Despite being part of Ukraine Socialist Republic, the city preserved and somewhat reinforced its unique cosmopolitan mix of Russian/Ukrainian/Mediterranean culture. It also preserved its predominantly Russophone environment, with a uniquely accented dialect of Russian being spoken in the city. The city's Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, Armenian, Moldovan, Azeri and Jewish communities, have all contributed to the different aspects of Odessa.
In 1991, after the collapse of Communism, the city became part of newly independent Ukraine. As of 2020, Odessa is a city of around 1.1 million people. The city's industries include shipbuilding, oil refining, chemicals, metalworking and food processing. It is also a Ukrainian naval base and home to a fishing fleet. It is also known for its huge outdoor market, the Seventh-Kilometer Market.
The transportation network of Odessa consists of trams (streetcars), trolleybuses, buses; and marshrutkas.
Odessa (Google Map) is above the hills overlooking a small harbor. It is approximately 31 km (19 mi.) north of the estuary of the Dniester river and some 443 km (275 mi) south of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The city has a continental climate ("Dfa" in the Köppen climate classification) with average temperatures in January of -2 °C (29 °F), and July of 22 °C (73 °F). It averages only 350 mm (14 in) of precipitation annually.
The primary language spoken is Russian, with Ukrainian being less common despite of it being an official language in Ukraine. The city is a mix of many nationalities and ethnic groups, including Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Greeks, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Armenians and Turks among others.
Odessa is a popular tourist destination. It has many resorts in and around the city. The Tolstoy, Vorontsov, and Potocki families owned palaces in Odessa. They are still open for visits from the public.
The writer Isaac Babel was born in the city. It has also produced several famous musicians, including the violinists Nathan Milstein, Mischa Elman and David Oistrakh, and the pianists Benno Moiseiwitsch, Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. The chess player Efim Geller was born in the city. All listed, except for Richter, are representatives of the city's Jewish community.
The most popular Russian show-business people from Odessa are Yakov Smirnoff (comedian), Mikhail Zhvanetsky (legendary humorist writer, who began his career as port engineer) and Roman Kartsev (comedian). Their success in 1970s contributed to Odessa's status of a "capital of Soviet humour". Later several humour festivals were established in the city, including the celebration of the April Fools' Day.
Most of the city's 19th century houses were built of limestone mined nearby. Abandoned mines were later used and broadened by local smugglers. This created a complicated labyrinth of underground tunnels beneath Odessa, known as "catacombs". They are a now a great attraction for extreme tourists. Such tours, however, are not officially sanctioned and are dangerous because the layout of the catacombs has not been fully mapped and the tunnels themselves are unsafe. These tunnels are a primary reason why subway was never built in Odessa.
The economy of Odessa is based on its port and its close distance to nearby ice-free ports in the mouths of the Dnieper, the Southern Bug, the Dniester and the Danube rivers. During the Soviet period, it was the USSR's largest trading port. Since Ukraine's independence, Odessa remains the busiest international port in the country. Odessa is also a home to almost 5% of all IT companies registered in Ukraine. It helps the city to thrive and attract talented software programmers from other cities of Ukraine and abroad.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002), known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, or just The Queen Mother was the wife (Queen Consort) of King George VI of the United Kingdom from 1936 until his death in 1952. After her husband's death, she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, so that she would not be confused with her elder daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Before her husband became king, from 1923 to 1936 she was known as the Duchess of York. She was the last Queen Consort of Ireland and Empress Consort of India.
Her family belonged to the Scottish nobility. Her father was the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. In 1923, she became known to everyone when she married Albert, Duke of York, the second son of George V and Queen Mary. She was loved by the British people as she became a figure of family life. They had two daughters, the then-Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. She was known as the "Smiling Duchess".
In 1936, her husband unexpectedly became King when her brother-in-law, Edward VIII, abdicated because he wanted to marry an American lady, Wallis Simpson, who had been divorced. The king was known as King George VI. As his wife, she had the title of Queen Consort. She went with her husband on official tours to France and North America. During World War II, she supported the British public with great courage. After the war the king became ill and died in 1952. She was then 51, and she lived for another 50 years. As the mother of the queen, grandmother to the queen's four children and, later, great-grandmother, she continued to be a popular member of the royal family.
The Queen Mother had an appendectomy in 1964, colon cancer removed in 1966 and breast cancer removed in 1984.
The death of her younger daughter Princess Margaret on 9th February 2002 was a sad event for her. She died seven weeks later at the age of 101. She was the first member of the British royal family to live past the age of 100.
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense, also known as the DoD, is a department in the United States government that is in charge of the military of the United States. It was created in 1947 and its headquarters is in The Pentagon in Washington, D.C.. The person in charge of the Department of Defense is called the Secretary of Defense. The current Secretary of Defense is Lloyd Austin. The Secretary of Defense answers directly to the President.
The Department of Defense is made up of the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, the National Security Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency. (The Department of the Navy includes the Navy and the Marine Corps. Also, during time of war the United States Coast Guard is under the authority of the Department of Defense.)
United States Department of the Navy
The United States Department of the Navy was created by the United States Congress on April 30, 1798. It was created in order to give civilian leadership and administration to the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. The Secretary of the Navy is in charge of the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Navy is under the authority of the Department of Defense.
The Department of the Navy is in charge of recruitment, training, organizing, building, and construction for the Navy and the Marine Corps. While the Navy and the Marine Corps both is under the Department of the Navy, they are two separate branches of the military.
Queen Elizabeth
There are many people called Queen Elizabeth.
Among the women known to history as "Queen Elizabeth" are, in order of date of death:
"(Note that the name "Isabel" or "Isabella" is sometimes translated into English as "Elizabeth" or "Elisabeth".)"
Houston (disambiguation)
Houston is a city in Texas. It is the fourth largest city in the United States. It can also mean:
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