title: Tyson Chandler

text: Chandler was chosen to play for the United States team in the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and was named the team's starting center. The United States team finished undefeated in the tournament and won the gold medal over Spain with a 107–100 victory. Chandler played 9 minutes, and made 1 of 2 shots from the field. He ended the game with two points, which were the first points scored during the game.


title: Tyson Chandler

text: His sister, Erica, played basketball at Pepperdine University. He has three brothers: Terrell, Tervon, and Ryan. His paternal grandmother is of German descent. Chandler is the son of Frank Chandler and the late Vernie Re Threadgill.


title: Tyson Chandler

text: Chandler and his wife Kimberly were married in 2005. They have three children. Chandler and his wife organized a charity to help New Orleans families who suffered from Hurricane Katrina. The charity helped purchase "small things" (as Chandler said) for the families' homes: TVs, stoves, microwaves, refrigerators, pots, pans etc. The wives of Chandler's teammates helped in the efforts.


title: Tyson Chandler

text: He was the subject of a limited edition 100 copy zine titled "Tyson Chandler". The zine was created in fall 2011 by Camilla Venturini and the photographer Ari Marcopoulos, and was the subject of a lengthy article in the "Wall Street Journal".


title: Tyson Chandler

text: In 2016, Chandler joined UNICEF Kid Power as a UNICEF Kid Power Champion for a mission in Uganda, in an effort to fight global malnutrition and as well as raise awareness among kids, via the world's first "wearable for good".


title: Tyson Chandler

text: Chandler and his wife Kimberly separated in August 2021. In September 2021, his wife Kimberly filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences.


title: Clipperton Island

text: Clipperton Island ( or ; ) is an uninhabited, coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is from Paris, France, from Papeete, Tahiti, and from Mexico. It is an overseas state private property of France under direct authority of the Minister of the Overseas. In the past, Clipperton Island was the subject of a sovereignty dispute in particular between France and Mexico, which was finally settled through arbitration in 1931; the "Clipperton Island Case" remains widely studied in international law textbooks.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The atoll is south-west of Mexico, west of Nicaragua, west of Costa Rica and north-west of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, at . Clipperton is about south-east of Socorro Island in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, which is the nearest land, while the nearest French-owned island is Hiva Oa. Some consider it to be one of the eastern-most points of Oceania, rather than an outlying island of the Americas.


title: Clipperton Island

text: It is low-lying and largely barren, with some scattered grasses, and a few clumps of coconut palms ("Cocos nucifera"). Land elevations average , though a small volcanic outcrop rising to on its south-east side is considerably higher and is referred to as 'Clipperton Rock'. The surrounding reef is exposed at low tide. The presence of this rock means that technically Clipperton is not an atoll but an island with a barrier reef.


title: Clipperton Island

text: Clipperton has had no permanent inhabitants since 1945. It is visited on occasion by fishermen, French Navy patrols, scientific researchers, film crews, and shipwreck survivors. It has become a popular site for transmissions by amateur radio operators.


title: Clipperton Island

text: Clipperton is a ring-shaped atoll, which completely encloses a stagnant fresh water lagoon, and is in circumference. The lagoon is devoid of fish, and contains some deep basins, with depths of , including a spot known as Trou-Sans-Fond, or 'the bottomless hole', with acidic water at its base. The water is described as being almost fresh at the surface, and highly eutrophic. Seaweed beds cover approximately 45 percent of the lagoon's surface. The rim averages in width, reaching in the west, and narrows to in the north-east, where sea waves occasionally spill over into the lagoon.


title: Clipperton Island

text: While some sources have rated the lagoon water as non-potable, testimony from the crew of the tuna clipper M/V "Monarch," stranded for 23 days in 1962 after their boat sank, indicates otherwise. Their report reveals that the lagoon water, while not tasting very good, was drinkable, though "muddy and dirty". Several of the castaways drank it, with no apparent ill effects.


title: Clipperton Island

text: Survivors of an ill-fated Mexican military colony in 1917 (see below) indicated that they were dependent upon rain for their water supply, catching it in old boats they used for this purpose. Aside from the lagoon and water caught from rain, no other freshwater sources are known to exist.


title: Clipperton Island

text: It has a tropical oceanic climate, with average temperatures of . The rainy season occurs from May to October, when it is subject to tropical storms and hurricanes. Surrounding ocean waters are warm, pushed by equatorial and counter-equatorial currents. It has no known natural resources (its guano having been depleted early in the 20th century). Although 115 species of fish have been identified in nearby waters, the only economic activity in the area is tuna fishing.


title: Clipperton Island

text: When Snodgrass and Heller visited in 1898, they reported that "no land plant is native to the island". Historical accounts from 1711, 1825, and 1839 show a low grassy or suffrutescent (partially woody) flora. During Sachet's visit in 1958, the vegetation was found to consist of a sparse cover of spiny grass and low thickets, a creeping plant ("Ipomoea" spp.), and stands of coconut palm. This low-lying herbaceous flora seems to be a pioneer in nature, and most of it is believed to be composed of recently introduced species. Sachet suspected that "Heliotropium curassavicum", and possibly "Portulaca oleracea" were native. Coconut palms and pigs were introduced in the 1890s by guano miners. The pigs reduced the crab population, which in turn allowed grassland to gradually cover about 80 percent of the land surface. The elimination of these pigs in 1958, the result of a personal project by Kenneth E. Stager, has caused most of this vegetation to disappear, as the population of land crabs ("Johngarthia planata") has returned to millions. The result is virtually a sandy desert, with only 674 palms counted by Christian Jost during the 'Passion 2001' French mission, and five islets in the lagoon with grass that the terrestrial crabs cannot reach.


title: Clipperton Island

text: On the north-west side, the most abundant plant species are "Cenchrus echinatus", "Sida rhombifolia", and "Corchorus aestuans". These plants compose a shrub cover up to in height, and are intermixed with "Eclipta", "Phyllanthus", and "Solanum", as well as a taller plant, "Brassica juncea". A unique feature is that the vegetation is arranged in parallel rows of species, with dense rows of taller species alternating with lower, more open vegetation. This was assumed to be a result of the phosphate mining method of trench-digging.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The only land animals known to exist are two species of reptiles ("Gehyra insulensis", a gecko, and "Emoia cyanura," a skink), bright-orange land crabs ("Johngarthia planata", sometimes known as the 'Clipperton Crab', although it is also found on other islands in the eastern Pacific), birds, and rats. The rats probably arrived on large fishing boats that were wrecked on the island in 1999 and 2000. Bird species include white terns, masked boobies, sooty terns, brown boobies, brown noddies, black noddies, great frigatebirds, coots, martins (swallows), cuckoos, and yellow warblers. Ducks have been reported in the lagoon. The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of the large breeding colony of masked boobies, with 110,000 individual birds recorded. The lagoon harbours millions of isopods, which are said to deliver an especially painful sting.


title: Clipperton Island

text: A 2005 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Southwest Fisheries Science Center indicated that the increased rat presence had led to a decline in both crab and bird populations, causing a corresponding increase in both vegetation and coconut palms. This report urgently recommended eradication of rats, so that vegetation might be reduced, and the island might return to its 'pre-human' state.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The island is believed to have been discovered by Spaniard Alvaro Saavedra Cerón on 15 November 1528. The expedition was commissioned by Hernán Cortés, the Spanish Conquistador in Mexico, to find a route to the Philippines. Others claim that Portuguese-born Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first to find it in 1521, which would make Clipperton and certain islands of Micronesia the first areas of the Pacific to be reached by Europeans.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The island was rediscovered on Good Friday, 3 April 1711, by Frenchmen Martin de Chassiron and Michel Du Bocage, commanding the French ships "La Princesse" and "La Découverte". It was given the name "Île de la Passion" ("Passion Island"); the date of rediscovery fell within Passiontide. They drew up the first map, and claimed the island for France. The first scientific expedition took place in 1725, under Frenchman M. Bocage, who lived on the island for several months. In 1858, France formally laid claim.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The current name comes from John Clipperton, an English pirate and privateer who fought the Spanish during the early 18th century, and who is said to have passed by the island. Some sources claim that he used it as a base for his raids on shipping.


title: Clipperton Island

text: Other claimants included the United States, whose American Guano Mining Company claimed it under the Guano Islands Act of 1856; Mexico also claimed it due to activities undertaken there as early as 1848–1849. On 17 November 1858 Emperor Napoleon III annexed it as part of the French colony of Tahiti. This did not settle the ownership question. On 24 November 1897, French naval authorities found three Americans working for the American Guano Company, who had raised the American flag. U.S. authorities denounced their act, assuring the French that they did not intend to assert American sovereignty. Mexico reasserted its claim late in the 19th century, and on 13 December 1897 sent the gunboat "La Demócrata" to occupy and annex it. A colony was established, and a series of military governors was posted, the last one being Ramón Arnaud (1906–1916).


title: Clipperton Island

text: The British Pacific Island Company acquired the rights to guano deposits in 1906, and built a mining settlement in conjunction with the Mexican government. That same year, a lighthouse was erected, under the orders of President Porfirio Díaz. By 1914, around 100 people; men, women, and children, were living there, resupplied every two months by a ship from Acapulco. With the escalation of fighting in the Mexican Revolution, the regular resupply visits ceased, and the inhabitants were left to their own devices.


