solidified his position as his team's main attacker similarly in the national team.


title: Marco van Basten

text: He was the top scorer in the league for four consecutive seasons, from 1983–84 to 1986–87, scoring 118 goals in 112 matches. In the 1985–86 season, he scored 37 goals in 26 league matches, including six goals against Sparta Rotterdam and five against Heracles Almelo, and won the European Golden Boot. He also scored the winning goal in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final against Lokomotive Leipzig in 1987. In total he scored 128 goals in 133 league matches for Ajax. In November 1986 he scored his most famous goal in an Ajax jersey, a spectacular overhead kick against FC Den Bosch.


title: Marco van Basten

text: In 1987, AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi signed Van Basten, along with fellow countryman Ruud Gullit. In 1988 the Dutch legion got complete when Frank Rijkaard joined the club (at the time three non-Italians were allowed). In his first season, Milan won their first "Scudetto" in eight years, but van Basten played only 11 matches and was constantly troubled by an ankle injury. In 1988–89, Van Basten won the Ballon d'Or as Europe's top footballer. He scored 19 goals in Serie A and 32 goals in all competitions that year, including two goals in the final of the European Cup, as Milan triumphed against Steaua București. In 1989–90, he became "Capocannoniere" again (Serie A's leading goal scorer); Milan also successfully defended the European Cup after beating Benfica 1–0 in the final match, during which Van Basten provided the assist for Rijkaard's match-winning goal.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Milan struggled in the 1990–91 season, as Sampdoria won the "Scudetto". After Van Basten fell out with Arrigo Sacchi, Berlusconi sacked the manager. Fabio Capello took over the following season, and Milan went undefeated in the league to win another "Scudetto". Van Basten scored 25 league goals, and became "Capocannoniere" again; his tally from the 1991–92 season was the highest number of goals that a player had scored in a single Serie A season since Luís Vinício achieved the same tally during the 1965–66 season.


title: Marco van Basten

text: In November 1992, he became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League match, against IFK Göteborg, including a picture perfect bicycle kick. In December 1992, Van Basten was named FIFA World Player of the Year. Milan stretched their unbeaten run into the 1992–93 season, going 58 matches over two seasons before they lost a match. Van Basten was exceptional in the early part of the season. He was again voted the European player of the year, becoming the third player after Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini to win the award three times.


title: Marco van Basten

text: His troublesome ankle injury recurred in a game against Ancona, forcing him to endure another six-month layoff, and undergo a series of surgeries. He returned for the last few matches in the season, before Milan lost 1–0 to Marseille in the Champions League final. The match was Van Basten's final match for the Italian club. He came off in the 86th minute for Stefano Eranio, after a hard tackle behind from Basile Boli condemned Van Basten to the third ankle surgery of his career.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Van Basten had been hopeful of playing for his country at the 1994 World Cup as well as for his club in the 1994–95 season after spending the whole 1993–94 season out of action (missing Milan's victory in the European Cup as well as their Serie A title glory), but his club ordered him not to take part in the World Cup amid fear of ruining his rehabilitation. He finally conceded defeat in his battle to recover on 17 August 1995, when he announced his retirement as a player after two whole years on sidelines. Van Basten made a farewell appearance to thank the Milan fans before a home game at the San Siro, with an emotional Milan coach Fabio Capello breaking down in tears.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Van Basten's talent was already noticed at a young age and he was called up for the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship. He made his senior debut for the Netherlands national team that same year. His team-mates in the national team were all teenagers themselves Ruud Gullit, Gerald Vanenburg, Ronald Koeman and Frank Rijkaard as Holland was desperate to reclaim the success of the Cruyff generation in the 1970s. At UEFA Euro 1988, Van Basten played a pivotal role in the Dutch team's victorious campaign. He scored a total of five goals, including a hat trick against England in the first round, the winning goal in the semi-final against West Germany, and a spectacular volley from an acute angle in the 2–0 final against the Soviet Union, during which he also provided the assist for Gullit's opening goal. He finished the competition as the top scorer and was named player of the tournament. In a 2002 UK poll Van Basten's volley against the Soviet Union was ranked #21 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.


