cahya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (also known as Serge), (Russia, 31 March 1872 – 19 August 1929) was a Russian art critic, patron and ballet impresario. He formed a ballet company called Les Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev. Many  think it was the greatest ballet company of all time.
"Its success was so extraordinary, its ballets so revolutionary, and its artists so electrifying that its appearance in Paris before the First World War sparked an international ballet boom".p47

For twenty years, between 1909 and 1929, they were the most famous ballet company in the world. Many of their ideas influenced art and music as well as dance. Diaghilev got some of the world's greatest painters to design sets for his productions, and some great composers, including Igor Stravinsky, to compose music for the ballets.

His dancers included the legendary Nijinsky and the Imperial prima ballerina Karsavina; also Pavlova, Danilova and Spessivtseva. His choreographers included Fokine, Nijinska, Massine and Balanchine; his composers included Stravinsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Ravel and Debussy; his set designers included Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, Utrillo, Bakst  and Braque; Cocteau worked as an artist and wrote scenarios. The ballets created  and the performances changed the course of ballet history.

Diaghilev's gift lay in spotting talent, and bringing great artists to work together. He also persuaded patrons to support the Ballets Russes. The production costs were enormous, and were not always covered by the ticket prices. The repertoire (list) of new ballets and new music grew, and the productions were not always successful. Diaghilev's company folded soon after his death, though many of the group worked together in new companies.

Diaghilev was homosexual. He died of diabetes.

References 

Ballets Russes
Russian businesspeople
Deaths from diabetes
Russian LGBT people
Gay men
1872 births
1929 deaths
Set designers
Irving Kristol (January 22, 1920 – September 18, 2009) was an American columnist, journalist, and writer. He was born in New York City. Kristol was called the  "godfather of neoconservatism." 
He contributed to many magazines and founded some. He was very important for the intellectual and political culture of the last fifty years. 

His wife was historian Gertrude Himmelfarb. They had two children; including Chief of Staff to Vice President Bill Kristol. 

In July 2002, he received from President George W. Bush the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Kristol died on September 18, 2009 under hospice care in Falls Church, Virginia of lung cancer-related problems at the age of 89.

References

1920 births
2009 deaths
Deaths from lung cancer
American conservatives
American political writers
American political commentators
American critics
American philosophers
Journalists from New York City
The 2009 US Open was a tennis event played on outdoor hard courts, held between August 31 and September 14, 2009, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York City, New York, United States.

The event was originally scheduled to be a 14-day event, but due to rain at the men's singles final it was extended by one day.

Seniors finals

Men's Singles

 Juan Martín del Potro beat  Roger Federer, 3–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2

Women's Singles

 Kim Clijsters beat  Caroline Wozniacki, 7–5, 6–3

Men's Doubles

 Lukáš Dlouhý /  Leander Paes beat  Mahesh Bhupathi /  Mark Knowles, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2

Women's Doubles

 Serena Williams /  Venus Williams beat  Cara Black /  Liezel Huber, 6–2, 6–2

Mixed Doubles

 Carly Gullickson /  Travis Parrott beat  Cara Black /  Leander Paes, 6–2, 6–4.

Juniors finals

Boys' Singles

 Bernard Tomic beat  Chase Buchanan, 6–1, 6–3.

Girls' Singles

 Heather Watson beat  Yana Buchina, 6–4, 6–1.

Boys' Doubles

 Marton Fucsovics /  Hsieh Cheng-peng beat  Julien Obry /  Adrien Puget, 7–6(5), 5–7, [10–1]

Girls' Doubles

 Valeria Solovieva /  Maryna Zanevska beat  Elena Bogdan /  Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, 1–6, 6–3 [10–7]

Wheelchair finals

Wheelchair Men's Singles

 Shingo Kunieda beat  Maikel Scheffers, 6–0, 6–0

Wheelchair Women's Singles

 Esther Vergeer beat  Korie Homan, 6–0, 6–0

Wheelchair Men's Doubles

 Stephane Houdet /  Stefan Olsson beat  Maikel Scheffers /  Ronald Vink, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4

Wheelchair Women's Doubles

 Korie Homan /  Esther Vergeer beat  Daniela DiToro /  Florence Gravellier, 6–2, 6–2

Wheelchair Quad Singles

 Peter Norfolk beat  David Wagner, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3

Wheelchair Quad Doubles

 Nick Taylor /  David Wagner beat  Johan Andersson /  Peter Norfolk, 6–1, 6–7(5), 6–3

Qualifiers
Below are the lists of the qualifiers entering the main draw.

Men's Singles
 Carsten Ball
 Thomaz Bellucci
 Michael Berrer
 Juan Pablo Brzezicki
 Marco Chiudinelli
 Somdev Devvarman
 Alejandro Falla
 Marsel İlhan
 Dieter Kindlmann
 Giovanni Lapentti
 Josselin Ouanna
 Peter Polansky
 Jesse Witten
 Michael Yani
 Donald Young
 Horacio Zeballos

Women's Singles
 Monique Adamczak
 Chang Kai-Chen
 Marta Domachowska
 Carly Gullickson
 Eva Hrdinová
 Angelique Kerber
 Mariya Koryttseva
 Vesna Manasieva
 Petra Martić
 Yvonne Meusburger
 Shenay Perry
 Camille Pin
 Anastasia Rodionova
 Yurika Sema
 Valérie Tétreault
 Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová

The following players received a lucky loser spot in the Men's Draw:
 Peter Luczak
 Rui Machado

Other websites
 Official site of US Open

2009 US Open (tennis)
2009 in tennis
2009 in New York (state)
The Maasai are an ethnic group of people that live in Kenya and in the north of Tanzania. They are well known for the way that they dress and because they live near some national parks in Africa that a lot of tourists go to. They speak a language called Maa.

The Maasai are an old nomad African  tribe in the group of Nilotes who have always lived in Africa principally in the north of Tanzania and southern Kenya. They were discovered by settlers around the 19th century.

They live near the African savannah in animal reserves, for example the Masaai Mara reserve and the Serengeti.

The women build houses called Manyatta; the men build a fence around the village to protect them from lions.

The Masaai people live with animals because they are pastrolists. The more cattle a Maasai man has, the richer he is. They can't live without animals because their wealth comes from them . The Masaai drink cow’s blood because they believe they will be stronger.

