title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In February 1921, at the head of the Asiatic Cavalry Division, Ungern expelled Chinese troops from Mongolia and restored the monarchic power of the Bogd Khan. During his five-month occupation of Outer Mongolia, Ungern imposed order on the capital city, Ikh Khüree (now Ulaanbaatar), by fear, intimidation and brutal violence against his opponents, particularly the Bolsheviks. In June 1921, he travelled to eastern Siberia to support anti-Bolshevik partisan forces and to head off a joint Red Army-Mongolian rebel invasion. That action ultimately led to his defeat and capture two months later. He was taken prisoner by the Red Army and, a month later, was put on trial for "counter-revolution" in Novonikolaevsk. he was found guilty after a six-hour show trial, and on 15 September 1921 he was executed.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Nikolai Robert Maximilian Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg was born in Graz, Austria, on to a noble Baltic German family. The Ungern-Sternberg family had settled in present-day Estonia during the Middle Ages. Ungern-Sternberg's first language was German, but he became fluent in French, Russian, English and Estonian. His mother was a German noblewoman, Sophie Charlotte von Wimpffen, later Sophie Charlotte von Ungern-Sternberg, and his father was Theodor Leonhard Rudolph Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg (1857–1918). He also had Hungarian roots and claimed descent from Batu Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, which played a role in his dream of reviving the Mongol Empire.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In 1888 his family moved to Reval (Tallinn), the capital of the Governorate of Estonia in the Russian Empire, where his parents divorced in 1891. In 1894 his mother married the Baltic-German nobleman Oskar Anselm Hermann Freiherr von Hoyningen-Huene. Ungern-Sternberg grew up in the Governorate, with his home being the Hoyningen-Huene estate at Jerwakant (modern Järvakandi, Estonia), deep in the forests, about from Reval. In the summer, Ungern-Sternberg lived on the Baltic island of Dagö (now Hiiumaa), which he liked to boast had belonged to his family for over 200 years.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: As a boy, Ungern-Sternberg was noted for being such a ferocious bully that even the other bullies feared him and several parents forbade their children from playing with him as he was a "terror". Ungern was well known for his love of torturing animals, and at the age of 12 he tried to strangle to death his cousin's pet owl for no particularly good reason other than his cruelty towards animals. Ungern-Sternberg had extreme pride in his ancient, aristocratic family and later wrote that his family had over the centuries "never taken orders from the working classes" and it was outrageous that "dirty workers who've never had any servants of their own, but still think they can command" should have any say in the ruling of the vast Russian Empire. Ungern-Sternberg, although proud of his German origin, identified himself very strongly with the Russian Empire. When asked whether his "family had distinguished itself in Russian service", Ungern proudly answered: "Seventy-two killed in wartime!" Ungern-Sternberg believed that return to monarchies in Europe was possible with the aid of "cavalry people" – meaning Russian Cossacks, Buryats, Tatars, Mongols, Kyrgyz, Kalmyks, etc.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In 1898, his father was briefly imprisoned for fraud and, in 1899, was committed to the local insane asylum. From 1900 to 1902 Ungern attended the Nicholas I Gymnasium in Reval. His school records show that he was an unruly, bad-tempered young man who was constantly in trouble with his teachers because of frequent fights with other cadets and breaking other school rules: smoking in bed, growing long hair, leaving without permission, etc., which finally led to the schoolmaster writing a letter in February 1905 to his stepfather and mother to ask them to withdraw him from the school or he would be expelled. In 1905, he left the school to join the fighting in eastern Russia during the Russo-Japanese War, but it is unclear whether he participated in operations against the Japanese or if all military operations had ceased before his arrival in Manchuria, although he was awarded the Russo-Japanese War Medal in 1913.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In 1905, Russia exploded into revolution and Estonian peasants went on a bloody "jacquerie" against the Baltic-German nobility, which owned most of the land there. Aristocrats were lynched and their estates burned down, one being the one at Jerwakant where Ungern-Sternberg had grown up. The Revolution of 1905 and the destruction of the Jerwakant estate were huge traumas to Ungern-Sternberg, who saw the "jacquerie" as confirming his belief that the Estonian peasants who worked on his family's lands were all "rough, untutored, wild and constantly angry, hating everybody and everything without understanding why".