title: Marco van Basten

text: The Dutch national team exited the 1990 World Cup early, losing to West Germany in the second round. Van Basten never scored in the World Cup finals. At UEFA Euro 1992, the Netherlands defeated reigning World Champions Germany 3–1 in the first round to top their group and reach the semi-finals, where they shockingly lost to the eventual champions Denmark in a penalty shootout, with Peter Schmeichel saving a penalty shot from Van Basten. Van Basten was named to the European Championship Player Of The Tournament for a second time in 1992.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Van Basten played in the Demetrio Albertini testimonial match at the San Siro in March 2006, and headed in a goal before being substituted early in the first half. On 22 July 2006, he also returned for the testimonial match to celebrate the 11-year Arsenal career of Dennis Bergkamp, in what was the first match played at the new Emirates Stadium. He played in the second half for the Ajax legends team. He entered the match as part of a double substitution that also introduced Johan Cruyff. He took part in Tyskie's (a Polish beer company) advertising campaign with Luís Figo and Zbigniew Boniek.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Regarded as one of the greatest and most complete strikers and players in the history of the sport, due to his prolific goalscoring and great skill set, Van Basten was dubbed the "Swan Of Utrecht" for his elegance and intelligent attacking play, and was known for his penchant for scoring acrobatic goals. His height and strength allowed him to excel in the air, and his technical ability and agility saw him execute spectacular strikes throughout his career, such as volleys and bicycle kicks. A fast and opportunistic striker with quick reactions and excellent movement, he often took advantage of loose balls in the penalty area due to his ability to anticipate defenders, and was capable of both controlling fast and difficult balls well with one touch, or even shooting first time. Possessing a powerful and accurate shot, and clinical, varied finishing from anywhere along the pitch, he was capable of scoring goals with either foot from inside or outside the penalty area, as well as with his head; he was also an accurate penalty kick and free-kick taker. Throughout his career, Van Basten converted 53 penalties out of the 57 he took, with a 93.0% success rate, the sixth highest in history, behind Ledio Pano (100%), Matthew Le Tissier (97.9%), Zico (97.8%), Cuauhtémoc Blanco (97.3%), and Ferenc Puskás (96.7%). Before taking penalties, Van Basten often used to perform a characteristic hop.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Although he was mainly known as a traditional attacker who operated in the penalty area as a centre-forward throughout his career, Van Basten also possessed excellent vision and distribution, in addition to his goalscoring ability, which enabled him to play in deeper, more creative positions, as a second striker, for example, and which allowed him to participate in the build-up of attacking plays and provide assists to his teammates in addition to scoring goals himself; one of his most notable assists was the one he provided to Frank Rijkaard for Milan's winning goal in the 1990 European Cup final against Benfica. Despite his large stature, Van Basten possessed excellent technical skills and ball control, as well as good balance and a notable elegance on the ball, which inspired his nickname. As such, his strong physique, combined with his close control, also enabled him to hold up the ball for teammates when playing with his back to goal.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Despite his ability, Van Basten's career was severely affected by many grave injuries, which eventually forced him to retire from football prematurely at the age of 28. Lack of protection from referees and inadequate football rules against rugged defending and tackles from behind were identified as the source of the injuries which ultimately led to his career's demise; consequently, Van Basten's early retirement due to his injuries led to widespread debate in the football world over whether rash challenges from behind should be rendered illegal in football, in order to protect talented players more effectively. During the 1994 World Cup, an automatic red was also shown for tackles from behind or with studs showing. In 1998, prior to the World Cup that year, FIFA completely outlawed the tackle from behind; this ruling came to be known colloquially as the "Van Basten law" in the media. Although Van Basten was known for often being on the receiving end of hard challenges from his opponents throughout his career, former referee Daniele Tombolini described Van Basten as a player who was known for his physical play himself, and who utilised his strength and committed a lot of fouls during matches.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Considered by pundits to be one of the greatest and most complete players of all time, in 1998, Van Basten was ranked sixth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, tenth in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS, and 12th in the IFFHS World Player of the Century election. He was also ranked eighth in a poll to determine "France Football"s "Football Player of the Century." In 1999, Van Basten was named the ninth greatest player of the twentieth Century by "World Soccer" magazine. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100, his list of the world's 125 greatest living players, and also placed fourth in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, celebrating the best European footballers of the past fifty years. He was also ranked 25th in a poll for the 100 greatest Dutch people. In 2007, "Sky Sports" ranked Van Basten first on its list of great athletes who had their careers cut short. In 2016 Van Basten was included in UEFA's All-time Euro XI, while in 2017, he was named the 13th greatest player of all time by "FourFourTwo" .