The Maasai speak Maa, very similar in pronuncuation to their Nilotic counterparts, the Luo and Kalenjin.

They are Christians, animists (their own religion) and some Maasai are Muslim.

Physically, they are very tall and slim. Everybody wears bandannas and beaded jewellry, apply dye from dried up cow blood.

They shave their women during marriages and their men pay a lot of dowry,in form of cattle to the bride's family.

During initiation,the boys in their teen ages, jump over fire and kill a lion in order to be called men. There on,they can get married.

The Maa people have a bad practice of Female Genital Mutilation in order to make them 'women'. This is a bad practice as this could make the young girls die from complications in birth,over bleeding. But the government of Kenya, Tanzania and NGO's have educated the locals over the dangers of FGM.

Other websites 

Ethnic groups in Africa
Kenyan people
Tanzanian people
is a former Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Biography
Ogi was born in Hiroshima on December 10, 1942. After graduating from Chuo University, he joined his local club Toyo Industries in 1965. The club won Japan Soccer League champions 5 times (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1970). He became a top scorer in 1966 and was selected Best Eleven for 7 years in a row (1966-1972). He was also selected "Japanese Footballer of the Year" awards in 1965 and 1970. He retired in 1976. He played 163 games and scored 57 goals in the league.

On August 8, 1963, when Ogi was a Chuo University student, he debuted for the Japan national team against Malaysia. He was selected for Japan for 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. He played all matches in both Olympics. At 1964 Olympics, he scored winning goal against Argentina in first match. At 1968 Olympics, Japan won Bronze Medal. In 2018, 1968 Olympics team was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame. He also played at 1966, 1970 and 1974 Asian Games. He played 62 games and scored 11 goals for Japan until 1976.

After retirement, Ogi became a manager for Toyo Industries in 1977 as Ikuo Matsumoto successor. He managed until 1980.

In 2006, he was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame.

Statistics

|-
|1965||rowspan="12"|Toyo Industries||rowspan="12"|JSL Division 1||14||9
|-
|1966||14||14
|-
|1967||12||5
|-
|1968||14||5
|-
|1969||13||6
|-
|1970||14||2
|-
|1971||14||1
|-
|1972||14||4
|-
|1973||18||4
|-
|1974||9||1
|-
|1975||18||5
|-
|1976||9||1
163||57
163||57
|}

|-
|1963||1||0
|-
|1964||1||0
|-
|1965||2||0
|-
|1966||7||2
|-
|1967||5||3
|-
|1968||3||0
|-
|1969||4||0
|-
|1970||13||2
|-
|1971||5||2
|-
|1972||8||2
|-
|1973||5||0
|-
|1974||6||0
|-
|1975||0||0
|-
|1976||2||0
|-
!Total||62||11
|}

References

Other websites

Japan Football Hall of Fame at Japan Football Association
Japan Football Hall of Fame (Japan team at 1968 Olympics) at Japan Football Association

1942 births
Living people
Footballers from Hiroshima Prefecture
Japan international footballers
Japan Soccer League players
Sanfrecce Hiroshima players
Footballers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Footballers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Olympic medalists in football
Japanese Olympic bronze medalists
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Carlos Bianchi (born 26 April 1949) is a former Argentine football player. He has played for Argentina national team.

Club career statistics

|-
|1967||rowspan="7"|Vélez Sársfield||rowspan="7"|Primera División||3||0
|-
|1968||18||9
|-
|1969||27||17
|-
|1970||23||20
|-
|1971||46||42
|-
|1972||37||27
|-
|1973||11||6

|-
|1973/74||rowspan="4"|Stade Reims||rowspan="4"|Division 1||33||30
|-
|1974/75||16||15
|-
|1975/76||38||34
|-
|1976/77||37||28
|-
|1977/78||rowspan="2"|Paris Saint-Germain||rowspan="2"|Division 1||38||37
|-
|1978/79||36||27
|-
|1979/80||Strasbourg||Division 1||22||8

|-
|1980||rowspan="5"|Vélez Sársfield||rowspan="5"|Primera División||9||5
|-
|1981||44||21
|-
|1982||50||29
|-
|1983||39||24
|-
|1984||17||6

|-
|1984/85||Stade Reims||Division 2||18||8
324||206
238||187
562||393
|}

International career statistics

|-
!Total||14||7
|}

References

1949 births
Living people
Argentine footballers
Argentine football managers
Sportspeople from Buenos Aires
is a Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Biography
Aoyama was born in Kurashiki on February 22, 1986. After graduating from Sakuyo High School, he joined J1 League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2004. He played many matches as defensive midfielder from 2006. Sanfrecce won the J1 League champions in 2012, 2013 and 2015. He was also selected "J.League MVP" in 2015.

In July 2013, Aoyama was selected the Japan national team for 2013 East Asian Cup. At this tournament, he debuted against China on July 21. He played at 2014 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup. He played 12 games and scored 1 goals for Japan until 2019.

Statistics

|-
|2004||rowspan="18"|Sanfrecce Hiroshima||rowspan="4"|J1 League||0||0||0||0||1||1||colspan="2"|-||1||1
|-
|2005||0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||0||0
|-
|2006||19||1||1||1||1||0||colspan="2"|-||21||2
|-
|2007||28||0||1||1||6||0||colspan="2"|-||35||1
|-
|2008||J2 League||36||4||4||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||40||5
|-
|2009||rowspan="13"|J1 League||29||3||0||0||5||1||colspan="2"|-||34||4
|-
|2010||23||0||1||0||5||0||0||0||29||0
|-
|2011||27||2||2||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||30||2
|-
|2012||34||2||0||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||38||2
|-
|2013||33||3||4||0||2||0||3||0||42||3
|-
|2014||25||1||1||0||5||0||8||0||39||1
|-
|2015||33||3||3||1||2||0||colspan="2"|-||38||4
|-
|2016||28||2||2||1||2||0||4||0||36||3
|-
|2017||31||0||1||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||37||0
|-
|2018||34||1||2||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||36||1
|-
|2019||14||0||3||0||2||0||0||0||19||0
|-
|2020||31||1||colspan="2"|-||1||0||colspan="2"|-||32||1
|-
|2021||||||||||||||||||||
425||23||25||5||42||2||15||0||507||30
425||23||25||5||42||2||15||0||507||30
|}

|-
|2013||3||0
|-
|2014||4||0
|-
|2015||1||1
|-
|2016||0||0
|-
|2017||0||0
|-
|2018||3||0
|-
|2019||1||0
|-
!Total||12||1
|}

