juno-labs/simple_wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Great Lake Swimmers

**Great Lake Swimmers** is a Canadian folk rock and Indie band originally from Wainfleet, Ontario and now based in Toronto, Ontario. They released their self-titled debut album on January 28, 2003 and it was re-released on April 5, 2005. Great Lake Swimmers has five members in the band; the current band members are Tony Dekker, Erik Arnesen, Greg Millson, Miranda Mulholland and Bret Higgins. The band was named Favourite Folk/Roots Artist/Group in 2010 by the Canadian Indie Awards.

### Studio albums

- _Great Lake Swimmers_ (2003)
- _Bodies and Minds_ (2005)
- _Ongiara_ (2007)
- _Lost Channels_ (2009)
- _New Wild Everywhere_ (2012)
- _A Forest of Arms_ (2015)
- _The Waves, the Wake_ (2018)
- _Uncertain Country_ (2023)

## Other websites

- Official website

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: Great Lake Swimmers
- **img**: Great Lake Swimmers.jpg
- **img capt**: Great Lake Swimmers in 2010
- **img size**: 250px
- **landscape**: yes
- **background**: group_or_band
- **origin**: Wainfleet, Ontario, Wainfleet, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
- **genre**: Folk rock, Indie (music), Indie
- **years active**: 2003–present
- **label**: (weewerk), Nettwerk
- **associated acts**: Siskiyou (band), Siskiyou, Barzin, Audiotransparent, Julie Fader, The Roaring Girl Cabaret
- **url**: [http://greatlakeswimmers.com/ Great Lake Swimmers website]
- **current members**: Tony Dekker
Erik Arnesen
Greg Millson
Miranda Mulholland
Bret Higgins
- **past members**: Darcy Yates
Julie Fader
Colin Huebert
Mike Overton
Sandro Perri
Bottle tree

The **bottle tree** is a plant that has adapted to hot climates, such as the desert. They are called bottle trees because the shape of their trunk is a bottle shape. There are several different species including:

- _Adansonia_ species, the baobabs;
    - _Adansonia gregorii_ (the boab)
- _Pachypodium lealii_, (Apocynaceae), the bottle tree of Namibia and Angola;
- The genus _Moringa_, (Moringaceae), of Madagascar;
- _Brachychiton_ species, (Malvaceae), of Australia;
- _Ceiba_ species, the floss silk tree or _palo borracho_ of South America.

The name bottle tree is also used to describe an artificial tree made of glass bottles, usually of colored glass.  Associated with Hoodoo and primarily found in the Southern United States.
Principality of Polotsk

The **Principality of Polotsk**, also known as the **Kingdom of Polotsk** or the **Duchy of Polotsk** was a medieval principality of the Early East Slavs.  It was considered one of the principalities in the Kievan Rus'.  It had a wide degree of power to make its own rules. It was started around the ancient town of Polotsk. It is not clear the date it started.  Polotsk is mentioned in the mid 9th century as part of Novgorod. In the second half of 10th century Polotsk was ruled by its own dynasty. The first ruler that is mentioned in the history was a semi-legendary Rogvolod (? - 978). Rogvolod is better known as the father of Rogneda. The Principality was in several succession crises of the 11-12th centuries and a war with the Land of Novgorod. By the 13th century it was added into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At the time it was largest the principality stretched over large parts of today's northern and central Belarus and a smaller part of today's southeastern Latvia.

## Infobox (former country)

- **conventional long name**: Principality of Polotsk
<small>(vassal of Kievan Rus', Rus' to 1021, part of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuania since 1307)</small>
- **common name**: Polotsk
- **region**: Europe
- **year start**: 9th century
- **year end**: 1397
- **image map**: Alex K Polotsk general.png
- **image caption**: Dots represent cities of Minsk and Polotsk
- **event end**: Incorporation into Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuania
- **s1**: Grand Duchy of Lithuania
- **image s1**:
- **religion**: Eastern Orthodox Church
- **capital**: Polotsk
- **government type**: Principality
- **legislature**: Veche
- **title leader**: Prince of Polotsk
- **leader1**: Vseslav of Polotsk, Vseslav
- **year leader1**: 1044—1101
- **common languages**: Old East Slavic
Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The **Grand Duchy of Lithuania** was a European state from the 12th
–13th century until 1569. In 1569 it became a part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791. It was started by the Lithuanians. The duchy grew to include large parts of the former Kievan Rus' and other Slavic lands. It  covered the land of present-day Belarus,  Latvia, Lithuania  and parts of Estonia, Moldova, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. At its biggest in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe. There was great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage.