title: Marco van Basten

text: Numerous players, managers, and other footballing figures have also lauded Van Basten as one of the greatest players of all time. In 1994, defender Pietro Vierchowod described Van Basten as "the absolute number one" and as a "superstar," also adding that "he is strong with his head, good with either foot, capable of changing the face of a game with a single play or, [even] when he is not at his best, of becoming the best assist-provider for his teammates." Former defender Jürgen Kohler, who often faced Van Basten throughout his career, described him as "a player with exceptional abilities. He was a big personality not only as a sportsman, but also as a private person. I benefited from him. It is as simple as this. He was a big milestone in my career and for me he is one of the players who are the most outstanding personalities of the last century. Not only in sports, also as a human being." When asked of their duels, he commented: "the duels between us were simply tough with everything football offers. He stood and I delivered and then I stood and he delivered."


title: Marco van Basten

text: Former Arsenal player Tony Adams described Van Basten as the toughest and most difficult opponent he had ever faced in 2006, stating: "He’s the quickest 6 ft 3 in centre-forward I’ve ever seen! Just awesome. He was as quick as Ian Wright, as good in the air as Joe Jordan and he held the ball up better than Alan Smith. I put him in front of Maradona. Technically, Maradona was brilliant and he had amazing feet, but Van Basten could head, volley – he had power and strength." Fellow former defender Giuseppe Bergomi also described Van Basten as the strongest player he ever faced in 2018, commenting: "The best player of all time for me [...] is Maradona, but the strongest player I ever faced was Van Basten because at least I could beat Maradona to the ball with my head."


title: Marco van Basten

text: In 2017, two of Van Basten's former Milan teammates, Demetrio Albertini and Marco Simone, labelled the Dutchman as the best player they had ever played with, with the former stating, "The best player I have ever played with is Van Basten, the best overall. He had elegance and strength. He stopped playing at only 28 years of age, which is truly young." That same year, another one of his fellow former Milan teammates, Paolo Maldini, labelled Van Basten as the most complete player with whom he had ever played. Another former Milan teammate of Van Basten, Giovanni Cornacchini, described the Dutch striker as the greatest player of all time in 2019. Former Milan Vice-Chairman and CEO Adriano Galliani instead described Van Basten as Milan's greatest player ever in 2018. In 2017, Roberto Baggio named Van Basten as the player with whom he would have most liked to have played, commenting: "I'd have liked to play with him. He's the player that I exchanged shirts with most willingly."


title: Marco van Basten

text: In 2019, Van Basten's former Milan coach Fabio Capello described Van Basten and Ronaldo as the best players he ever coached. His predecessor at Milan, Arrigo Sacchi, described Van Basten as the best striker of all time in 2014, commenting: "Marco van Basten remains for me the best striker of all time. No other forward has worked as hard for the team as Marco did at Milan. I above all remember him for his elegance, his grace and his incredible quality." When Hernán Crespo was asked in 2015 who was the greatest centre-forward of all time, he echoed Sacchi's views, responding: "Marco van Basten. He did everything: dribbling, shooting, headers, acrobatics. And he played with his team and for his team." In 2019, Antonio Cassano described Van Basten and Ronaldo as the best forwards in the history of the game.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Van Basten features in EA Sports' "FIFA" video game series, and was named in the Ultimate Team Legends in "FIFA 14". Throughout his playing career, Van Basten was sponsored by Italian sportswear company Diadora. One of the most marketable players in the world, in the late 1980s Diadora launched his own personalized football boots, the San Siro Van Basten, earning him two million dollars over 5 years.


