title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The peace agreement was sealed with a dinner at Linköping Castle on 28 September. Both sides agreed to lay down arms and send the troops back to their home provinces, except for the King's personal guard. Charles' appointments were to be recognized and a parliament was to be called to settle any disputes. The King, who was under pressure, fearing for his life without his army and having realised that he had lost the political battle, fled with his sister during the coming days to Poland. At the same time as the peace treaty was being signed in Linköping, conflicts were taking place in Dalarna. There, a pro-Sigismund bailiff, , had tried to raise up the Dalecarlians against Duke Charles. Chaos ensued, Näf was executed, and the Dalecarlians set out on a campaign in 1598, burning and killing down to Brunnbäck ferry. In Västergötland, Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm, illegitimate son of Duke Charles, defeated the rebellion. A number of Swedes who had sided with Sigismund, including his council supporters, were handed over to Charles as part of the peace settlement. They were later killed in the Linköping Bloodbath of 1600.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund was officially deposed from the throne of Sweden by a Riksdag held in Stockholm on 24 July 1599. He was given six (or twelve depending on source) months to send his son, Prince Ladislaus (Władysław) Vasa, to Sweden as his successor, under the condition that the boy would be brought up in the Protestant faith. In February 1600, Duke Charles summoned the Estates of the Realm to Linköping. Since Sigismund had not provided a reply, the Estates elected Duke Charles as King apparent, however he would not become Charles IX until his coronation four years later. During the winter and spring of 1600, Charles also occupied the Swedish part of Estonia, as the castle commanders had shown sympathies towards Sigismund.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: In the 1590s, the interests of the English and the Ottoman Turks coincided in opposing the Spanish; on the other hand, Sigismund had clashed with the Turks in Poland's southeast. In the Low Countries of northwestern Europe, Protestant forces sent by Elizabeth I fought the Catholic armies of Spain's Philip II Habsburg, preventing Spain from capturing territory on the south side of the English Channel. England's naval power also prevented Spain from completely dominating the Mediterranean, to the benefit of the Turks. During this time, England purchased a great deal of grain and timber from Poland to supply its navy, necessitating good relations with Poland. Edward Barton, Elizabeth's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, had warned them that England would have to respond if the Ottomans invaded Poland.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: In July 1597, the Queen's Privy Council instructed Henry Billingsley, Lord Mayor of London, to arrange housing for a Polish diplomat and report back to the Council. On 23 July, Paweł Działyński arrived in London and was accommodated at the house of Sir John Spencer. On 25 July, Działyński was granted an audience with Elizabeth and her court at the palace in Greenwich. As described by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, the ambassador out of Poland at first seemed to be "a gentleman of excellent fashion, wit, discourse, language, and person." He presented his credentials, kissed the Queen's hand, then walked to the centre of the chamber and, as outlined by Cecil, "began his oration aloud in Latin, with such a gallant countenance as in my life I never beheld."


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Działyński informed Elizabeth that Sigismund was outraged that her vessels were capturing the ships of Polish and Hanseatic merchants trading with the Spanish, and indicated that Sigismund was prepared to commence hostilities over the matter unless Elizabeth immediately rescinded this policy and returned captured ships and cargo.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Elizabeth rose "lionlike" and rebuked Działyński, comparing his speech to a declaration of war and manners to that of "a herald than an ambassador." She reminded him that England was instrumental in halting the Turkish advances and added "I can hardly believe that if the King [Sigismund] himself were present he would have used such language." Sigismund emerged successful in securing trade with the Spanish Crown and with England, though the relations between the two nations became strained. According to historians Kavita Mudan Finn and Valerie Schutte, William Shakespeare might have used Elizabeth's political anger at the Polish ambassador as an inspiration for Queen Margaret who employs similar strategies in the play "Richard III".


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund's attempt to grasp unlimited authority resulted in the Zebrzydowski rebellion, an armed insurrection formed in 1606 by Hetman Mikołaj Zebrzydowski, Jan Szczęsny Herburt, Stanisław Stadnicki, Aleksander Józef Lisowski and Prince Janusz Radziwiłł in Stężyca and Lublin. It was primarily caused by the growing dissatisfaction with the monarch among the Polish szlachta and wealthy magnates. The rebels disapproved of Sigismund's efforts to weaken the diplomatic and political capabilities of the nobility and to introduce an absolute monarchy.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The participants of the rebellion formed a war council and outlined their demands in 67 articles. They demanded the dethronement of Sigismund for breaching the Henrician Articles and stipulated the expulsion of Jesuits from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Sejm was to be granted the authority of appointing state officials instead of the King, local officials were to be elected and the rights of Protestants expanded. The 1607 Parliament rejected these conditions. Meanwhile, the nobles mobilised in the village of Guzów. In 1607 the Polish Royal Army, led by Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, was sent to pacify the rebels. A full-scale battle ensued on 5 July, with 200 casualties, which resulted in the victory of the Royalist forces.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The rebellious nobles formally surrendered to the King at the 1609 meeting of the parliament, which became known as the Pacification Sejm. In return for their surrender the rebels were granted leniency. Many royal supporters, including Hetman Chodkiewicz, had exacted amnesty for the rebels. Despite the failure to overthrow Sigismund, the rebellion firmly established the rights and privileges of nobles in the Polish political system, confirmed the inviolability of the royal elections and religious tolerance.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund's major goals were achieving stability of government, combating Protestantism, and expanding Poland's territory. While the Russians were embroiled in a civil war known as the Time of Troubles, Sigismund saw an opportunity to invade Russia and take power. Sweden also became involved, but never made a firm alliance with any one side.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The death of Feodor I of Russia in 1598 caused internal instability and a succession crisis upon the extinction of the Rurik dynasty. Further setbacks that contributed to the escalation of violence was the famine of 1601–1603 which killed two million Russians, around a third of the population. The new Tsar, Boris Godunov, proved to be an ineffective ruler and died after suffering a brain haemorrhage in April 1605. He left one son, Feodor II, who succeeded him and ruled for only a few months, until he and Godunov's widow were murdered under mysterious circumstances in June 1605, possibly on Sigismund's orders. Simultaneously, various impostors and pretenders to the Russian throne appeared claiming to be Dmitry Ivanovich, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible who in fact died in 1591. After the fall of Sigismund's candidates – False Dmitry I and his Polish wife Marina Mniszech (nicknamed "Marinka the Witch" by the Russians) – Vasili Ivanovich Shuysky was crowned as Vasili IV.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The death of False Dmitry and widespread chaos proved reason for Poland to prepare an invasion. Prior raids between 1605 and 1609 were conducted by Polish nobles or adventurers along with hired cossacks and foreign mercenaries. Sigismund's primary intention was to destroy the Russian state and impose Catholicism with the use of force or terror if necessary. Lew Sapieha, Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, sought neutrality by proposing to Boris Godunov an "eternal" peace treaty between Russia and Poland–Lithuania, but the idea did not gain support and was declined.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The Commonwealth army under the command of Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski crossed the border and on 29 September 1609 laid siege to Smolensk. On 4 July 1610, at the Battle of Klushino, the outnumbered Polish force achieved a decisive victory over Russian troops, mostly due to the tactical competence of the Polish winged hussars. The battle was a major blow to the Russians; Tsar Vasili IV was subsequently ousted by the Seven Boyars and Żółkiewski entered Moscow beginning the two-year tyrannical occupation of the Kremlin. The Seven Boyars proclaimed Polish prince Ladislaus, Sigismund's son, as the new Tsar of Russia. In June 1611 Smolensk fell to the Poles; the deposed Vasili Shuysky was transported in a caged wagon to Warsaw, where he paid tribute to Sigismund and the Senate at the Royal Castle on 29 October 1611. He eventually died in captivity at Gostynin; he was most likely poisoned as his brother died soon after. The Polish army also committed countless atrocities while stationing in Moscow.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: In 1611, Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky formed a new army to launch an uprising against the Polish occupiers. The Poles eventually withdrew from Moscow in September 1612 after pillaging and burning the city. When news reached Sigismund he hurried with a relief force, but was unable to commence an attack. The war continued with little military action until 1618 when the Truce of Deulino was signed, which granted Poland new territories, including the city of Smolensk. The agreement marked the greatest geographical expansion of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the loss of Livonia in 1629. However, Russia was able to retain independence and Michael Romanov was crowned Tsar in 1613. This established the Romanov dynasty which ruled Russia until the February Revolution in 1917. Sigismund's personal ambition of ruling the vast lands in the east as well as converting its populace to Catholicism ended in a fiasco. According to Alexander Gillespie, approximately five million Russians died between 1598 and 1613, the result of continuous conflict, civil war, instigated famine and Sigismund's politics.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund sought to join the Catholic side of the Thirty Years' War, but was denied by the Polish parliament. British historian Robert Nisbet Bain wrote that his plan was to invade and possibly occupy Transylvania, then an Ottoman ally and therefore considered dangerous to the Habsburg monarchy and Poland. The Rákóczis and Gabriel Bethlen were sympathetic with the Sultan and would counterattack if the opportunity arose.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Bain further highlighted that the chief pillars of military strength in Poland, including Stanisław Żółkiewski, warmly approved of the King's policy in this respect, but it proved to be impracticable. The parliament's non-interventionist stance went so far that it refused to grant any subsidies for the Swedish Wars. The indecision and political opposition weakened the alliance between the Habsburg states and the Commonwealth. Polish mercenaries did, however, join the Holy Roman Empire in combat at the Battle of Humenné against Transylvania.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The Principality of Moldavia was a Polish fief since the Middle Ages and Sigismund aimed at securing that despite the growing threat from the south. With the Ottoman influence on the rise, the Sultan aimed at expanding the Ottoman Empire westward. The Ottoman–Habsburg wars, which lasted almost two centuries, were also a sign of the Sultan's desire to rule mainland Europe. Voivode Gaspar Graziani, ruler of Moldavia, decided to switch sides in favour of Poland and rebelled against the Turks. In turn, Sigismund sent an army to aid Graziani, a move which sparked the Polish–Ottoman War.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: In 1620 the Polish forces were defeated at Cecora and Hetman Żółkiewski perished during the battle. In 1621 a strong army of Ottomans, led by Osman II, advanced from Edirne towards the Polish frontier. Approximately 160,000 men besieged the Khotyn Fortress in September 1621, but were defeated at the Battle of Khotyn by a Polish garrison counting no more than 50,000 soldiers. During the siege Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz died of exhaustion and illness in the camp.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The Treaty of Khotyn was signed on 9 October 1621 which resulted in no territorial gain or loss, but Sigismund was to relinquish his claims on Moldavia and the Ottoman Empire was prevented from marching into Poland. Sultan Osman himself was not fully satisfied with the war's outcome and blamed the defiant janissaries. His wish and plans to modernize the army, which was blamed for the defeat, were however opposed by the traditionalist janissary units. That opposition resulted in the 1622 rebellion in which Osman II was deposed and strangled.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Following a series of conflicts between Poland and Sweden in 1600–1611, 1617–1618, and 1621–1625, all of which ended in a stalemate, Gustavus Adolphus invaded in 1626 to gain control over Livonia and relinquish Sigismund's claim to the Swedish crown. Sigismund, already in advanced age, continued his long-term ambition to seize Sweden, which gave Gustavus Adolphus a reasonable casus belli and justification for war. Though the Polish army achieved major victories in the previous battles against Sweden, particularly at Kircholm in 1605, the very end proved to be catastrophic.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The first skirmish took place in January 1626 near Wallhof, in present-day Latvia, where the Swedish army of 4,900 men ambushed a Polish force of 2,000 men commanded by Jan Stanisław Sapieha, son of Lew Sapieha. Polish casualties were estimated at between 500 and 1,000 dead, wounded and captured. According to historians, the Polish-Lithuanian commander later suffered a nervous breakdown.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: In May 1626 the Swedes entered Polish Ducal Prussia. Escorted by a fleet, a second Swedish army disembarked in July near the town of Piława (Pillau). The landings were a complete surprise to the Commonwealth's defences, and despite a relatively small Swedish force, Gustavus Adolphus quickly captured the coastal towns and cities, almost without a fight. Many of these were inhabited by Protestants who resisted the staunchly Catholic Sigismund and Polish domination of their lands; some towns opened their gates to the Protestant Swedish forces whom they portrayed as liberators. However, fortified Gdańsk (Danzig), which maintained its own standing army and a sizeable fleet, refused to surrender. Simultaneously, Sigismund received little to no support from his vassal George William of Brandenburg-Prussia, who, as a Calvinist, pledged neutrality in the conflict. Jędrzej Moraczewski described George's neutral stance to salvage his dukedom as "comical".