References

Other websites

1986 births
Living people
Footballers from Okayama Prefecture
Japan international footballers
J1 League players
J2 League players
Sanfrecce Hiroshima players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
is a Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Biography
Kashiwagi was born in Kobe on December 15, 1987. He joined J1 League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima form their youth team in 2006. He played many matches until 2006. Although Hiroshima won the 2nd place in the 2007 Emperor's Cup, was relegated end of the 2007 season. Hiroshima won the champions in 2008 and was returned to J1 in a year. In 2010, he moved to Urawa Reds. Urawa won the 2nd place in the 2014 and 2016 J1 League. In 2017, Urawa won the champions the 2017 AFC Champions League. Urawa also won the 2nd place in the 2019 AFC Champions League.

In 2007, Kashiwagi was selected the Japan U-20 national team for 2007 U-20 World Cup. At this tournament, he wore the number 10 shirt for Japan and played all 4 matches as offensive midfielder. In January 2010, he was selected the Japan national team for 2011 Asian Cup qualification. At this qualification, he debuted against Yemen on January 6. He also played at 2011 Asian Cup and Japan won the champions. He played 11 games for Japan until 2016.

Statistics

|-
|2005||rowspan="5"|Sanfrecce Hiroshima||rowspan="3"|J1 League||0||0||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0
|-
|2006||17||1||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||19||1
|-
|2007||31||5||4||1||7||0||colspan="2"|-||42||6
|-
|2008||J2 League||31||4||4||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||35||4
|-
|2009||J1 League||33||8||2||1||5||3||colspan="2"|-||40||12
|-
|2010||rowspan="12"|Urawa Reds||rowspan="12"|J1 League||34||4||3||0||6||0||colspan="2"|-||43||4
|-
|2011||31||5||2||1||6||1||colspan="2"|-||39||7
|-
|2012||30||6||3||0||6||1||colspan="2"|-||39||7
|-
|2013||34||8||0||0||5||0||6||1||45||9
|-
|2014||33||3||2||0||8||1||colspan="2"|-||43||4
|-
|2015||33||5||2||0||2||0||5||0||42||5
|-
|2016||33||5||1||0||1||0||7||0||42||5
|-
|2017||27||5||0||0||0||0||10||1||37||6
|-
|2018||30||0||6||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||38||0
|-
|2019||17||1||1||0||0||0||5||0||23||1
|-
|2020||9||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||colspan="2"|-||10||0
|-
|2021||||||||||||||||||||
423||60||31||3||51||6||33||2||538||71
423||60||31||3||51||6||33||2||538||71
|}

|-
|2010||1||0
|-
|2011||2||0
|-
|2012||1||0
|-
|2013||0||0
|-
|2014||0||0
|-
|2015||3||0
|-
|2016||4||0
|-
!Total||11||0
|}

References

Other websites

1987 births
Living people
Footballers from Hyōgo Prefecture
Japan international footballers
J1 League players
J2 League players
Sanfrecce Hiroshima players
Urawa Red Diamonds players
is a Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Biography
Inoha was born in Miyazaki on August 28, 1985. After dropping out from Hannan University, he joined J1 League club FC Tokyo in 2006. He played many matches as defensive midfielder and also played as side back and center back. In 2008, he moved to Kashima Antlers. He played many matches as center back. Kashima won the J1 League champions in 2008 and 2009. In July 2007, he moved to Croatian Prva HNL club Hajduk Split. In February 2012, he returned to Japan and joined Vissel Kobe. Although he played many matches, Kobe was relegated to J2 League end of 2012 the season. In 2013, he moved to Júbilo Iwata. However Iwata was relegated to J2 end of the 2013 season. He remained Iwata and Iwata was returned to J1 end of the 2015 season. In 2016, he rejoined Vissel Kobe and played in 3 seasons. In 2019, he moved to J2 club Yokohama FC. Yokohama was promoted to J1 from 2020.

In 2005, Inoha was selected the Japan U-20 national team for 2005 World Youth Championship, but he did not play in the match. In January 2011, he was selected the Japan national team for 2011 Asian Cup. At this tournament, he debuted against Saudi Arabia on January 17. He played 4 matches and scored 1 goal, and Japan won the champions. He was also selected the Japan for 2014 World Cup, but he did not play in the match. He played 21 games and scored 1 goals for Japan until 2014.

Statistics

|-
|2006||rowspan="2"|FC Tokyo||rowspan="2"|J1 League||28||1||2||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||35||1
|-
|2007||20||0||0||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||24||0
|-
|2008||rowspan="4"|Kashima Antlers||rowspan="4"|J1 League||23||0||2||0||1||0||2||0||28||0
|-
|2009||30||1||4||0||2||0||6||0||42||1
|-
|2010||26||0||5||0||2||0||5||0||38||0
|-
|2011||10||1||0||0||0||0||3||0||13||1

|-
|2011/12||Hajduk Split||Prva HNL||15||1||3||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||19||1

|-
|2012||Vissel Kobe||J1 League||29||0||0||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||30||0
|-
|2013||rowspan="3"|Júbilo Iwata||J1 League||25||1||0||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||29||1
|-
|2014||rowspan="2"|J2 League||25||1||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||26||1
|-
|2015||32||1||0||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||32||1
|-
|2016||rowspan="3"|Vissel Kobe||rowspan="3"|J1 League||27||0||1||0||6||0||colspan="2"|-||34||0
|-
|2017||15||0||3||1||5||0||colspan="2"|-||23||1
|-
|2018||10||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||10||0
|-
|2019||rowspan="3"|Yokohama FC||J2 League||28||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||28||0
|-
|2020||rowspan="2"|J1 League||19||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||colspan="2"|-||20||0
|-
|2021||||||||||||||||||||
347||6||18||1||31||0||16||0||412||7
15||1||3||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||19||1
362||7||21||1||31||0||17||0||431||8
|}

|-
|2011||9||1
|-
|2012||7||0
|-
|2013||4||0
|-
|2014||1||0
|-
!Total||21||1
|}

References

Other websites

1985 births
Living people
Footballers from Miyazaki Prefecture
Japan international footballers
J1 League players
J2 League players
FC Tokyo players
Kashima Antlers players
Vissel Kobe players
Júbilo Iwata players
Yokohama FC players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players
Giuliano Tadeo Aranda (born 21 February 1974) is a former Brazilian football player.