title: Clipperton Island

text: By 1917, all but one of the male inhabitants had died. Many had perished from scurvy, while others (including Captain Arnaud) died during an attempt to sail after a passing ship to fetch help. Lighthouse keeper Victoriano Álvarez was the last man on the island, together with 15 women and children. Álvarez proclaimed himself 'king', and began a campaign of rape and murder, before being killed by Tirza Rendón, who was his favourite victim. Almost immediately after Álvarez's death, four women and seven children, the last survivors, were picked up by the US Navy gunship on 18 July 1917. No more attempts were made to colonise it, though it was briefly occupied during the 1930s and 1940s.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The story of the Mexican colony has been the subject of several novels, including Ivo Mansmann's "Clipperton, Schicksale auf einer vergessenen Insel" ('Clipperton, Destinies on a Forgotten Island') in German, Colombian writer Laura Restrepo's "La Isla de la Pasión" ('Passion Island') in Spanish, and Ana García Bergua's "Isla de Bobos" ('Island of Fools'), also in Spanish.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The history of the island and of Captain Ramón Arnaud was written by his niece Gabriela Arnaud; "Clipperton, Una Historia de Honor y Gloria" ('Clipperton, A History of Honour and Glory') in Spanish.


title: Clipperton Island

text: France insisted on its ownership, and a lengthy diplomatic correspondence between Mexico and France led to the conclusion of a treaty on 2 March 1909, to seek binding international arbitration by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, with each nation promising to abide by his determination.


title: Clipperton Island

text: In 1931, King Victor Emmanuel III issued his arbitral decision in the "Clipperton Island Case", declaring Clipperton to be a French possession.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The island was abandoned by the end of World War II, after being briefly occupied by the US from 1944 to 1945. Since then, it has been visited by sports fishermen, patrols of the French Navy, and by Mexican tuna and shark fishermen. There have been infrequent scientific and amateur radio expeditions, and in 1978 Jacques-Yves Cousteau visited with his team of divers and a survivor from the 1917 evacuation, to film a television special called "Clipperton: The Island that Time Forgot".


title: Clipperton Island

text: It was visited by ornithologist Ken Stager of the Los Angeles County Museum in 1958. Appalled at the depredations visited by feral pigs upon the island's brown booby and masked booby colonies (reduced to 500 and 150 birds, respectively), Stager procured a shotgun and killed all 58 pigs. By 2003, the booby colonies had 25,000 brown boobies and 112,000 masked boobies, the world's second-largest brown booby colony, and its largest masked booby colony. In 1994, this story inspired Bernie Tershy and Don Croll, both Professors at UCSC's Long Marine Lab to found the non-profit Island Conservation with the mission to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands.


title: Clipperton Island

text: When the independence of Algeria in 1962 threatened French nuclear testing sites in Algeria, the French Ministry of Defence considered Clipperton Island as a possible replacement. This was eventually ruled out, due to the island's hostile climate and remote location. The French explored reopening the lagoon and developing a harbour for trade and tourism during the 1970s, but this too was abandoned. An automatic weather installation was completed on 7 April 1980, with data collected by this station transmitted directly by satellite to Brittany.


title: Clipperton Island

text: In 1981, the Academy of Sciences for Overseas Territories recommended that the island have its own economic infrastructure, with an airstrip and a fishing port in the lagoon. This would mean opening up the lagoon by creating a passage in the atoll rim. For this purpose, an agreement was signed with the French government, represented by the High Commissioner for French Polynesia, whereby the island became French state property. In 1986, a meeting took place regarding the establishment of a permanent base for fishing, between the High Commissioner, and the survey firm for the development and exploitation of the island (SEDEIC). Taking into account the economic constraints, the distance from markets, and the small size of the atoll, nothing apart from preliminary studies was undertaken. All plans for development were abandoned. In the mid-1980s, the French government also began efforts to enlist citizens of French Polynesia to settle on Clipperton; these plans were ultimately abandoned as well.


title: Clipperton Island

text: In early 1962, the island provided a home to nine crewmen of the sunken tuna clipper MV "Monarch", stranded for 23 days from 6 February to 1 March. They reported that the lagoon water was drinkable, though they preferred to drink water from the coconuts they found. Unable to use any of the dilapidated buildings, they constructed a crude shelter from cement bags and tin salvaged from Quonset huts built by the American military 20 years earlier. Wood from the huts was used for firewood, and fish caught off the fringing reef combined with some potatoes and onions they had saved from their sinking vessel augmented the island's meager supply of coconuts. The crewmen reported that they tried eating bird's eggs, but found them to be rancid, and they decided after trying to cook a 'little black bird' that it did not have enough meat to make the effort worthwhile. Pigs had been eradicated, though the crewmen reported seeing their skeletons around the atoll. The crewmen were eventually discovered by another fishing boat, and rescued by the United States Navy destroyer USS "Robison".


title: Clipperton Island

text: In 1988, five Mexican fishermen became lost at sea after a storm during their trip along the coast of Costa Rica. They drifted within sight of the island, but were unable to reach it. Steven Longbaugh and David Heritage, two American deckhands from a fishing boat based in California, were stranded for three weeks in 1998. They were rescued after rebuilding a survival radio, and using distress flares to signal for help.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The Mexican and French oceanographic expedition SURPACLIP (UNAM Mexico and UNC Nouméa) made extensive studies in 1997. In 2001, French geographer Christian Jost extended the 1997 studies through his French 'Passion 2001' expedition, explaining the evolution of the ecosystem, and releasing several papers, a video film, and a website. In 2003, Lance Milbrand stayed for 41 days on a National Geographic Society expedition, recording his adventure in video, photos, and a written diary (see links below).


title: Clipperton Island

text: In 2005, the ecosystem was extensively studied for four months by a scientific mission organised by Jean-Louis Étienne, which made a complete inventory of mineral, plant, and animal species, studied algae as deep as below sea level, and examined the effects of pollution. A 2008 expedition from the University of Washington's School of Oceanography collected sediment cores from the lagoon, to study climate change over the last millennium.


title: Clipperton Island

text: On 21 February 2007, administration was transferred from the High Commissioner of the Republic in French Polynesia to the Minister of Overseas France.


title: Clipperton Island

text: In 2007, a recreational scuba diving expedition explored the reefs surrounding Clipperton, and compared the marine life with the reports of the Connie Limbaugh (Scripps) expeditions in 1956 and 1958. Recreational scuba diving expeditions are now made every spring.


title: Clipperton Island

text: During the night of 10 February 2010, the "Sichem Osprey", a Maltese chemical tanker, ran aground en route from the Panama Canal to South Korea. The ship contained xylene, a clear, flammable volatile liquid. All 19 crew members were reported safe, and the vessel reported no leaks. The vessel was re-floated on 6 March and returned to service.


title: Clipperton Island

text: In mid-March 2012, the crew from the Clipperton Project noted the widespread presence of refuse, particularly on the north-east shore, and around the Rock. Debris, including plastic bottles and containers, create a potentially harmful environment for its flora and fauna. This trash is common to only two beaches (North East and South West), and the rest of the island is fairly clean. Other refuse has been left after occupation by Americans 1944–1945, French 1966–1969, and the 2008 scientific expedition.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The island has long been an attractive destination for amateur radio groups, due to its remoteness, the difficulty of landing, permit requirements, garish history, and interesting environment. While some radio operation was done ancillary to other expeditions, major DX-peditions include FO0XB (1978), FO0XX (1985), FO0CI (1992), FO0AAA (2000), and TX5C (2008).


title: Clipperton Island

text: One DX-pedition was the Cordell Expedition in March 2013 using the callsign TX5K, organised and led by Robert Schmieder. The project combined radio operations with selected scientific investigations. The team of 24 radio operators made more than 114,000 contacts, breaking the previous record of 75,000. The activity included extensive operation of the 6 meter band, including Earth–Moon–Earth communication (EME) or 'moonbounce' contacts. A notable accomplishment was the use of DXA, a real-time satellite-based online graphic radio log web page, that allowed anyone anywhere with a browser to see the radio activity. Scientific work carried out during the expedition included the first collection and identification of foraminifera, and extensive aerial imaging of the island using kite-borne cameras. The team included two scientists from the French-Polynesian University of Tahiti, and a TV crew from the French documentary television series Thalassa.


title: Clipperton Island

text: An April 2015 DX-pedition using callsign TX5P was conducted by Alain Duchauchoy, F6BFH, concurrent with the Passion 2015 scientific expedition to Clipperton Island, and engaging in research of Mexican use of the island during the early 1900s.


title: Clipperton Island

text: The island is assigned with French postal code 98799. However, there is no post office on the island.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European history. Except for the war of 1710–11 and the Crimean War, which is often treated as a separate event, the conflicts ended disastrously for the Ottoman Empire; conversely, they showcased the ascendancy of Russia as a European power after the modernization efforts of Peter the Great in the early 18th century.<ref name=:d10.1353/kri.2011.0018></ref>