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The Poles attempted to divert the Swedes from Gdańsk by deploying an army to fight at Gniew. The fighting continued for several days until 1 October, when Sigismund ordered the withdrawal of his troops, and called on reinforcements from around the country. The battle, despite a tactical victory for Sweden, was a strategic blow to Gustavus, who was subsequently unable to besiege Gdańsk. At Dirschau, in the summer of 1627, Gustavus Adolphus was seriously wounded and the Prussian campaign came to a halt. The wound forced the king to stay in bed until autumn, and his right arm was weakened with some fingers partially paralyzed. As the major trade ports on the coast of the Baltic Sea were blocked by Swedish vessels, Sigismund sent a small squadron of ten ships under Arend Dickmann to engage the Swedes at the Battle of Oliva. It was the largest naval battle fought by the Polish royal navy, which successfully defeated the enemy fleet and broke the Swedish blockade.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Although Poland emerged victorious in the final battle at Trzciana, Sigismund's exhausted camp accepted a peace offer. The Truce of Altmark signed on 26 September 1629 (16 September O.S.) granted Sweden the control of Livonia, though Prussia, Latgale and Dyneburg remained under Polish governance.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: An unsuccessful attempt on the life of the King was made on 15 November 1620. It occurred on Sunday morning when the monarch and his entourage was to attend mass at St. John's Archcathedral in Warsaw.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund was to arrive by crossing the alley or passage that linked the Royal Castle with the temple. As the royal procession drew closer to the churchdoor, hidden in a nearby portal was petty nobleman Michał Piekarski, armed with a war axe. When the monarch reached the final steps, Piekarski leaped out and threw himself on the King, stabbing him twice, firstly in the back and then in the cheek, and striking him in the arm. However, he was not able to deliver a fatal blow due to the intervention of royal guardsmen as well as Court Marshal Łukasz Opaliński, who shielded the King. Concurrently, Prince Ladislaus wounded the assassin on the head with a sabre. Other accounts state that no guards were present; the cortege had a casual character and the assassin was most likely overpowered by the attendees.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Parishioners gathered around the pale and lifeless King, who collapsed to the ground after the incident. The guards and other attendants, among them Marcin Szyszkowski, were able to revive him and after a medical examination the wounds were found to be non-life-threatening. Chaos erupted when false rumours spread that the King had been murdered as his clothes were stained in blood. Initially, the townsfolk believed that the city was being attacked; the confusion arose when an Italian priest's cry "traditore!" (traitor) was misinterpreted as "Tatar".