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In 1906, Ungern was transferred to service in the Pavlovsk Military School, in St. Petersburg, as a cadet of ordinary rank. As an army cadet, he proved to be a better student than he ever was as a naval cadet, and he actually studied his course material, but in the words of Palmer, he was a "mediocre student" at best. During the same period, Ungern-Sternberg had become obsessed with the occult and was especially interested in Buddhism. His cousin Count Hermann von Keyserling, who later knew him well, wrote that the baron was very curious from his teenage years onward with "Tibetan and Hindu philosophy" and often spoke of the mystical powers possessed by "geometrical symbols". Keyserling called Ungern-Sternberg "one of the most metaphysically and occultly gifted men I have ever met" and believed that the baron was a clairvoyant, who could read the minds of the people around him. Later, in Mongolia, Ungern became a Buddhist but did not leave the Lutheran faith. There is a widespread view that he was viewed by Mongols as the incarnation of the "God of War" (the figure of Jamsaran in Tibetan and Mongol folklore). Although many Mongols may have believed him to be a deity or at the very least a re-incarnation of Genghis Khan, Ungern was never officially proclaimed to be any of those incarnations.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: After graduating, he served as an officer in eastern Siberia in the 1st Argunsky and then in the 1st Amursky Cossack regiments, where he became enthralled with the lifestyle of nomadic peoples, such as the Mongols and Buryats. Ungern had specifically asked to be stationed with a Cossack regiment in Asia, as he wanted to learn more about Asian culture, a request that was granted.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Ungern-Sternberg was notorious for his heavy drinking and exceptionally cantankerous moods. In one such brawl, his face was scarred when the officer that he fought struck him with his sword, leaving him with a distinctive facial scar. It has been claimed that the sword blow that caused the scar also caused brain damage that was the root of his insanity. However, a special study revealed that Ungern-Sternberg was not mentally insane, although the wound affected his irritability.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Those who knew him well described him as very drawn towards "Eastern culture", as he was fascinated by Asian cultures, especially that of the Mongols and the Buryats. Ungern was an excellent horseman, and earned the respect of the Mongols and the Buryats because of his skill at riding and fighting from a horse, as well as for being equally adept at using both a gun and his sword.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In 1913, at his request, he transferred to the reserves. Ungern moved to Outer Mongolia to assist the Mongols in their struggle for independence from China, but Russian officials prevented him from fighting on the side of Mongolian troops. He arrived in the town of Khovd, in western Mongolia, and served as an out-of-staff officer in the Cossack guard detachment at the Russian consulate.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: On 19 July 1914, Ungern joined frontline forces as part of the second-turn 34th Regiment of Cossack troops stationed on the Austro-Hungarian frontier in Galicia. He took part in the Russian offensive in East Prussia. From 1915 to 1916, he also participated in rear-action raids on German troops by the L.N. Punin Cavalry Special Task Force. Ungern served in the Nerchinsk Regiment.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Throughout the war on the Eastern Front, he gained a reputation as an extremely brave but somewhat reckless and mentally unstable officer. He displayed no fear of death, and seemed most happy leading cavalry charges or being in the thick of combat. He was decorated with several military awards: orders of St. George of the 4th grade, St. Vladimir of the 4th grade, St. Anna of the 3rd and 4th grades and St. Stanislas of the 3rd grade. Despite his many awards, he was eventually discharged from one of his command positions for attacking another officer and a hall porter during a drunken rage in October 1916, which led to his being court-martialed and sentenced to two months in prison. General Pyotr Wrangel mentions Ungern's determination in his memoirs.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: After his release from prison in January 1917, Ungern was transferred to the Caucasian Theatre of the conflict, where Russia was fighting against the Ottoman Empire. The February Revolution that ended the rule of the House of Romanov was an extremely bitter blow to the monarchist Ungern-Sternberg, who saw the revolution as the beginning of the end of Russia. In the Caucasus, Ungern-Sternberg first met Cossack Captain Grigory Semyonov, who was later one of most well-known Russian anticommunist warlords in Siberia.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In April 1917, near Urmia, Iran, Ungern, together with Semyonov, started to organise a volunteer military unit of local Assyrian Christians. The Ottoman government had waged the Assyrian genocide in an attempt to exterminate the Assyrian minority, which led to thousands of Assyrians fleeing to the Russian lines. Ungern and Semyonov conceived of a scheme under which the two would organise and lead Assyrian troops to serve as an example for the Russian army, which was being demoralised by the revolutionary mood. Under his command, his Assyrians went on to score some minor victories over the Turks, but their total contribution to Russia's war effort was limited. Afterwards, the Assyrian scheme led Semyonov to the idea of placing Buryat troops in Siberia. The Kerensky government gave its approval to Semyonov's plans, and Ungern-Sternberg soon headed east to join his friend in trying to raise a Buryat regiment.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: After the Bolshevik-led October Revolution in 1917, Semyonov and Ungern declared their allegiance to the Romanovs and vowed to fight the revolutionaries. In late 1917, Ungern, Semyonov and five Cossacks peacefully disarmed a group of about 1,500 pro-Red combatants on a railway station in Manchuria on the Far Eastern Railway (FER) in China, near the Russian border. For a time, the station in Manchuria was a stronghold of Semyonov and Ungern in their preparations for war in Transbaikal. They started to enroll troops in a Special Manchurian Regiment, which became a nucleus for anticommunist forces led by Semyonov.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: After the White troops defeated the Reds on a section of the FER line in Russia, Semyonov appointed Ungern commandant of troops stationed in Dauria, a railway station in a strategic position east-southeast of Lake Baikal. Semyonov and Ungern, though fervently anti-Bolshevik, were not typical of the figures to be found in the leadership of the White movement, as their plans differed from those of the main White leaders. Semyonov refused to recognize the authority of Admiral Alexander Kolchak, the nominal leader of the Whites in Siberia. Instead, he acted independently and was supported by the Japanese with arms and money.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: For White leaders like Kolchak and Denikin, who believed in a "Russia strong and indivisible", that represented high treason. Ungern was nominally subordinated to Semyonov but also often acted independently. Kolchak was a conservative but not a monarchist, and he promised that after the victory of the Whites he would reconvene the Constituent Assembly, disbanded by the Bolsheviks in January 1918, which would then decide the future of Russia, including the question of whether or not to restore the monarchy. Ungern, to the contrary, believed that monarchs were accountable only to God, and the monarchy was the political system that God had chosen for Russia and so it was self-evident that it should be restored to the way it had existed before the October Manifesto of 1905. For Ungern, the opinions of the people of Russia were irrelevant, as monarchs were not accountable to the people.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Because of his successful military operations in Hailar and Dauria, Ungern received the rank of major-general. Semyonov entrusted him with forming military units to battle Bolshevik forces. They enrolled Buryats and Mongols in their national military units.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In Dauria, Ungern formed the volunteer Asiatic Cavalry Division. Ungern reinforced his military station at Dauria, creating a kind of fortress from which his troops launched attacks on Red forces. Under his rule, Dauria became a well-known "torture centre" filled with the bones of dozens of Ungern's victims, who were executed because of accusations of being Reds or thieves (details in ). Ungern's chief executioner had been a Colonel Laurentz, but in Mongolia, Ungern had him executed because he lost Ungern's trust under unclear circumstances.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Like many other White units, Ungern's troops used "requisitions" as a source of their supply. They examined trains passing through Dauria to Manchuria. The confiscations did not significantly diminish the supplies of Kolchak's forces, but private Russian and Chinese merchants lost considerable property.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In 1919, taking advantage of the weakness of Russia's government caused by revolutions and civil war, the Chinese government, established by members of the Anhui military party, sent troops, led by General Xu Shuzheng, to join Outer Mongolia to China and end its autonomy, which violated the terms of a tripartite Russian-Mongolian-Chinese agreement concluded in 1915 that secured the autonomy of Outer Mongolia and did not allow the presence of Chinese troops except for small numbers of consular guards. Although the Anhui party was supported by Japan, indications of Japan-inspired Chinese occupation of Outer Mongolia have not yet been confirmed by documents.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: After the fall of Anhui party rule in China, Chinese soldiers in Mongolia found themselves effectively abandoned. They rebelled against their commanders and plundered and killed Mongols and foreigners. Some of the Chinese troops during the occupation were Tsahar (Chahar) Mongols from Inner Mongolia, who had been a major cause of animosity between Outer Mongols (Khalkhas) and Inner Mongols.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: As part of his plans, Ungern travelled to Manchuria and China (February to September 1919), where he established contacts with monarchist circles and also made preparations for Semyonov to meet the Manchurian warlord Marshal Zhang Zuolin, the "Old Marshal". In July 1919, Ungern married the Manchurian princess Ji in an Orthodox ceremony in Harbin. The princess was given the name Elena Pavlovna. She and Ungern communicated in English, their only common language. The marriage had a political aim, as Ji was a princess and a relative of General Zhang Kuiwu, the commander of Chinese troops at the western end of the Chinese-Manchurian Railway and the governor of Hailar.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: After Kolchak's defeat at the hands of the Red Army and the subsequent decision of Japan to withdraw its expeditionary troops from the Transbaikal, Semyonov, unable to withstand the pressure of Bolshevik forces, planned a retreat to Manchuria.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Ungern, however, saw it as an opportunity to implement his monarchist plan. On 7 August 1920, he broke his allegiance to Semyonov and transformed his Asiatic Cavalry Division into a guerrilla detachment. Ungern's troops started to move towards the border of Outer Mongolia, crossed the northern border of Outer Mongolia on 1 October 1920 and moved southwest. Having crossed the Mongolian border, Ungern moved westwards to the Mongolian capital of Urga (officially Niislel Khuree, now Ulaanbaatar), where he entered into negotiations with Chinese occupying forces. All of his demands, including the disarmament of the Chinese troops, were rejected.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: On 26–27 October and again on 2–4 November 1920, Ungern's troops assaulted Urga but suffered disastrous losses. After the defeat, his forces retreated to the upper currents of the Kherlen River, in Setsen-Khan Aimag, a district ruled by princes with the title Setsen Khan, in eastern Outer Mongolia. He was supported by Mongols who sought independence from Chinese occupation, especially the spiritual and secular leader of Mongols, the Bogd Khan, who secretly sent Ungern his blessing for expelling Chinese from Mongolia.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: The Chinese had tightened their control of Outer Mongolia by then by strictly regulating Buddhist services in monasteries and imprisoning Russians and Mongols, whom they considered "separatists". According to the memoirs of M. G. Tornovsky, the Asiatic Division numbered 1,460 men, while the Chinese garrison was 7000 strong. The Chinese had the advantage in artillery and machine guns and had built a network of trenches in and around Urga. At his camp, Ungern imposed ferocious discipline on his Russian soldiers to prevent desertion and demoralisation.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Ungern's troops began moving from their camp to Urga on 31 January. On 2 February, they battled for control of Chinese front lines and secured parts of Urga. His detachment, led by B. P. Rezukhin, captured Chinese front-line fortifications near Small Madachan and Big Madachan settlements in the southeastern vicinities of Urga. During the battle Ungern's special detachment of Tibetans, Mongols, Buryats, and Russians rescued the Bogd Khan from house arrest and transported him through the Bogd Uul to Manjushri Monastery. At the same time, another detachment moved to the mountains east of Urga.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: On 3 February, he gave his soldiers a respite. Borrowing a tactic from Genghis Khan, he ordered his troops to light a large number of campfires in the hills surrounding Urga and to use them as reference points for Rezukhin's detachment. That made the town appear to be surrounded by an overwhelming force.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Early on 4 February, Ungern launched an assault on the Chinese White barracks from the east, captured them and divided his forces into two parts. The first launched a major assault on the remaining Chinese positions in the Chinese trade settlement (, "Maimaicheng", "buy-sell-city"). The second moved westwards towards the Consular Settlement. Upon reaching the Maimaicheng, Ungern had his men smash their way in by blasting the gates with explosives and improvised battering rams. After breaking in, a general slaughter set in, as both sides fought with sabres.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: After the capture of Maimacheng, Ungern joined his troops attacking Chinese troops at the Consular Settlement. After a Chinese counterattack, Ungern's soldiers retreated a short distance northeast and then launched another attack with the support of another Cossack and Mongolian detachment, which began an attack from the northeast and northwest. Ungern's troops gradually moved westwards in Urga, pursuing retreating Chinese soldiers.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: The capital city was finally taken on the evening of 4 February. Chinese civilian administrators and military commanders abandoned their soldiers and fled northwards from Urga in 11 cars in the night of 3–4 February. Chinese troops fled northward on 4 and 5 February. They massacred any Mongolian civilians they encountered along the road from Urga to the Russian border.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Russian settlers who supported the Reds moved from Urga, together with the fleeing Chinese troops. During the capture of Urga, the Chinese lost about 1500 men, and Ungern's forces suffered about 60 casualties.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: After the battle, Ungern's troops began plundering Chinese stores and killing Russian Jews who were living in Urga, as the Cossacks had also been set against the Jews. Ungern himself ordered the Jews to be killed except for those who had notes from him sparing their lives. It has been estimated by surviving archival documents and memoirs that 43–50 Jews were killed during Ungern's stay in Mongolia, about 5%–6% of all those executed under his orders. Several days later, the looting by his troops was stopped by Ungern, but his secret police bureau, led by Colonel Leonid Sipailo, continued searching for "Reds". Between 11 and 13 March, Ungern captured a fortified Chinese base at Choir, between the Otsol Uul and Choiryn Bogd Uul Mountains, south of Urga. Ungern had 900 troops and the Chinese defenders about 1500. After capturing Choir, Ungern returned to Urga. His detachments, consisting of Cossacks and Mongols, moved southward to Zamyn-Üüd, a frontier settlement and another Chinese base. The defending Chinese soldiers abandoned Zamyn-Üüd without a fight.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: When the remaining Chinese troops, having retreated to northern Mongolia near Kyakhta, attempted to go around Urga to the west to reach China, the Russians and the Mongols feared that they were attempting to recapture Urga. Several hundred Cossack and Mongol troops were dispatched to stop the Chinese forces, which numbered several thousand, in the area of Talyn Ulaankhad Hill near the Urga–Uliastai road in central Mongolia. After a battle that raged from 30 March to 2 April in which more than 1000 Chinese and approximately 100 Mongols, Russians and Buryats were killed, the Chinese were routed and chased to the southern border of the country. Thus Chinese forces left Outer Mongolia.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Ungern, Mongolian lamas and princes brought the Bogd Khan from Manjusri Monastery to Urga on 21 February 1921. On 22 February, a solemn ceremony took place to restore the Bogd Khan to the throne. As a reward for ousting the Chinese from Urga, the Bogd Khan granted Ungern the high hereditary title "darkhan khoshoi chin wang" in the degree of "khan", and other privileges. Other officers, lamas and princes who had participated in these events also received high titles and awards.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: On 22 February 1921, Mongolia was proclaimed an independent monarchy. Supreme power over Mongolia belonged to the Bogd Khan, or the 8th Bogd Gegen Jebtsundamba Khutuktu. According to some eyewitnesses (such as his engineer and officer Kamil Giżycki, and Polish adventurer and writer Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski), Ungern was the first to institute order in Urga by imposing street cleaning and sanitation, promoting religious life and tolerance in the capital and attempting to reform the economy.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Ossendowski, one of the most popular Polish writers in his lifetime (at the time of his death in 1945, his overseas sales were the second-highest of all the writers of Poland), had served as an official in Kolchak's government and, after its collapse, fled to Mongolia. He became one of Ungern's very few friends, and in 1922, published a best-selling book in English, "Beasts, Men and Gods", about his adventures in Siberia and Mongolia, which remains the book by which the Ungern story is best known in the English-speaking world. Comparison of Ossendowski's diary with his book and documents on Mongolia revealed that his reports on Mongolia at Ungern are largely true, except for a few stories. Ossendowski was the first to describe Ungern's views in terms of Theosophy, but Ungern himself had never been a Theosophist.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Ungern did not interfere in Mongolian affairs and assisted Mongols only in some issues according to orders of the Bogd Khan. Russian colonists, on the other hand, suffered cruelties from Ungern's secret police bureau led by Leonid Sipailo. Many innocent people were tortured and killed by Sipailo and his subordinates. A list of people known to have been killed on Ungern's orders or by others on their pretext, both in Russia and Mongolia, confirms the deaths of 846 people, approximately 100–120 from Urga, which was about 3%–8% of the total foreign colony population. Ungern's unrelenting harshness contributed to discontent that later erupted in mutiny among his troops.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Some eyewitnesses considered his Asiatic Cavalry Division as a base for a future Mongolian national army. The division consisted of national detachments, such as the Chinese regiment, Japanese unit, various Cossack regiments, Mongol, Buryat, Tatar and other peoples' units. Ungern said that 16 nationalities served in his division.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Dozens of Tibetans also served as part of his troops. They might have been sent by 13th Dalai Lama, with whom Ungern communicated, or the Tibetans may have belonged to the Tibetan colony in Urga.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: The presence of the Japanese unit in the division is often explained as evidence that Japan stood behind Ungern in his actions in Mongolia. Studies of their interrogations from Japanese archives revealed that they were mercenaries serving on their own, like other nationals in the division, and that Ungern was not managed by Japan.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Owen Lattimore used the words "a strange, romantic and sometimes savage figure" for the Mongol Sandagdorjiyn Magsarjav (1877-1927). Magsarjav had served under Ungern-Sternberg. In Uriankhai Kazakh bandits who were captured had their hearts cut out and sacrificed by Magsarjav.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: The Bolsheviks started infiltrating Mongolia shortly after the October Revolution, long before they took control of the Russian Transbaikal. In 1921, various Red Army units belonging to Soviet Russia and to the Far Eastern Republic invaded the newly independent Mongolia to defeat Ungern. The forces included the Red Mongolian leader Damdin Sükhbaatar.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Spies and various smaller diversionary units went ahead to spread terror to weaken Ungern's forces. Ungern organised an expedition to meet these forces in Siberia and to support ongoing anti-Bolshevik rebellions. Believing that he had the unwavering popular support of locals in Siberia and Mongolia, Ungern failed to strengthen his troops properly, although he was vastly outnumbered and outgunned by the Red forces. However, he did not know that the Reds had successfully crushed uprisings in Siberia and that Soviet economic policies had temporarily softened in Lenin's New Economic Policy. Upon Ungern's arrival in Siberia, few local peasants and Cossacks volunteered to join him.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: In the spring, the Asiatic Cavalry Division was divided into two brigades: one under the command of Lieutenant General Ungern and the second under Major General Rezukhin. In May, Rezukhin's brigade launched a raid beyond the Russian border, west of the Selenga River. Ungern's brigade left Urga and slowly moved to the Russian town of Troitskosavsk (present-day Kyakhta in Buryatia).