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The first Russo-Turkish War (1568–1570) occurred after the conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan by the Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible. The Ottoman sultan Selim II tried to squeeze the Russians out of the lower Volga by sending a military expedition to Astrakhan in 1569. The Turkish expedition ended in disaster for the Ottoman army, which could not take Astrakhan and almost completely perished in the steppes, while the Ottoman fleet was wrecked in the Sea of Azov. The peace treaty between the two sides cemented Russia's conquests on the Volga, but allowed the Ottoman Empire to obtain a number of commercial benefits. Ottoman vassal the Crimean Khanate continued its expansion against the Russian Tsardom, but was defeated at the Battle of Molodi in 1572.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The next conflict between Russia and Turkey began 100 years later as part of the struggle for the territory of Ukraine. While Russia conquered the Left-bank Ukraine after the Russo-Polish War (1654-1667), Ottoman Empire in the course of the Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676), spread its rule over all of the Right-bank Ukraine with the support of its vassal, Petro Doroshenko (1665–1672). The latter's pro-Ottoman policy caused discontent among many Ukrainian Cossacks, who would elect Ivan Samoilovich as a sole Hetman of all Ukraine in 1674. In 1676, Russian troops captured Chigirin and overthrew Doroshenko, who was exiled to Russia. In 1677, the Ottoman army tried to retake Chigirin, but was defeated. In 1678, the Ottoman army was finally able to take Chigirin after a bloody assault. But on this the Ottoman expansion to the northeast was stopped. In 1679–80, the Russians repelled the attacks of the Crimean Tatars and signed the Treaty of Bakhchisarai on January 13, 1681, which would establish the Russo-Turkish border by the Dnieper River.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Russia joined the European Holy League (Austria, Poland, Venice) in 1686. During the war, the Russian army organized the Crimean campaigns of 1687 and 1689 and the Azov campaigns (1695–96). In the light of Russia's preparations for the war with Sweden and other countries' signing the Treaty of Karlowitz with Turkey in 1699, the Russian government signed the Treaty of Constantinople with the Ottoman Empire in 1700. Following the results of peace, Russia managed to annex Azov and get access to the Sea of Azov.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: After the Russians had defeated the Swedes and the pro-Swedish Empire Ukrainian Cossacks led by Ivan Mazepa in the Battle of Poltava in 1709, Charles XII of Sweden managed to persuade the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III to declare war on Russia on November 20, 1710. The Prut campaign of Peter the Great ended very unsuccessfully for Russia. The Russian army, led by the tsar, was surrounded by a superior Turkish-Tatar army and was forced to agree to unfavorable peace conditions, according to which it returned the previously captured Azov to the Ottoman Empire.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: By the late 17th century, the Iranian Safavid dynasty, which neighbored both empires and had been one of the greatest rivals for Turkey for centuries (16th–19th centuries), had been heavily declining. Taking advantage of the situation, Russia and the Ottoman Empire conquered swaths of its territory comprising contemporary Dagestan, Azerbaijan, and Northern Iran, which was taken by Peter I in the Russo-Persian War (1722–1723); the Ottomans took the territory to the west, comprising modern day Armenia, parts of Eastern Anatolia, as well as western Iran. The gains by both were confirmed in the Treaty of Constantinople (1724). For a few years, they bordered each other along a large territory in the Caucasus, which caused further frictions.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Russia managed to secure a favourable international situation by signing treaties with Persia in 1732 and 1735. These returned all Iranian territories gained since 1722 in the North and South Caucasus and Northern Iran, and avoided war with the emerging leader of Persia, Nader Shah. The treaties had other diplomatically favourable aspects as they established a Russo-Iranian alliance against Turkey, as Persia was at war with the Ottoman Empire. In the meantime Russia was also supporting the accession to the Polish throne of Augustus III in the War of the Polish Succession (1733–35), over the French-nominated Stanisław Leszczyński. Austria had been Russia's ally since 1726.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Russia entered into another war with the Ottoman Empire in 1736, prompted by raids on Ukraine by Crimean Tatars and the military campaign of the Crimean khan in the Caucasus. In May 1736, the Russian army launched an invasion of the Crimean peninsula and burned the capital of the Crimean Khanate Bakhchisarai. On June 19, the Russian Don army under the command of General Peter Lacy captured Azov. In July 1737, the Münnich army took by storm the Ottoman fortress of Ochakov. The Lacy army (now 40,000 strong) marched into the Crimea the same month, inflicting a number of defeats on the army of the Crimean khan and capturing Karasubazar. Lacy and his soldiers had to leave the Crimea, however, due to lack of supplies.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Austria entered the war against Turkey in July 1737 but was defeated a number of times. In August, Russia, Austria and Turkey began negotiations in Nemirov, which would turn out to be fruitless. There were no significant military operations in 1738. The Russian army had to leave Ochakov and Kinburn due to a plague outbreak. In 1739, the Münnich army crossed the Dnieper, defeated the Ottoman Empire at Stavuchany, and occupied the fortress of Khotin and Iaşi. However, Austria was defeated by the Ottoman Empire once again and signed a separate peace treaty on August 21. This, coupled with the imminent threat of Swedish invasion, forced Russia to sign the Treaty of Belgrade with Turkey on September 18, ending the war.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Following a border incident at Balta, Sultan Mustafa III declared war on Russia on September 25, 1768. The Turks formed an alliance with the Polish opposition forces of the Bar Confederation, while Russia was supported by Great Britain, which offered naval advisers to the Russian navy.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The Polish opposition was defeated by Alexander Suvorov, who was then transferred to the Ottoman theatre of operations, where in 1773 and 1774 he won several minor and major battles following the previous grand successes of the Russian Field-Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev at Larga and Kagul.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Naval operations of the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Mediterranean yielded victories under the command of Aleksei Orlov. In 1771, Egypt and Syria rebelled against the Ottoman rule, while the Russian fleet totally destroyed the Ottoman Navy at the battle of Chesma.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: On July 21, 1774, the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, which formally granted independence to the Crimean Khanate, but in reality it became dependent on Russia. Russia received 4.5 million rubles and two key seaports allowing the direct access to the Black Sea. It also marked the first time that a foreign power directly interfered in the affairs of the Ottoman Porte, as the treaty gave Russia protector status over Turkey's Orthodox Christian subjects.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: In 1783, Russia annexed the Crimean Khanate. In the same year, Russia established its protectorate over Eastern Georgia according to the Treaty of Georgievsk. In 1787, Empress Catherine II made a triumphant trip across the Crimea, accompanied by representatives of foreign courts and her ally, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. These events and the friction caused by mutual complaints of infringements of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, which had closed the previous war, stirred up public opinion in Istanbul, and the British ambassador lent his support to the war party.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: In 1787 the Ottomans demanded that Russia vacate the Crimea. Russia declared war, but Ottoman preparations were inadequate and the moment was ill-chosen, now that Russia and Austria were in alliance, a fact that came to light only after events were already in motion. The Turks drove back the Austrians from Mehadia and overran the Banat (1789); but in Moldavia Field-Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev was successful and captured Iaşi and Khotyn. Ottoman generals were incompetent and the army mutinous; expeditions for the relief of Bender and Akkerman failed, Belgrade was taken by the Austrians, The Russian army under the command of Alexander Suvorov defeated the Turks in the battle of Rymnik and captured Izmail. The fall of Anapa completed the series of Ottoman disasters. The Russian Black Sea Fleet, created just a few years earlier, under the command of Admiral Ushakov, inflicted a series of defeats on the Turkish Fleet and seized the initiative in the Black Sea.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Sultan Selim III was anxious to restore his country's prestige by a victory before making peace, but the condition of his troops rendered this hope unavailing. Turkey signed an assistance pact with Prussia on 31 January 1790, but received no help during the war. Accordingly, the Treaty of Jassy was signed with Russia on 9 January 1792, by which the Crimea and Ochakov were left to Russia, the Dniester was made the frontier in Europe, and the Asiatic frontier remained unchanged.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Gábor Ágoston attributes the decline of Ottoman power relative to Russia to the reactionary Janissaries:


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: In 1806, the Ottoman Empire incited by Napoleonic France started a new war. The long six-year war for Russia took place in parallel with the Russo-Persian War, the Russo-Swedish War and the War of the Fourth Coalition. Despite this, in the decisive campaign of 1811, the Russian army of Kutuzov defeated the Ottoman army on the Danube, which made it possible to conclude a peace treaty beneficial for Russia, according to which Russia get Bessarabia.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The Ottoman Empire had maintained military parity with Russia until the second half of the eighteenth century, but by the 1820s the Ottoman armies were unable to put down the Greek War of Independence in southern Greece. The great powers of Europe decided to intervene and assist Greece with its independence. After the Battle of Navarino and the Russo-Turkish War (1828–29), in which the Russian army first crossed the Balkan Mountains and took Adrianople, Turkey recognized the independence of Greece and the transition of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus to Russia. Thus Greece became the first independent country created out of a section of the Ottoman Empire. Russian Empire aspirations for a section of the empire and bases on Russia's southern flank provoked British fears over naval domination of the Mediterranean and control of the land route to the Indian Subcontinent.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: When in 1853 Russia destroyed the entire Ottoman fleet at Sinop, Britain and France concluded that armed intervention on the side of the Ottomans was the only way to halt a massive Russian expansion. Even though Ottomans and Russians were on opposing sides, the roots of the ensuing Crimean War lay in the rivalry between the British and the Russians. The war ended unfavorably for the Russians, with the Paris peace of 1856.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The war brought a decline in Ottoman morale and a feeling of helplessness, illustrating that modern technology and superior weaponry were the most important part of a modern army, and a part that the Ottoman Empire was sorely lacking. While fighting alongside the British, French, and even the Piedmontese, the Ottomans could see how far they had fallen behind. Things began to change after the Crimean War.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: One of these changes arose as Europeans began to see commercial opportunity in the country and the money entering via trade dramatically increased. The government also received a great deal of extra money from a uniform tax system with little corruption. The Sultan managed to get a tighter grip on the provincial beys and increased the tribute they had to pay. However, Abdülaziz, the Sultan at the time, used much of this money on furnishing and creating great palaces to rival the great ones in England and France, which he had visited. The Empire was undergoing a revolution, and throughout Anatolia a new Ottoman nationalism was appearing. It seemed as though it might be possible for the Empire to turn its decline around.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The monetary and governmental collapse combined with a new threat from Russia began the final stages of the Empire's collapse. Russia had been forced by the Crimean War to give up its ambitions of conquering the Ottoman capital of Constantinople and taking control of the Bosphorus. Instead it decided to focus on gaining power in the Balkans. The population of much of the Balkans were Slavs, as were the Russians. They also mainly followed the Eastern Orthodox Church, as did the Russians. When new movements in Russia, such as that of the Slavophiles, started to enter the area, it became agitated and prone to revolution. When the government in Constantinople tried to initiate measures to prevent an economic collapse throughout the empire, it touched off a revolt in Herzegovina in 1875. The revolt in Herzegovina quickly spread to Bosnia and then Bulgaria. Soon Serbian armies also entered the war against the Turks. These revolts were the first test of the new Ottoman armies. Even though they were not up to western European standards, the army fought effectively and brutally; during the war, the Ottomans carried out the Batak massacre in 1876. Januarius MacGahan, a journalist of the New York Herald and the London "Daily News" wrote of the terrible happenings after his visitation to Batak with Eugene Schuyler. According to most sources, around 5,000 people were massacred in Batak alone. The total number of victims in the April uprising according to most estimates around 15,000, which is supported by Eugene Schuyler's report, published in "Daily News", according to which at least 15,000 persons were killed during the April Uprising in addition to 36 villages in three districts being buried. According to Donald Quataert around 1,000 Muslims were killed by Christian Bulgarians and consequently 3,700 Christians were killed by Muslims.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Soon the Balkan rebellions were beginning to falter. In Europe, papers were filled with reports of Ottoman soldiers killing thousands of Slavs. Even in Great Britain William Ewart Gladstone published his account of Ottoman atrocities in his "Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East". Soon, a new Russo-Turkish war had begun. Despite fighting better than they ever had before, the advanced Ottoman armies still were not equal to the Russian forces. This time there was no help from abroad; in truth, many European nations supported the Russian war, as long as it did not get too close to Istanbul. Ten and a half months later when the war had ended the age of Ottoman domination over the Balkans was over. In the Balkans, the Russian army, having crossed the Danube, captured the Shipka Pass. The Turkish army of Osman Pasha, after a stubborn struggle, surrendered to Plevna. After that, the Russian army crossed the Balkan Mountains, defeated the remaining Turkish troops and reached the approaches to Constantinople. In the Caucasus, the Turkish army held back the Russian offensive, but after the defeat at Aladzha, retreated to Erzurum, after which the Russians took Kars. On the Black Sea, the Ottoman fleet had a colossal advantage, since the Russian fleet did not recover after the Crimean War. Despite this, the hostilities on the Black Sea in this war were not important.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: In response to the Russian proximity to the straits the British, against the wishes of the Sultan, intervened in the war. A large task force representing British naval supremacy entered the straits of Marmara and anchored in view of both the royal palace and the Russian army. The British may have saved the Ottoman Empire once again, but it ended the rosy relations between the two powers that had endured since the Crimean War. Looking at the prospect of a British entry into the war the Russians decided to settle the dispute. The Treaty of San Stefano gave Romania and Montenegro their independence, Serbia and Russia each received extra territory, Austria was given control over Bosnia, and Bulgaria was given almost complete autonomy. The hope of the Sultan was that the other great powers would oppose such a one-sided resolution and a conference would be held to revise it. His desire became reality and in 1878 the Congress of Berlin was held where Germany promised to be an "honest broker" in the treaty's revision. In the new treaty Bulgarian territory was decreased and the war indemnities were cancelled. The conference also again hurt Anglo-Ottoman relations by giving the British the island of Cyprus. While annoyed at British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, the Sultan had nothing but praise for Otto von Bismarck who forced many of the major concessions upon Russia. These close Germano-Ottoman relations would persist until both empires' very end.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The Russian extension in this century developed with the main theme of supporting independence of Ottomans' former provinces and then bringing all of the Slav peoples of the Balkans under Bulgaria or using Armenians in the east sets the stage. At the end of the century from Russian perspective; Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and autonomy of Bulgaria was achieved. That alarmed the Great Powers. After the Congress of Berlin the Russian expansion was controlled through stopping the expansion of Bulgaria. The Russian public felt that at the end of Congress of Berlin thousands of Russian soldiers had died for nothing.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: There were two main movements for the west side. The first one was performed while Ottomans were dealing with the Greek uprising, see Greek War of Independence.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The Greeks' independence war led to the Russian forces advancing into Bulgaria before the Turks sued for peace. The resulting Treaty of Adrianople (Edirne) on September 14, 1829, gave Russia most of the eastern shore of the Black Sea and the mouth of the Danube.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The second independence movement happened during the uprisings. See Bosnia and Herzegovina: 19th-20th centuries, Romanian War of Independence. An uprising against Ottoman rule began in Herzegovina in July 1875. The Bulgarians organised the April Uprising, which lasted from April to May 1876.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: Serbia achieved autonomy and Russia was allowed to occupy Moldavia and Wallachia (guaranteeing their prosperity, and full "liberty of trade" for them) until Turkey had paid a large indemnity. The uprisings raised a chance for Russia (Prince Gorchakov) and Austria-Hungary (Count Andrássy), who made the secret Reichstadt Agreement on July 8, on partitioning the Balkan peninsula depending on the outcome.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: During the Russo-Turkish war of 1877–1878, in February 1878 the Russian army had almost reached the Ottoman capital but, scared the city might fall, the British sent a fleet of battleships to intimidate Russia from entering the Ottoman capital. Under pressure from the British fleet to negotiate on the outcome of the war, Russia agreed a settlement under the Treaty of San Stefano on March 3, by which the Ottoman Empire recognized the independence of its former provinces Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and autonomy of Bulgaria. The Congress of Berlin also allowed Austria to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina and Great Britain to take over Cyprus.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: During the Greek uprising, the Russian empire reached the Ottoman borders in the Caucasus, which were located in the southwest of the region, as well as northeastern Anatolia. Under the terms of the Treaty of Adrianople, the Ottoman Empire recognized Russian sovereignty over western Georgia, which was formerly under Ottoman suzerainty, and recognized Russian domination of present-day Armenia, which had been conquered a year earlier (1828) by the Russians from Qajar Iran through the Treaty of Turkmenchay. After the war of 1877-78, Russia also received Kars and Ardahan.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: During the early months of World War I, Kars was a key military objective for the Ottoman army. Ismail Enver who pushed the Ottoman Empire into World War I, needed a victory against the Russians to defend his position. He collected an army on the eastern border. The army was badly defeated under Enver's command at the Battle of Sarikamish January 2, 1915 against Nikolai Yudenich. This defeat was more due to the winter weather and bad planning, given the fact that Russians were actually preparing to evacuate Kars. With the loss of the eastern army, Ottoman defenses crumbled with further small battles and the Russian army succeeded in advancing as far west as Erzincan. The Ottoman army suffered the next heavy defeat in the Battle of Erzurum in 1916, after which the Russian army captured the whole of Western Armenia. After the 1916 campaign, the front remained stable until the Russian Revolution.


title: History of the Russo-Turkish wars

text: The collapse of the Russian army after the 1917 revolution left only thinly spread Armenian units to resist the inevitable Ottoman counter-attack. Before the end of World War I in 1918, the Ottoman army reformed with what was left from the middle-east branch and tried to build a line between whatever seemed to be left on their east border. The newly declared First Republic of Armenia captured Kars in April 1918, which was eventually handed back by the future Soviet administration. That same year in March, the Baku Commune was established in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The commune later became the Centrocaspian Dictatorship, in turn conquered by the Islamic Army of the Caucasus, then shortly by the Triple Entente and finally the Bolsheviks. Defeat on other fronts caused the Ottoman Empire to surrender and withdraw forces. Both the Armenian and Azerbaijani Republics ended up being part of the Soviet Union in 1920. The Soviet-Turkish border was established under the Treaty of Moscow (1921).


title: Politics of Canada

text: The politics of Canada function within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch is head of state. In practice, the executive powers are directed by the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the elected House of Commons of Canada and chosen and headed by the Prime Minister of Canada.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Canada is described as a "full democracy", with a tradition of liberalism, and an egalitarian, moderate political ideology. Far-left and far-right politics has never been prominent in Canadian politics. The traditional "brokerage" model of Canadian politics leaves little room for ideology. Peace, order, and good government, alongside an Implied Bill of Rights are founding principles of the Canadian government. An emphasis on social justice has been a distinguishing element of Canada's political culture. Canada has placed emphasis on equality and inclusiveness for all its people.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The country has a multi-party system in which many of its legislative practices derive from the unwritten conventions of and precedents set by the Westminster parliament of the United Kingdom. The two dominant political parties in Canada have historically been the current Liberal Party of Canada and the Conservative Party of Canada (as well as its numerous predecessors). Parties like the New Democratic Party, the Quebec nationalist Bloc Québécois and the Green Party of Canada have grown in prominence, exerting their own influence to the political process.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Canada has evolved variations: party discipline in Canada is stronger than in the United Kingdom, and more parliamentary votes are considered motions of confidence, which tends to diminish the role of non-Cabinet members of parliament (MPs). Such members, in the government caucus, and junior or lower-profile members of opposition caucuses, are known as backbenchers. Backbenchers can, however, exert their influence by sitting in parliamentary committees, like the Public Accounts Committee or the National Defence Committee.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Canada's governmental structure was originally established by the British Parliament through the "British North America Act, 1867" (now the "Constitution Act, 1867"), but the federal model and division of powers were devised by Canadian politicians. Particularly after World War I, citizens of the self-governing Dominions, such as Canada, began to develop a strong sense of identity, and, in the Balfour Declaration of 1926, the British government and the governments of the six Dominions jointly agreed that the Dominions had full autonomy within the British Commonwealth.