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The assassin was widely regarded as a mentally unstable melancholic, unrestrained in deeds. Piekarski's most probable cause for the assassination was fame and recognition; the successful assassination of Henry IV in Paris (1610) by François Ravaillac served as motivation for his actions. For the appropriate moment Piekarski waited patiently ten years. At his trial, he did not deny the crime he committed and heavily insulted the monarch, whilst blaming himself for the failed regicide. Piekarski was executed in a similar manner as Ravaillac on 27 November 1620 in Warsaw; he was publicly humiliated, tortured, and his body torn apart by horses. The dismembered remains were subsequently burned and their ashes scattered by a cannon.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The reign of Sigismund marked the beginning of religious persecution during the Counter-Reformation and the downfall of Protestantism in Poland–Lithuania. His hate towards Evangelicals coupled with the advice of Jesuit priests led to repressions and the eventual demise of the Polish Brethren decades later; their expulsion from Poland in 1658 contributed to the spread of Unitarianism across the globe. The Polish Reformed Church, once a thriving institution and community, began to fall. Akin actions were undertaken against other minorities in the country. Sigismund's contempt for Eastern Orthodoxy was equally strong; it was his initiative that the native Ruthenian peoples inhabiting the eastern lands of the Commonwealth be forcibly converted to Catholicism, which laid the foundation for the modern Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. However, in Sweden the policies had an adverse effect; the Reformation in Northern Europe continued and anti-Catholic sentiment strengthened.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The discrimination further extended to Jews and Muslims (Tatars), whose rights were already restricted. The Warsaw Confederation of 1573 granted religious freedoms unlike elsewhere in Europe, but the degree to which those freedoms were guaranteed often varied. In 1588, Sigismund decreed that the "Israelites" and Tatars are forbidden by law to hold public office or assume political roles. Daily contact with Christians was to be limited and any attempts made at converting Christians to Judaism or Islam was punishable by death. Insubordinates were burned at the stake, or, in the case of Muslim men who married Christian women, beheaded. Circumcision of Christian children by Jews was made a capital offence. However, trade practices continued to thrive and Poland remained a safe haven for refugees fleeing oppression in other parts of the continent, chiefly during the Thirty Years' War.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Religious nepotism under Sigismund and in the years following his death was undoubtedly apparent – three of his sons, John Casimir, John Albert and Charles Ferdinand, were ordained as priests and held notable posts. Charles was appointed the bishop of Wrocław in 1625 and bishop of Płock in 1640. John Albert became bishop of Warmia at the age of nine in 1621 and cardinal-bishop of Kraków at the age of twenty in 1632. John Casimir, prior to his election to the throne, was made a cardinal at the behest of Pope Innocent X.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Towards the end of his reign, Sigismund withdrew altogether from politics and devoted himself exclusively to family matters and his interests in performing arts. Little is known about the King's wellbeing at the time suggesting that he was in good health. However, in his last days he became bedridden due to gout and joint pain, an affliction which was likely inherited from his grandfather Sigismund the Old. His uncle, Sigismund II Augustus, also suffered from long-term arthritis.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Shortly after the unexpected death of his second wife, Constance, Sigismund fell dangerously ill and experienced mental problems, notably he was struck with severe depression. In November 1631, bishop Achacy Grochowski travelled to Warsaw and wrote "the monarch is of sound mind, his heart and stomach [abdomen] are healthy". Already in advanced age for the period, on Saint Catherine's Day (25 November) he appeared "cheerful, with a ruddy face, and in good spirit hoped to leave bed". Nevertheless, the gouty arthritis progressed and medics applied red-hot iron to the painful swelling with no effect. The king sensed that death is near and ordered an immediate assembly of nobles, which convened on 1 April. The so-called 'extraordinary parliament' ("sejm ekstraordynaryjny") secured the candidacy and election of his son, Ladislaus, to the throne. On Easter Sunday he participated in final prayers, whilst being supported by his sons to prevent him from collapsing.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: At eight in the morning on 25 April, Kasper Doenhoff, a courtier in charge of opening curtains in the royal bedchamber and greeting the monarch, did not hear a response. Unable to see at a distance he approached Sigismund whose face was paralyzed from a stroke. Hours later he briefly recovered his speech and murmured "there is no cure against the will [power] of death". The paralysis worsened and on 27 April Urszula Meyerin acted as spokeswoman, speaking on behalf of the mumbling king. Prince Ladislaus arrived on the same day. On 28 April, Sigismund's bed was surrounded by his courtiers and the Jesuit priests, who performed exorcism-like prayers. It was his wish that the court be witness to his demise, as interpreted in the words "vanitas vanitatis", Latin for 'all is vanity'.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: After days of suffering, Sigismund passed away at Warsaw's Royal Castle at approximately 2:45 am (02:45) on 30 April 1632. His close aide Albrycht S. Radziwill wrote "the autopsy on the same day in the afternoon determined that the king's internal organs were healthy. He could have lived another twenty years". His embalmed body was placed in an elaborate tin coffin decorated with soldiers, battle scenes and musical motifs, a masterpiece of 17th-century tin-making. The coffin was interred inside the royal crypt at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków on 4 February 1633.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund's death came at a time of great divisions and constant quarrels. His rule of nearly 45 years is perceived by some as controversial – it was distinguished by considerable developments in architecture, the arts and culture coupled with conspiracies, religious antipathy and the endless conflict with Sweden. Szymon Starowolski positioned Sigismund's legacy above that of his predecessors. Others were less flattering. The decision to appoint Jesuit priests as ministers on matters which did not necessarily concern religion caused ubiquitous disapproval. Spiteful foes convinced of the damage he inflicted on the nation wrote with contempt "this man, whose knowledge exceeded in goldsmithing but not politics, lived far too long". Members of opposing camps were relieved and enthusiastic to see his progressive son, Ladislaus, take the throne. Nonetheless, the nobility and magnates from all political spheres obeyed tradition by wearing black outfits for the duration of the interregnum as a sign of mourning. The strict compliance to the practice is said to have stunned foreign dignitaries. There is no doubt that Sigismund was one of Poland's most capable and recognisable sovereigns.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund's reign arguably marked an end to the Polish Golden Age and the dawn of the Silver Age. He presided over the transition from cultural Renaissance to the Baroque, and witnessed the first stages of a nationwide literary reform. Notably, it was under his rule that Polish began to supersede Latin in academic thought and artistic expression. Some ground-breaking achievements were made, for example, the publication of Jakub Wujek's Polish translation of the Holy Bible in 1599, which remained in use until the mid-20th century. The period also saw the rise of societal satire, parody and extensive political commentaries which reflected the country's faults in hope of improvement, such as the "Eight sermons before the Sejm" by Piotr Skarga. However, these works were considered controversial and dangerous to publish, particularly after the failed 1606 rebellion. Józef Szujski notes that the literature became "infested with pleonasms, pasquinades and moral sermon". Consequently, regional councils imposed censorship and suppression of speech. Renowned academician Joannes Broscius (Jan Brożek) wrote a satirical lampoon "Gratis" directed against the Jesuit priests, which was confiscated and burnt publicly in 1625. Exposed printers and distributors were tied to a pillory and flogged or beaten mercilessly.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Franciszek Siarczyński spoke of a cultural revolution that took place at the time and shaped Poland's society for the centuries to come. The simplicity and austerity of older Polish customs faded and were replaced in favour of those from Italy or Germany. Fabrics and garments diversified, thus becoming more striking; Siarczyński writes "clothing, once wool, adorned our sides, now silk, velvet, moire, gold and silver lining. Even a commoner frowns on sheepskin coats. Our coaches and carriages turned ostentatious. We no more venture to our neighbours and camp without the splendour". Jerzy Maternicki outlined that Sigismund was instrumental in developing mining in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The memory of Sigismund III is still vivid in Warsaw, which he expanded and made the capital of Poland in 1596. Władysław IV Vasa ordered the construction of a monument dedicated to his father in the heart of the city as a reminder of the 'Sigismundian' legacy. The engineers drew inspiration from the memorials of Ancient Rome, notably the Column of Phocas. The new 22-meter Corinthian column was crowned with a bronze statue of the king wearing armour, holding a cross and a sword. Władysław personally unveiled Sigismund's Column on 24 November 1644 as the first secular column in Europe's modern history.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Scholars frequently noted Sigismund's extreme piety, with some calling him a fanatic even during his lifetime. Adherents, however, subtly described it as absolute devotion to religion and Roman Catholic observance, which especially drew praise from papal legates and foreign clerics who visited the court. According to Giovanni Paolo Mucante and cardinal Enrico Caetani who were sent by Pope Clement VIII, "Sigismund's behaviour was comparable to that of a priest. He fervently attends mass daily, then hears choral music, sermons and orations. He fasts, and practices sexual abstinence on Wednesdays and Fridays, two days before and after confession. This large kingdom would have no schismatics, Calvinists or Lutherans if it depended on him". Historian Paweł Fabisz writes that when James of England and Scotland sent a book with anti-papal connotations, Sigismund deemed the gift "vile" and threw it into the fireplace.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Throughout the entire reign Sigismund maintained high etiquette and courtliness. Mucante emphasized his frugality and calm nature. Nevertheless, he hosted balls and held masquerades during which he would entertain guests and play the harpsichord. The king was a skilled dancer and performed Polish folk dances as well as Italian dances like the saltarello and passamezzo. Upon the marriage to his first wife, Anne of Austria, on 25 November 1592 he ordered a themed masquerade on Kraków's Main Market Square and, to the disbelief of his subjects, danced for the public. Sigismund was also known to be physically active in his youth and enjoyed occasional hunting, ice skating and frequently played football; he is widely credited for introducing and popularising the sport in Poland. Members of the royal court disapproved of such activities which were perceived as improper and not worthy of a monarch, particularly the sports.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund's personal approach to internal affairs was unpredictable; he was said to have been somewhat temperamental and impetuous at times. Joachim Lelewel compared his character to that of the despotic Philip II of Spain, but unlike Philip who overtly ordered persecution of non-Catholics, Sigismund was more discrete. A determined and stubborn man who sought to strengthen his authority, he was reluctant to participate in pointless conferences. As recalled by his close aide Albrycht Radziwill, at one meeting the king decided to sketch an owl in his notepad rather than note important advice.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund held high regard for the arts and early Baroque architecture; he willingly sponsored foreign masters and engineers who came to Poland at his invitation. He actively took part in the designing of façades and structural elements as well as Eucharistic objects such as chalices, crucifixes, candelabra and even book covers. During a visit to the Lwów Bernardine Church in 1621 he reprimanded the chief planners for making the temple seem disproportionate. Sigismund was a gifted painter and craftsman; only a few of his works survive, among them parts of Saint Adalbert's silver reliquary at the Cathedral in Gniezno. He was also fascinated by alchemy and ancient methods of turning metals into gold; it is said he experimented with the alchemist and philosopher Michael Sendivogius.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: On 31 May 1592 Sigismund married his first wife Anne of Austria (1573–1598), daughter of Archduke Charles II of Austria and his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. She was well received in Poland, despite being a Habsburg. Certain leading magnates were initially opposed to the marriage, however the opinion shifted in her favour due to personal characteristics; she was known to be attentive, sharp-minded, humble, pious and kind, though of poor health. The couple led a happy but introverted life. Anne was particularly hostile towards the Swedes; her attitude was shaped by an unsuccessful visit to Sweden in 1593 where she was said to have been mistreated. She complained of the cold and general misery in Sweden, and fell ill there in October 1593. The continuous stress arising from the unpredictable behaviour of Charles Vasa (future King Charles IX and adversary of Sigismund) also contributed to her distaste. According to an account, she gave birth in Stockholm to a baby girl named Catherine who died soon after and was secretly buried upon their return to Poland. Her health rapidly deteriorated with successive pregnancies over the next four years. She died from a puerperal fever at childbirth along with the baby boy on 10 February 1598 in Warsaw. Following her death, Sigismund was in deep mourning; he expressed sorrow in private letters to his mother-in-law Maria Anna of Bavaria, and isolated himself from subjects. Anne and Sigismund had five known children during their marriage:


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Sigismund was expected to marry Anna of Tyrol in 1603, however Emperor Rudolf II did not give his consent. Instead, on 11 December 1605 he wedded Constance of Austria (1588–1631), Anne's younger sister. The match was condemned by nobles and clerics who previously opposed Anne and the Habsburg alliance; the match was savagely described as "incestuous". The death of Jan Zamoyski, leader of the opposition, in June 1605 allowed for the marriage to take place without incidents. Some threatened to abandon the royal court, notably Piotr Skarga. The marriage further fuelled the anger of Sigismund's most vocal adversaries, Nicholas Zebrzydowski. The wedding ceremony and Constance's entrance into Kraków was so ostentatious it was recorded in the form of a large gouache roll painting known as "rolka sztokholmska", now housed in Sweden. Like her sister, Constance was well-educated and religious; she attended mass two to four times a day. She was also a good mother, who particularly cared for her stepson, Ladislaus, even in his twenties. On the other hand, Constance approved of her husband's struggle for absolute power; she maintained considerable influence over Sigismund and the senators. To the general public she appeared cold, strait-laced, intolerant and even antisemitic; in 1626, she forbade the Jews to settle in the town of Żywiec which she privately owned and administered. Under her patronage, Austro-German culture as well as Spanish fashion flourished at the court. Constance died on 10 July 1631 from a heat stroke she suffered after attending mass on the Feast of Corpus Christi weeks earlier. They had seven children:


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: The nature of the relationship between Sigismund and one of his trusted courtiers, Urszula Meyerin, has been continually questioned by Polish historians. Born in Munich as Ursula Gienger, she came to Poland with the cortège of future queen Anne in 1592. The king was said to have been infatuated with Urszula, who was known to be attractive and pious. Upon her arrival, she became involved in the affairs of state and was appointed chamberlain ("ochmistrzyni" in Polish) at the Queen's court. To emphasize her political role and importance, she adopted the Old German equivalent to the title of chamberlain, "Meyerin", as her sobriquet and official name. She devotedly assisted in raising the children and, with time, acted as their tutor.