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Meanwhile, the Reds moved large numbers of troops towards Mongolia from different directions. They had a tremendous advantage in equipment (armoured cars, aeroplanes, rail, gunboats, ammunition, human reserves etc.) and the number of troops. As a result, Ungern was defeated in battles that took place between 11 and 13 June, and he failed to capture Troitskosavsk. Combined Bolshevik and Red Mongol forces entered Urga on 6 July 1921 after a few small skirmishes with Ungern's guard detachments.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: Although they had captured Urga, the Red forces failed to defeat the main forces of the Asiatic Division (Ungern's and Rezukhin's brigades). Ungern regrouped and attempted to invade Transbaikal, across the Russo-Mongolian border. To rally his soldiers and local people, he quoted an agreement with Semyonov and pointed to a supposed Japanese offensive that was to support their drive, but neither Semyonov nor the Japanese were eager to assist him.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: After several days of rest, the Asiatic Division started its raid into Soviet territory on 18 July. The eyewitnesses Kamil Giżycki and Mikhail Tornovsky gave similar estimates of their numbers: about 3000 men in total. Ungern's troops penetrated deep into Russian territory.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: The Soviets declared martial law in areas where the Whites were expected, including Verkhneudinsk (now Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia). Ungern's troops captured many settlements, the northernmost being Novoselenginsk, which they occupied on 1 August. By then, Ungern had understood that his offensive was ill-prepared, and he had heard about the approach of large Red forces. On 2 August 1921, he began his retreat to Mongolia, where he declared his determination to fight communism.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: While Ungern's troops wanted to abandon the war effort, head towards Manchuria and join with other Russian émigrés, it soon became clear that Ungern had other ideas. He wanted to retreat to Tuva and then to Tibet. Troops under both Ungern and Rezukhin effectively mutinied and hatched plots to kill their respective commanders.


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: On 17 August, Rezukhin was murdered. A day later, conspirators attempted to assassinate Ungern. Ungern managed to evade the conspirators twice and retreated to a detachment made up exclusively of local Mongol soldiers. They did not want to take on the mutineers, nor side with Ungern and did not want to kill Ungern himself. They left him immobilized and fled. The rest of the brigade broke apart during its retreat towards the Chinese border (with the ultimate aim being the Far Eastern Republic). On 20 August, Ungern was captured by a Soviet detachment, led by guerrilla commander Petr Efimovich Shchetinkin, who was later a member of the Cheka. After a show trial of 6 hours and 15 minutes on 15 September 1921, prosecuted by Yemelyan Yaroslavsky, Ungern was sentenced to execution by firing squad. The sentence was carried out that night in Novonikolaevsk (now Novosibirsk).


title: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg

text: When the news on the Baron's execution reached the Living Buddha [the Bogd Khan], he ordered services to be held in temples throughout Mongolia.


title: AK-203

text: The AK-203 is a Russian gas-operated, magazine-fed, select fire assault rifle designed to chamber the 7.62×39mm cartridge. It is one of the latest iterations of the AK series of assault rifles originally designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. The AK-203 was developed in the 2010s by Kalashnikov Concern in Russia. The firearm was originally known as AK-103M before being renamed to AK-203 in 2019.


title: AK-203

text: The prototype development of predecessor of AK-203 rifle, dubbed as AK-200 series began in 2007. The first prototype of AK-200 was developed and tested in 2010. In 2013, for the Ratnik programme AK-200 was modified and renamed as AK-103-3. In 2016, AK-200 series project was revived and upgraded the AK-103-3 assault rifle prototype with KM-AK kit developed as part of the Obves programme. The upgraded assault rifle prototype was initially designated as AK-300 and then as AK-100M and finally in 2019 as AK-203.


title: AK-203

text: The Indian Army is procuring 670,000 AK-203 assault rifles to replace the INSAS, through a contract with Russia. The first 70,000 rifles were purchased from Russia and delivered in January 2022. The remaining 600,000 rifles will be manufactured in Amethi, India under a transfer of technology agreement, by joint venture company Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL).


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Calvin Klein Inc. () is an internationally operating, American fashion house. The company, which became famous for its designer underwear and denim lines in the 1980s, specializes in mass-market ready-to-wear clothing for all genders and age groups as well as leather products, lifestyle accessories and shoes, home furnishings, perfume/cosmetics, eyewear, jewellery and watches in the mid-price segment. Its high-end runway fashion division, which represented the top level of the various Calvin Klein sub-brands, was discontinued in 2019.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: The company was founded by designer Calvin Klein and his childhood friend, Barry K. Schwartz, in 1968 and was acquired by PVH Corp. for a total of $700 million in 2003. It is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and has substantial market share in retail and commercial lines around the globe. In 2013, PVH bought Warnaco Group, one of the largest Calvin Klein licensees, for around $3 billion. Global retail sales under the Calvin Klein brand, including sales by the label's 40 licensees, amounted to $8.5 billion in 2021.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Calvin Klein was one of several design leaders raised in the Jewish community in the Bronx, along with Robert Denning and Ralph Lauren. He became a protégé of Baron de Gunzburg, through whose introductions he became the toast of the New York elite fashion scene even before he had his first mainstream success with the launch of his first jeans line. He was immediately recognized for his talent after his first major showing at New York Fashion Week.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In 1968, Klein founded Calvin Klein Limited, a coat shop in the York Hotel in New York City, with $10,000. The first Calvin Klein collection was a line of "youthful, understated coats and dresses" featured at the New York City store Bonwit Teller.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In 1973, he received his first Coty American Fashion Critics' Award for his 74-piece womenswear collection – the youngest recipient at that time. Klein won the award again in 1974 and 1975. By 1977, annual revenues had increased to $30 million (equivalent to $ million in ), and Klein had licenses for scarves, shoes, belts, furs, sunglasses, and bedsheets. Klein and Schwartz were making $4 million each. After the company signed licenses for cosmetics, jeans, and menswear, Klein's annual retail volume was estimated at $100 million (equivalent to $ million in ). In 1978, Klein claimed sales of 200,000 pairs of his famous jeans the first week they were on the market. By 1981, "Fortune" figured Klein's annual income at $8.5 million. In the mid-1970s, he had created a designer-jeans craze by putting his name on the back pocket. Klein's design assistant at the time, Jeffrey Banks, has claimed credit for the logo garments, stating that he had the logo from a press folder silkscreened onto the sleeve of a brown T-shirt as a present for Klein. The gift was assumed by Schwartz to be part of the upcoming line, and similar logo shirts formed the uniform for the front-of-house staff at Klein's next catwalk show, leading to buyer demand.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In the late 1970s, the company also made attempts to set up its own fragrance and cosmetics lines, but soon withdrew from the market with big financial losses.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In the 1980s, as the designer-jeans frenzy reached its all-time high, Calvin Klein introduced a highly successful line of boxer shorts for women and a men's underwear collection which would later gross $70 million in a single year. The American market of men's underwear was changed – from one where most men's underwear was white, purchased in packs of three by a "wife, mother or girlfriend when they needed to be" to one where "the American male [cares] about the brand of something few ever see".


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Growth continued through the early eighties. The licensing program, which brought in $24,000 when it was initiated in 1974 (), had royalty income of $7.3 million ten years later (equivalent to $ million in ). That year, worldwide retail sales were estimated at more than $60 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Klein's clothes were sold through 12,000 stores in the United States and were available in six other countries through licensing deals, namely Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. His annual income passed $12 million (equivalent to $ million in ).