title: Politics of Canada

text: In 1931, after further consultations and agreements between the British government and the governments of the Dominions, the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster, giving legal recognition to the autonomy of Canada and other Dominions. However, Canadian politicians were unable to obtain consensus on a process for amending the constitution, which was therefore not affected by the Statute of Westminster, meaning amendments to Canada's constitution continued to require the approval of the British parliament until that date. Similarly, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain continued to make the final decision on criminal appeals until 1933 and on civil appeals until 1949. It was not until 1982, with the Patriation of the Constitution, that the role of the British Parliament was ended.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Canada's egalitarian approach to governance has emphasized social welfare, economic freedom, and multiculturalism, which is based on selective economic migrants, social integration, and suppression of far-right politics, that has wide public and political support. Its broad range of constituent nationalities and policies that promote a "just society" are constitutionally protected. Individual rights, equality and inclusiveness (social equality) have risen to the forefront of political and legal importance for most Canadians, as demonstrated through support for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a relatively free economy, and social liberal attitudes toward women's rights (like pregnancy termination), homosexuality, euthanasia or cannabis use. There is also a sense of collective responsibility in Canadian political culture, as is demonstrated in general support for universal health care, multiculturalism, gun control, foreign aid, and other social programs.


title: Politics of Canada

text: At the federal level, Canada has been dominated by two relatively centrist parties practising brokerage politics", the centre-left leaning Liberal Party of Canada and the centre-right leaning Conservative Party of Canada (or its predecessors). "The traditional "brokerage" model of Canadian politics leaves little


title: Politics of Canada

text: room for ideology" as the Canadian catch-all party system requires support from a broad spectrum of voters. The historically predominant Liberals position themselves at the centre of the political scale, with the Conservatives sitting on the right and the New Democratic Party occupying the left. Five parties had representatives elected to the federal parliament in the 2021 election: the Liberal Party who currently form the government, the Conservative Party who are the Official Opposition, the New Democratic Party, the Bloc Québécois, and the Green Party of Canada.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The bicameral Parliament of Canada consists of three parts: the monarch, the Senate, and the House of Commons.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Currently, the Senate, which is frequently described as providing regional representation, has 105 members appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister to serve until age 75. It was created with equal representation from the three regions of Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes (originally New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, expanded in 1873 to include Prince Edward Island). In 1915, a new Western division was created, with six senators from each of the four western provinces, so that each of the four regions had 24 seats in the Senate. When Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation in 1949, it was not included in an existing region and was assigned six seats. Each of the three territories has one seat. It is not based on representation-by-population. The normal number of senators can be exceeded by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, as long as the additional senators are distributed equally with regard to region (up to a total of eight additional Senators). This power of additional appointment has only been used once, when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney petitioned Queen Elizabeth II to add eight seats to the Senate so as to ensure the passage of the Goods and Services Tax legislation.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The House of Commons currently has 338 members elected in single-member districts in a plurality voting system (first past the post), meaning that members must attain only a plurality (the most votes of any candidate) rather than a majority. The electoral districts are also known as ridings.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Mandates cannot exceed five years; an election must occur by the end of this time. This fixed mandate has been exceeded only once, when Prime Minister Robert Borden perceived the need to do so during World War I. A constitutional amendment was passed, extending the life of the Parliament by one year, by the unanimous consent of the House of Commons. The size of the House and apportionment of seats to each province is revised after every census, conducted every five years, and is based on population changes and approximately on representation-by-population.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Canadians cast vote for the election of their local member of parliament (MP) only. A vote is cast directly for a candidate. The candidate in each riding who receives a plurality of votes is elected. An MP need not be a member of any political party: such MPs are known as independents. When a number of MPs share political opinions they may form a body known as a political party.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The "Canada Elections Act" defines a political party as "an organization one of whose fundamental purposes is to participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election." Forming and registering a federal political party are two different things. There is no legislation regulating the formation of federal political parties. Elections Canada cannot dictate how a federal political party should be formed or how its legal, internal and financial structures should be established.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Most parties elect their leaders in instant-runoff elections to ensure that the winner receives more than 50% of the votes. Normally the party leader stands as a candidate to be an MP during an election. Canada's parliamentary system empowers political parties and their party leaders. Where one party gets a majority of the seats in the House of Commons, that party is said to have a "majority government." Through party discipline, the party leader, who is elected in only one riding, exercises a great deal of control over the cabinet and the parliament.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Historically, the prime minister and senators are selected by the governor general as a representative of the King, though in modern practice the monarch's duties are ceremonial. Consequently, the prime minister, while technically selected by the governor general, is for all practical purposes selected by the party with the majority of seats. That is, the party that gets the most seats normally forms the government, with that party's leader becoming prime minister. The prime minister is not directly elected by the general population, although the prime minister is almost always directly elected as an MP within his or her constituency.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Often the most popular party in an election takes a majority of the seats, even if it did not receive a majority of the vote. However, as there are usually three or more political parties represented in parliament, often no party takes a majority of the seats. A minority government occurs when the party that holds the most seats in the House of Commons holds fewer seats than the opposition parties combined. In this scenario, the party leader whose party has the most seats in the House is selected by the governor general to lead the government; however, for the government to survive and to pass laws, the leader chosen must have the support of the majority of the House, meaning they need the support of the elected members of at least one other party. This can be done on a case-by-case basis, through a coalition government (which has never been done in Canadian history) or through a confidence and supply agreement (such as the Liberals and the NDP signed in 2022).


title: Politics of Canada

text: As a federation, the existence and powers of the federal government and the ten provinces are guaranteed by the Constitution. The "Constitution Act, 1867" sets out the basic constitutional structure of the federal government and the provinces. The powers of the federal Parliament and the provinces can only be changed by constitutional amendments passed by the federal and provincial governments. The Crown is the formal head of state of the federal government and each of the ten provinces, but rarely has any political role. The governments are led by the representatives of the people: elected by all Canadians, at the federal level, and by the Canadian citizens of each provinces, at the provincial level.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Federal-provincial (or intergovernmental, formerly Dominion-provincial) relations is a regular issue in Canadian politics: Quebec wishes to preserve and strengthen its distinctive nature, western provinces desire more control over their abundant natural resources, especially energy reserves; industrialized Central Canada is concerned with its manufacturing base, and the Atlantic provinces strive to escape from being less affluent than the rest of the country.


title: Politics of Canada

text: In order to ensure that social programs such as health care and education are funded consistently throughout Canada, the "have-not" (poorer) provinces receive a proportionately greater share of federal "transfer (equalization) payments" than the richer, or "have", provinces do; this has been somewhat controversial. The richer provinces often favour freezing transfer payments, or rebalancing the system in their favour, based on the claim that they already pay more in taxes than they receive in federal government services, and the poorer provinces often favour an increase on the basis that the amount of money they receive is not sufficient for their existing needs.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Particularly in the past decade, some scholars have argued that the federal government's exercise of its unlimited constitutional spending power has contributed to strained federal-provincial relations. This power allows the federal government to influence provincial policies, by offering funding in areas that the federal government cannot itself regulate. The federal spending power is not expressly set out in the "Constitution Act, 1867"; however, in the words of the Court of Appeal for Ontario the power "can be inferred" from s. 91(1A), "the public debt and property".


title: Politics of Canada

text: A prime example of an exercise of the spending power is the "Canada Health Act", which is a conditional grant of money to the provinces. Regulation of health services is, under the Constitution, a provincial responsibility. However, by making the funding available to the provinces under the "Canada Health Act" contingent upon delivery of services according to federal standards, the federal government has the ability to influence health care delivery. This spending power, coupled with Supreme Court rulings — such as "Reference re Canada Assistance Plan (B.C.)" — that have held that funding delivered under the spending power can be reduced unilaterally at any time, has contributed to strained federal-provincial relations.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Except for three short-lived transitional or minority governments, prime ministers from Quebec led Canada continuously from 1968 to early 2006. People from Quebec led both Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments in this period.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Monarchs, governors general, and prime ministers are now expected to be at least functional, if not fluent, in both English and French. In selecting leaders, political parties give preference to candidates who are fluently bilingual.


title: Politics of Canada

text: By law, three of the nine positions on the Supreme Court of Canada must be held by judges from Quebec. This representation makes sure that at least three judges have sufficient experience with the civil law system to treat cases involving Quebec laws.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Canada has a long and storied history of secessionist movements (see Secessionist movements of Canada). National unity has been a major issue in Canada since the forced union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1840.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The predominant and lingering issue concerning Canadian national unity has been the ongoing conflict between the French-speaking majority in Quebec and the English-speaking majority in the rest of Canada. Quebec's continued demands for recognition of its "distinct society" through special political status has led to attempts for constitutional reform, most notably with the failed attempts to amend the constitution through the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord (the latter of which was rejected through a national referendum).