title: Sigismund III Vasa

text: Meyerin's position as grey eminence and influence on the royal couple made her immensely unpopular among the nobility. Consequently, she was compared to the Spanish Duke of Lerma, who ruled in the king's stead, and contemptuously described as "the king's mistress", "ravenous gold-digger", "minister in a skirt" or "Jesuit's bigotry". Sigismund's secretary Jan Szczęsny Herburt in his memoirs called her "an obscene favourite". However, it is unknown whether the relations between the two were physical.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: Code Black is an American medical drama television series created by Michael Seitzman that premiered on CBS on September 30, 2015. It takes place in an overcrowded and understaffed emergency room in Los Angeles, California, and is based on a documentary by Ryan McGarry. On May 16, 2016, the show was renewed for a 13-episode second season, which premiered on September 28, 2016. On November 14, 2016, CBS added three more episodes, to bring the total to 16.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: On May 14, 2017, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on April 25, 2018. On May 24, 2018, CBS canceled the series after three seasons. The series finale aired on July 18, 2018.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: The show centers on the fictional Angels Memorial Hospital, where four first-year residents and their colleagues must tend to patients in an understaffed, busy emergency room that lacks sufficient resources.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: The series is based on the 2013 documentary "Code Black" by Dr. Ryan McGarry. The film showed the real life historic Los Angeles County General Hospital built in 1928, one of the worlds busiest hospitals, and the busiest trauma center in the United States. McGarry is an executive producer on the show. The series is set in the fictional Angels Memorial Hospital.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: On January 27, 2015, the show's pilot episode was greenlighted by CBS. On June 4, Brett Mahoney was appointed as executive producer for "Code Black".


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: On October 23, 2015, CBS ordered six new scripts for "Code Black". The following month, CBS ordered five additional episodes. CBS renewed the show for a second season in May 2016.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: On February 17, 2015, Marcia Gay Harden was cast as Christa, a soccer mom who lost her son to cancer. On February 23, Melanie Chandra was cast as Malaya, a doctor beginning her residency. Maggie Grace was cast as Dr. Leanne Rorish, the lead of the show, the following day. On March 3, Luis Guzman was set to star as Jose Santiago, a senior nurse. The character's name was later changed to Jesse Salander. The following day, Raza Jaffrey was cast as Neal, and Ben Hollingsworth was set to star as Mario, a new resident. When Grace left the show before filming began, the role of Leanne was then given to Harden, and Bonnie Somerville was cast in Harden's role as Christa.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: At the end of season 1, Somerville and Jaffrey departed the main cast, and recurring actors Jillian Murray and Boris Kodjoe joined the main cast, reprising their roles of Dr. Heather Pickney and Dr. Will Campbell respectively. Rob Lowe also joined the main cast as Colonel Ethan Willis, a Combat Casualty Care doctor assigned to Angels as part of a U.S. Army training program. In 2017, Moon Bloodgood was cast in the recurring role of paramedic Rox Valenzuela for the series' third season, and was subsequently promoted to series regular as of the third season's fourth episode. Bloodgood's casting followed the departures of both Chandra and Murray. Former recurring actors Emily Alyn Lind, Noah Gray-Cabey and Emily Tyra were also promoted to the main cast for the third season.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: The pilot episode was filmed at the original Los Angeles County General Hospital facility, which has since been decommissioned and turned into mixed use office space.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: Production designer Richard Toyon took extensive photographs of the hospital, and when the show went to series, he re-created the facility at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: The show wanted to avoid the pristine white surfaces typical of conventional medical shows, and make the space look as real and lived-in as possible. The set was dirtied-up and aged with layers of dirt and wear-and-tear to reflect the decades of use as an overburdened emergency room. Toyan went so far as to spill fake blood all over the off-white floor tiles "and wiped it up so the color was in-between the tiles, and it had that heavily used sense." The sets were covered by a corkboard drop ceiling, to match the original location. This meant that instead of overhead lighting, the crew had to make do with practical on set lighting. They bought four vintage overhead operating room lights, and used the parts to make one working light. The use of digital cameras helped compensate for the lower light levels.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: Much of the props and set dressing — including gurneys, beds, lights, X-ray holders, clipboards and textbooks from different eras — were bought as surplus from L.A. County General. The out-of-date health posters and misspelled signage were made in house.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: Seitzman wanted to make the concept of "Code Black" literal and show it to audiences in a direct way, so the production team created a fictional machine they dubbed the Code-Black-ometer. It was made from old push-button consoles, and Chevy taillights, and it lights up with the increasingly urgent stats codes from green to yellow to red to black.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: In the UK the show was shown on W with Season 3 premiered in late May 2018. The series originally aired in Australia on 7flix, before joining the 7plus catch-up streaming service. and moving to Disney+.


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: "Code Black" has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the series has a rating of 50%, based on 42 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "While not reinventing the stethoscope, "Code Black" is an above-average medical drama, with appropriately theatrical storylines that make up for sometimes cheesy dialogue." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 53 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Overlaid with "Vice"-like shots of panic and bloody aftermath, Code Black wants the soap and sentiment of "Grey's" along with the broken-but-driven main character of "House." Unfortunately, the writing lacks the conviction of either series, and so viewers are left with Harden, dancing just as fast as she can."


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: Rob Lowman of the Los Angeles Daily News wrote: "Season 1 Review: It can never have the immediacy of Ryan McGarry's documentary about County/USC that inspired it, but the series does capture the film’s spirit and that is a welcome change when it comes to medical dramas. Harden, as usual, provides a strong presence, which helps anchor the show, and Guzman is a plus for any series. Code Black is worth keeping an eye on."


title: Code Black (TV series)