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Financial problems increased pressure from all sides, disagreements with the licensee of the menswear line and its disappointing sales as well as an enormous employee turnover both within Calvin Klein and its licensing partners led to the first rumors that Calvin Klein Industries, as the company had been known by then, was up for sale. And indeed, in late 1987, it was said that the sale of the company to Triangle Industries, a container manufacturer, had only failed because of the crashing stock market.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Although the company almost faced bankruptcy in 1992, Calvin Klein managed to regain and increase the profitability of his empire throughout the later 1990s, mainly through the success of its highly popular underwear and fragrance lines, as well as the ck sportswear line. During his 1990–1995 stint as Calvin Klein's head of menswear design, John Varvatos pioneered a type of men's underwear called boxer briefs, a hybrid of boxer shorts and briefs. Made famous by a series of 1992 print ads featuring Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg, they have been called "one of the greatest apparel revolutions of the century."


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Klein was named "America's Best Designer" for his minimalist all-American designs in 1993, and it came as a surprise in 1999 when it was announced that CKI was again up for sale. Planning to expand its business, the company had been approached by two luxury goods companies, LVMH and Pinault Printemps Redoute, to join Calvin Klein, but nothing resulted. Other potentials like Tommy Hilfiger Corp. and Italy's Holding di Partecipazioni proved to be similar disappointments because of CKI's steep price tag of supposedly $1 billion. After seven months and no potential buyer, Klein announced that his empire was not on the market anymore. The company would never manage to go public, which had supposedly been Klein's plan once.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In mid-December 2002, Calvin Klein Inc. (CKI) was sold to Phillips Van Heusen Corp (PVH), whose then CEO Bruce Klatsky was the driving force behind the deal, for about $400 million in cash, $30 million in stock as well as licensing rights and royalties linked to revenues over the following 15 years that were estimated at $200 to $300 million. The sale also included an ongoing personal financial incentive for Klein based on future sales of the Calvin Klein brand.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: PVH outbid VF Corp., the maker of Lee and Wrangler jeans, which had also been interested in the jeans, underwear and swimwear business of CK that had been controlled by Warnaco Group, maker of Speedo swimwear in the US, since 1997. The deal with PVH did not include these businesses, and they remained with Warnaco. Unable to pay debts from acquisitions and licensing agreements and due to bad publicity by a later dismissed lawsuit with Calvin Klein over selling license products to retailers other than agreed upon with Calvin Klein, Warnaco had filed for chapter 11 protection in mid-2001 but eventually emerged from bankruptcy in February 2003.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: The transaction between Calvin Klein and PVH was financially supported by Apax Partners Inc., a New York private equity firm, which is said to have made a $250 million equity investment in PVH convertible preferred stock, as well as a $125 million, two-year secured note, all in exchange for seats on the board of PVH.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: CKI thus became a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH. In the beginning, Klein himself, who was included as a person in the 15-year contract he had signed with PVH, remained creative head of the collections but then continued as an advisor (consulting creative director) to the new company from 2003 on and has since been more withdrawn from the business. Barry K. Schwartz was said to concentrate on his role as chairman of the New York Racing Association, a horse-racing club. The current President and COO of the CKI division within PVH are Tom Murry, who had filled this position already before the acquisition.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Upon the acquisition of Calvin Klein, Phillips-Van Heusen announced plans of launching a new men's sportswear collection that rivals Ralph Lauren's collection. This line is produced by Van Heusen.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: With the fall 2006 Collection runway presentations in New York City, CKI inaugurated an showroom space that can seat up to 600 people on the ground floor of 205 West 39th Street, in Times Square South where Calvin Klein has been headquartered since 1978.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In a 2010 report, PVH, who manages the ready-to-wear activities, had estimated sales of €4.6 billion of Calvin Klein products.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In February 2013, Warnaco Group was acquired by PVH which united Calvin Klein formal, underwear, jeans and sportswear lines.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In 2020, PVH announced that as part of their animal welfare policy, the company does not use exotic skins and would be banning their use in Calvin Klein collections when "our annual update of that policy is released."


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Calvin Klein has various lines of perfumes and colognes, including Obsession, CK Be, and Eternity. Until May 2005, their perfumes and the corresponding fragrance lines were maintained by Calvin Klein Cosmetics Company (CKCC), a Unilever company. Cosmetics giant Coty, Inc. of New York bought the fragrance licensing agreements from Unilever.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: The early ads were shot by Bruce Weber and Richard Avedon. One of his male underwear models, Mark Wahlberg, went on to fame as hip hop star "Marky Mark", launching himself into the Hollywood scene to become a current actor. Another Hollywood star first appearing in Calvin Klein advertisements is Antonio Sabàto Jr. Calvin Klein employed Kate Moss at the start of her career in the early 1990s and in 2002 after allegations of cocaine use. Other models who have appeared in advertisements early in their careers are Natalia Vodianova, and Toni Garrn. Currently Calvin Klein uses Shawn Mendes, Tyson Ballou, Jennie and Lara Stone, and in the past has also used Christy Turlington, Jerry Hall, Patti Hansen, Tom Hintnaus, Travis Fimmel, Doutzen Kroes, Mini Andén, Garrett Neff, Sean O'Pry, Edita Vilkevičiūtė, Jamie Dornan, Liu Wen and Edward Furlong.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Actors such as Eva Mendes, Mehcad Brooks, Scarlett Johansson, Kellan Lutz, Andie MacDowell, Alexander Skarsgård, Zoe Saldana, Rita Ora, Rooney Mara, Lupita Nyong'o, Margot Robbie, Saoirse Ronan, Jake Gyllenhaal and Diane Kruger have also been chosen to model for the brand. Swedish footballer Freddie Ljungberg starred in a series of adverts for the company. Recently, pop star Justin Bieber appeared in advertising for Calvin Klein's underwear range, as did fashion model Kendall Jenner. In 2017, Solange Knowles became the face of the campaign "Our Music, #MYCALVINS". On July 16, 2018, Saoirse Ronan and Lupita Nyong'o were announced as the faces of Raf Simons first fragrance for the brand, named "Women."


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: During summer 2020, the famous actor Ji Chang-wook was the first Korean mondial ambassador of the brand.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: They also have experimented with emerging technologies. When advertising "cKOne" perfume in 1999, they placed e-mail addresses in print advertisements, targeted at teenagers. When these teens mailed these addresses, they would be placed on a mailing list that sent them mails with vague details about the models' lives, with fake details meant to make them more relatable. These mails came at unpredictable intervals and were supposed to give readers the feeling that they had some connection with these characters. Though the mailing lists were discontinued in 2002, the campaign has inspired similar marketing tactics for movies and other retail products. In 2019, Calvin Klein featured an ad by Sarah Rae Vargas for plus-sized women. In 2020, Calvin Klein invited black trans model Jari Jones and other eight LGBTQ models featured its pride campaign "#PROUDINMYCALVINS".


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In 2004, the company bought the domain name CK.com. Calvin Klein is one of the few corporations worldwide to own a two letter domain name.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: When Calvin Klein was acquired by PVH Corp. in 2003, Francisco Costa was appointed the Women's Creative Director of Calvin Klein Collection. Costa had already worked with Klein directly before the founder's departure from the company, and had taken the director position in 2003.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Italo Zucchelli, a former Jil Sander and Romeo Gigli designer, had collaborated with Calvin Klein for six seasons before he became head designer and Men's Creative Director of the Calvin Klein Collection menswear line in spring 2004.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Kevin Carrigan, an Englishman, was named the global creative director of the ck Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein (white label), Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Underwear brands and their related licensed products. Carrigan had been with Calvin Klein since 1998.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In April 2016, it was announced that Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli would be leaving the company.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In August 2016, Calvin Klein, Inc. announced the appointment of Raf Simons as Chief Creative Officer of the brand, overseeing all aspects of design, global market and communications, and visual creative services. Simons assumed the creative strategy of the Calvin Klein brand globally across the company's ready to wear, bridge, sportswear, jeans, underwear and home lines. Pieter Mulier was also announced as Creative Director, reporting directly to Simons and responsible for executing his creative and design vision for men's and women's ready to wear, bridge and better apparel and accessories. It was also announced that Kevin Carrigan resigned from the company for a creative role at Ralph Lauren. Simons's first collections debuted for the Fall 2017 season.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In January 2017, it was announced that Clémande Burgevin Blachman would assume the role of Vice President of Design for Calvin Klein Home.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In December 2018, it was announced that Raf Simons had parted from Calvin Klein after only two years at the company.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In November 2020, Jessica Lomax was appointed Global Head of Design, leading Calvin Klein's global design strategy and providing creative direction across all areas of the business.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In the late 1990s, the company opened elegant Calvin Klein Collection stores in Paris, Seoul, and Taipei and ultra high-end cK Calvin Klein stores in Hong Kong, Milan, and Kuwait City. As of today, all stores are closed. Out of the two Calvin Klein Collection stores that existed in the US, the Dallas location in Highland Park Village which had been open for 20 years was closed in mid-2005. The only international location, in Paris, was closed by PVH in March 2006. The New York store, which serves as the company's flagship store at 654 Madison Ave., permanently closed in spring 2019. Partners maintain Calvin Klein Collection stores in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Dubai, and Qatar.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Specialty retail Calvin Klein stores, designed by New York architecture firm Lynch/Eisinger/Design have been opened at Lenox Square in Atlanta, Beverly Center in Los Angeles; now closed down, Cherry Creek Mall in Denver; now closed down, Natick Collection in Natick, MA; closing down on July 25, 2010, The Mall at Partridge Creek in Michigan; now closed down, Aventura Mall in Aventura, Florida, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa California. An additional eight stores also designed by Lynch/Eisinger/Design are set to open in 2008. There are also several Calvin Klein Outlet stores, mostly located within factory outlet malls in the US, that sell the white label sportswear and sometimes the Calvin Klein white label at reduced prices but do not carry the Collection lines.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Calvin Klein Jeans stores exist around the globe. Among many other countries in the UK, Germany, Greece, Russia, Brazil, México, Croatia, Egypt, Chile, Argentina, India, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. They also offer franchisee and opened in Cali last year.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: Signature Calvin Klein Underwear boutiques can be found in Ljubljana, Buenos Aires, Cardiff (as of April 2011), Mexico City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Melbourne, Hong Kong, London, Manchester, Manila, New York City, Shanghai, Singapore, Frankfurt am Main, Munich, Toronto, Hatfield, and Burnaby, B.C. (Metro Vancouver).