Club career statistics

|-
|1992||rowspan="3"|Palmeiras||rowspan="3"|Série A||5||1||||||||||5||1
|-
|1993||1||0||||||||||1||0
|-
|1994||2||0||||||||||2||0
|-
|1995||Goiás||Série A||13||10||||||||||13||10
|-
|1996||Coritiba||Série A||0||0||||||||||0||0

|-
|1996||rowspan="2"|Verdy Kawasaki||rowspan="2"|J. League 1||14||13||3||1||6||2||23||16
|-
|1997||9||6||0||0||4||0||13||6

|-
|1998||Palmeiras||Série A||11||1||||||||||11||1

|-
|1998/99||Badajoz||Segunda División||5||0||||||||||5||0

|-
|1999||Grêmio||Série A||14||5||||||||||14||5
|-
|2000||Botafogo||Série A||15||1||||||||||15||1
|-
|2001||São Caetano||Série A||23||11||||||||||23||11

|-
|2002||rowspan="3"|Gamba Osaka||rowspan="3"|J. League 1||29||22||2||1||8||6||39||29
|-
|2003||24||15||2||1||4||2||30||18
|-
|2004||10||5||0||0||5||1||15||6
73||28||||||||||73||28
86||61||7||3||27||11||120||75
5||0||||||||||5||0
164||89||7||3||27||11||198||103
|}

References

1974 births
Living people
Brazilian footballers
Nebojša Krupniković (born 15 August 1973) is a former Serbian football player.

Club career statistics

|-
|1991/92||Red Star Belgrade||First League||2||0||||||||||2||0

|-
|1992/93||Red Star Belgrade||First League||8||0||||||||||8||0
|-
|1992/93||Radnički Jugopetrol||First League||8||0||||||||||8||0

|-
|1993/94||Panionios||Alpha Ethniki||30||9||||||||||30||9

|-
|1994/95||rowspan="2"|Red Star Belgrade||rowspan="2"|First League||30||24||||||||||30||24
|-
|1995/96||32||19||||||||||32||19

|-
|1996/97||Standard Liège||First Division||15||5||||||||||15||5

|-
|1997||rowspan="2"|Gamba Osaka||rowspan="2"|J. League 1||27||9||3||1||6||2||36||12
|-
|1998||13||2||1||0||2||0||16||2

|-
|1998/99||Bastia||Division 1||10||1||||||||||10||1

|-
|1999/00||OFK Beograd||First League||0||0||||||||||0||0

|-
|1999/00||rowspan="2"|Chemnitzer FC||rowspan="2"|2. Bundesliga||26||5||||||||||26||5
|-
|2000/01||12||4||||||||||12||4
|-
|2000/01||rowspan="5"|Hannover 96||rowspan="2"|2. Bundesliga||3||0||||||||||3||0
|-
|2001/02||34||9||||||||||34||9
|-
|2002/03||rowspan="3"|Bundesliga||32||5||||||||||32||5
|-
|2003/04||19||2||||||||||19||2
|-
|2004/05||29||1||||||||||29||1
|-
|2005/06||Arminia Bielefeld||Bundesliga||8||3||||||||||8||3

|-
|2006||JEF United Ichihara Chiba||J. League 1||25||5||1||0||10||0||36||5

|-
|2006/07||rowspan="2"|Paderborn||rowspan="2"|2. Bundesliga||12||2||||||||||12||2
|-
|2007/08||17||0||||||||||17||0
2||0||||||||||2||0
78||43||||||||||78||43
30||9||||||||||30||9
15||5||||||||||15||5
65||16||5||1||18||2||88||19
10||1||||||||||10||1
192||31||||||||||192||31
392||105||5||1||18||2||415||108
|}

References

1973 births
Living people
Serbian footballers
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (born 12 August 1983) is a Dutch football player. He plays for Ajax and Netherlands national team.

Club career statistics 

|-
|2002/03||PSV Eindhoven||Eredivisie||1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2002/03||De Graafschap||Eredivisie||9||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||9||0
|-
|2003/04||AGOVV Apeldoorn||Eerste Divisie||35||26||3||1||colspan="2"|-||38||27
|-
|2004/05||rowspan="2"|Heerenveen||rowspan="2"|Eredivisie||31||17||1||0||7||3||39||20
|-
|2005/06||15||17||1||1||6||2||22||20
|-
|2005/06||rowspan="4"|Ajax||rowspan="4"|Eredivisie||16||16||3||5||2||1||21||22
|-
|2006/07||32||21||6||4||9||9||47||34
|-
|2007/08||34||34||3||1||4||2||41||37
|-
|2008/09||10||6||1||1||4||2||15||9

|-
|2008/09||Real Madrid||La Liga||20||8||0||0||0||0||20||8

|-
|2009/10||Milan||Serie A||25||7||2||0||3||0||30||7
183||137||18||13||32||19||233||169
20||8||0||0||0||0||20||8
25||7||2||0||3||0||30||7
228||152||20||13||35||19||283||184
|}

International career statistics 

|-
|2006||4||2
|-
|2007||5||1
|-
|2008||9||7
|-
|2009||11||4
|-
|2010||||
|-
!Total||29||14
|}

References 

1983 births
Living people
Dutch footballers
Sportspeople from Gelderland
is a former Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Biography
Kurihara was born in Yokohama on September 18, 1983. He joined J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos from their youth team in 2002. Although he debuted as center back in 2003, he could not play many matches behind Japan national team player Naoki Matsuda and Yuji Nakazawa. In 2006, he became a regular player as stopper of three backs defense with Matsuda and Nakazawa. From 2007, he played many matches as center back with Nakazawa of four backs defense. After that, he played many matches as center back for a long time of four backs or three backs defense. In 2013, Marinos won the 2nd place in J1 League and the champions in Emperor's Cup. However his opportunity to play decreased from 2015. He retired from football at the end of the 2019 season.