text: At the 2016 Monte-Carlo Television Festival, Harden won the Best Actress in a TV Series Golden Nymph Award, while "Code Black" was nominated for Best TV Series Drama.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Gregory Walter Olsen (born March 11, 1985) is an American football sportscaster and former tight end who played for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Olsen also played for the Carolina Panthers, with whom he made three Pro Bowls, and became the first tight end in NFL history to record three consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. Olsen played his final season with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Olsen grew up in Wayne, New Jersey, and attended Wayne Hills High School, where he played football and basketball under his father, Chris Olsen Sr. As a high school senior he was one of three finalists for the Gatorade Player of the Year award, along with former Miami Hurricane teammate Kyle Wright. He was a "USA Today" first-team All-American as a senior in 2002. He finished his career with 73 receptions for 1,474 yards, and a school-record 27 touchdowns. He played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Olsen was listed as the No. 2 tight end in the nation in 2003, and the No. 2 prospect in New Jersey behind Nate Robinson.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: In track and field, Olsen competed in the throwing events and as a sprinter. He recorded a personal-best time of 11.40 seconds in the 100 meters. He placed 2nd in the shot put event at the 2003 NJSIAA Meet of Champions, recording a career-best throw of 18.03 meters. He also had top-throws of 46.63 meters in the discus throw and 59.83 meters in the javelin throw.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Olsen originally enrolled at the University of Notre Dame but transferred as a freshman to the University of Miami in 2003. In 2003, he was on the Hurricanes' scout team before suffering a shoulder injury and being redshirted. He became the starter of the Miami Hurricanes in his sophomore season in 2005 after Kevin Everett was drafted in the third round by the Buffalo Bills. In his career, he totaled 87 receptions for 1,215 yards and six touchdowns.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: In 2003, Olsen was one of the players that participated in the University of Miami's rap group, the 7th Floor Crew, under the pseudonym "G-Reg". Many media sources ridiculed him for his involvement in the group, which earned national notoriety for their sexually explicit and vulgar lyrics.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: The Chicago Bears selected Olsen in the first round as the 31st overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He signed a five-year contract with the team on July 3, which made him the first player of the draft's top 64 selections to come to terms with their team. He sustained a knee injury during the Bears' final preseason game in 2007, and consequently, he missed the team's first two games while recovering. He made his NFL debut on September 23, 2007, against the Dallas Cowboys, catching two passes for twenty-eight yards.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Olsen caught his first touchdown two weeks later during a Week 5 match-up against the Green Bay Packers. Olsen finished the season with 39 receptions for 391 yards and two touchdowns.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Olsen saw his playing time increase during his second season. He started 7 of 16 games, making 54 receptions for 574 yards and five touchdowns. He led the team in receiving touchdowns, while finishing second in receptions and receiving yards. Olsen was selected as a second alternate for the 2009 Pro Bowl. Chicago's Comcast SportsNet named Olsen the Bears Player of the Year.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: In 2009, Olsen quickly developed a rapport with Jay Cutler, whom the Bears had acquired from the Denver Broncos. Olsen and Cutler connected for 60 receptions, for 612 yards, and eight touchdowns. He led the Bears in receptions and touchdowns, while finishing behind Devin Hester for most receiving yards. Before the 2010 season the Bears fired Ron Turner and hired Mike Martz as offensive coordinator. His numbers dropped compared to his 2008 and 2009 seasons, as he recorded 41 receptions for 404 yards, and five touchdowns. However, Olsen helped the Bears win their first 2011 playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, catching three passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: During his first year with the Carolina Panthers, Olsen recorded 45 receptions for 540 yards and five touchdowns.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: In Week 10, against the Denver Broncos, Olsen recorded nine receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns in the 36–14 loss. In the 2012 season, he recorded 69 receptions for 843 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: In the 2013 season, Olsen recorded 73 receptions for 816 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns as the Panthers finished with a 12–4 record.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Olsen finished the regular season with a career-high 84 catches, 1,008 receiving yards, as well as six touchdowns en route to the Panthers second consecutive NFC South division title. He had three games going over 100 receiving yards and one game with two touchdowns on the year. Olsen finished third in the NFL for receptions by a tight end and second for both yards on the season and yards per game. For his efforts during the 2014–15 season, he was voted to the 2015 Pro Bowl. He was ranked 89th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: On March 5, 2015, the Panthers signed Olsen to a three-year extension worth $22.5 million. The extension includes a $12 million signing bonus with an average annual salary of $7.5 million, according to Olsen's agent Drew Rosenhaus.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: He proved especially valuable to the Panthers in 2015, as teammate and #1 wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin suffered an ACL tear and did not play for the entire year. Olsen was tasked with being the main target of soon-to-be NFL MVP Cam Newton, and performed well. During the Panthers week three matchup against the New Orleans Saints, Olsen caught eight passes including two touchdowns and a career-high 134 receiving yards. He tied a career long reception of 52 yards. He continued his high level of play during a week 6 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Olsen caught seven catches for 131 yards along with a game-winning touchdown with under a minute to play. The touchdown helped keep the Panthers undefeated season alive as they improved to 5–0 on the season. During the Panthers' 41–38 victory over the New Orleans Saints to improve them to 12–0, he caught nine passes for 129 yards and, during the game, passed Walls for most career receptions by a TE in Panthers' history.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: During the 2015 season, Olsen set Panthers records for career receiving yards and receptions for a tight end, both previously held by former Panther Wesley Walls.Olsen finished the 2015 regular season with 77 receptions with 1,104 yards and seven touchdowns. He was selected for his second consecutive Pro Bowl and to the AP All-Pro second-team.He was ranked 38th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: In the NFC , Olsen hauled in six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown to help the Panthers to a 31–24 win over the Seattle Seahawks and an matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. He caught six passes for 113 yards against the Cardinals to help the Panthers in their 49–15 win and a Super Bowl 50 berth against the Denver Broncos. In Super Bowl 50, he had four catches for 41 yards, but the Panthers lost by a score of 24–10.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: The 2016 season saw the Panthers fail to return to the playoffs following their Super Bowl 50 appearance. Olsen still had a good season in terms of production. In Week 2, against the San Francisco 49ers, he had five receptions for 122 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 46–27 victory. In Week 5, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had nine receptions for 181 receiving yards in the 17–14 loss. He finished the 2016 season with 80 receptions for 1,073 yards and three touchdowns. He would be named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl. With a 17-yard catch in the second quarter of the game against the Atlanta Falcons, Olsen set an NFL record, becoming the first tight end in NFL history to record three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He was also ranked 67th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: During Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, Olsen left the game with a foot injury. Olsen later confessed that his foot was broken, which was positive after an X-ray test. It required surgery, causing him to miss 6–8 weeks. He was placed on injured reserve on September 19, 2017. On November 19, Olsen served as a guest analyst on FOX Sports, calling a matchup between the Vikings and the Rams. On November 24, 2017, Olsen was activated off injured reserve to the active roster. He ended up playing the next game against the New York Jets, upon playing Olsen aggravated his surgically repaired foot and was taken out of the game.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: On April 26, 2018, Olsen signed a two-year extension with the Panthers worth $17.1 million with a potential maximum of $20.1 million.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: In the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, Olsen left the game in the second quarter with a foot injury. It was confirmed that he had re-fractured his right foot and would be sidelined indefinitely.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: On December 2, Olsen ruptured his plantar fascia in the second quarter during a 24–17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve on December 5, 2018. He finished the 2018 season with 27 receptions for 291 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns in nine games.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: In Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Olsen caught six passes for 110 yards as the Panthers lost 20–14. In Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals, Olsen caught six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns as the Panthers won 38–20. Overall, Olsen finished with 52 receptions for 597 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Olsen made his debut with the Seahawks in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons and caught four passes for 24 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown during the 38–25 victory. In Week 11, he suffered a plantar fascia tear and was placed on injured reserve on November 23, 2020. On December 26, 2020, Olsen was activated off of injured reserve. He finished the 2020 season with 24 receptions for 239 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He was released after the season on March 4, 2021.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: On January 24, 2021, Olsen announced his retirement and that he would be joining Fox Sports as a full-time broadcaster. Olsen signed a one-day contract with the Carolina Panthers on March 11, 2021, that allowed him to retire as a member of the team.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Olsen is a color commentator for NFL games on "Fox Sports". He began doing color commentary during bye weeks towards the end of his playing career and went full time in the profession in 2021, working with Kevin Burkhardt.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: After Olsen's first full-time year at Fox, the pair were promoted to the #1 team just before the 2022 season, replacing Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who left Fox to join ESPN and call "Monday Night Football". Burkhardt and Olsen are the broadcast team for Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl LVII.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: In March 2022, Olsen, along with Vince Vaughn and Ryan Kalil, launched a podcast network and production company named Audiorama. The first podcast available from the network, called Youth, Inc., focuses on youth sports.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Olsen's older brother, Chris Jr., played quarterback for the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. His younger brother, Kevin, was recruited to Greg's alma mater, Miami. After incidents during his freshman and sophomore years, Kevin was dismissed from the team and the university.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Olsen founded Receptions For Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation in 2009, which helps fund cancer research. Greg's mother, Sue, is an 11-year cancer survivor and the inspiration for his foundation. One of his fundraising events includes Kicks for a Cure Kickball Tournament, the world's largest charity kickball tournament. The large-scale event is held annually each summer in Chicago's Grant Park and hosts over 1,000 people. Kickball teams compete and have fun in an effort to raise money for cancer research.


title: Greg Olsen (American football)

text: Greg and wife Kara welcomed their first son, Tate Christian Olsen, in early June 2011. In October 2012, twins Talbot and T. J. (Trent Jerry) were born. T. J. was born with a rare congenital heart condition known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome. On June 4, 2021, T. J. received a heart transplant.


title: Tenchu

text: The series takes place in 16th-century feudal Japan. The original story ("Stealth Assassins") revolves around two ninjas, Rikimaru and Ayame, who have both been members of the Azuma Ninja Clan since childhood. The two ninjas serve the benevolent Lord Gohda and work for him as his secret spies to root out corruption and gather intelligence in his province. However, the evil demonic sorcerer Lord Mei-Oh sought to destroy Lord Gohda, and using his demon warrior Onikage, wreaked havoc throughout Lord Gohda's province. Although Lord Mei-Oh was killed in the first game, Onikage appeared in all subsequent games (except "Fatal Shadows" and "Tenchu Z") as the archenemy of the two ninja, especially Rikimaru. Another major character who shows up frequently is Princess Kiku, Lord Gohda's daughter who often needs to be saved.


title: Tenchu

text: The game perspective is third-person. There are numerous items to help the ninja on his/her mission, but unlockable items can be acquired if the player gets a "Grand Master" rating at the end of the level by being as stealthy as possible. Items and controls vary from game to game, but the gameplay is essentially the same throughout except "Tenchu: Shadow Assassins". Stealth is a very important element in the game, where players have to duck, crouch, and hide behind walls to avoid detection. Enemies can be killed with one maneuver by using Stealth Kills, and a player can avoid detection by using the Ki meter. The larger the number, the closer the player's position to an enemy. If a player is spotted, the Ki meter will turn red, the enemy will alert everyone in the area, and the player is forced to fight hand-to-hand or hide somewhere until the enemies give up their search and resume their patrol routes.


title: Tenchu

text: The main characters of the "Tenchu" series are Rikimaru, Ayame, Tesshu and Rin. Rikimaru is a tall, white-haired shinobi with a single ninjatō named "Izayoi" and a scar over his right eye. He is physically stronger than Ayame and Rin, but relatively slower. Ayame is a kunoichi (female ninja) who wears standard ninja clothes with her midriff exposed and carries a pair of kodachi. She is faster and can perform more combos than Rikimaru and Tesshu, but is weaker than them. Tesshu is a vigilante who wears blue doctor's clothes and fights bare-handed with acupuncture needles; he is strong like Rikimaru, but slower than Ayame and Rin. His appearance is heavily based on the character "Baian Fujieda". Rin is a young kunoichi who carries a large katana called Natsume. Despite wielding a sword, she prefers to use hand-to-hand combat, relying on fast combos like Ayame.


title: Tenchu

text: Activision purchased the rights to this game from Sony Music Entertainment, who originally published the game in Japan. However, Activision sold the rights to the Japanese game publisher FromSoftware in 2004. FromSoftware's rights agreement does not include games previously published by Activision. FromSoftware licensed distribution of "Fatal Shadows" to Sega.


title: Tenchu

text: There is an additional Japan-exclusive release for "Tenchu" on the PlayStation. One hundred of the best competing levels designed with the level editor of "Tenchu: Shinobi Gaisen" (an expanded version of "Tenchu" re-released in Japan) were put together to form a stand-alone, non-story based expansion set called "Tenchu: Shinobi Hyakusen". The engine and game fundamentals remained unchanged. "Shinobi Hyakusen" is famous for the hardest level settings among "Tenchu" fans, especially because of the tight time limits and the overall lack of the items, excluding the caltrops and the throwing stars. No North American or European versions were released however.


title: Tenchu

text: Several games were also ported to mobile phones with graphic changes. These include "Tenchu: Ayame's Tale 3D" which was released for the Sony Ericsson mobile phone series and "Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven" by TKO-Software and Digital Bridges which was released for mobile phones in 2005, although it used two-dimensional graphics. A stage play adaptation "Tenchu Butai" was performed in 2014.


title: Business oligarch

text: A business oligarch is generally a business magnate who controls sufficient resources to influence national politics. A business leader can be considered an oligarch if the following conditions are satisfied:


title: Business oligarch

text: More generally, an oligarch () is a "member of an oligarchy; a person who is part of a small group holding power in a state".


title: JQuery

text: jQuery is a JavaScript library designed to simplify HTML DOM tree traversal and manipulation, as well as event handling, CSS animation, and Ajax. It is free, open-source software using the permissive MIT License. As of Aug 2022, jQuery is used by 77% of the 10 million most popular websites. Web analysis indicates that it is the most widely deployed JavaScript library by a large margin, having at least 3 to 4 times more usage than any other JavaScript library.