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: The major department stores in the US, including Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Dillard's, and Nordstrom, as well as many small independent stores carry the ck, white label and/or Jeans collections. Some high-end department stores, such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus also carry the Calvin Klein Collection. Notable retailers in the UK offering Calvin Klein include stores such as John Lewis, Debenhams and KJ Beckett. In Australia, the dominant retailer is Myer. Calvin Klein products are also found online with particular internet focus on selling Calvin Klein underwear and fragrance.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In Europe, Calvin Klein is predominantly known for its underwear, accessories and perhaps the Collection business, rather than for the medium-priced sportswear lines which are available at select high-end retail stores. In Asia, there are also signature ck Calvin Klein stores that carry diffusion line, aka grey label including womenswear, menswear, accessories.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In 1980, Richard Avedon photographed and directed a Calvin Klein Jeans campaign that featured a fifteen-year-old Brooke Shields. Some of those advertisements were banned, including an infamous advert where Brooke asks, "Do you want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing!," often misquoted as "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins."


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In August 2012, Lululemon Athletica filed suit against Calvin Klein and supplier G-III Apparel Group for infringement of three Lululemon design patents for yoga pants. The lawsuit was somewhat unusual as it involved a designer seeking to assert intellectual property protection in clothing through patent rights. On November 20, 2012, Lululemon filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the Delaware courts based upon a private settlement agreement reached between the parties that would dismiss the suit. According to a Lululemon press release, "Lululemon values its products and related IP rights and takes the necessary steps to protect its assets when we see attempts to mirror our products.”


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: However, according to Chevalier's brand book Luxury Brand Management, Klein "is seldom involved in the design and the development of products bearing his name" and "all activities are subcontracted to licensees."


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In 2014, Klein was criticized for the designation of Myla Dalbesio in its "Perfectly Fit" which offended many women as it is made for plus sizes.


title: Calvin Klein (fashion house)

text: In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused at least 82 major brands, including Calvin Klein, of being connected to forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.


title: Sedevacantism

text: Sedevacantism () is a doctrinal position within traditionalist Catholicism, which holds that the present occupier of the Holy See is not a valid pope due to the pope's espousal of one or more heresies and that therefore, for lack of a valid pope, the See of Rome is vacant.


title: Sedevacantism

text: The term "sedevacantism" is derived from the Latin phrase "sede vacante", which means "with the chair [i.e. of the Bishop of Rome] being vacant". The phrase is commonly used to refer specifically to a vacancy of the Holy See from the death, the resignation, the falling into insanity, or the public heresy of a pope to the election of his successor.


title: Sedevacantism

text: Among those who maintain that the see of Rome, occupied by what they declare to be an illegitimate pope, was really vacant, some have chosen an alternative pope of their own, thereby in their view ending the vacancy of the see; such are known sometimes as "conclavists".


title: Sedevacantism

text: The number of sedevacantists is unknown and difficult to measure; estimates range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.


title: Sedevacantism

text: Sedevacantism owes its origins to the rejection of the theological and disciplinary changes implemented following the Second Vatican Council (1962–65). Sedevacantists reject this Council, on the basis of their interpretation of its documents on ecumenism and religious liberty, among others, which they see as contradicting the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church and as denying the unique mission of Catholicism as the one true religion, outside of which there is no salvation. They also say that new disciplinary norms, such as the Mass of Paul VI, promulgated on 3 April 1969, undermine or conflict with the historical Catholic faith and are deemed blasphemous, while post-Vatican II teachings, particularly those related to ecumenism, are labelled heresies. They conclude, on the basis of their rejection of the revised Mass rite and of postconciliar church teaching as false, that the popes involved are also false. Among even traditionalist Catholics, this is a quite divisive question.


title: Sedevacantism

text: Traditionalist Catholics other than sedevacantists recognize as legitimate the line of popes leading to and including Pope Francis. Sedevacantists, however, claim that the infallible Magisterium of the Catholic Church could not have decreed the changes made in the name of the Second Vatican Council, and conclude that those who issued these changes could not have been acting with the authority of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, they hold that Pope John XXIII and his successors left the true Catholic Church and thus lost legitimate authority in the church. A formal heretic, they say, cannot be the Catholic pope.


title: Sedevacantism

text: While Sedevacantists' arguments often hinge on their interpretation of modernism as being a heresy, this is also debated.


title: Sedevacantism

text: Some sedevacantists accept the consecrations and ordinations of sedevacantist bishops and priests, and the offering of Masses and the administration of sacraments by the said bishops and priests, to be licit because of "epikea", i.e. "the interpretation of the mind and will of him who made the law". In this case, the ecclesiastical laws (e.g. prohibition of consecrations of bishops without papal mandate; prohibition of administration of sacraments without ecclesiastical authorization) are interpreted to cease when to follow them would be impossible, harmful, or unreasonable, or would mean transgressing divine laws (e.g. the church must have bishops and priests; Catholics must attend Mass and receive the sacraments), and because of a historical precedent for consecrating Catholic bishops during a long vacancy of the Holy See.


title: Sedevacantism

text: Another divisive question among sedevacantists is whether it is permissible to go to ""una cum"" masses (Traditional Latin Masses where the name of the person considered by mainstream Catholics as Pope is spoken in the Roman Canon, specifically in the ""Te igitur"" prayer, where the priest says ""una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro N."" ["together with Thy Servant N., our Pope"]). Such ""una cum"" masses are offered by the priests of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. Some argue that it is, or may be, permissible, while others argue that it is not permissible, and that such masses are illicit and forbidden to Catholics.


title: Sedevacantism

text: A sizeable portion of sedevacantists affirm the Thesis of Cassiciacum of the Dominican theologian Bishop Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers as being a valid position, which states that John XXIII and his successors are popes "materialiter sed non formaliter", that is, "materially but not formally," and that the post-Vatican II popes will become pope if they recant their heresies.


title: Sedevacantism

text: There are estimated to be between several tens of thousands and more than two hundred thousand sedevacantists worldwide, mostly concentrated in the United States, Mexico, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia, but the actual size of the sedevacantist movement has never been accurately assessed. It remains extremely difficult to establish the size of the movement for a wide range of reasons, such as the fact that not all sedevacantists identify themselves as such, nor do they necessarily adhere to sedevacantist groups or societies.


title: Sedevacantism

text: Catholic theology holds that any bishop can validly ordain any baptized male to the priesthood, and any priest to the episcopacy, provided that, with the intention to do what the church does, he uses a rite of ordination or consecration considered valid by the Catholic Church.


title: Sedevacantism

text: The only known Catholic bishop consecrated before the Second Vatican Council who publicly became sedevacantist was Vietnamese Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục (consecrated in 1938), former Vicar Apostolic of Vĩnh Long, Vietnam and former Archbishop of Huế, Vietnam.


title: Sedevacantism

text: Bishop Alfredo Méndez-Gonzalez (consecrated in 1960), former Bishop of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, though not a sedevacantist, at least not a public one, associated himself with sedevacantist priests and consecrated a bishop for them.


title: Sedevacantism

text: The "Thục line" bishops designates bishops who derive their episcopacy from Archbishop Thục or from bishops of Thục's lineage. Many bishops in the "Thục line" are part of the non-sedevacantist Palmarian Catholic Church; this is due to Thục having consecrated Bishop Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, future head of the Palmarian Church, and the very numerous episcopal consecrations within this organization.


title: Sedevacantism

text: On 7 May 1981, Thục consecrated the sedeprivationist French priest Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers as a bishop. Des Lauriers was a French Dominican theologian and a papal advisor.


title: Sedevacantism

text: On 17 October 1981, Thục consecrated the sedevacantist Mexican priests Moisés Carmona and Adolfo Zamora as bishops. Carmona and Zamora had been sedevacantist leaders and propagators in Mexico for many years, and were among the priests who formed the Tridentine Catholic Union.


title: Sedevacantism

text: The Vatican declared Thục "ipso facto" excommunicated for these consecrations and for his declaration of sedevacantism.


title: Sedevacantism

text: There are many sedevacantist bishops today whose episcopal lineages descend from Archbishop Thuc, either or both through Bishop Guerard des Lauriers and Bishop Moises Carmona.


title: Sedevacantism

text: On 19 October 1993, in Carlsbad, California, United States, Bishop Méndez-Gonzalez consecrated the sedevacantist Father Clarence Kelly of the Society of Saint Pius V (SSPV) to the episcopacy. By Méndez's wish, the consecration was kept secret until his death in 1995.


title: Sedevacantism

text: There are two sedevacantist bishops who descend from Bishop Méndez through Bishop Kelly. Both are bishops of the Congregation of Saint Pius V.


title: Sedevacantism

text: A considerable number of sedevacantist bishops are thought to derive their holy orders from Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa, who in 1945 set up his own independent Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church. Carlos Duarte Costa was not a sedevacantist, and instead questioned the papacy as an institution: he denied papal Infallibility and rejected the pope's universal jurisdiction. In further contrast to most Catholic traditionalism, Duarte Costa was left-wing.


title: False prophet

text: In religion, a false prophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneously considered a "false prophet" by others, even within the same religion as the "prophet" in question. In a wider sense, it is anyone who, without having it, claims a special connection to the deity and sets him or herself up as a source of spirituality, as an authority, preacher, or teacher. Analogously, the term is sometimes applied outside religion to describe someone who fervently promotes a theory that the speaker thinks is false.


title: False prophet

text: Christian eschatology originated with the public life and preaching of Jesus. Throughout the New Testament and some of the early Christian apocryphal writings, Jesus warns his disciples and apostles multiple times of both false prophets and false Messiahs, and believers are frequently adjured to beware of them and stay vigilant.