In November 2003, Kurihara was selected the Japan U-20 national team for 2003 World Youth Championship. He played in 2 matches. On August 9, 2006, he debuted for the Japan national team under new manager Ivica Osim against Trinidad and Tobago which is Japan's first match after the 2006 World Cup. However he could not play at all in the match after the debut. In April 2010, he played for Japan under manager Takeshi Okada against Serbia for the first time in 4 years. Although he was not select Japan for 2010 World Cup, he played several matches as center back every year under Alberto Zaccheroni after 2010 World Cup. In 2013, he was selected for 2013 Confederations Cup and 2013 East Asian Cup. At East Asian Cup, he played all 3 matches and Japan won the champions. This tournament is his last game for Japan. He played 20 games and scored 3 goals for Japan until 2013.

Statistics

|-
|2002||rowspan="18"|Yokohama F. Marinos||rowspan="18"|J1 League||0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||0||0
|-
|2003||7||0||0||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||9||0
|-
|2004||8||0||2||0||7||0||4||2||21||2
|-
|2005||13||1||1||0||2||1||4||0||20||2
|-
|2006||30||1||3||0||8||0||colspan="2"|-||41||1
|-
|2007||25||1||1||0||8||0||colspan="2"|-||34||0
|-
|2008||24||0||4||1||5||1||colspan="2"|-||33||2
|-
|2009||26||3||2||0||10||0||colspan="2"|-||38||3
|-
|2010||28||2||0||0||6||0||colspan="2"|-||34||2
|-
|2011||30||3||3||0||2||1||colspan="2"|-||35||4
|-
|2012||31||0||3||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||37||0
|-
|2013||31||2||6||1||6||0||colspan="2"|-||43||3
|-
|2014||29||3||2||0||1||0||4||0||36||3
|-
|2015||11||0||0||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||13||0
|-
|2016||12||1||2||0||9||0||colspan="2"|-||23||1
|-
|2017||8||0||2||0||6||0||colspan="2"|-||16||0
|-
|2018||3||0||1||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||8||0
|-
|2019||0||0||1||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||5||0
316||16||33||2||85||3||12||2||446||23
316||16||33||2||85||3||12||2||446||23
|}

|-
|2006||1||0
|-
|2007||0||0
|-
|2008||0||0
|-
|2009||0||0
|-
|2010||4||0
|-
|2011||3||0
|-
|2012||5||2
|-
|2013||7||1
|-
!Total||20||3
|}

References

Other websites

1983 births
Living people
Footballers from Kanagawa Prefecture
Japan international footballers
J1 League players
Yokohama F. Marinos players
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players
Sportspeople from Yokohama
Gianluca Curci (born 12 July 1985) is an Italian football player. He plays for Siena.

Club career statistics

|-
|2004/05||rowspan="4"|Roma||rowspan="4"|Serie A||11||0||6||0||0||0||17||0
|-
|2005/06||10||0||5||0||8||0||23||0
|-
|2006/07||6||0||6||0||0||0||12||0
|-
|2007/08||2||0||5||0||1||0||8||0
|-
|2008/09||rowspan="2"|Siena||rowspan="2"|Serie A||31||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||31||0
|-
|2009/10||||||||||||||||
60||0||22||0||9||0||91||0
60||0||22||0||9||0||91||0
|}

References

1985 births
Living people
Italian association football goalkeepers
Sportspeople from Rome
Philippe Mexès (born 30 March 1982) is a French football player. He plays for Roma and France national team.

Club career statistics 

|-
|1999/00||rowspan="5"|Auxerre||rowspan="3"|Division 1||5||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||5||0
|-
|2000/01||32||0||4||0||3||0||39||0
|-
|2001/02||30||3||2||0||colspan="2"|-||32||3
|-
|2002/03||rowspan="2"|Ligue 1||34||1||4||0||11||0||49||1
|-
|2003/04||32||3||7||1||5||0||44||4

|-
|2004/05||rowspan="6"|Roma||rowspan="6"|Serie A||28||0||6||1||2||0||36||1
|-
|2005/06||27||3||7||0||9||0||43||3
|-
|2006/07||27||3||6||0||7||0||40||3
|-
|2007/08||31||1||4||1||9||0||44||2
|-
|2008/09||29||2||2||0||6||0||37||2
|-
|2009/10||||||||||||||||
133||7||17||1||19||0||169||8
142||9||25||2||33||0||200||11
275||16||42||3||52||0||369||19
|}

International career statistics 

|-
|2002||2||0
|-
|2003||3||0
|-
|2004||1||0
|-
|2005||0||0
|-
|2006||0||0
|-
|2007||2||0
|-
|2008||3||0
|-
|2009||2||0
|-
!Total||13||0
|}

References 

1982 births
Living people
French footballers
Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte (20 March 1811 – 22 July 1832) was the son of Napoleon and Marie Louise of Austria.

Biography

Early Life
Napoléon II was born in Paris in 1811. In 1814, Napoleon I was defeated by the Sixth Coalition and then forced to resign by his own officers. Napoleon I originally wanted Napoleon II to succeed him, but this was rejected by the coalition. Napoleon II and his mother went into exile in Austria, while Napoleon I was exiled to Elba. In 1815, Napoleon I escaped and retook control of France, but was forced to resign again after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

Emperor of the French
Napoleon was arguably the Emperor of the French in late June and early July 1815.

Life in Austria

Napoleon spent most of his life in Austria, where he was known as Franz. He became the Duke of Reichstadt at the age of 7 and joined the Austrian Army at the age of 12.

Napoleon enjoyed a close relationship with Princess Sophie of Bavaria. It has been claimed that he was the father of Sophie's son, the future Maximilian I of Mexico, but this is widely rejected by historians.

Death
Napoleon died of tuberculosis on July 22, 1832.

Remains
In 1940, Adolf Hitler had Napoleon's remains moved from Vienna to the dome of Les Invalides in Paris. His remains were buried next to his father's for some time, but were later moved to the lower church.