title: Politics of Canada

text: Since the Quiet Revolution, sovereigntist sentiments in Quebec have been variably stoked by the patriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982 (without Quebec's consent) and by the failed attempts at constitutional reform. Two provincial referendums, in 1980 and 1995, rejected proposals for sovereignty with majorities of 60% and 50.6% respectively. Given the narrow federalist victory in 1995, a reference was made by the Chrétien government to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1998 regarding the legality of unilateral provincial secession. The court decided that a unilateral declaration of secession would be unconstitutional. This resulted in the passage of the "Clarity Act" in 2000.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The Bloc Québécois, a sovereigntist party which runs candidates exclusively in Quebec, was started by a group of MPs who left the Progressive Conservative (PC) party (along with several disaffected Liberal MPs), and first put forward candidates in the 1993 federal election. With the collapse of the PCs in that election, the Bloc and Liberals were seen as the only two viable parties in Quebec. Thus, prior to the 2006 election, any gain by one party came at the expense of the other, regardless of whether national unity was really at issue. The Bloc, then, benefited (with a significant increase in seat total) from the impressions of corruption that surrounded the Liberal Party in the lead-up to the 2004 election. However, the newly unified Conservative party re-emerged as a viable party in Quebec by winning 10 seats in the 2006 election. In the 2011 election, the New Democratic Party succeeded in winning 59 of Quebec's 75 seats, successfully reducing the number of seats of every other party substantially. The NDP surge nearly destroyed the Bloc, reducing them to 4 seats, far below the minimum requirement of 12 seats for Official party status.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Newfoundland and Labrador is also a problem regarding national unity. As the Dominion of Newfoundland was a self-governing country equal to Canada until 1949, there are large, though unco-ordinated, feelings of Newfoundland nationalism and anti-Canadian sentiment among much of the population. This is due in part to the perception of chronic federal mismanagement of the fisheries, forced resettlement away from isolated settlements in the 1960s, the government of Quebec still drawing inaccurate political maps whereby they take parts of Labrador, and to the perception that mainland Canadians look down upon Newfoundlanders. In 2004, the Newfoundland and Labrador First Party contested provincial elections and in 2008 in federal ridings within the province. In 2004, then-premier Danny Williams ordered all federal flags removed from government buildings as a result of lost offshore revenues to equalization clawbacks. On December 23, 2004, premier Williams made this statement to reporters in St. John's,


title: Politics of Canada

text: Western alienation is another national-unity-related concept that enters into Canadian politics. Residents of the four western provinces, particularly Alberta, have often been unhappy with a lack of influence and a perceived lack of understanding when residents of Central Canada consider "national" issues. While this is seen to play itself out through many avenues (media, commerce, and so on.), in politics, it has given rise to a number of political parties whose base constituency is in western Canada. These include the United Farmers of Alberta, who first won federal seats in 1917, the Progressives (1921), the Social Credit Party (1935), the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (1935), the Reconstruction Party (1935), New Democracy (1940) and most recently the Reform Party (1989).


title: Politics of Canada

text: The Reform Party's slogan "The West Wants In" was echoed by commentators when, after a successful merger with the PCs, the successor party to both parties, the Conservative Party won the 2006 election. Led by Stephen Harper, who is an MP from Alberta, the electoral victory was said to have made "The West IS In" a reality. However, regardless of specific electoral successes or failures, the concept of western alienation continues to be important in Canadian politics, particularly on a provincial level, where opposing the federal government is a common tactic for provincial politicians. For example, in 2001, a group of prominent Albertans produced the Alberta Agenda, urging Alberta to take steps to make full use of its constitutional powers, much as Quebec has done.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Canada is considered by most sources to be a very stable democracy. In 2006, "The Economist" ranked Canada the third-most democratic nation in its Democracy Index, ahead of all other nations in the Americas and ahead of every nation more populous than itself. In 2008, Canada was ranked World No. 11 and again ahead of all countries more populous and ahead of other states in the Americas.


title: Politics of Canada

text: More recently, with the existence of strong third parties and first past the post electorates amongst other factors, Canada on a federal and provincial level has experienced huge swings in seat shares, where third parties (eg NDP, Reform) end up (usually briefly) replacing the Liberals, the Progressive Conservatives or the Conservatives as the main opposition or even the government and leaving them as a rump. Such federally examples include the 1993 federal election with the collapse of the Progressive Conservatives, and the 2011 election leaving the Liberal Party a (temporary) rump along with Bloc Québécois. Other examples include the changes of fortune for the Albertan NDP during the province’s 2015 and 2019 elections, and possibly the 2018 Quebec elections with the rise of Coalition Avenir Québec taking government out of Liberal and Parti Québécois.


title: Politics of Canada

text: On a provincial level, in the legislatures of western provinces the NDP often is the left leaning main party instead of that province’s Liberal Party branch, the latter generally being a rump or smaller than the NDP (excluding British Columbia where the Liberal Party is the main party, right of the NDP). The other main party (right of the NDP) is either the Progressive Conservatives or their successor, or the Saskatchewan Party in Saskatchewan.


title: Politics of Canada

text: According to recent scholars, there have been four party systems in [Canada] at the federal level since Confederation, each with its own distinctive pattern of social support, patronage relationships, leadership styles, and electoral strategies. Political scientists disagree on the names and precise boundaries of the eras, however. Steve Patten identifies four party systems in Canada's political history


title: Politics of Canada

text: Clarkson (2005) shows how the Liberal Party has dominated all the party systems, using different approaches. It began with a "clientelistic approach" under Laurier, which evolved into a "brokerage" system of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s under Mackenzie King. The 1950s saw the emergence of a "pan-Canadian system", which lasted until the 1990s. The 1993 election — categorized by Clarkson as an electoral "earthquake" which "fragmented" the party system, saw the emergence of regional politics within a four party-system, whereby various groups championed regional issues and concerns. Clarkson concludes that the inherent bias built into the first-past-the-post system, has chiefly benefited the Liberals.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The rules governing the funding of parties are designed to ensure reliance on personal contributions. Personal donations to federal parties and campaigns benefit from tax credits, although the amount of tax relief depends on the amount given. Also only people paying income taxes receive any benefit from this.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The rules are based on the belief that union or business funding should not be allowed to have as much impact on federal election funding as these are not contributions from citizens and are not evenly spread out between parties. They are still allowed to contribute to the election but only in a minor fashion. The new rules stated that a party had to receive 2% of the vote nationwide in order to receive the general federal funding for parties. Each vote garnered a certain dollar amount for a party (approximately $1.75) in future funding. For the initial disbursement, approximations were made based on previous elections. The NDP received more votes than expected (its national share of the vote went up) while the new Conservative Party of Canada received fewer votes than had been estimated and was asked to refund the difference. Quebec was the first province to implement a similar system of funding many years before the changes to funding of federal parties.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Federal funds are disbursed quarterly to parties, beginning at the start of 2005. For the moment, this disbursement delay leaves the NDP and the Green Party in a better position to fight an election, since they rely more on individual contributors than federal funds. The Green Party now receives federal funds, since it for the first time received a sufficient share of the vote in the 2004 election.


title: Politics of Canada

text: In 2007, news emerged of a funding loophole that "could cumulatively exceed the legal limit by more than $60,000," through anonymous recurrent donations of $200 to every riding of a party from corporations or unions. At the time, for each individual, the legal annual donation limit was $1,100 for each party, $1,100 combined total for each party's associations, and in an election year, an additional $1,100 combined total for each party's candidates. All three limits increase on 1 April every year based on the inflation rate.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Two of the biggest federal political parties in Canada experienced a drop in donations in 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the global economy.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Leaders’ debates in Canada consist of two debates, one English and one French, both produced by a consortium of Canada's five major television broadcasters (CBC/SRC, CTV, Global and TVA) and usually consist of the leaders of all parties with representation in the House of Commons.


title: Politics of Canada

text: These debates air on the networks of the producing consortium as well as the public affairs and parliamentary channel CPAC and the American public affairs network C-SPAN.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The highest court in Canada is the Supreme Court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. The court is composed of nine judges: eight Puisne Justices and the Chief Justice of Canada. Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada are appointed by the Governor-in-Council. The "Supreme Court Act" limits eligibility for appointment to persons who have been judges of a superior court, or members of the bar for ten or more years. Members of the bar or superior judge of Quebec, by law, must hold three of the nine positions on the Supreme Court of Canada.


title: Politics of Canada

text: The Canadian government operates the public service using departments, smaller agencies (for example, commissions, tribunals, and boards), and crown corporations. There are two types of departments: central agencies such as Finance, Privy Council Office, and Treasury Board Secretariat have an organizing and oversight role for the entire public service; line departments are departments that perform tasks in a specific area or field, such as the departments of Agriculture, Environment, or Defence.


title: Politics of Canada

text: Scholar Peter Aucoin, writing about the Canadian Westminster system, raised concerns in the early 2000s about the centralization of power; an increased number, role and influence of partisan-political staff; personal-politicization of appointments to the senior public service; and the assumption that the public service is promiscuously partisan for the government of the day.