title: False prophet

text: The canonical gospels address the same point of a false prophet predicting correctly, and Jesus predicted the future appearance of false Christs and false prophets, affirming that they can perform great signs and miracles, for example, in the Olivet Discourse given on the Mount of Olives:


title: False prophet

text: In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus brought out an ethical application for his disciples using the analogy of false prophets in the Old Testament:


title: False prophet

text: In the Book of Acts, the apostles Paul and Barnabas encountered a false prophet named Elymas Bar-Jesus on the island of Cyprus:


title: False prophet

text: This particular story likewise best matches the model found in Deuteronomy. The claim here is that Elymas is trying to turn Sergius Paulus from the true faith, just like the false prophet described in the preceding verses. In these verses, we do not see Elymas prophesying as the term is popularly understood, so the model seems to fit this scenario best.


title: False prophet

text: The Second Epistle of Peter makes a comparison between false teachers and false prophets and how the former will bring in false teachings, just like the false prophets of old:


title: False prophet

text: The First Epistle of John warns those of the Christian faith to test every spirit because of these false prophets:


title: False prophet

text: The most well-known New Testament false prophet is the one mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The False Prophet is the Antichrist, and he is ultimately cast into the fiery lake with burning sulphur:


title: False prophet

text: Another mention of a false prophet in the New Testament is the "antichrist spirit which denies the Son". In the New Testament, the word "antichrist" (Greek: "antikhristos") appears mainly in the Johannine epistles and in the plural, denoting those who deny and/or don't believe in the messianship of Jesus. The similar word "pseudochrist" (Greek: "pseudokhristos", meaning "false messiah") is used by Jesus in the Gospels. These terms seem to refer to a category of people rather than a single individual.


title: False prophet

text: The Quran states that Muhammad is the "Seal of the Prophets", which is understood by mainstream Sunni and Shīʿa Muslims to mean that anyone who claims to be a new prophet after him is a false prophet. All mainstream Muslim scholars' perspectives from both Sunni and Shīʿa denominations don't consider the Second Coming of ʿĪsā (Jesus) as the coming of a new prophet, since the Islamic Messiah had already been an existing prophet and will rule by the Quran and "sunnah" of Muhammad, bringing no new revelation or prophecy.


title: False prophet

text: Muhammad also stated that the last of these dajjals would be the Antichrist, Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (). The Dajjal is never mentioned in the Quran but he's mentioned and described in the "ḥadīth" literature. Like in Christianity, the Dajjal is said to emerge out in the east, although the specific location varies among the various sources. The Dajjal will imitate the miracles performed by ʿĪsā (Jesus), such as healing the sick and raising the dead, the latter done with the aid of demons ("Shayāṭīn"). He will deceive many people, such as weavers, magicians, half-castes, and children of prostitutes, but the majority of his followers will be Jews. According to the Islamic eschatological narrative, the events related to the final battle before the Day of Judgment will proceed in the following order:


title: False prophet

text: Samra ibn Jundab reported that once Muhammad, while delivering a ceremonial speech at an occasion of a solar eclipse, said:


title: False prophet

text: Imam Mahdi (, meaning "the rightly guided one") is the redeemer according to Islam. Just like the Dajjal, the Mahdi is never mentioned in the Quran but his description can be found in the "ḥadīth" literature; according to the Islamic eschatological narrative, he will appear on Earth before the Day of Judgment. At the time of the Second Coming of Christ, the prophet ʿĪsā shall return to defeat and kill al-Masih ad-Dajjal. Muslims believe that both ʿĪsā and the Mahdi will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice, and tyranny, ensuring peace and tranquility. Eventually, the Dajjal will be killed by the Mahdi and ʿĪsā at the gate of Lud, who upon seeing Dajjal will cause him to slowly dissolve (like salt in water).


title: False prophet

text: Jesus is rejected in every branch of Judaism as a failed Jewish Messiah claimant and a false prophet.


title: False prophet

text: The Books of Kings records a story where, under duress from Ahab, the prophet Micaiah depicts God as requesting information from his heavenly counsel as to what he should do with a court of false prophets. This depiction is recorded in 1 Kings :


title: False prophet

text: It is possible that Micaiah meant to depict the false prophets as a test from YHWH. It is also possible that it was meant as a slur on Ahab's prophets, such as Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah.


title: False prophet

text: The penalty for false prophecy, including speaking in the name of a god other than YHWH or speaking presumptuously in YHWH's name, is death (). Likewise, if a prophet makes a prophecy in the name of YHWH that does not come to pass, that is another sign that he is not commissioned of YHWH and that the people need not fear the false prophet ().


title: False prophet

text: The Jewish Koine Greek term "pseudoprophetes" occurs in the Septuagint (Jeremiah 6:13, 33:8-11, 34:9, 36:1-8, Zechariah 13:2); Flavius Josephus ("Antiquities of the Jews" 8-13-1, 10-7-3, "The Jewish War" 6-5-2); and Philo of Alexandria ("Specific Laws" 3:8). Classical Pagan writers used the term "pseudomantis".


title: False prophet

text: The term "false prophet" is sometimes applied outside religious usage, to describe promoters of scientific, medical, or political theories which the author of the phrase thinks are false. Paul Offit's 2008 book "Autism's False Prophets" applied the phrase to promoters of unproven theories and therapies such as the unsupported relationship between thiomersal and vaccines and chelation therapy. Ronald Bailey's 1993 book "Ecoscam: The False Prophets of Ecological Apocalypse" applied the phrase to promoters of the global warming hypothesis; however, by 2005 Bailey had changed his mind, writing "Anyone still holding onto the idea that there is no global warming ought to hang it up."


title: Meteor Garden (2001 TV series)

text: Meteor Garden () is a 2001 Taiwanese drama starring Barbie Hsu, Jerry Yan, Vic Chou, Ken Chu and Vanness Wu. It is the first live-action television adaptation of the Japanese shōjo manga series by Yoko Kamio. It was produced by Comic Ritz International Production (可米瑞智國際藝能有限公司) with as producer and directed by . It was later followed by a sequel in 2002.


title: Meteor Garden (2001 TV series)

text: The story centers around a poor teenage girl, Shancai (Barbie Shu), who at the insistence of her parents goes to a school for rich people. The school is dominated by Daoming Si (Jerry Yan), Huaze Lei (Vic Chou), Meizuo (Vanness Wu) and Ximen (Ken Chu)—four rich, handsome but arrogant students collectively known as the 'F4', short for 'Flower 4'. They are heirs to four rich and influential families in Taiwan. They terrorize the school by handing out red cards to those they do not like, which allows other students to bully the victims until they leave the school.


title: Meteor Garden (2001 TV series)

text: After one of Shancai's friends receives the wrath of the F4's leader, Daoming Si, she stands up to and berates him, which in turn results in a red card of her own. Shancai hates the arrogant and rude Daoming Si. Her persistence in standing up for what is right gradually gains the F4's respect and Daoming Si starts to fall for her. Shancai is attracted to the silent Huaze Lei in the beginning. But Daoming Si's constant yet annoying efforts has her question her feelings for both Huaze Lei and Daoming Si.


title: Meteor Garden (2001 TV series)

text: Later in the series, Daoming Si's mother comes to Taiwan. She instantly dislikes Shancai because of her poor background. Both Daoming Si and Shancai face hurdles his mother throws their way to separate them. Though Shancai does not profess her love for him yet, Daoming Si remains determined. The series show the journey of Daoming Si and Shancai's feelings for one another.


title: Meteor Garden (2001 TV series)

text: Meteor Garden Original Soundtrack (流星花園 電視原聲帶) was released on 14 August 2001 by Various Artists under EMI. It contains thirteen songs, in which ten songs are English songs. The opening theme song is "Qing Fei De Yi" or "Can't Help Falling for You" by Harlem Yu, while the ending theme song is by Penny Dai entitled "你要的愛" or "The Love You Want".


title: Meteor Garden (2001 TV series)

text: The track, "情非得已" (Cant Help Falling In Love With You) was listed at number 21 on Hit Fm Taiwan's "Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart" (Hit-Fm年度百首單曲) for 2001.


title: Meteor Garden (2001 TV series)

text: The series was first broadcast in Taiwan on free-to-air Chinese Television System (CTS) (華視) from 12 April to 16 August 2001. A supplementary mini-series called "Meteor Rain" was produced in April 2001, and the sequel "Meteor Garden II" was broadcast from November to December 2002.


title: Meteor Garden (2001 TV series)