title: Marco van Basten

text: After his retirement from coaching, Van Basten became an analyst, and was described by ESPN in 2016 as a "rather cerebral" analyst who "ponders the problems of FIFA and suggests changes to the offside rule." On 23 November 2019, while Van Basten was working as an analyst for the Dutch edition of the Fox Sports network, he said "Sieg Heil" (meaning "Hail victory" in German), a verbal salutation associated with the Nazi salute, during a live broadcast. Van Basten stated that he believed his microphone was off when he made the remark, and that it was in response to his colleague Hans Kraay's interview with Heracles's German manager, Frank Wormuth, following the team's 4–1 loss to Ajax. Van Basten said: "It wasn't my intention to shock people, I apologise. I just wanted to make a comment about Hans' German. It was an ill-placed joke." His use of the term attracted particular controversy as it occurred on a weekend during which Dutch football clubs were observing a minute of silence prior to matches in protest against discrimination. Following the incident, the network described Van Basten's comment as "stupid and inappropriate," and suspended him until 7 December. Electronic Arts also announced that Van Basten's cards in FIFA Ultimate Team would no longer be available in FIFA 20 stating the company has "an expectation that our commitment to quality and diversity is upheld." However he has returned to FIFA 21.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Van Basten officially left Milan in 1995 and retired from football, stating he would never try management. However, he changed his mind and took a course with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). His first stint as a manager was as an assistant to his former teammate John van 't Schip with the second team of Ajax in 2003–04.


title: Marco van Basten

text: On 29 July 2004, Van Basten was named the new manager of the Netherlands national team, with Van 't Schip as his assistant. Van Basten's appointment as manager of the Netherlands sparked a little controversy at the time, since he only just started his managerial career and the media argued that he did not have a lot of experience yet.


title: Marco van Basten

text: As a manager, he soon established himself as a man of strong principles. Van Basten famously dropped regulars like Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids and Roy Makaay and benched Mark van Bommel, because he believed that they were either past their prime or constantly underachieving. There were also calls for Van Basten to call up Dennis Bergkamp, who had retired from the national team six years earlier, for a final "hurrah," as he was retiring that season. Van Basten then revealed to the media that he never intended to do so, despite Bergkamp's own willingness.


title: Marco van Basten

text: For probably the first time in decades, none of the "Big Three" Clubs (Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord) provided the backbone for the national team. Instead, newcomer AZ led the way with players such as Denny Landzaat, Barry Opdam, Barry van Galen, Ron Vlaar, Jan Kromkamp and Joris Mathijsen. AZ, at the time a local small football club for Dutch standards, proved to be successful in the Dutch league and in the UEFA Cup. Other unheralded choices were Khalid Boulahrouz, Hedwiges Maduro, Ryan Babel and Romeo Castelen. Van Basten had also wanted to include Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou, but was thwarted when Kalou was denied Dutch citizenship by the immigration authorities headed by Dutch Minister of Integration Rita Verdonk. Kalou eventually accepted a call-up to play for Ivory Coast.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Under his guidance, the team were unbeaten in their World Cup qualification group and made it through the group stages at the 2006 World Cup, but were eliminated in a frenzied 1–0 loss to Portugal in the Round of 16. Van Basten was heavily criticised for dropping Ruud van Nistelrooy before this match, in favour of Dirk Kuyt, who did not score throughout the entire tournament.


title: Marco van Basten

text: In November 2006, Van Basten recalled exiled Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf for a friendly against England at the Amsterdam Arena. In May 2007, Van Basten announced the end of his long-running dispute with Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had previously declared never to play for a Dutch national squad with Van Basten as its manager. Other players, such as Roy Makaay, Mark van Bommel, Boudewijn Zenden and Edgar Davids, however, remained out of favour.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Van Basten had a contract with the KNVB for managing the Dutch national side until 2008. The KNVB had expressed its wishes to extend his contract to include the World Cup qualification route to 2010 World Cup in South Africa. On 22 February 2008, Van Basten signed a four-year contract with Ajax, starting from 1 July. His last tournament thus was the UEFA Euro 2008, where the Netherlands surprised with a strong first round performance. They beat world champions Italy 3–0 in their first match, followed by a 4–1 win over World Cup runners-up France. In their third match, having already qualified for the next round, Van Basten selected non-regulars such as Maarten Stekelenburg, Wilfred Bouma and Ibrahim Afellay for the starting lineup against Romania, a match the "Oranje" won 2–0. In the quarter-finals, Van Basten faced fellow Dutchman Guus Hiddink's Russia. With the score at 1–1 after 90 minutes, Hiddink and Russia went on to win the match 3–1 in extra-time. He finished his reign with a record of 35 wins, 11 draws and six losses in 52 matches.