Legacy

 Napoleon II was also known as "The Eaglet" (L'Aiglon). Edmond Rostand wrote a play, L'Aiglon, about his life. 
 Serbian composer Petar Stojanović composed an operetta about him in the 1920s. 
 Arthur Honegger and Jacques Ibert worked together on an opera, L'Aiglon, which premiered in 1937. 
 The journalist Henri Rochefort joked that Napoleon II, having never really governed, was France's best leader, since he brought no war, taxes or tyranny.

Sources 
 Welschinger, Le roi de Rome, 1811-32, (Paris, 1897)
 Wertheimer, The Duke of Reichstadt, (London, 1905)

1811 births
1832 deaths

French people
Princes of Andorra
House of Bonaparte
Cristian Chivu (born 26 October 1980) is a Romanian football player. He plays for Internazionale Milano and Romania national team.

Club career statistics

|-
|1996/97||rowspan="2"|Reşiţa||Divizia B||1||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||1||0
|-
|1997/98||Divizia A||23||2||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||23||2
|-
|1998/99||rowspan="2"|Universitatea Craiova||rowspan="2"|Divizia A||26||3||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||26||3
|-
|1999/00||6||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||6||0

|-
|1999/00||rowspan="4"|Ajax||rowspan="4"|Eredivisie||23||1||colspan="2"|-||4||0||27||1
|-
|2000/01||26||5||colspan="2"|-||4||0||30||5
|-
|2001/02||32||1||colspan="2"|-||6||0||38||1
|-
|2002/03||26||6||colspan="2"|-||12||0||38||6

|-
|2003/04||rowspan="4"|Roma||rowspan="4"|Serie A||22||2||2||0||4||0||28||2
|-
|2004/05||10||2||4||0||1||0||15||2
|-
|2005/06||27||2||7||0||4||0||38||2
|-
|2006/07||26||0||7||0||8||0||41||0
|-
|2007/08||rowspan="3"|Internazionale Milano||rowspan="3"|Serie A||26||0||4||0||6||0||36||0
|-
|2008/09||21||0||2||0||2||0||25||0
|-
|2009/10||||||||||||||||
56||5||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||56||5
107||13||colspan="2"|-||26||0||133||13
132||6||26||0||25||0||183||6
295||24||26||0||51||0||372||24
|}

International career statistics

|-
|1999||1||0
|-
|2000||10||1
|-
|2001||8||0
|-
|2002||6||1
|-
|2003||9||0
|-
|2004||2||1
|-
|2005||6||0
|-
|2006||6||0
|-
|2007||8||0
|-
|2008||7||0
|-
|2009||6||0
|-
!Total||69||3
|}

References

1980 births
Living people
Romanian footballers
Cesare Bovo (born 14 January 1983) is an Italian football player. He plays for Città di Palermo.

Club career statistics 

|-
|2001/02||Roma||Serie A||0||0||1||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2002/03||rowspan="2"|Lecce||Serie B||11||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||13||0
|-
|2003/04||Serie A||19||2||0||0||colspan="2"|-||19||2
|-
|2004/05||Parma||Serie A||31||2||1||0||8||0||40||2
|-
|2005/06||Roma||Serie A||22||0||5||0||7||1||34||1
|-
|2006/07||Città di Palermo||Serie A||1||0||1||0||0||0||2||0
|-
|2006/07||Torino||Serie A||7||1||0||0||colspan="2"|-||7||1
|-
|2007/08||Genoa||Serie A||27||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||27||0
|-
|2008/09||rowspan="2"|Città di Palermo||rowspan="2"|Serie A||28||1||1||0||colspan="2"|-||29||1
|-
|2009/10||||||||||||||||
146||6||12||0||15||1||173||7
146||6||12||0||15||1||173||7

1983 births
Living people
Italian footballers
Sportspeople from Rome
Eusebio Sacristán (born 13 April 1964) is a former Spanish football player. He has played for Spain national team.

Club career statistics

|-
|1983/84||rowspan="4"|Real Valladolid||rowspan="4"|La Liga||11||0
|-
|1984/85||32||2
|-
|1985/86||33||4
|-
|1986/87||41||7
|-
|1987/88||Atlético Madrid||La Liga||27||3
|-
|1988/89||rowspan="7"|Barcelona||rowspan="7"|La Liga||37||4
|-
|1989/90||36||3
|-
|1990/91||32||2
|-
|1991/92||30||4
|-
|1992/93||32||1
|-
|1993/94||20||0
|-
|1994/95||16||0
|-
|1995/96||rowspan="2"|Celta Vigo||rowspan="2"|La Liga||35||1
|-
|1996/97||32||0
|-
|1997/98||rowspan="5"|Real Valladolid||rowspan="5"|La Liga||26||1
|-
|1998/99||21||0
|-
|1999/00||28||1
|-
|2000/01||28||3
|-
|2001/02||26||0
543||36
543||36

International career statistics

|-
|1986||1||0
|-
|1987||0||0
|-
|1988||1||0
|-
|1989||6||0
|-
|1990||0||0
|-
|1991||5||0
|-
|1992||2||0
|-
!Total||15||0
|}

References

1964 births
Living people
Spanish footballers
Spanish football managers
Maximilian I of Mexico (1832 – 1867) was a member of the Imperial House of Habsburg-Lorraine. 
After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico, during the Second Mexican Empire.

His father was Archduke Franz Karl, the second surviving son of Emperor Francis II of Austria, during whose reign he was born. Maximilian was thus a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a female-line cadet branch of the House of Habsburg. His older brother was the reigning Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and their mother was Princess Sophie of Bavaria, a member of the House of Wittelsbach.

Many Europeans, and Viennese in particular, suspected that he was actually fathered by Napoleon II of France. There was a close relationship between Sophie and Napoleon II. It was said that Sophie never recovered after his death and that she blamed it on Metternich for the rest of her life.

Maximilian ruled as the Emperor of Mexico from 1864 to 1867. He was installed by occupying French forces under Napoleon III. When the French left in 1867, Maximilian refused to go with them, believing he had the support of the people.

Maximilian was shocked by the living conditions of the poor in contrast to the magnificent haciendas of the upper class. His wife Empress Carlota of Mexico began holding parties for the wealthy Mexicans to raise money for poor houses. One of Maximilian's first acts as Emperor was to restrict working hours and abolish child labour. He cancelled all debts for peasants over 10 pesos, restored communal property and forbade all forms of corporal punishment. He  supported land reforms, religious freedom, and extending the right to vote beyond the landholding class. These liberal policies caused opposition from the wealthy and the landowners, led by Benito Juárez under the banner of republicanism.