text: F4 (Flower Four) or JVKV was a Taiwanese boy band consisting of Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu, and Vic Chou. The group F4 was formed in 2001 after "Meteor Garden" ended. They released three albums, "Meteor Rain" (2001), "Fantasy 4ever" (2002), and "Waiting for You" (2007). According to "Forbes", F4 has sold 3.5 million copies of their first two albums all over Asia as of July 2003. In 2007, due to copyright issues, the group changed its name to JVKV, using the descending age of the initials of its members.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: Gregory Scarpa (May 8, 1928 – June 4, 1994) nicknamed the Grim Reaper and also the Mad Hatter, was an American caporegime and hitman for the Colombo crime family, as well as an informant for the FBI. During the 1970s and 80s, Scarpa was the chief enforcer and veteran hitman for Colombo boss Carmine Persico. He is suspected by the FBI to have murdered at least 100 people over the course of his criminal career. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1993 for three murders, and died on June 4, 1994.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: Scarpa was born to first-generation immigrants, Salvatore and Mary, from the small village of Lorenzaga of Motta di Livenza near Treviso, Italy. He was raised in the working-class neighborhood of Bensonhurst in Brooklyn. As a child living in the Great Depression, Scarpa helped his father deliver coal throughout New York City. His older brother, Salvatore Scarpa, may have introduced Gregory to the Colombo crime family which he reportedly joined in the 1950s.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: In the 1950s, Scarpa married Connie Forrest; she and Scarpa had one daughter and three sons, including Gregory Scarpa Jr., who would follow his father into the Colombo family, eventually becoming a capo. Scarpa and Forrest separated in 1973. Scarpa also maintained a 30-year relationship with girlfriend Linda Schiro that resulted in two children, Joseph and Linda.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: Scarpa was a stylish dresser who routinely carried $5,000 in pocket money for purchases and bribes. He had use of an apartment on Manhattan's Sutton Place and owned homes in Brooklyn and Staten Island, as well as Las Vegas, Nevada, and Singer Island, Florida. His power, guile and brutality earned him the nickname "the Grim Reaper" and helped him escape prosecution for many years. Schiro later said that Scarpa would sometimes leave the numbers "666", the biblical Number of the Beast, on his victims' pagers.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: A career criminal, Scarpa eventually became a "caporegime" in the Colombo family, as well as the proprietor of the Wimpy Boys Social Club. Scarpa was involved in illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, hijacking, counterfeit credit cards, assault, stock and bond thefts, narcotics and murder. Many of the highest-ranking members of the Colombo family today were members of Scarpa's crew. In March 1962, Scarpa was arrested for armed robbery. To avoid prosecution, Scarpa agreed to work as an undercover informant for the FBI, beginning a 30-year relationship with the agency.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: In the summer of 1964, according to Schiro and other sources, FBI field agents in Mississippi recruited Scarpa to help them find missing civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner. The FBI was convinced the three men had been murdered, but could not find their bodies. The agents thought that Scarpa, using illegal interrogation techniques not available to agents, might succeed at gaining this information from suspects.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: Once Scarpa arrived in Mississippi, local agents allegedly provided him with a gun and money to pay for information. Scarpa and an agent allegedly pistol-whipped and kidnapped Lawrence Byrd, a TV salesman and secret Klansman, from his store in Laurel and took him to Camp Shelby, a local Army base. At Shelby, Scarpa severely beat Byrd and stuck a gun barrel down his throat. Byrd finally revealed to Scarpa the location of the three men's bodies. The FBI has never officially confirmed the Scarpa story. Though not necessarily contradicting the claim of Scarpa's involvement in the matter, investigative journalist Jerry Mitchell and Illinois high school teacher Barry Bradford claimed that Mississippi highway patrolman Maynard King provided the grave locations to FBI agent Joseph Sullivan after obtaining the information from an anonymous third party.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: In January 1966, Scarpa allegedly helped the FBI a second time in Mississippi on the murder case of Vernon Dahmer, killed in a fire set by the Klan. After this second trip, Scarpa and the FBI had a sharp disagreement about his reward for these services. The FBI then dropped Scarpa as a confidential informant.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: In 1980, FBI agent Lindley DeVecchio became Scarpa's contact and handler and restarted his relationship with the FBI. Scarpa had refused contact with the FBI for the previous five years, but DeVecchio persuaded him to cooperate again. Gregory Jr., Schiro, and federal prosecutors later claimed that Scarpa had numerous illegal dealings with DeVecchio. Scarpa allegedly provided DeVecchio with cash, jewelry and other gifts along with information of questionable value on the Colombos. In return, DeVecchio allegedly protected Scarpa from arrest and provided him with information about his rivals during the Third Colombo War.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: Over the years, the FBI reportedly paid Scarpa $158,000 for his services. According to mob associates, he would joke about "Girlfriend", a female friend in law enforcement who gave him information. For ten years, DeVecchio met alone with Scarpa, often at an apartment or hotel room provided by the FBI. DeVecchio was a frequent dinner guest at Scarpa's house and on one occasion received a hard-to-find Cabbage Patch doll from Scarpa as a gift. Some of DeVecchio's fellow agents were disturbed by his closeness to Scarpa, and were soon reporting it to their FBI superiors.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: In 1985, federal prosecutors indicted Scarpa for running a major credit card scam. After he pleaded guilty, prosecutors asked the court to give him a sizable fine and a prison sentence. However, DeVecchio submitted a memo to the judge that listed all of Scarpa's contributions to the FBI. The judge finally sentenced Scarpa to five years probation with no prison time and a $10,000 fine. Colombo members were so surprised by Scarpa's light sentence that some started wondering if he was working for the government.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: After having emergency ulcer surgery at Victory Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn in 1986, Scarpa received several blood donations from family members and associates. Scarpa had refused blood from the hospital blood bank. Scarpa eventually got blood from mobster Paul Mele, a bodybuilder who was using injectable anabolic steroids. Mele had contracted HIV from a dirty needle and transmitted it to Scarpa in the blood transfusion.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: Surgeons at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan eventually removed Scarpa's stomach. On August 30, 1992, he received a $300,000 settlement in civil court from his first surgeon and Victory Hospital for negligence. As Scarpa's illness progressed to AIDS, he and his relatives told everyone that he was suffering from cancer.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: In 1991, supporters of Colombo rebel and acting boss Victor Orena attempted to kill Scarpa. Earlier in 1991, a struggle between Orena and imprisoned Colombo boss Carmine Persico resulted in violence. Persico's loyalists had unsuccessfully attempted to kill Orena at his Brooklyn home. In retaliation, Orena decided to murder Scarpa, one of Persico's strongest supporters. On November 18, 1991, Scarpa was driving his own car in Brooklyn, followed behind by his 22-year-old daughter Linda and 8-month-old grandson, when he was stopped by two cars. Hitmen ran from their vehicles with guns drawn and converged on Scarpa's car, but Scarpa managed to drive away from the ambush, crashing into anything that got in his way. A few bystanders were injured, but Scarpa and his relatives escaped unharmed.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: During the seven-month conflict between Persico and Orena, Scarpa served as Persico's military commander. Although weakened by illness, he constantly cruised along Avenue U in Brooklyn, looking for Orena supporters in social clubs and bars. Incensed by the murder attempt on his family, Scarpa was especially watchful for Orena loyalist William Cutolo, who had organized it. Over the next few weeks, Scarpa and his associates (mistakenly) killed Genovese family mobster Thomas Amato and Orena loyalists Rosario Nastasa, Vincent Fusaro, and James Malpiso. Scarpa allegedly shot Fusaro as he was hanging Christmas lights on his house.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: In 1992, Scarpa's AIDS lawsuit was settled with $300,000 in cash payments to his family. In 1992, while appearing at a New York civil courtroom for his medical lawsuit, Scarpa was arrested for violating state firearms laws. Soon after, he was indicted on federal racketeering charges involving three murders.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: On December 29, 1992, while under house arrest with an electronic monitoring device, Scarpa lost an eye in a shootout with other mobsters. Two Lucchese family mobsters, Michael DeRosa and Ronald Moran, had threatened Joey Scarpa, Gregory's son, over a drug deal. Climbing out of bed, the elder Scarpa drove with Joey to DeRosa's house and shot DeRosa. Moran fired back and hit Scarpa in the eye. Back at his house, Scarpa allegedly poured some Scotch Whisky into his wound, assured the authorities everything was fine, and later went to the hospital. Prosecutors revoked Scarpa's house arrest and sent him to jail.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: By 1993, Scarpa was blind in one eye, emaciated and in poor health. On May 6, 1993, he pleaded guilty to three murders and conspiracy to murder several others. On December 15, 1993, Scarpa was sentenced to life in federal prison. This sentence was later reduced to 10 years due to Scarpa's poor health. On June 4, 1994, Gregory Scarpa Sr. died in the Federal Medical Center (FMC) for prisoners in Rochester, Minnesota, from AIDS-related complications.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: Scarpa's status as an informer was only revealed in 1995, during a racketeering and murder trial of seven members of the Orena faction. At that time, former Colombo family "consigliere" Carmine Sessa, now a government witness, told prosecutors about DeVecchio's corrupt dealings with Scarpa. Eventually, prosecutors were forced to reveal that DeVecchio might have revealed confidential information, including information about former Colombo members who had turned informer, to Scarpa. Ultimately, 19 Orena supporters had murder charges thrown out or murder convictions reversed after their attorneys contended DeVecchio's collaboration with Scarpa tainted the evidence against them. The attorneys argued that DeVecchio gave Scarpa information he used to kill members of the Orena faction, thus making any killings committed by their clients acts of self-defense.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: On March 30, 2006, DeVecchio, who was forced to retire from the FBI in 1996, was indicted on charges of complicity with Scarpa and other Colombo mobsters in four murders during the 1980s and 1990s. The government case rested on the testimony of Linda Schiro, who was soon discredited as a witness after Tom Robbins of "The Village Voice" revealed that she had granted an interview to Robbins and Jerry Capeci a decade earlier and denied the agent had ever been involved. Robbins said that while he and Capeci had promised to protect Schiro's identity and not attribute any of her revelations to her, the prospect of DeVecchio facing life in prison trumped any promises they had made to Schiro. On November 1, 2007, the judge dismissed all charges against DeVecchio at the request of prosecutors.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: Scarpa's other son, Greg Scarpa Jr., was sentenced to 40 years in prison for racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder and other charges.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: The April 2009 book "Mafia Son: The Scarpa Mob Family, the FBI, and a Story of Betrayal" by Sandra Harmon, covers the author's access to the mob, law enforcement, and jailed Gregory Scarpa Jr. revealing the crimes and acts of betrayal. St. Martin's Press, , 288 pages.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: The July 2013 book "Deal with the Devil: The FBI's Secret Thirty-Year Relationship with a Mafia Killer" by Peter Lance, reports on 30 years of FBI files revealing Scarpa's secret betrayal to the Colombo crime family while being an FBI informant. William Morrow and Company, , 672 pages.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: The December 2015 book "The Mafia Hit Man's Daughter" by Linda Scarpa; Linda Rosencrance, reflects Scarpa's history from his daughter Linda Scarpa's perspective. Pinnacle Books, , 288 pages.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: The CBS series "60 Minutes" aired the episode "Armstrong/The FBI and the Grim Reaper", with a majority of the episode, "Armstrong", reporting on cyclist Lance Armstrong and the use of performance-enhancing drugs. A brief portion of the episode, "The FBI and the Grim Reaper", examines FBI agent Lin DeVecchio's ties to informant Gregory Scarpa. Season 43, episode 34; run time (segment): 8 minutes; first aired: May 2011.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: The Investigation Discovery channel released in the series "I Married a Mobster", episode "The Grim Reaper", reporting on Linda Schiro's, a Brooklyn teenager, love triangle involving Scarpa and another man (both men were married). Scarpa wins Linda's devotion and shows her struggles with losing a child, impacts from his Mafia ties and being left alone upon his downfall. Season 1, episode 3; run time: 21 minutes; first aired: July 2011.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: The Biography Channel series "Mobsters", episode "The Grim Reaper: Greg Scarpa" depicts Scarpa's Mafia ties, father and husband lifestyles and his FBI informant profile. Season 4, episode 7; run time: 42 minutes; first aired: August 2012.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: Investigation Discovery released a second documentary of Scarpa's crimes in the episode "The Grim Reaper" from the series "Evil Lives Here". Season 4, episode 7; run time: 42 minutes; first aired: September 2018.