title: Politics of Canada

text: In 1967, Canada established a point-based system to determine if immigrants should be eligible to enter the country, using meritorious qualities such as the applicant's ability to speak both French and English, their level of education, and other details that may be expected of someone raised in Canada. This system was considered ground-breaking at the time since prior systems were slanted on the basis of ethnicity. However, many foreign nationals still found it challenging to secure work after emigrating, resulting in a higher unemployment rate amongst the immigrant population. After winning power at the 2006 federal election, the Conservative Party sought to curb this issue by placing weight on whether or not the applicant has a standing job offer in Canada. The change has been a source of some contention as opponents argue that businesses use this change to suppress wages, with corporate owners leveraging the knowledge that an immigrant should hold a job to successfully complete the immigration process.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: "Advent Children" takes place two years after the events of "Final Fantasy VII" and focuses on the appearance of a trio that kidnaps children infected with an unexplained disease. "Final Fantasy VII" hero Cloud Strife, suffering from the same disease, goes to rescue the children. He discovers that the trio plan to resurrect the villain Sephiroth using the remains of the extraterrestrial villain Jenova, and he and his compatriots from the game fight to stop them. The film's voice acting cast includes Takahiro Sakurai, Ayumi Ito, and Toshiyuki Morikawa in Japanese, and Steve Burton, Rachael Leigh Cook, and George Newbern in English.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: The film has been released in multiple versions; "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete", released on Blu-ray Disc in 2009, is the last version and adds 26 minutes of new and expanded scenes to the 101-minute original. The film has received mixed reviews. Critics have praised its animation and CGI work. Still, the plot has been criticized as incomprehensible to viewers who did not play "Final Fantasy VII" and a thin connection between action scenes. It received the "Maria Award" at the Sitges Film Festival in 2005 and the "Best Anime Feature" at the 2007 American Anime Awards. The original release was one of the best-selling animated movies in Japan and the United States in its release year. The "Complete" release was noted as driving a large increase in sales of the PlayStation 3 console in its release week. By May 2009, the DVD and Universal Media Disc releases had sold over 4.1 million copies worldwide.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: "Advent Children" takes place two years following the events of the 1997 role-playing video game "Final Fantasy VII", during which the antagonist Sephiroth attempted to absorb the Lifestream (the lifeblood and soul of the Planet) and be reborn as a god. He was defeated by Cloud Strife and his companions. Still, Sephiroth's final spell, Meteor, destroyed the city of Midgar.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: Since the end of the game, the survivors of Midgar founded the new city of Edge, where Cloud and his childhood friend Tifa Lockhart now run a courier service and are the caretakers of an orphan Denzel and the adopted daughter of Barret Wallace, Marlene. Due to feeling guilty for failing to save Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud has recently moved out and isolated himself from his friends. The story also portrays that many people, including Cloud and Denzel, are infected with a mysterious disease known as "Geostigma," which has no known cure.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: Cloud is contacted through Tifa and summoned to a meeting with the Shinra Company's former president Rufus Shinra, who was presumed killed in "Final Fantasy VII". Rufus asks for Cloud's help to stop Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. The trio is the physical manifestation of Sephiroth's surviving spirit. They are seeking to resurrect him using the remains of the extraterrestrial villain Jenova. Cloud refuses to help and leaves.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: Meanwhile, Kadaj and his colleagues are recruiting children infected with Geostigma. Denzel falls in with the group, attracted by their promises of a cure for the disease. Loz follows Tifa and Marlene to Aerith's church, where they had gone looking for Cloud, and attacks them. Tifa is knocked unconscious in the fight, and Loz kidnaps Marlene. All the abducted children are taken to the ruins of the Forgotten City, where Kadaj embraces them as brethren. He announces his intention for them all to be reunited with Jenova. When Cloud arrives to rescue them, Kadaj's gang overpower him but is saved by his old comrade Vincent Valentine. Cloud then returns to the city, where Kadaj has summoned Bahamut SIN and other monsters to terrorize the population. With the help of his companions from "Final Fantasy VII", Cloud engages and defeats the monsters.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: Kadaj confronts Rufus Shinra, who reveals he possesses Jenova's remains. He attempts to destroy it, but Kadaj saves it and flees the city with his companions. Yazoo and Loz are caught in a blast along the way by an explosive planted by Reno and Rude. Cloud chases Kadaj down and engages him in battle, ultimately subduing him. Outmatched, Kadaj opens Jenova's box and fuses with its contents, transforming into Sephiroth. He then tells Cloud he will use the souls of Geostigma's deceased victims to dominate the Planet. He and Cloud then fight. Throughout the encounter, Sephiroth appears to have the upper hand, flinging Cloud repeatedly into walls and finally impaling him through the shoulder. He asks Cloud to tell him what he most cherishes so that he can have the pleasure of taking it away. Cloud replies that he cherishes everything and then uses his Limit Break, Omnislash Ver. 5, to defeat Sephiroth. Sephiroth's spirit departs, leaving behind the mortally wounded Kadaj. As he lies dying in Cloud's arms, a healing rain starts falling across the land, curing the people of their Geostigma. Yazoo and Loz appear and confront Cloud; he charges at them, and they set off a massive explosion engulfing the three.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: Cloud has a vision of his deceased friends Aerith and Zack Fair, who says that his time to join them has not yet come. He then awakens in the church, healed of his injuries, and surrounded by his friends. Behind them, he sees Aerith and Zack leaving the church and hears Aerith's voice say, "You see, everything's all right." He agrees: "I know. I'm not alone... not anymore."


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: "Advent Children" was released with a Japanese voice track in Japan, and an English voice track elsewhere.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: "Advent Children" began as a short film by Visual Works, a company used by Square to develop CGI scenes for their video games, based on "Final Fantasy VII". Kazushige Nojima, who had written the script for the game, was brought on to write a 20-minute script. He decided to write "a story about Cloud and Tifa and the kids". The film was developed as a part of the "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII", a set of different media content intended to expand upon the world of "Final Fantasy VII". Square's research and development department worked with Visual Works on the piece, and Tetsuya Nomura joined the crew after "VII"s director Yoshinori Kitase called him. Early in pre-production, the team thought about making "Advent Children" into a game. Still, Nomura decided against it, partially because Visual Works had no experience making a full game. The creators had no prior experience working on films, so they fell back on their knowledge of in-game movies.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: The film was planned to focus on the characters of Cloud and Tifa in a similar way to how other titles from "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII" centered on certain characters; for example, "" focuses on the Turks, "" on Zack Fair, and "" on Vincent. Nomura says the film was, in its first manifestation, only going to be 20 minutes long. The original story featured someone requesting a message to be sent to Cloud; the message is relayed to Cloud through several children. When the message finally reaches Cloud, it is revealed who the messenger is. Nomura very much liked the original script, and it became the foundation of the final version. He decided to make the project longer and grander in scope when the early word of the film generated great interest among "Final Fantasy VII" fans, most of whom wanted something feature-length. The film's length was expanded to 100 minutes.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: Takeshi Nozue and Nomura, who had first worked together on the video game "Kingdom Hearts", split the role of directing, as Nomura felt this would add depth to the film. In designing the battle scenes, they first discussed the setting and layout. They then went to the staff with their ideas, deciding which were the best and developing them further. The battle between Cloud's group and Bahamut was the most difficult to design due to the size of the area and the number of objects the staff had to add to the scene to keep it realistic. The alternating positions of the characters, including Bahamut itself, took the staff a long time to complete to give the scene a sense of flow. Nomura stated that the team decided not to worry about making the fight sequences realistic, as they felt this would restrict their ability to give the film a "cool look". Therefore, they worked by creating their "own rules". Motion capture was used for many of the film's battle scenes; maneuvers that were not physically possible for live actors to perform were constructed digitally.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: While designing the characters, the staff discovered that it was impossible to translate the "Final Fantasy VII" designs into the film. Thus some identifying characteristics had to be discarded. Cloud's redesign was a combination of eight different designs, from his super deformed appearance in the game to his more realistic appearance in the film. The difficulties in making Sephiroth led the staff to reduce his appearances in the film. It took them two years to develop and refine his look. Nozue also had difficulty developing a framework for Tifa's body that was "balanced, yet showed off her feminine qualities". In April 2003, it was decided that Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo would be manifestations of Sephiroth's spirit—his cruelty, strength, and allure respectively. In contrast to Sephiroth, the trio was meant to be younger than Cloud, to focus on the "next generation" theme. By October 2003, Nomura said that the film was 10% complete, stating that while the script was written, not all the characters were designed.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: Nomura felt that "Advent Children" differed from Hollywood films, where the meaning of most scenes tends to be explained. However, with "Advent Children", the staff wanted viewers to interpret the scenes individually, allowing them to come to different conclusions. Nojima described the theme of the film as "survival". Other themes Nomura and Nojima were concerned to include Cloud's feelings of guilt and regret for failing to save his friends Zack and Aerith. These feelings are symbolized by a grey wolf that appears whenever Cloud thinks about them. The wolf disappears at the end of the film as Cloud comes to terms with his feelings. The word "children" was used in the title to refer to the film's children, as they represent the "next generation".