Bringing together of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 12th century. Mindaugas, the first ruler of the Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the religious crusade by the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order. When Gediminas began to rule, he allowed people to have different religions. This grew under his son Algirdas. In 1386 Jogaila changed the religion to Catholicism.  He also made a dynastic union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.

Vytautas the Great grew the land of the Grand Duchy.  He also led the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. After Vytautas's death, Lithuania's relationship with the Kingdom of Poland was not good. The Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had a separate government, laws, army, and treasury.  They were invaded by Russia in 1792.  The land was divided out among the Russian Empire, Prussia and Austria in 1795.

## Infobox (country)

- **conventional long name**: Grand Duchy of Lithuania
- **common name**: Lithuania
- **native name**: Великое князство Литовъское (Ruthenian language, Ruthenian)

Magnus Ducatus Lituaniae
(Latin)
- **image coat**: Coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.svg
- **image map**: Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1430.png
- **map caption**: Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1430
- **capital**: Voruta (hypothetical; 13th century)

Kernavė (1270-1321)

Trakai (c. 1321–1323)

Vilnius (1323–1572)
- **demonym**: Lithuanian people, Lithuanian
- **leader title1**: First Grand duke of Lithuania
- **leader name1**: Mindaugas
- **leader title2**: last Grand duke of Lithuania
- **leader name2**: Sigismund II Augustus
- **life span**: 1240–1572
- **p1**: Kingdom of Lithuania
- **s1**: Kingdom of Prussia
- **flag s1**: Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg
- **flag s2**: Flag of Russia (1858–1896).svg
- **s2**: Russian Empire
- **flag s3**: Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy.svg
- **s3**: West Galicia
Kievan Rus'

**Kievan Rus**' (also known as **Kyivan Rus**) was a medieval state in Europe.

## Overview

The **Kievan Rus** lasted from the late 9th to the mid 13th century. It broke apart under the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240. At its peak, it stretched from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south, and from the upper Vistula in the west to the middle Volga in the east.

## Name

The state was called "land of Rus'" in broader sense. In the core sense, this term described the territory of Dnieper Ukraine, which served as the heartland of the state. The name "Kievan Rus' " was used in the 19th century to mean the time when the center was in Kyiv.

## History

The early part of the state is sometimes known as the "Rus Khaganate".  The history of Rus' proper begins in 882.  This is when prince Oleg seized Kyiv and became the first prince of Kyiv. This was after Varangians (Vikings), who were presumably led by Askold and Dir, became Kyiv's first Norse rulers and freed this slavic city from the Khazars' tribute.

### Peak

The state reached its peak of power in the mid 11th century. Its lands went south to the Black Sea, east to the Volga, and west to the Kingdom of Poland and to the Duchy of Lithuania.
Volodymyr the Great (980–1015) and his son Yaroslav I the Wise (1019–1054) ruled in the "Golden Age" of Kyiv.

### Breakup

With the end of the Viking age, the state lost power in the late 11th and during the 12th century. The broke apart into various rival regional powers.

## Legacy

The modern East Slavic states of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia all claim to have got their identity from the early medieval state.

## Related pages

- Cossacks
- Eastern Europe
- Tsardom of Russia
- Eastern Orthodox Church

## Infobox (former country)

- **native name**: Русь
- **conventional long name**: Kievan Rus'
- **common name**: Rus'
- **continent**: Europe
- **region**: Belarus, Northern Ukraine
- **year start**: 882
- **year end**: 13th century
- **s1**: Mongol Empire
- **event end**: Conquered by the Mongol Empire
- **s7**: Principality of Polotsk
- **flag s8**: Banner of the Novgorod Republic (c. 1385).svg
- **s8**: Novgorod Republic
- **flag s9**: Vytis COA Lithuania.Codex Bergshammar.png
- **s9**: Grand Duchy of Lithuania
- **s6**: Principality of Pereyaslavl
- **s5**: Principality of Chernigov
- **s4**: Principality of Kiev
- **s3**: Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia
- **s2**: Principality of Ryazan
- **flag s3**: Alex K Halych-Volhynia.svg
- **image coat**: Coin of Yaroslav the Wise (reverse).svg
- symbol_type
- **image map**: Location of Kyivan Rus.png
- **image map caption**: Kievan Rus, 11th century
- **religion**: Slavic mythology, Slavic Paganism
 Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christianity
- **capital**: Kyiv
- **government type**: Monarchy
- **legislature**: Veche, Council of Liubech, Prince Council
- **title leader**: Grand Prince of Kyiv
- **leader1**: Oleg
- **year leader1**: 882–912
- **common languages**: Old East Slavic
- **currency**: grivna
The Australian Ballet