title: JQuery

text: jQuery's syntax is designed to make it easier to navigate a document, select DOM elements, create animations, handle events, and develop Ajax applications. jQuery also provides capabilities for developers to create plug-ins on top of the JavaScript library. This enables developers to create abstractions for low-level interaction and animation, advanced effects and high-level, theme-able widgets. The modular approach to the jQuery library allows the creation of powerful dynamic web pages and Web applications.


title: JQuery

text: The set of jQuery core features—DOM element selections, traversal, and manipulation—enabled by its "selector engine" (named "Sizzle" from v1.3), created a new "programming style", fusing algorithms and DOM data structures. This style influenced the architecture of other JavaScript frameworks like YUI v3 and Dojo, later stimulating the creation of the standard "Selectors API".


title: JQuery

text: Microsoft and Nokia bundle jQuery on their platforms. Microsoft includes it with Visual Studio for use within Microsoft's ASP.NET AJAX and ASP.NET MVC frameworks while Nokia has integrated it into the Web Run-Time widget development platform.


title: JQuery

text: jQuery, at its core, is a Document Object Model (DOM) manipulation library. The DOM is a tree-structure representation of all the elements of a Web page. jQuery simplifies the syntax for finding, selecting, and manipulating these DOM elements. For example, jQuery can be used for finding an element in the document with a certain property (e.g. all elements with an codice_1 tag), changing one or more of its attributes (e.g. codice_2, codice_3), or making it respond to an event (e.g. a mouse click).


title: JQuery

text: jQuery also provides a paradigm for event handling that goes beyond basic DOM element selection and manipulation. The event assignment and the event callback function definition are done in a single step in a single location in the code. jQuery also aims to incorporate other highly used JavaScript functionality (e.g. fade ins and fade outs when hiding elements, animations by manipulating CSS properties).


title: JQuery

text: jQuery was originally created in January 2006 at BarCamp NYC by John Resig, influenced by Dean Edwards' earlier cssQuery library. It is currently maintained by a team of developers led by Timmy Willison (with the jQuery selector engine, Sizzle, being led by Richard Gibson).


title: JQuery

text: jQuery was originally licensed under the CC BY-SA 2.5, and relicensed to the MIT license in 2006. At the end of 2006, it was dual-licensed under GPL and MIT licenses. As this led to some confusion, in 2012 the GPL was dropped and is now only licensed under the MIT license.


title: JQuery

text: jQuery 3.0 and newer supports "current−1 versions" (meaning the current stable version of the browser and the version that preceded it) of Firefox (and ESR), Chrome, Safari, and Edge as well as Internet Explorer 9 and newer. On mobile it supports iOS 7 and newer, and Android 4.0 and newer.


title: JQuery

text: The jQuery library is typically distributed as a single JavaScript file that defines all its interfaces, including DOM, Events, and Ajax functions. It can be included within a Web page by linking to a local copy or by linking to one of the many copies available from public servers. jQuery has a content delivery network (CDN) hosted by MaxCDN. Google in Google Hosted Libraries service and Microsoft host the library as well.


title: JQuery

text: jQuery provides two kinds of functions, static utility functions and jQuery object methods. Each has its own usage style.


title: JQuery

text: Both are accessed through jQuery's main identifier: codice_6. This identifier has an alias named codice_7. All functions can be accessed through either of these two names.


title: JQuery

text: The codice_6 function is a factory for creating a jQuery object that represents one or more DOM nodes. jQuery objects have methods to manipulate these nodes. These methods (sometimes called "commands)", are "chainable" as each method also returns a jQuery object.


title: JQuery

text: Access to and manipulation of multiple DOM nodes in jQuery typically begins with calling the codice_9 function with a CSS selector string. This returns a jQuery object referencing all the matching elements in the HTML page. codice_10, for example, returns a jQuery object with all the codice_11 elements of class codice_12. This node set can be manipulated by calling methods on the returned jQuery object.


title: JQuery

text: These are utility functions and do not directly act upon a jQuery object. They are accessed as static methods on the jQuery or $ identifier. For example, codice_13 is a static method.


title: JQuery

text: jQuery provides a codice_14 function, which relinquishes control of the codice_7 name. This is useful if jQuery is used on a Web page also linking another library that demands the codice_7 symbol as its identifier. In no-conflict mode, developers can use codice_6 as a replacement for codice_7 without losing functionality.


title: JQuery

text: Typically, jQuery is used by putting initialization code and event handling functions in codice_19. This is triggered by jQuery when the browser has finished constructing the DOM for the current Web page.


title: JQuery

text: Historically, codice_20 has been the de facto idiom for running code after the DOM is ready. However, since jQuery 3.0, developers are encouraged to use the much shorter codice_21 signature instead.


title: JQuery

text: jQuery object methods typically also return a jQuery object, which enables the use of "method chains":


title: JQuery

text: This line finds all codice_22 elements with class attribute codice_23 , then registers an event handler on each element for the "click" event, then adds the class attribute codice_24 to each element.


title: JQuery

text: Certain jQuery object methods retrieve specific values (instead of modifying state). An example of this is the codice_25 method, which returns the current value of a text input element. In these cases, a statement such as codice_26 cannot be used for chaining as the return value does not reference a jQuery object.


title: JQuery

text: Besides accessing existing DOM nodes through jQuery, it is also possible to create new DOM nodes, if the string passed as the argument to $() factory looks like HTML. For example, the below code finds an HTML codice_27 element, and creates a new codice_28 element with value "VAG" and label "Volkswagen", which is then appended to the select menu:


title: JQuery

text: It is possible to make Ajax requests (with cross-browser support) with codice_29 to load and manipulate remote data.


title: JQuery

text: This example posts the data codice_30 and codice_31 to codice_32 on the server. When this request finishes the success function is called to alert the user. If the request fails it will alert the user to the failure, the status of the request, and the specific error.


title: JQuery

text: The above example uses the codice_33 and codice_34 methods to register callbacks that run when the response has completed. These promise callbacks must be used due to the asynchronous nature of Ajax requests.


title: JQuery

text: jQuery's architecture allows developers to create plug-in code to extend its function. There are thousands of jQuery plug-ins available on the Web that cover a range of functions, such as Ajax helpers, Web services, datagrids, dynamic lists, XML and XSLT tools, drag and drop, events, cookie handling, and modal windows.


title: JQuery

text: An important source of jQuery plug-ins is the plugins sub-domain of the jQuery Project website. The plugins in this subdomain, however, were accidentally deleted in December 2011 in an attempt to rid the site of spam. The new site is a GitHub-hosted repository, which required developers to resubmit their plugins and to conform to new submission requirements. jQuery provides a "Learning Center" that can help users understand JavaScript and get started developing jQuery plugins.


title: JQuery

text: In order to create these plug-ins, developers can either choose to write their own code from scratch or build on top of an existing structure such as the jQuery Boilerplate.


title: JQuery

text: QUnit is a test automation framework used to test the jQuery project. The jQuery team developed it as an in-house unit testing library. The jQuery team uses it to test its code and plugins, but it can test any generic JavaScript code, including server-side JavaScript code.


title: JQuery

text: As cross-browser compatibility is no longer as much of an issue, most of jQuery can nowadays be replaced with modern web standards, without losing much convenience. Partly due to this, GitHub removed jQuery from its pages in 2018.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The BMW X5 (F15) is a mid-size luxury SUV manufactured and marketed worldwide by BMW since 2013. The car was unveiled in the 2013 Frankfurt International Motor Show. Early X5 models include xDrive50i, xDrive30d, M50d. BMW xDrive40d, xDrive35i, xDrive25d, sDrive25d were to be added in December 2013.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The X5 arrived in US showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2013. Early models include sDrive35i, xDrive35i, xDrive50i, followed by xDrive35d in early 2014, and the xDrive40e, a plug-in hybrid variant in 2015.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The BMW Concept X5 eDrive is a plug-in hybrid concept vehicle version of the X5 with kidney grille slats, air intake bars and the inlay in the rear bumper in the BMW i Blue colour; Silverflake metallic body colour, xDrive all-wheel-drive system, specially designed roof rails, a connector for the charging cable that lights up during charging, 21-inch light-alloy wheels in an exclusive aerodynamically optimised design, a four-cylinder BMW TwinPower Turbo combustion engine and a electric motor developed by the BMW Group, a charging cable stored in the load area below the flat storage compartment and BMW ConnectedDrive with Remote app. The electric motor can be driven at top speed of . The battery mode has an all-electric range of .


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The vehicle was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt International Motor Show. The production model was named "BMW X5 xDrive40e".