Maximilian was captured by Benito Juarez’s Republican forces and executed by firing squad on 19 June 1867.

References 

Emperors and empresses
History of Mexico
House of Habsburg-Lorraine
People executed by firearm
1832 births
1867 deaths
Initiation is a ceremony at the entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It can also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community. Rites of passage such as Christian baptism or confirmation, or Jewish bar or bat mitzvah, or graduation from school, are initiations. Acceptance into a fraternal organization like the freemasons or religious order like the Benedictines is also an initiation. A person taking the initiation ceremony is called an initiate.

Etymology
The English word comes from the Latin, initium: "entrance" or "beginning. The related English verb, initiate, means to begin or start a particular action.

Tribal initiations
Tribes often have initiations. In many African tribes, initiation means circumcision of males and sometimes circumcision/genital mutilation of females.  Initiation is thought to be necessary for the individual to be regarded as a full member of the tribe. Otherwise, the individual may not be allowed to take part in ceremonies or even in social ritual such as marriage. A man will not be allowed to marry or have any special relationship with a woman who didn't go to an initiation, because she is not considered as a woman.

Initiation may be thought of as an event which may help teens prepare themselves to be good husbands and wives. Because of modernization initiation is not taken so seriously as before, but there are still certain areas which still perform initiations.

In some African tribes, boys have initiation rites for 3–4 months and girls for 1–2 months.

Australian Aboriginal tribes usually had long periods of time to help prepare adolescent boys, teaching them the Law before they were ready to attend large elaborate ceremonies at the time of initiation when they were finally recognized as men in their society. Most tribes had circumcision and scarification as part of the male initiation rituals, while many Central Australian tribes also practiced subincision.

Notes

Literature 

Mircea Eliade, Rites and Symbols of Initiation, first edition, New York, NY Harper and Row, 1958.

Culture
In Judaism, a Bar Mitzvah is a Jewish boy, and a Bat Mitzvah a Jewish girl, who has turned 13 years old (or for a girl in the Orthodox movement, 12 years old). They go through a rite of passage which symbolizes the young person's responsibility for themselves. 
 
Before the bar mitzvah, the child's parents hold the responsibility for the child's actions. After this age, the boys and girls bear their own responsibility, and are able to participate in all areas of Jewish community life. It marks their coming of age. The terms are also used for the ceremony celebrating this event. 

 Bar Mitzvah (pl. B'nai Mitzvah) comes from the Aramaic , "one (m.) to whom the commandments apply". (If it were Hebrew it would be  (ben) not  (bar).  is "son" in Aramaic, and  (ben) is son in Hebrew.).
 Bat Mitzvah (pl. B'not Mitzvah) is , "one (f.) to whom the commandments apply" (Ashkenazi: Bas Mitzvah).

According to Jewish law, when Jewish children reach the age of majority (generally thirteen years for boys and twelve for girls.) Then they become responsible for their actions, and "become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah". This is also the time when physical puberty normally begins. Before this the child's parents have the responsibility that the child follows Jewish law and tradition and, after this age, children have their own responsibility for Jewish ritual law, tradition, and ethics and have the right to take part in all areas of Jewish community life.

References

Further reading 
Oppenheimer, Mark.  Thirteen and a Day: The Bar and Bat Mitzvah across America.  New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005.

Other websites 
 Schauss, Hayyim. History of Bar Mitzvah 
 "Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation"
 The Official Israeli Ministry of Tourism Website with information about celebrating Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Jerusalem
 Secular Humanistic Bar/Bat Mitzvah 

Judaism
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was an elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1806, he crowned him as King of Naples and Sicily and later King of Spain in 1808.

Early Life 
He was born Giuseppe Buonaparte to Carlo Buonaparte, representative to King Louis XVI's court. He was educated in Corsica and France and studied law at Pisa. In the Corsican civil war, which marked the early years of the French Revolution, he sided with the French, as did his brother Napoleon. When the anti-French forces were victorious, he and the entire Bonaparte family fled to the Continent.As a lawyer, politician, and diplomat, he served in the Cinq-Cents (lower house) and was the French ambassador to Rome.In 1795 Joseph was a member of the Council of Ancients where he used his position to help his brother overthrow the Directory.

King of Naples and Sicily 
In 1806, Joseph Bonaparte was given military command of Naples, and shortly afterward was made king by Napoleon I, to be replaced after two years by his sister's husband, Joachim Murat, when Joseph was made king of Spain in August 1808, soon after the French invasion.

King of Spain 

Joseph Bonaparte reluctantly left Naples and arrived in Spain just in time for the Spanish revolt against French rule, and the beginning of the Peninsular War, in which the French were eventually expelled by Spanish guerrilla fighters and by an Anglo-Portuguese army. The Spanish remain loyal to their former king, Ferdinand VII.Bonaparte abdicated and returned to France after defeat at the Battle of Vitoria. He was seen by Bonapartists (supporters of Napoleon I) as the rightful Emperor of the French after the death of Napoleon's own son Napoleon II in 1832.

Head of the House of Bonaparte 

As the eldest in the family Bonaparte, he became its head in 1832, although he did little to advance his claim. Joseph Bonaparte lived primarily in the United States from 1817 to 1832, initially in New York City and Philadelphia. He was also reputed to have encountered the Jersey Devil while hunting there. Bonaparte returned to Europe, where he died in Florence, Italy and was buried in the Les Invalides building in Paris, He was succeeded by his younger brother Louis Bonaparte as head of the family, and is survived by his great great grandson Frederick Joseph Benton.

Other websites 

 Joseph Bonaparte at Point Breeze
 Joseph Bonaparte and the Jersey Devil 

1768 births
1844 deaths
Kings and Queens of Spain
House of Bonaparte
Marcos Alberto Skavinski (born 28 March 1975) is a Brazilian football player. He plays for Goiás.

Club career statistics

|-
|2006||Kawasaki Frontale||J. League 1||28||2||2||0||9||1||39||3
28||2||2||0||9||1||39||3
28||2||2||0||9||1||39||3
|}

1975 births
Living people
Brazilian footballers
People from Curitiba
Ferydoon Zandi (born 26 April 1979) is a former Iranian-German football player. He played for Steel Azin and Iran national team. He is currently a football manager.