**The Australian Ballet** is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was started in 1962 by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd. and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. The first artistic director was Dame Peggy van Praagh, the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and director. Today, it is recognised as one of the world's major international ballet companies.
Republics of the Soviet Union

The **Republics of the Soviet Union** or the **Union Republics** of the Soviet Union were administrative units that report directly to the Government of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a highly centralized state.

|colspan=16 class="unsortable" style="font-size:140%"|Map of the Union Republics from 1956-1991||||||||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|align=left|Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|1922|||||align=left|Moscow|align=left||1||
|align=left|Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|1922|||||align=left|Kiev (Kharkov before 1934)|align=left||2||
|align=left|Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|1924|||||align=left|Tashkent (Samarkand before 1930)|align=left||4||
|align=left|Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|1936|||||align=left|Alma-Ata|align=left||5||
|align=left|Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|1922|||||align=left|Minsk|align=left||3||
|align=left|Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|1936|||||align=left|Baku|align=left||7||
|align=left|Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|1936|||||align=left|Tbilisi|align=left||6||
|align=left|Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|1929|||||align=left|Dushanbe|align=left||12||
|align=left|Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|1940|||||align=left|Kishinev|align=left||style="background:#fff;"|9|
|align=left|Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic|1936|||||align=left|Frunze|align=left||11||
|align=left|Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|1940|||||align=left|Vilnius|align=left||style="background:#fff;"|8|
|align=left|Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|1924|||||align=left|Ashkhabad|align=left||14||
|align=left|Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|1936|||||align=left|Yerevan|align=left||13||
|align=left|Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|1940|||||align=left|Riga|align=left||style="background:#fff;"|10|
|align=left|Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|1940|||||align=left|Tallinn|align=left||style="background:#fff;"|15|
Artillery (band)

**Artillery** is a thrash metal band from Denmark. They started in 1982 and have split up and reformed twice.

## Discography

So far, as of 2012, Artillery has released six studio albums, which include:
- _Fear of Tomorrow_ (1985)
- _Terror Squad_ (1987)
- _By Inheritance_ (1990)
- _B.A.C.K._ (1999)
- _When Death Comes_ (2009)
- _My Blood_ (2011)

- _Legions_ (2013)
- _Penalty by Perception_ (2016)
- _The Face of Fear_ (2018)
- _X_ (2021)

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: Artillery
- **img**: Metalmania 2008 Artillery 01.jpg
- **img capt**: Artillery performing live in 2008
- **img size**: 250
- **landscape**: yes
- **background**: group_or_band
- **origin**: Taastrup, Denmark
- **genre**: Thrash metal, speed metal
- **years active**: 1982–1991
1998–2000
2007–present
- **label**: Neat, Metal Mind, Roadrunner Records, Roadrunner, Mighty Music, Die Hard Music
- **current members**: Peter Thorslund
Morten Stützer
Michael Stützer
Carsten Nielsen
Søren Adamsen
- **past members**: Per Onink
Carsten Lohman
John Mathias
Mickey Find
Jørgen Sandau
Samir Belmaati
Anders Gyldenøhr
Per M. Jensen
Henrik Quaade
Benny Dallschmidt
Flemming Rönsdorf
Michael "Romchael" Nielsen
Mikael Ehlert
Voivod

**Voivod** is a heavy metal band from Canada. Their musical style has been changing since their beginnings. They started out as a speed metal band, but eventually began adding a mix of progressive metal and thrash metal to create their own unique metal style.

Today, Voivod have released eleven studio albums as well as one EP, one live album, two compilations, seven demos and one DVD featuring a live concert. They rose to popularity with their fifth studio album _Nothingface_ (1989), which was the first Voivod album to enter the _Billboard_ 200 charts, peaking at number 114, and is their most successful one yet. The last studio album Voivod released is "Target Earth", from 2013. They are working on a new album.

The band's bassist, Jason Newsted, joined Voivod after he left Metallica in 2001.

## Discography

- _War and Pain_ (1984)
- _Rrröööaaarrr_ (1986)
- _Killing Technology_ (1987)
- _Dimension Hatröss_ (1988)
- _Nothingface_ (1989)
- _Angel Rat_ (1991)
- _The Outer Limits_ (1993)
- _Negatron_ (1995)
- _Phobos_ (1997)
- _Voivod_ (2003)
- _Katorz_ (2006)
- _Infini_ (2009)
- _Target Earth_ (2013)
- _The Wake_ (2018)
- _Synchro Anarchy_ (2022)
- _Morgöth Tales_ (2023)