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The BMW Concept X5 Security Plus is an armoured version of BMW X5 xDrive50i with protection level VR6, with armoured passenger cell constructed from high-performance steel mouldings and panels, sealed joints, security glass, Intelligent Emergency Call system and optional BMW ConnectedDrive. Other options included LED strobe lights in the radiator grille, roof beacons with a siren system and an auxiliary battery.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The BMW X5 M50d includes Adaptive M suspension (Dynamic Damper Control and air suspension at the rear axle, Electric Power Steering) and 19-inch M light-alloy wheels in double-spoke design, mixed tyres. The optional Dynamic adaptive suspension package includes Dynamic Performance Control and Dynamic Drive active roll stabilisation.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The BMW Individual range includes additional customisation options, such as up to seven layers of paint (including Ruby Black metallic and Pyrite Brown metallic) and the addition of special colour pigments creating iridescent effects, 20-inch BMW Individual light-alloy wheels in V-spoke design with mixed tyres, fine-grain full Merino leather trim in Amaro Brown and Criollo Brown from BMW Individual and BMW Individual interior trim strips in Piano Finish Black or Sen Light Brown.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: Original BMW Accessories range for the BMW X5 include floor mats (with rubber surface integrated in the foot area), luggage compartment mats, transport bags (includes a Storage Bag Fond), seat organiser, ski and snowboard bag (max 4 pairs of skis or 3 snowboards, integrated rollers, handles and a shoulder strap) and transport bag for ski boots, helmets and gloves.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The BMW M performance derivative of the F15 X5 is designated F85 and was released in 2015. Its S63B44T2 4.4-liter V8 engine has and of torque, making it the most powerful engine ever developed for an all-wheel drive BMW at the time. The engine has M TwinPower Turbo and Valvetronic technologies, to deliver a 0– time of 4.2 seconds.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: An M-tuned xDrive all-wheel drive system provides traction. It distributes drive between the front and rear axles, while Dynamic Performance Control distributes torque between the 21-inch M Double-spoke light-alloy wheels.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The BMW X5 xDrive40e is the first plug-in hybrid released under the core BMW brand. The use of BMW's eDrive technology on the established X5 platform is a direct technology transfer from the BMW i cars, in particular, from the BMW i8 technology.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The X5 xDrive40e features a 2.0 L turbocharged gasoline engine coupled to a electric motor and a 9.0 kWh battery.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The production of the plug-in hybrid variant was scheduled to begin in April 2015. Retail deliveries (US) began in October of 2015. Pricing started at (equivalent to £40,365) before applicable US government incentives.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The US EPA rated the X5 xDrive40e combined city/highway fuel economy at equivalent (MPG-e) in all-electric mode (energy consumption of 59 kW-hrs/100 mi). The fuel economy in gasoline-only mode was rated at . EPA's all-electric range is with the car using some gasoline, and as a result, EPA's official range varies between .


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: BMW introduced the sDrive rear-wheel drive system with this generation of X5. sDrive aimed to increase agility over traditional rear-wheel drive SUVs.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The BMW X5 has been made into emergency response vehicles with the engines sDrive25d, xDrive30d and xDrive40d.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: The new generation BMW X5 is wider, longer and lower than E70, but wheelbase remains at . At the front F15 takes design from F30 3 Series while at the back it's similar to other current X series models. The interior now features 10.25 inch display. The exterior, designed by BMW designer Mark Johnson, was approved in November 2010 and production finalised in 2011.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: BMW claims the new X5 is made of ultra-high-tensile steel in the body structure, thermoplastics in the side panels, aluminium in the bonnet and magnesium in the instrument panel support to make the new BMW X5 lighter. Depending on the model, the new X5 is as much as lighter than a comparably equipped corresponding model from the previous X5 generation.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: In 2013, model-specific BMW Individual options were added to the optional extras already available for all engine variants of the new BMW X5. Options included BMW Individual fine-grain Merino leather trim in Criollo Brown and Amaro Brown (stitching and piping in a contrasting colour and decorative perforations on the seat surfaces), BMW Individual interior trim strips in Piano Finish Black and Sen Light Brown fine wood, 20-inch BMW Individual light-alloy wheels in V-spoke design with mixed tyres and additional body colours (Mineral Silver, Glacier Silver and Imperial Blue diamond effect metallic paint variants; BMW Individual finishes Ruby Black metallic and Pyrite Brown metallic).


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: New for the F15 X5 was a high-end Bang and Olufsen premium surround-sound system, which included sixteen speakers, a 5.1-channel external amplifier, and metal speaker grilles. In addition, a Harman Kardon premium audio system, also featuring sixteen speakers and a 600-watt amplifier, was also available as an upgrade to the standard nine-speaker "Hi-Fi" audio system.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: Traffic Jam Assistant option for Driving Assistant Plus, improved BMW Parking Assistant (accelerator, brake pedal, gear shift controls) became available for BMW X5 from December 2013.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: For the 2018 model year, all F15 X5 models were equipped with the new BMW iDrive 6.0 sixth-generation infotainment system, which included a touchscreen display for the first time in addition to the iDrive controller in the center console. Wireless Apple CarPlay smartphone integration also became available as a standalone option for vehicles equipped with the GPS navigation system.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: M Performance Parts can be fitted to 25-50 models with the M Sport trim. These include a sport steering wheel, carbon fibre trim, aluminium pedals, black kidney grilles, M Rims, mirrors, rear flaps, diffuser, splitter, in carbon fibre, black side skirts and sport brakes. 30d and 35i models can get a power boost kit increasing power and torque to and on the 30d and to and on the 35i.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: Full M models have their own M Performance Parts. These include black kidney grilles, a carbon fibre gear selector, a sport steering wheel, carbon fibre mirrors, black side vents, carbon fibre trim and fuel filler cap.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki> North American xDrive35d models used the six-cylinder engine from the European-specification xDrive30d models. Vehicles with Diesel engine sold in the United States were since end of 2008 equipped with selective catalysator using Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) to reduce NOx emissions, while vehicles sold in Europe had a bypass exhaust pipe only due to the regulations which ended up in Dieselgate.


title: BMW X5 (F15)

text: BMW X5 and the corresponding Security models were built in BMW Spartanburg plant in the USA. X5 Security's special security features themselves are installed in the Toluca plant in Mexico.


title: White Ship

text: The White Ship (; Medieval Latin: "Candida navis") was a vessel transporting many nobles, including the heir to the English throne, that sank in the Channel during a trip from France to England near the Normandy coast off Barfleur, on 25 November 1120. Only one of approximately 300 people aboard, a butcher from Rouen, survived. Those who drowned included William Adelin, the only legitimate son and heir of Henry I of England, his half-sister Matilda of Perche, his half-brother Richard of Lincoln, the earl of Chester Richard d'Avranches, and Geoffrey Ridel. William Adelin's death led to a succession crisis and a period of civil war in England from 1135 to 1153 known as the Anarchy.


title: White Ship

text: The "White Ship" was a newly refitted vessel captained by Thomas FitzStephen ("Thomas filz Estienne"), whose father Stephen FitzAirard ("Estienne filz Airard") had been captain of the ship "Mora" for William the Conqueror during the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Thomas offered his ship to Henry I of England to return to England from Barfleur in Normandy. Henry had already made other arrangements, but allowed many in his retinue to take the "White Ship," including his heir, William Adelin, his illegitimate children Richard of Lincoln and Marie FitzRoy, Countess of Perche, and many other nobles.


title: White Ship

text: According to chronicler Orderic Vitalis, the crew asked William Adelin for wine and he supplied it to them in great abundance. By the time the ship was ready to leave there were about 300 people on board, although some, including the future king Stephen of Blois, had disembarked due to the excessive binge drinking before the ship sailed.


title: White Ship

text: The ship's captain, Thomas FitzStephen, was ordered by the revellers to overtake the king's ship, which had already sailed. The "White Ship" was fast, of the best construction and had recently been fitted with new materials, which made the captain and crew confident they could reach England first. But when it set off in the dark, its port side struck a submerged rock called "Quillebœuf", and the ship quickly capsized.


title: White Ship

text: William Adelin got into a small boat and could have escaped but turned back to try to rescue his half-sister, Matilda, when he heard her cries for help. His boat was swamped by others trying to save themselves, and William drowned along with them. According to Orderic Vitalis, Berold (Beroldus or Berout), a butcher from Rouen, was the sole survivor of the shipwreck by clinging to the rock. The chronicler further wrote that when Thomas FitzStephen came to the surface after the sinking and learned that William Adelin had not survived, he let himself drown rather than face the king.


title: White Ship

text: One legend holds that the ship was doomed because priests were not allowed to board it and bless it with holy water in the customary manner. For a complete list of those who did or did not travel on the "White Ship", see Victims of the "White Ship" disaster.


title: White Ship

text: A direct result of William Adelin's death was the period known as the Anarchy. The "White Ship" disaster had left Henry I with only one legitimate child, a second daughter named Matilda. Although Henry I had forced his barons to swear an oath to support Matilda as his heir on several occasions, a woman had never ruled in England in her own right. Matilda was also unpopular because she was married to Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, a traditional enemy of England's Norman nobles. Upon Henry's death in 1135, the English barons were reluctant to accept Matilda as queen regnant.


title: White Ship

text: One of Henry I's male relatives, Stephen of Blois, the king's nephew by his sister Adela, usurped Matilda as well as his older brothers William and Theobald to become king. Stephen had allegedly planned to travel on the "White Ship" but had disembarked just before it sailed; Orderic Vitalis attributes this to a sudden bout of diarrhea.