Club career statistics

|-
|1998/99||rowspan="2"|Meppen||rowspan="2"|Regionalliga||29||5
|-
|1999/00||31||10
|-
|2000/01||rowspan="2"|Freiburg||rowspan="2"|Bundesliga||7||0
|-
|2001/02||3||0
|-
|2002/03||rowspan="2"|Lübeck||rowspan="2"|2. Bundesliga||25||6
|-
|2003/04||29||14
|-
|2004/05||rowspan="2"|Kaiserslautern||rowspan="2"|Bundesliga||26||6
|-
|2005/06||19||0
|-
|2006/07||Koblenz||2. Bundesliga||8||0

|-
|2006/07||Apollon Limassol||First Division||10||2
|-
|2007/08||Olympiakos Nicosia||First Division||10||4
|-
|2008/09||Alki Larnaca||First Division||23||12

|-
|2009/10||Steel Azin||Pro League||||
177||41
43||18
0||0
220||59
|}

International career statistics

|-
|2005||8||1
|-
|2006||4||0
|-
|2007||6||1
|-
|2008||6||1
|-
|2009||5||2
|-
!Total||29||5
|}

References

1979 births
Living people
German football managers
German footballers
Iranian footballers
People from Emden
Sportspeople from Lower Saxony
F.C. Matera is a football club which plays in Italy in Terza Categoria Matera group D.

Italian football clubs
1930 establishments in Europe
1930s establishments in Italy
Yusaku Ueno (born 1 November 1973) is a former Japanese football player.

Club career statistics

|-
|1996||rowspan="4"|Avispa Fukuoka||rowspan="4"|J. League 1||27||7||2||0||11||0||40||7
|-
|1997||31||8||3||1||5||1||39||10
|-
|1998||24||1||2||0||2||1||28||2
|-
|1999||28||1||1||0||4||2||33||3
|-
|2000||Sanfrecce Hiroshima||J. League 1||5||1||0||0||2||0||7||1
|-
|2001||rowspan="2"|Kyoto Purple Sanga||J. League 2||42||10||4||2||2||0||48||12
|-
|2002||J. League 1||23||2||0||0||4||0||27||2
|-
|2003||rowspan="3"|Albirex Niigata||J. League 2||41||13||3||0||colspan="2"|-||44||13
|-
|2004||rowspan="2"|J. League 1||30||5||1||1||6||0||37||6
|-
|2005||34||2||1||1||3||0||38||3
|-
|2006||rowspan="2"|Sanfrecce Hiroshima||rowspan="2"|J. League 1||21||0||2||0||6||0||29||0
|-
|2007||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|2007||rowspan="2"|Tochigi||rowspan="2"|Football League||19||2||0||0||colspan="2"|-||19||2
|-
|2008||16||4||2||0||colspan="2"|-||18||4
341||56||21||5||45||4||407||65
341||56||21||5||45||4||407||65
|}

References

1973 births
Living people
Footballers from Tochigi Prefecture
Sorrento Calcio is a football club which plays in Italy.  They were founded in 1945.

Noted players
  Giuseppe Bruscolotti
  Gennaro Ruotolo

References

Italian football clubs
1945 establishments in Italy
Larissa F.C. (official name is AE Larissas 1964) is a football club which plays in Greece. The club based in the city of Larissa. It has won three titles totally,  one Greek championship and two Greek cups. 

Greek football clubs
1964 establishments in Europe
20th century establishments in Greece
Volgograd, formerly called Tsaritsyn (1589–1925) and Stalingrad (1925–1961) is an industrial city of great importance, and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia.  It is 80 km long, north to south, on the western bank of the Volga River and has a population of over 1.011 million people.  The city was made famous for its heroic resistance and bloody siege during the Battle of Stalingrad taking place during World War II.

History 

Volgograd developed from the fortress of Tsaritsyn in 1589. The fortress was at the meof the Tsaritsa and Volga Rivers. 
During the Russian Civil War the city was the scene of heavy fighting. Bolshevik forces occupied it during 1918, but were attacked by White forces. It was renamed as Stalingrad in 1925.

Under Stalin, the city became heavily industrialized as a centre of heavy industry and trans-shipment by rail and river. During World War II, Stalingrad became the center of the Battle of Stalingrad as well as a turning point in the war against Germany. Essentially, the German offensive was stopped at Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad lasted from August 21, 1942 to February 2, 1943, where 1.7 million to 2 million Axis and Soviet soldiers were killed, wounded or captured, in addition to over 40,000 civilians killed. The city was reduced to rubble during the fierce fighting, but reconstruction began soon after the Germans were expelled from the city.

Nikita Khrushchev renamed the city in 1961.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities 
As of 2008, Volgograd has 21 sister cities:
  Coventry, England, United Kingdom (1943)
  Ostrava, Czech Republic (1948)
  Kemi, Finland (1953)
  Liège, Belgium (1959)
  Dijon, France (1959)
  Turin, Italy (1961)
  Port Said, Egypt (1962)
  Chennai, India (1966)
  Hiroshima, Japan (1972)
  Cologne, Germany (1988)
  Chemnitz, Germany (1988)
  Cleveland, Ohio, United States (1990)
  Toronto, Canada (1991)
  Jilin, China (1994)
  Yerevan, Armenia (1998)
  Chengdu, China (1998)
  Kruševac, Serbia (1999)
  Rousse, Bulgaria (2001)
  Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States (2003)
  Orlando, Florida, United States (2008)
  Baku, Azerbaijan (2008) 
A number of communities in France and Italy have streets or avenues named after Stalingrad, hence Place de Stalingrad in Paris and the Paris Métro station of Stalingrad.

Gallery

References

Other websites 
 Official website of Volgograd 
  Official website of Volgograd
  Volgograd.ru — City Web Portal, Local Business and Web Directory, News, Press, Webcams, 3D Mamayev Kurgan
 Over 2,000 original German WWII soldier photographs from the Eastern Front
 Sights of Volgograd 
 Photo Gallery from Volgograd 
 Stalingrad - Bilder einer erbitterten Schlacht (German)

 
Capital cities in Russia