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: Voivod
- **img**: VOIVOD.png
- **img capt**: Voivod performing live at the Masters of Rock festival in 2009
- **img size**: 250
- **landscape**: yes
- **background**: group_or_band
- **origin**: Jonquière, Quebec, Canada
- **genre**: Heavy metal music, Heavy metal, progressive metal, thrash metal, speed metal
- **years active**: 1982–present
- **label**: Metal Blade, Noise, MCA, Mausoleum, Hypnotic, Chophouse, The End, Relapse
- **current members**: Michel Langevin
Denis Bélanger
Jean-Yves Thériault
Daniel Mongrain
- **past members**: Denis D'Amour
Pierre St. Jean
Gilles Brisebois
Eric Forrest
Jason Newsted
Soviet invasion of Poland

The **1939 Soviet invasion of Poland** was a Soviet military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September, 1939. It was during the early stages of World War II. After Nazi Germany had invaded Poland from the west on September 1. The Soviet Union invaded from the east and ended on 6 October 1939. Germany and the Soviet Union divided the whole of the Second Polish Republic.

In early 1939, the Soviet Union asked the United Kingdom, France, Poland, and Romania to make an alliance against Nazi Germany. The Soviet Union wanted Poland and Romania to let Soviet troops go through their territory, but Poland and Romania refused for fear that the Soviets would never leave. The Soviet Union made a secret deal with Nazi Germany on 23 August. They planned to divide Northern and Eastern Europe into German and Soviet lands.

One week later, German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west. Polish forces then withdrew to the southeast to wait for French and British support. The Soviet Red Army invaded the eastern Polish region of Kresy on 17 September. The Soviet government used the excuse that it was acting to protect the Ukrainians and Belarusians, who lived in the eastern part of Poland.

The Soviet government took over the area. In November 1939, it made the 13.5 million formerly-Polish citizens become Soviet citizens. The Soviets sent hundreds of thousands of people from the region to Siberia and other remote parts of the Soviet Union.

Soviet forces stayed in eastern Poland until the summer of 1941, when the German Army invaded Operation Barbarossa. The area became under German occupation until the Red Army reconquered it in the summer of 1944. An agreement at the Yalta Conference let the Soviet Union keep almost all of what it had occupied in the Second Polish Republic. The People's Republic of Poland got the southern half of East Prussia and lands east of the Oder-Neisse line. The Soviet Union put those areas into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

## Infobox (military conflict)

- **conflict**: Soviet invasion of Poland
- **partof**: the Invasion of Poland (1939), invasion of Poland in World War II
- **image**: Soviet invasion on Poland 1939.jpg
- **caption**: Soviet forces marching through Poland in 1939.
- **date**: 17 September – 6 October 1939
- **place**: Second Polish Republic, Poland
- **territory**: Polish territory divided and annexed
- **result**: Decisive Soviet victory
- **combatant1**: Second Polish Republic, Poland
- **commander1**: Edward Rydz-Śmigły
- **commander2**: Kliment Voroshilov (Belarusian Front (1939), Commander-in-Chief)
 Mikhail Kovalyov (Belarusian Front (1939), Belarusian Front)
 Semyon Timoshenko (Ukrainian Front (1939), Ukrainian Front)
- **strength1**: 20,000 Border Protection Corps,

250,000 Polish Army.
- **strength2**: 466,516–800,000 troops

33+ divisions
11+ brigades
4,959 guns
4,736 tanks
3,300 aircraft
- **casualties1**: 3,000–7,000 dead or missing,

up to 20,000 wounded.
- **casualties2**: 1,475–3,000 killed or missing
2,383–10,000 wounded.
Cimmerians

The **Cimmerians** or **Kimmerians** were ancient horse-riding nomads of Iranic origin.

According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Cimmerians lived in the north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea during the 8th and 7th centuries BC.  They lived in what is now Ukraine and Russia. Others have said there is no evidence of Cimmerians in the southern parts of Russia.

Most experts assess Cimmerians belong to the Iranian speaking group. A recent DNA analysis (Oct. 2018) of three Cimmerians indicate "the appearance of East Asian haplogroups in the steppe populations might be associated with the Iron Age nomads, starting with the Cimmerians." The authors found it "noteworthy that the oldest of the Cimmerians studied here (cim357) carried almost equal proportions of Asian and West Eurasian components, resembling the Pazyryks, Aldy-Bel, and Iron Age individuals from Russia and Kazakhstan. The second oldest Cimmerian (cim358) was also the only one with both uniparental markers pointing toward East Asia. The Q1* Y chromosome sublineage of Q-M242 is widespread among Asians and Native Americans and is thought to have originated in the Altai Mountains. It has previously been identified in numerous ancient samples from Siberia, the Americas, and in representatives of the Siberian Bronze Age and nomadic populations. This is the first indication that Cimmerians did not originate in the PCS region but were nomads tracing their origin to the Far East." A new study in July 2019 revealed that 2 other Cimmerians were of haplogroup R1a-Z645 and R1a2c-B111.
Varangians

The **Varangians** or **Varyags** was the name given by Greeks and East Slavs to Vikings. Between the 9th and the 11th centuries they ruled the medieval state of Rus'. They were the personal bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperors, and formed the Byzantine Varangian Guard.