title: Gregory Scarpa

text: In the 1988 film "Mississippi Burning", the character of Agent Monk (played by Badja Djola) and his abduction of a Klansman were based on Scarpa and his alleged abduction and intimidation of a Klansman. The abductor of the Klan-connected Mayor Tilman was originally written as a Mafia hitman who forces a confession by putting a pistol in Tillman's mouth. Screenwriter Chris Gerolmo was inspired to create this character after reading about Scarpa's alleged recruitment by the FBI during their search for Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: Total Dhamaal (also known as Dhamaal 3) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language adventure comedy film directed and written by Indra Kumar and loosely based on the 1963 Hollywood film "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" with some scenes borrowed from the 2015 film "Vacation", and "Blended". Being a third part of "Dhamaal" franchise, it is produced by Ajay Devgn FFilms, Markand Adhikari (Sri Adhikari Brothers), Fox Star Studios, Maruti International, Pen India Limited and Mangal Murti Films. The film has an ensemble cast of Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh and Jaaved Jaaferi with supporting cast of Boman Irani, Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra, Pitobash Tripathy and Manoj Pahwa and special appearance of Sonakshi Sinha in song Mungda. The trio of Deshmukh, Warsi and Jaaferi was part of previous two installments while Sanjay Dutt backed out and was replaced by Boman Irani, while Devgn, Dixit and Kapoor were new additions.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: The film was released on 22 February 2019 and grossed around with a budget of . It received mixed reviews, with praise for its humor and performances, but criticism for its writing and second half.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: This is the last film released by Fox Star Studios before the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, which was completed in March 2019.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: Guddu and his partner Johnny steal 50 crore of black money from Police Commissioner Shamsher Singh. When they try to escape, their associate Pintoo double-crosses them and drives away with money. Avinash and Bindu are troubled couple who file a divorce and argue over keeping their child. Lallan and Jhingur are partners who work in a fire brigade service where they try to bribe people and earn more money which leads to them being fired after causing a mishap while rescuing people from a house in fire. Adi and Manav find a job at an art gallery where they accidentally destroy the whole gallery and escape with the owner's advanced remote-controlled car.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: Meanwhile, Pintoo plans to leave the country but Guddu and Johnny catch up to him. While running from them, Pintoo gets onto a private plane to escape but learns that instead of the pilot, he brought the janitor with him. The janitor escapes with the only parachute and the plane crashes. Coincidentally everyone arrives at the site of the crash where Pintoo reveals that the money is kept in the Janakpur Zoo by him and asks them to look under an OK. After learning about the money, everyone decides to grab the money for themselves. Guddu and Johnny's car breaks down and they wait on the road to find another car. Avinash drives the car into the forest while claiming he knows a shortcut. Lallan takes him and Jhingur to a nearby helicopter service. Adi and Manav use the stolen car to reach Janakpur. Guddu and Johnny find an advanced car with a sarcastic G.P.S system which leads them to wrong routes and ultimately leads the car down a steep slope and destroys the car. Avinash and Bindu get lost in the forest and meet a local villager who claims to know the route to highway. They both take him with them. Lallan and Jhingur arrive at the helicopter service where they travel on an old and broken helicopter of the owner which is on the verge of crashing. Adi crashes the car in a desert after getting distracted by an attractive woman and gets stuck in quicksand. Manav takes a snake and asks Adi to grab it to get out. Somehow Adi gets out and bashes Manav for not bringing the nearby rope. Soon, they get attacked by a flock of vulture. Guddu and Johnny come across the Police Commissioner who then chases them both to a railway crossing. Avinash and Bindu try to cross a wooden bridge to get to the other side which breaks down. After luckily avoiding falling into the cliff, they realize that the villager was instead leading them to a restaurant called Highway which leads Avinash to beat him. Guddu and Johnny escape the Commissioner when a train collides with their car. Lallan and Jhingur jump off the crashing helicopter and land on a building under construction. Adi and Manav mess up with the remote and barely escape the burning car. Avinash and Bindu try to cross a river which gets filled by water when the dam gets opened and get swept to the edge of the waterfall. Guddu and Johnny get on a plane which they believe is going on a swimming trip but soon find out that it is actually going for skydiving trip. The both reluctantly jump off the plane. After somehow escaping near-death scenarios, everyone reaches Janakpur Zoo where they start finding the hidden money. They see that a man named Chinappa Swamy is planning to illegally close the zoo by killing all the animals. When the caretaker Prachi disagrees, he locks her inside the control station. The group then sees that Chinappa's men are poisoning the animal's food to kill them. When Jhingur, Manav, Johnny and Bindu ask to save them, the group decides to save the animals. Guddu comes across a lion and succeeds in keeping him from eating the poisoned steak. Lallan and Jhingur try to stop a baby gorilla from eating the poisoned bananas but Lallan gets beaten up by the father gorilla. Lallan saves the gorillas by convincing them to not eat the bananas. Adi and Manav try to rescue a baby elephant which has eaten the poisoned sugarcanes. They save him but the elephant pukes on Adi and the elephants thank them. Avinash and Bindu try to stop a tiger from eating the poisoned steak but Bindu gets chased by the tiger and she escapes him by climbing up a tree. Avinash then succeeds in convincing the tiger. Prachi gets freed when her pet monkey Security opens the door. After successfully saving the animals, the group confronts Chinappa but get saved when Security holds a gun to Chinappa's face. The animals then chase Chinappa. The group finds the OK and decides to split the money equally between all of them. The Commissioner forgives Guddu and Johnny when he also receives the money. Avinash and Bindu forgive each other and decide to live happily together. Guddu falls in love with Prachi with Johnny asking if he can get a girlfriend too.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: Besides Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffrey, director Indra Kumar signed Ajay Devgn for the third part of his "Dhamaal film series" in late May 2017. Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit were also signed in mid-November 2017 marking their collaboration after seventeen years when they acted together in the film "Pukar". Esha Gupta was signed in June 2018.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: In late December 2017, Ajay Devgn FFilms collaborated with Fox Star Studios to produce the film. Pen India Limited and Mangl Murti Films came on board as co-producers.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: Principal photography commenced in Mumbai on 9 January 2018. The shooting was wrapped up in August 2018.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: The film score was composed by Sandeep Shirodkar while the songs in the film were composed by Gourov-Roshin, with lyrics by Kumaar and Kunwar Juneja. Vatsal Chevli assisted in mixing all the songs. All songs mixed by Aftab at headroom studios.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: The film was released on 22 February 2019 on 3700 screens in India and on 786 screens in overseas market making worldwide count of 4486 screens.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: Earlier was set to release on 7 December 2018 but due to extended VFX work the release date has been pushed back to 22 February 2019. The film has been certified with runtime of 127 mins by British Board of Film Classification and all set to release on schedule.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: After Pulwama attack, Ajay Devgn and Total Dhamaal makers have decided not to release "Total Dhamaal" in Pakistan. The makers of the film including the entire crew, actors and makers have donated 50 lakhs to families of soldiers who died in the Pulwama attack.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: The first look theatrical poster was released on 18 January 2019. The second look poster released on 19 January 2019 with trailer release date announcement on 21 January 2019. Third official theatrical poster of the film is unveiled on 20 January 2019. It is promising "The wildest adventure ever!"


title: Total Dhamaal

text: Two theatrical fresh look posters of the film are made public on 21 January 2019. These have pictures of main cast on it.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: The film became available as VOD on Disney+ Hotstar on 20 April 2019. The Blu-ray and DVD was also released in August 2019 by Shemaroo.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: The opening day (non-holiday) collection of the film from Indian market was 16.50 crore. Its lifetime domestic gross collection was 182.09 crore and from overseas markets it was 46.18 crore. The worldwide gross collection of the film was 2282.7 million. The film grossed worldwide in three days of release. In opening week the film grossed . In 12 days of its release the film crossed mark in gross collection.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: , the film holds approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews with an average rating of . Taran Adarsh rated the film with three stars and found it entertaining and loaded with clean humour. Himesh Mankad from Koimoi gives 3 star out of 5 says "Total Dhamaal is a fair clean entertainer that can be enjoyed with the entire family. It's definitely an improvement over previous installment Double Dhamaal". Trade analyst Sumit M Kadel stated that "Total Dhamaal is funny specially in Ist half. Its a no brainer fast paced family entertainer, lavishly shot & well performed by Ajay Devgn, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh & the entire cast. 2nd half is moderate & it could have been better. Overall Good film." Rating- 3 out of 5 Ronak Kotecha writing for "The Times of India" gave two stars out of five and feels that in the ensemble cast, the film had the potential to be a comic roller coaster ride. He concluded saying "However, the fact that the film is slapstick is not a problem, what brings it down is poor writing and execution." Rajeev Masand of "CNN-IBN" gave 1.5 stars out of 5, commenting "I want to say here that I’m not against comedies that require complete suspension of disbelief. But even that requires thought, clever writing, and a lightness of touch. Total Dhamaal has none of those things. It’s a cash-grab film that believes ‘bigger is better’. Alas it’s not. From multiple remix songs, to the low-IQ racist and sexist humour, and a reliance on familiar gags and tropes, this is lazy, cynical filmmaking." Raja Sen writing for Hindustan Times rated the film with one star out of five.


title: Total Dhamaal

text: After the trailer release of "Total Dhamaal", in an interview, director Indra Kumar said that another Dhamaal sequel is definitely on the cards and added that he has already registered two titles – "Triple Dhamaal" and "Full On Dhamaal" – for the next installment of the franchise. With the third film named "Total Dhamaal", the fourth film will most probably be titled "Full On Dhamaal".


title: Trial of Socrates

text: The trial of Socrates (399 BC) was held to determine the philosopher's guilt of two charges: "asebeia" (impiety) against the pantheon of Athens, and corruption of the youth of the city-state; the accusers cited two impious acts by Socrates: "failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges" and "introducing new deities".