title: White Ship

text: After Henry I's death, Matilda and her husband Geoffrey of Anjou, the founder of the Plantagenet dynasty, launched a long and devastating war against Stephen and his allies for control of the English throne. The Anarchy dragged from 1138 to 1153 with devastating effect, especially in southern England.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 from parts of Bessarabia, a region annexed from Romania on 28 June of that year, and parts of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, an autonomous Soviet republic within the Ukrainian SSR.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: After the Declaration of Sovereignty on 23 June 1990, and until 23 May 1991, it was officially known as the Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova. From 23 May 1991 until the declaration of independence on 27 August 1991, it was renamed the Republic of Moldova while remaining a constituent republic of the USSR. Its independence was recognized on 26 December of that year when the USSR was dissolved.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Geographically, the Moldavian SSR was bordered by the Socialist Republic of Romania to the west and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic to the north, east, and south.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: After the failure of the Tatarbunary Uprising, the Soviets promoted the newly created Moldavian Autonomous Oblast existing within the Ukrainian SSR on part of the territory between the Dniester and Bug rivers, to a Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian ASSR), on 12 October 1924, as a way to primarily prop up the Soviet propaganda effort in Bessarabia, but also to exert pressure on Bucharest in the negotiations on Bessarabia, and even to help a possible Communist revolution in Romania.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: On 24 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a 10-year non-aggression treaty, called the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact. The pact contained a secret protocol, revealed only after Germany's defeat in 1945, according to which the states of Northern and Eastern Europe were divided into German and Soviet spheres of influence. The secret protocol placed the province of Bessarabia, at the time controlled by Romania, in the Soviet "sphere of influence." Thereafter, both the Soviet Union and Germany invaded their respective portions of Poland, while the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia in June 1940, and waged war upon Finland.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: On 26 June 1940, four days after the battle of France, the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to the Romanian Kingdom, demanding the latter cede Bessarabia and Bukovina. After the Soviets agreed with Germany that they would limit their claims in Bukovina, which was outside the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocols, to Northern Bukovina, Germany urged Romania to accept the ultimatum, which Romania did two days later. On 28 June, Soviet troops entered the area, and on 9 July the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed and applied to the Supreme Soviet for formal incorporation into the Soviet Union.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: On 2 August 1940, the Supreme Soviet unanimously approved to dissolve the old Moldavian ASSR and organize the Moldavian SSR, from six full counties and small parts of three other Moldavian counties of Bessarabia (about 65 percent of its territory), and the six westernmost rayons of the Moldavian ASSR (about 40 percent of its territory). Ninety percent of the territory of MSSR was west of the river Dniester, which had been the border between the USSR and Romania prior to 1940, and 10 percent east. Northern and southern parts of the territories occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940 (the current Chernivtsi Oblast and Budjak), which were more heterogeneous ethnically, were transferred to the Ukrainian SSR, although their population also included 337,000 Moldovans. As such, the strategically important Black Sea coast and Danube frontage were given to the Ukrainian SSR, considered more reliable than the Moldavian SSR, which could have been claimed by Romania.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: In the summer of 1941, Romania joined Hitler's Axis in the invasion of the Soviet Union, recovering Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, as well as occupying the territory to the east of the Dniester it dubbed "Transnistria". Soviet partisans continued to be active in both regions. By the end of World War II, the Soviet Union had reconquered all of the lost territories, reestablishing Soviet authority there.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: On June 22, 1941, during the first day of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, 10 people were killed in Răzeni by Soviet authorities and buried in a mass graves. In July 1941 after Operation Barbarossa, a commemorative plaque was installed in Răzeni: "Aici odihnesc robii lui Dumnezeu Diomid, Niculai, Dănila, Nichita, Alexandru, Jurian, Alexandru, Ilie, doi necunoscuți. Omorâți mișelește de bolșevici comuniști. 12.VII.1941". The memorial to victims of Răzeni Massacre was opened in 2009.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: The Soviet authorities targeted several socio-economic groups due to their economic situation, political views, or ties to the former regime. They were deported to or resettled in Siberia and northern Kazakhstan; some were imprisoned or executed. According to a report by the Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania, no less than 86,604 people were arrested and deported in 1940 and 1941 alone, comparable to the estimative number of 90,000 repressed put forward by Russian historians.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Immediately after the Soviet reoccupation, in 1944, a so-called "repatriation" of the Bessarabians who fled to Romania before the advancing Red Army was organized by the Soviet security forces; many were shot or deported, blamed as collaborators of Romania and Nazi Germany.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: NKVD/MGB also struck at anti-Soviet groups, which were most active from 1944 to 1952. Anti-Soviet organizations such as Democratic Agrarian Party, Freedom Party, Democratic Union of Freedom, Arcașii lui Ștefan, Vasile Lupu High School Group, Vocea Basarabiei were severely reprimanded and their leaders were persecuted.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: A de-kulakisation campaign was directed towards the rich Moldavian peasant families, which were deported to Kazakhstan and Siberia as well. For instance, in just two days, from 6 to 7 July 1949, over 11,342 Moldavian families were deported by the order of the Minister of State Security, Iosif Mordovets under a plan named "Operation South".


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Religious persecutions during the Soviet occupation targeted numerous priests. After the Soviet occupation, the religious life underwent a persecution similar to the one in Russia between the two World Wars. Religious minorities, 700 families, especially Jehovah's Witnesses, were deported to Siberia in Operation North of April 1951.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: The number of the ethnic Bessarabia Germans also decreased from over 81,000 in 1930 to under 4,000 in 1959 due to voluntary wartime migration (90,000 were transferred in 1940 to German-occupied Poland) and forced removal as collaborators after the war.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Collectivisation was implemented between 1949 and 1950, although earlier attempts were made since 1946. During this time, a large-scale famine occurred: some sources give a minimum of 115,000 peasants who died of famine and related diseases between December 1946 and August 1947. According to Charles King, there is no evidence that it was provoked by Soviet requisitioning of large amounts of agricultural products and directed towards the largest ethnic group living in the countryside, the Moldovans. Contributing factors were the recent war and the drought of 1946.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: With the regime of Nikita Khrushchev replacing that of Joseph Stalin, the survivors of Gulag camps and of the deportees were gradually allowed to return to the Moldavian SSR. The political thaw ended the unchecked power of the NKVD–MGB, and the command economy gave rise to development in the areas such as education, technology and science, health care, and industry.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Between 1969 and 1971, a clandestine National Patriotic Front was established by several young intellectuals in Chișinău by Mihail Munteanu, vowing to fight for the secession of Moldavia from the Soviet Union and union with Romania.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: In December 1971, following an informative note from Ion Stănescu, the President of the Council of State Security of the Romanian Socialist Republic, to Yuri Andropov, the chief of KGB, three of the leaders of the National Patriotic Front, Alexandru Usatiuc-Bulgăr, Gheorghe Ghimpu and Valeriu Graur, as well as a fourth person, Alexandru Șoltoianu, the leader of a similar clandestine movement in Northern Bukovina, were arrested and later sentenced to long prison terms.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: In the 1970s and 1980s, Moldavia received substantial investment from the budget of the USSR to develop industrial, scientific facilities, as well as housing. In 1971, the Soviet Council of Ministers adopted a decision "About the measures for further development of Kishinev city" that secured more than one billion roubles of investment from the USSR budget.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Subsequent decisions directed enormous wealth and brought highly qualified specialists from all over the USSR to develop the Soviet republic. Such an allocation of USSR assets was partially influenced by the fact that Leonid Brezhnev, the effective ruler of the USSR from 1964 to 1982, was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Moldavia from 1950 to 1952. These allocations stopped in 1991 with the Belavezha Accords, when the nation became independent.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Although Brezhnev and other CPM first secretaries were largely successful in suppressing Moldavian nationalism, Mikhail Gorbachev's administration facilitated the revival of the movement in the region. His policies of glasnost and perestroika created conditions in which national feelings could be openly expressed and in which the Soviet republics could consider reforms independently from the central government.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: The Moldavian SSR's drive towards independence from the USSR was marked by civil strife as conservative activists in the east —especially in Tiraspol—as well as communist party activists in Chișinău worked to keep the Moldavian SSR within the Soviet Union. The main success of the national movement from 1988 to 1989 was the official adoption of the Moldovan language on 31 August 1989, by the Supreme Soviet of Moldova, the declaration in the preamble of the declaration of independence of a Moldavian–Romanian linguistic unity, and the return of the language to the pre-Soviet Latin alphabet. In 1990, when it became clear that Moldavia was eventually going to secede, a group of pro-Soviet activists in Gagauzia and Transnistria proclaimed independence in order to remain within the USSR. The Gagauz Republic was eventually peacefully incorporated into Moldavia as the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, but relations with Transnistria soured. Its sovereignty was declared on 23 June 1990 on its territory.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: On 17 March 1991, Moldova, the Baltic states, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic boycotted the 1991 Soviet Union referendum with 98.72% in favor without any official sanction. On 23 May 1991, the Moldavian parliament changed the name of the republic to the Republic of Moldova. Gagauzia declared itself the Gagauz Republic on 19 August 1991.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: Independence was quickly followed by civil war in Transnistria, where the central government in Chișinău battled with separatists, who were supported by pro-Soviet forces and later by different forces from Russia. The conflict left the breakaway regime (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) in control of Transnistria – a situation that persists today. The Soviet Union ceased to exist on December 26, 1991 and Moldova was officially recognized as an independent state.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: In the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, the Soviet Union and Romania reaffirmed each other's borders, recognizing Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Herza region as territory of the respective Soviet republics. Throughout the Cold War, the issue of Bessarabia remained largely dormant in Romania. In the 1950s, research on history and of Bessarabia was a banned subject in Romania, as the Romanian Communist Party tried to emphasise the links between the Romanians and Russians, the annexation being considered just a proof of Soviet Union's internationalism. Starting in the 1960s, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and Nicolae Ceaușescu began a policy of distancing from the Soviet Union, but the debate over Bessarabia was discussed only in scholarship fields such as historiography and linguistics, not at a political level.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: As Soviet–Romanian relations reached an all-time low in the mid-1960s, Soviet scholars published historical papers on the "Struggle of Unification of Bessarabia with the Soviet motherland" (Artiom Lazarev) and the "Development of the Moldovan language" (Nicolae Corlăteanu). On the other side, the Romanian Academy published some notes by Karl Marx which talk about the "injustice" of the 1812 annexation of Bessarabia and Nicolae Ceaușescu in a 1965 speech quoted a letter by Friedrich Engels in which he criticized the Russian annexation, while in another 1966 speech, he denounced the pre-World War II calls of the Romanian Communist Party for the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia and Bukovina.


title: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic

text: The issue was brought to light whenever the relationships with the Soviets were waning, but never became a serious subject of high-level negotiations in itself. On 22 June 1976, Ștefan Andrei, a member on the Permanent Bureau of the Political Executive Committee of Romania and a future Minister of the Romanian Foreign Affairs, underscored that the republic harbored no territorial claims and recognized "the Moldavian Socialist Republic as an integral part of the USSR," yet that it "cannot accept the idea that Moldavians are not Romanians."