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: The music of "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children" was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, Keiji Kawamori, Kenichiro Fukui, and Tsuyoshi Sekito, and arranged by Fukui, Sekito, Kawamori, Shirō Hamaguchi, and Kazuhiko Toyama. Nomura would make some changes and have the composers re-record the piece upon hearing each track. The end theme, "Calling", was written and performed by former Boøwy vocalist Kyosuke Himuro. The soundtrack includes both pieces original to the film and arrangements of works from "Final Fantasy VII", originally composed by Uematsu. Some of the arrangements, including "Advent: One-Winged Angel", are performed by The Black Mages, a rock band formed by Uematsu, Fukui, and Sekito. Both the pieces are original to the film, and the film arrangements cover a variety of musical styles, including orchestral, choral, classical piano, and rock music; "Variety" noted that the styles vary between "sparse piano noodlings, pop-metal thrashings, and cloying power ballads". The 2005 soundtrack album "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Original Soundtrack" collects 26 tracks of music from the film on two discs. Square Enix published it on September 28, 2005. In addition to the regular release, a limited edition was produced containing alternative cover art and a booklet of credits and lyrics. The soundtrack album reached position #15 on the Japanese Oricon music charts and stayed on the charts for ten weeks.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: A mini-album entitled "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete Mini Album" was released on April 10, 2009, to coincide with the release of the "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete" version of the film. This version of the film included a new ending theme, "Safe and Sound", by Kyosuke Himuro and My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way. "Water" was replaced with a new song—"Anxious Heart". Tracks on the album included new versions of "The Chase of Highway", "Those Who Fight Further", "Sign", "Advent: One-Winged Angel", and "On the Way to a Smile". A larger album, "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete: Reunion Tracks", was released with 21 tracks on September 16, 2009. This album contains the tracks from the mini-album and several lengthened pieces for the "Complete" film version but not rearranged. "Reunion Tracks" appeared on the Oricon charts for a single week at position #108.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: "Advent Children" and the "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII" series were first announced at the 2003 Tokyo Game Show in September 2003. The movie was announced as a direct-to-DVD film. The first trailer for the movie was featured in the international version of the video game "Final Fantasy X-2", released in February 2004. The trailer used a motion capture that was altered in the final film. "Advent Children" was initially scheduled for a September 13, 2005 release in North America and a September 14, 2005 release in Japan, but the North American release date was pushed back several times. It was first moved to November 2005, then to January 2006, and finally scheduled for April 25, 2006 for release on DVD and Universal Media Discs for the PlayStation Portable.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: Before the film's release in Japan, Panasonic produced a cell phone identical to the one Cloud uses in the movie; the phone contained several features related to "Advent Children" such as wallpapers and ringtones. Alongside the film's release, Shueisha published a 118-page book about the film's story titled "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Prologue Book". In 2006, SoftBank Creative published a guidebook entitled "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Reunion Files", which contains interviews with the film's staff and information regarding the development of the film.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: A limited edition of the film titled "Final Fantasy VII Advent Pieces" was released in Japan simultaneously as "Advent Children"; only 77,777 sets were produced. The edition contains various pieces of merchandise, a copy of the script, the original "Final Fantasy VII" game, a strategy guidebook for the game, and a disc containing the original video animation (OVA) "". Nomura stated that meaning of the name "Advent Pieces" was that "advent" means "the recognition and commemoration of something", while "pieces" was added to bring special meaning to the release. A special one-time-only theatrical screening of the English version of the film took place on April 3, 2006, at the Arclight Theatre in Los Angeles. The event was promoted via email to those who subscribed to the Square Enix mailing list. The screening included trailers of the video games "Kingdom Hearts II" and "Dirge of Cerberus", and featured appearances from the English language cast and the Japanese developers.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: The film's DVD release is a 2-disc set that contains several bonus features, including "Last Order". Sony later announced "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children (Limited Edition Collector's Set)" for release in North America on February 20, 2007. The set included more bonus material than the previous DVD releases, including a copy of the script, several postcards with imagery from the film, and the first three stories from the "On the Way to a Smile" short story series.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: At the 2006 Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix showed a trailer of a director's cut of the film, entitled "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete", for release on the Blu-ray format sometime in 2007. No more specific release date was announced until the 2008 Square Enix DKΣ3713 Party. In Japan, a release date for "Advent Children Complete" was given as March 2009. The new edition of the film was released in Japan on April 16, 2009. A separate version was sold that included a demo of "Final Fantasy XIII". Both editions included the first HD trailers of "Final Fantasy Versus XIII" and "Final Fantasy Agito XIII", though the third edition without the extra videos or demos was also released. On April 11 and 12, 2009, days before "Advent Children Complete"s release, Square Enix held four special screenings of "Advent Children Complete" at the Ginza Sony Building in Tokyo. There were 800 seats available to those who reserved the Blu-ray or the PlayStation 3 bundle at the Square Enix e-store and were Square Enix's online website members.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: "Advent Children Complete" has a higher visual quality than the original release, is 26 minutes longer than the film's original cut, and contains roughly one thousand revised scenes. Themes expanded in "Advent Children Complete" include Cloud's development, Denzel's background, and a more in-depth view of the Turks and Rufus Shinra. The film's staff wanted to add links to the other titles in the "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII" released since the original film. The version has more violence, specifically blood during the fights, as the staff wanted to bring a "dirtier" look to the film, with characters' faces and clothes getting darker and dirtier throughout the battles. Additionally, the fight between Cloud and Sephiroth was expanded by several minutes and included a scene in which Sephiroth impales Cloud on his sword and holds him in the air, mirroring the scene in the game where he performs the same action.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: "Advent Children Complete" was released in North America on June 2, 2009, and in the UK on July 27, 2009. The North American and European versions come with a new trailer for "Final Fantasy XIII" rather than a demo. The releases in all regions also feature an animated piece entitled "On the Way to a Smile - Episode: Denzel", as well as the story digests "Reminiscence of "Final Fantasy VII"" and "Reminiscence of "Final Fantasy VII Compilation"". The Japanese and English voice actors returned to record additional dialogues for the new and expanded scenes. Nomura stated no major problems with this process, noting that Sakurai and Morikawa were already used to their characters from voicing them in other media. However, some child characters, most notably Denzel and Marlene, had to be recast and have all their lines re-recorded. The original performers' voices now sounded more mature in both languages. Nomura has stated that while "Advent Children Complete" did not represent the end of "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII", as the staff still had more ideas, it marked "the end of the "Advent Children" saga" as there would be no more re-releases or extended versions. Later, "Advent Children Complete" was released in Ultra HD Blu-ray on June 8, 2021.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: "Last Order: Final Fantasy VII" is an original video animation directed by Morio Asaka, written by Kazuhiko Inukai, and animated by Madhouse. It depicts an alternate rendition of two flashbacks found within "Final Fantasy VII". It was originally released in Japan on the "Advent Pieces" DVD, on September 14, 2005. It was released in North America in the Limited Edition Collector's Set on February 20, 2007 and in Europe on November 6, 2008. There is currently no English dub for the film, and the North America and Europe versions are subtitled.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: "On the Way to a Smile" is a series of short stories between "Final Fantasy VII" and "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children". Written by Kazushige Nojima, the first story, "Case of Denzel", was released in a serialized form on the official Japanese "Advent Children" website. "Case of Denzel" is told indirectly from the perspective of Denzel, who has requested an interview with Reeve Tuesti in the hopes that he may become part of Reeve's newly formed World Regenesis Organization, an army devoted to rebuilding the Planet. Denzel tells his life story, including how he became an orphan, the events leading up to his becoming afflicted with Geostigma, and how he came under the care of Tifa and Cloud. "Case of Denzel" was adapted into "On the Way to a Smile - Episode: Denzel", a short OVA animated by A-1 Pictures that was released with "Advent Children Complete".


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: The second short story, "Case of Tifa", is Tifa's account of the events following Meteor's destruction and her life with Cloud, overlapping in part with Denzel's story. A third "On the Way to a Smile" story, "Case of Barrett", involves Barret and his struggles to find a new energy source for the world's people. To coincide with the release of "Advent Children Complete" in 2009, four more stories were written: "Case of Red XIII", "Case of Yuffie", "Case of Shinra", and "Case of Lifestream - Black & White". All the stories were released together as a book titled "On the Way to a Smile" at the same time that "Advent Children Complete" was released.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: The DVD releases of "Advent Children" sold over 410,000 copies in Japan during their first week on sale, with roughly half of the sales coming from the limited edition. The DVD and UMD releases combined sold over 700,000 units in Japan in the first three weeks and over one million copies by January 2006. In a 2005 Oricon Japanese sales report, the regular edition of the DVD ranked twelfth on the bestseller list in Japan for the entire year after one week of sales, and the limited edition ranked fifteenth. The two editions ranked third and fourth on the animated feature sublist. The English language DVD sold over 960,000 units, which translated to almost US$15 million in revenue by the fifth week of release. In the United States, it sold over 832,000 copies by May 2006, and eventually grossed over US$58 million in DVD sales in the country. The DVD ranked a "surprise" #2 during its first week on the American Nielsen VideoScan sales charts after being released in North America. Nielsen's "Top Selling Anime Releases of 2006" report had "Advent Children" ranked first, and the 2006 report by the Japan External Trade Organization also ranked the film as the best-selling Japanese anime DVD in the United States. In the 2007 list, the DVD was at the tenth spot. In June 2006, Square Enix and Sony announced that the DVD and UMD releases combined sold over 2.4 million units worldwide, with 1 million units sold in Japan, 1.3 million in North America, and 100,000 in Europe. By May 2009, just before the release of "Advent Children Complete", the film had sold over 4.1 million copies across all versions.


title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

text: On its first day of release, over 100,000 Blu-ray copies of "Advent Children Complete" were sold in Japan across all three versions. During its initial week, the Blu-ray was #2 on the American Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray bestseller list, with 274,774 units sold. During 2009, the regular version of "Advent Children Complete" sold 49,000 units in Japan according to Oricon, ranking second in their category "Animation/Special Effects Blu-ray Discs". It ranked eighth in the category "Overall Blu-ray Discs, by Yen" with 310 million yen (US$3.4 million) sold in 2009. Gaming sites Gamasutra and Kotaku cited "Advent Children Complete" as one of the main reasons why sales of the PlayStation 3 video game console radically increased during the film's first week of release.