A group of Varangians known as the Rus' settled in Novgorod in 864, under the leadership of Rurik. Rurik's relative Oleg conquered Kiev in 882.  He made the state of Kievan Rus', which was later ruled by Ruriks descendants. The name of the Rus' is the origin of the name Russia.

Varangians did trade, piracy and mercenary activities. They move around using the river systems and portages of Gardariki.  The Gardariki was the areas north of the Black Sea. They had trade routes that connected Dark Age Europe with rich Arab Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire. Wanting the riches of Constantinople, Rus' Varangians started a number of Rus'-Byzantine Wars. Most of them, both in Byzantium and in Eastern Europe, were converted from paganism into Orthodox Christianity. Most scientific experts, including the ethnic Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian people themselves, confirm the modern-day East Slavic ethnic group to be the direct, ancestral descendants of the Rus'.
Yaroslav the Wise

**Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus**, known as **Yaroslav the Wise** (c. 978 – February 20, 1054) was Grand Prince of Novgorod and Kyiv.  He brought together the two principalities for a time under his rule.

A son of the Varangian (Viking) Grand Prince Vladimir the Great, he was vice-regent of Novgorod at the time of his father’s death in 1015. His oldest surviving brother, Svyatopolk the Accursed, killed three of his other brothers and took power in Kyiv. Yaroslav, with the support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian mercenaries, defeated Svyatopolk.  He became the Grand Prince of Kyiv in 1019. Yaroslav started to write down the legal customs. This served as the basis for a law code called the Russkaya Pravda ("Russian Justice"). During his long reign, Rus' reached the height of its cultural flowering and military power.

## Infobox (monarch)

- **name**: Yaroslav the Wise
- **title**: Grand Prince of Kyiv Rus'
- **image**: YaroslavWiseSeal.jpg
- **caption**: The only contemporary image of Yaroslav I the Wise, on his seal
- **reign**: 1019–1054
- **full name**: Yaroslav Vladimirovich
- **predecessor**: Sviatopolk I of Kiev, Sviatopolk the Accursed
- **successor**: Iziaslav I of Kiev, Iziaslav I
- **spouse 1**: Ingegerd Olofsdotter, later Irene-Anna (a daughter of Olof Skötkonung)
- **issue**: see the main article
- **dynasty**: Rurik Dynasty, Rurikid
- **father**: Vladimir I of Kyiv, Vladimir the Great
- **mother**: Rogneda of Polotsk by the Primary Chronicle
- **birth date**: ~978
- **death date**: February 20, 1054 [aged ~76]
Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia

**Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic** or **Litbel** was a Soviet republic.  It was in the territories of modern Belarus and eastern Lithuania.  It existed for about seven months during 1919. It was formed after the merger of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia. The republic was went away after the Polish Army took over its claimed territory of eastern Lithuania during the Polish–Soviet War.

## Infobox (former country)

- **native name**:

- **conventional long name**: Lithuanian–Belorussian SSR
- **common name**: Litbel
- **continent**: Europe
- **region**: Eastern Europe
- **era**: World War I
- **status**: State union
- **empire**: USSR
- **government type**: Socialist state
- **year start**: 1919
- **year end**: 1919
- **date start**: February 17
- **date end**: July 17
- **p1**: Belarusian People's Republic
- **flag p1**: Flag of Belarus (1991-1995).svg
- **p2**: Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia
- **flag p2**: Flag of the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR.svg
- **p3**: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1918–1919)
- **flag p3**: Flag of the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR.svg
- **s1**: Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940)
- **flag s1**: Flag of Lithuania 1918-1940.svg
- **s2**: Second Polish Republic
- **flag s2**: Flag of Poland.svg
- **s3**: Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
- **flag s3**: Flag of Byelorussian SSR.svg
- **image flag**: Flag of the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR.svg
- **image map**: Map of Litbel 1919.svg
- **image map caption**: Map of planned Litbel borders (thick blue line) superimposed on state borders of 1920
- **legislature**: Council of People's Commissars
- **capital**: Vilnius, Minsk, Smolensk
- **common languages**: Lithuanian, Belarusian, Yiddish, Polish, Russian
Belarusian Democratic Republic

The **Belarusian People's Republic**, historically called the **White Ruthenian Democratic Republic**, was a self-declared independent Belarusian state. They said they were independent in 1918. It is also called the _Belarusian Democratic Republic_ or the _Belarusian National Republic_. This is to be separate from the Communist People's Republics. The BNR was recognized by several Central Powers and former Russian countries.  It was not recognized by most of the international community.  They country ended when Belarus went under Soviet control. The Byelorussian SSR was founded in 1919.
The leaders of the government went into exile. They still say the Belarusian People's Republic is a country.