title: Marco van Basten

text: Van Basten became manager of Ajax after Euro 2008 but resigned on 6 May 2009 after his team failed to qualify for the Champions League. Van Basten started the season well, having spent millions on players such as Miralem Sulejmani, Ismaïl Aissati, Darío Cvitanich, Evander Sno, Eyong Enoh and Oleguer. However, in the second half of the season, striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar left for Real Madrid, and Van Basten started switching around his lineups. When Ajax lost 11 points in four matches, the Eredivisie title was out of sight. However, Ajax still had the chance to finish in second place, which would have ensured a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Two important losses against PSV (6–2) and Sparta Rotterdam (4–0), however, ensured that Van Basten's Ajax could only finish third in the league. Van Basten decided to resign as Ajax manager at the end of the 2008–09 season. Van Basten subsequently became a pundit for Sport1, but was still planning to return as a manager. He finished his reign with a record of 26 wins, 8 draws and 11 losses in 45 matches.


title: Marco van Basten

text: On 13 February 2012, it was announced that Van Basten would become the manager of Eredivisie club Heerenveen in the 2012–13 season. Van Basten led Heerenveen to an eighth-place finish in the 2012–13 year campaign. He then led them to a fifth-place finish the following season, during the 2013–14 campaign. He finished his reign with a record of 27 wins, 18 draws and 27 losses in 72 matches.


title: Marco van Basten

text: AZ Alkmaar announced on 18 April 2014 that Van Basten would replace Dick Advocaat at the start of the 2014–15 season. On 28 August 2014, Van Basten took a leave of absence for the following match against Dordrecht, with multiple Dutch news outlets reporting he was suffering of stress-related heart palpitations, and was replaced by assistant coaches Alex Pastoor and Dennis Haar. Later, on 3 September, AZ confirmed that Van Basten was given an extended leave of absence until 14 September. On 16 September 2014, parties agreed Van Basten would relinquish his role as manager in order to sign a new contract as assistant coach until 2016; this was motivated by Van Basten himself, who stated the stress caused by his full-time role as head coach was causing him physical and mental issues. He finished his stint with two wins and three losses in five matches.


title: Marco van Basten

text: After a year at AZ, Van Basten decided to take up the vacant post of assistant coach under the new head coach of the Netherlands national team, Danny Blind. Van Basten would work together with fellow assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy, whom Van Basten had initially sent away when he was head coach of the Netherlands. In August 2016, Van Basten announced he would be leaving the role to take up a position at FIFA as technical director.


title: Marco van Basten

text: In March 2018, Van Basten travelled to Iran with FIFA president Gianni Infantino to mark 100 years of the Iran Football Federation. After meeting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani they were welcomed by the president of Iranian Football Federation Mehdi Taj at the Tehran Olympic Hotel. Attending the Tehran Derby, Van Basten called for the ban on women entering sports venues to be lifted.


title: The Theory of Everything (2014 film)

text: The Theory of Everything is a 2014 biographical romantic drama film directed by James Marsh. Set at the University of Cambridge, it details the life of the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. It was adapted by Anthony McCarten from the 2007 memoir "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" by Jane Hawking, which deals with her relationship with her ex-husband Stephen Hawking, his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and his success in the field of physics. The film stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, with Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney, Christian McKay, Harry Lloyd, and David Thewlis featured in supporting roles. The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 7 November 2014. It had its UK premiere on 1 January 2015.


title: The Theory of Everything (2014 film)

text: The film received positive reviews, with praise for the musical score, cinematography, and the performances of Jones and especially Redmayne. The film gained numerous awards and nominations, including five Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (Jones), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score (Jóhannsson) and won Best Actor for Redmayne. The film received 10 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) nominations, and won Outstanding British Film, Best Leading Actor for Redmayne, and Best Adapted Screenplay for McCarten. It received four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for Redmayne, and Best Original Score for Jóhannsson. It also received three Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for Redmayne.