## Presidents

Chairmans of the Council of BNR:
- Jan Sierada (1918–1919)
- Piotra Krečeŭski (1919–1928)
- Vasil Zacharka (1928–1943)
- Mikoła Abramčyk (1944–1970)
- Vincent Žuk-Hryškievič (1970–1982)
- Jazep Sažyč (1982–1997)
- Ivonka Survilla (1997–present)

## Infobox (former country)

- **conventional long name**: Belarusian People's Republic
- **native name**: Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка
_Biełaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika_
- **common name**: Belarus
- **status**: Partially recognized
- **p1**: Russian Republic
- **flag p1**: Flag of Russia.svg
- **s1**: Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
- **flag s1**: Flag of the Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR.svg
- **s2**: Second Polish Republic
- **flag s2**: Flag of Poland.svg
- **s3**: Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic
- **flag s3**: Flag_of_Belarus_(1918,_1991-1995).svg
- **image coat**: Coat of arms of Belarusian People's Republic.svg
- **symbol type**: Coat of arms
- **symbol**: National emblem of Belarus
- **image flag**: Flag_of_Belarus_(1918,_1991-1995).svg
- **flag type**: Flag
- **flag**: Flag of Belarus#White-red-white flag
- **national anthem**:

<small>"March of the Warriors"</small>
- **image map**: Map of Belarusian People's Republic 1918.png
- **image map caption**: Land claimed by the BNR at the time.
- **capital**: <small>1918</small>MinskVilnius, Vilna
<small>1918–1919</small>Hrodna
- **capital exile**: <small>1919–1923</small>Kaunas
<small>1923–1945</small>Prague
<small>1948–1970</small>Paris
<small>1970–1983</small>Toronto
<small>1983–present</small>New York City, New York
- **common languages**: Belarusian language, Belarusian

Polish language, Polish
Yiddish
Russian language, Russian
- **government type**: Republic
- **title leader**: Chairman of the Rada BNR, Rada
- **year leader1**: 1918–1919
- **leader1**: Jan Sierada
- **year leader2**: 1919
- **leader2**: Piotra Krečeŭski
- **title deputy**: Chairperson-in-exile
- **year deputy1**: 1919–1928 <small>(first)</small>
- **deputy1**: Piotra Krečeŭski
- **year deputy2**: 1997–<small>present</small>
- **deputy2**: Ivonka Survilla
- **era**: World War I
- **event start**: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Independence
- **date start**: March 25
- **year start**: 1918
- **event end**: Polish–Soviet War in 1919, Soviet invasion
- **date end**: January 5
- **year end**: 1919
- **year exile start**: 1919
- **currency**: Ruble
- **today**:
William Haines (Australian politician)

**William Clark Haines** (1810–3 February 1866) was the first Premier of Victoria. He served two terms as premier, the first from 30 November 1855 to 25 August 1856, and a second term from 29 April 1857 to 10 March 1858.

Born in London, Haines attended Charterhouse school, and then Cambridge University where he studied surgery. He moved to Victoria in 1842, and started farming around Geelong. After selling the farms in the 1850's he became a magistrate and was appointed to Victoria's Legislative Council. He helped to write the Victorian Constitution. In December 1854 he became the Colonial Secretary, and assisted the Governor of Victoria, Sir Charles Hotham.

The British government passed the Victorian Constitution Act in 1855. Hotham was convinced to hand his power over as soon as possible. Haines and three other council members were made government ministers with the job of organizing the change to self-government. Haines was appointed by Hotham to be the Chief Secretary of Victoria and act as Premier until the elections could be orgaized. He resigned when several of the ministers wanted the elections by secret ballot. He thought this would increase corruption and bribery.  He was reappointed when the Council decided that it, not the ministers should make the decision. He was the Chief Secretary until the first election in November 1856. After the election, as a member of the new Legislative Assembly, Haines became Premier until his government was defeated in 1857 by a group led by Sir John O'Shanassy.  The O'Shanassy government was soon defeated and Haines again became Premier. In 1858 he was defeated during arguments about how the electorates should be divided.

Haines traveled to the USA and Europe. On his return to Victoria in October 1860, he was again elected to the parliament, and became Treasurer in O'Shanassey's government.  After losing his seat in 1863, he was appointed to the Legislative Council.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: William Haines
- **image**: Williamhaines.jpg
- **imagesize**: 150px
- **caption**: William Haines
- **order**: 1st
- **office**: Premier of Victoria
- **term start**: 30 November 1855
- **term end**: 11 March 1857
- **predecessor**: The Governor of Victoria, Charles Hotham, Sir Charles Hotham
- **successor**: John O'Shanassy, Sir John O'Shanassy
- **constituency**: South Grant
- **term start2**: 29 April 1857
- **term end2**: 10 March 1858
- **predecessor2**: John O'Shanassy, Sir John O'Shanassy
- **successor2**: John O'Shanassy, Sir John O'Shanassy
- **birth date**: 1810
- **birth place**: Hampstead, London, England
- **death date**: 3 February 1866
- **death place**: South Yarra, Victoria, Australia
- **party**: Conservative
- **spouse**: Mary Ann Dugard
- **occupation**: Doctor
 Farmer
 Colonial Secretary
Polish–Soviet War

The **Polish–Soviet War** (February 1919 – March 1921) was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine against the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic.  It was for control of what is now Ukraine and part of Belarus.

A formal peace treaty, the Peace of Riga, was signed on 18 March 1921. It divided the land between Poland and Soviet Russia. Much of the land that was given to Poland became part of the Soviet Union after World War II.

## Infobox (military conflict)

- **conflict**: Polish–Soviet War
- **partof**: Central and Eastern European military campaigns that included the Western Front (RSFSR), Western Front of the Russian Civil War, Ukrainian War of Independence, Lithuanian Wars of Independence, Latvian War of Independence and Russian Civil War
- **image**: Polish-soviet war montage.jpg
- **image size**: 300px
- **caption**: **Top left:** Polish FT-17 tanks of the 1st Tank Regiment during the Battle of Daugavpils, Battle of Dyneburg, January 1920
**Below left:** Polish troops Kiev offensive (1920), enter Kiev, May 1920
**Top right:** Polish Schwarzlose M.07/12 machine gun nest during the Battle of Radzymin (1920), Battle of Radzymin, August 1920
**Middle:** Polish defences with a  M1895/14 machine gun position near Stara Miłosna, Miłosna, during the Battle of Warsaw (1920), Battle of Warsaw, August 1920
**Bottom left:** Russian prisoners following the Battle of Warsaw
**Bottom right:** Polish defences in Belarus during the Battle of the Niemen River, September 1920
- **date**: 1918/1919 – 18 March 1921
()
- **place**: Central and Eastern Europe
- **result**: Polish victory (see )
- **territory**: * Poland retained control of modern-day Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia, Western Belarus (Kresy in interwar Poland)
* Soviet forces retained control of modern-day Eastern Ukraine and Eastern Belorussia, Eastern Belarus
- **strength1**: **Early 1919:** ~50,000
**Summer 1920:**
800,000–950,000
 5 million reservists,
Ukrainian Galician Army (about 1,000 soldiers),
Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia
- **strength2**: **Early 1919:** ~80,000
**Summer 1920:**
348,286 troops on front, about  700,000 reservists
 approx. 1,000,000
Ukraine: 20,000
Russian volunteers: 20,000
- **casualties1**: **Total reported: 140,000–145,000 (unknown wounded not included)**<hr/>
 captured
- **casualties2**: **Total reported: 212,420**<hr/>47,551 dead113,518 wounded
51,351 captured or missing
West Belarus

**West Belarus** is the name used to mean to the land of modern Belarus which belonged to the Second Polish Republic between 1919 and 1939.

The land is Hrodna and Brest voblasts.  It is also parts of today's Minsk and Vitsebsk oblasts. The historical population of West Belarus included Belarusians, Poles, Lithuanians, Jews, and Russians.
Neman

**Neman** or **Niemen** or **Nemunas** is a major Eastern European river.  It starts in Belarus and flows through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches.  It also very briefly forms part of the border between Lithuania and Belarus.  It is the largest river in Lithuania and the 3rd largest in Belarus. People are able to travel on it for most of its 900-kilometer length. Its depth varies from one meter to five meters.

## The Neman tributaries

The Neman  tributaries are:
the rivers Neris (Viliya), the Shchara, and the Šešupė,  Svisloch, Nevėžis River, Dubysa, Jūra, Minija, Western Berezina, Zelvyanka, Molchad, Roś, Servech, Losha, Gorodnichanka and others.

## Biological communities

The following fish have been found in the Neman: perch, pike, zander, roach, tench, bream, rudd, ruffe, and bleak. Its tributaries also contain  stone loach, the three-spined stickleback, minnows, trout, sculpins,  gudgeon, dace and chub.

Atlantic salmon used to migrate upstream to spawn.  The dams on the river made there be less. The dam at Kaunas does not provide fish ladders.

## Infobox (river)

- **name**: Neman
- **name other**: Nioman (in Belarusian); Nemunas (in Lithuanian); Niemen (in Polish)
- **name etymology**: possible Slavic - southern Slavic word for monster
- **image**: Neman river.jpg
- **image size**: 300
- **image caption**: The Neman near Alytus
- **map**: Nemunas-en.png
- **map size**: 300
- **map caption**: Map highlighting Neman
- **pushpin map size**: 300
- **subdivision type1**: Country
- **subdivision name1**: Belarus, Lithuania, Russia
- **subdivision type5**: Cities
- **subdivision name5**: Grodno, Kaunas, Sovetsk
- **discharge1 location**: Curonian Lagoon, linked to the Baltic Sea
- **source1 location**: Southwest of Minsk, Belarus
- **mouth**: Curonian Lagoon
- **mouth location**: West of Šilutė, Lithuania
Pripyat (river)

The **Pripyat River** or **Prypiat River** is a river in Eastern Europe.  It is about  long. It flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and Ukraine again.  It drains into the Dnieper.

The Pripyat passes through the zone of alienation around the Chernobyl reactor, site of the nuclear disaster. It is polluted with radionuclides. The amount of caesium-137 in river sediments continues to go up.  The city of Prypiat, Ukraine (population 45,000) was completely evacuated after the Chernobyl disaster.

## Tributaries

- Horyn River (_659 km; 22,700 km<sup>2</sup>_)
    - Sluch (_451 km; 13,800 km<sup>2</sup>_)

## Infobox (river)

- **name**: Pripyat River
- **image**: The Pripyat River (02710031).jpg
- **image caption**: Pripyat River
- **map**: Bo-map.png
- **map caption**: Map displaying the course of the river, flowing eastward through southern Belarus through the cities of Brest, Belarus, Brest, Pinsk and Mazyr
- **source1 location**: Ukraine
- **mouth location**: Dnieper
- **subdivision type1**: Country
- **subdivision name1**: Ukraine, Belarus
- **tributaries left**: Pina River, Pina, Yaselda River, Yaselda, Tsna River (Pripyat), Tsna, Lan River, Lan, Sluch River (Belarus), Sluch, Ptsich, Braginka River, Braginka
- **tributaries right**: Turija River, Turija, Stokhid River, Stokhid, Styr River, Styr, Horyn River, Horyn, Ubort River, Ubort, Zhelon, Slovechna, Uzh River (Northern Ukraine), Uzh
Dzyarzhynskaya Hara

**Dzyarzhynskaya Hara** is the highest point in Belarus. The hill is 345 meters (1,130 ft) above sea level.  It is west of Minsk, near Dzyarzhynsk, in the village Skirmuntava. The original name of the hill was **Svyataya Hara**. In 1958 the hill was renamed _Hara Dzyarzhynskaya_, after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the NKVD/KGB.

## Infobox (mountain)

- **name**: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara
- **photo**: Dziaržynskaja hara.jpg
- **photo size**: 200
- **elevation m**: 345
- **map size**: 150
- **label position**: right
- **listing**: List of countries by highest point, Country high point
- **type**: Hill
SMK Jalan Damai

**Jalan Damai Secondary School** or simply **SMK Jalan Damai**, is a national secondary school located in Kampung Baru, Penang, Malaysia. It has about 2370 students and 120 teachers.

SMK Jalan Damai, Bukit Mertajam was founded on 5th January 1970. At that time, it was known as Sekolah Menengah Rendah, Bukit Mertajam (the Lower Secondary School, Bukit Mertajam) with a total of 717 students and 29 teachers (including a religious teacher and a principal Mr. A. Gopala Krishnan).During that time, the official buildings were still under construction, so the students had to share facilities and spaces with Sekolah Tinggi Bukit Mertajam (Bukit Mertajam High School) in the afternoon session. At the end of 1973, the new buildings (14 classrooms, 3 science labs, 2 domestic science rooms, industrial arts workshop and canteen) were completed on Jalan Damai, Bukit Mertajam. On the 7th of January 1974, 602 students moved to the new buildings.

In December 2020, SMK Jalan Damai has changed principle again. The new principle's name is Dr. Ooi Yek Hwa. He succeeded the job from Mr Lee Cheah Kuen. Mr Lee Cheak Kuen retired on December 2020. ..
Alex Chernov

**Alex Chernov** AC QC (born 12 May 1938) was the Governor of Victoria from 2011 through 2015.

## Early life

Chernov was born in Lithuania to Russian parents, and moved with his family to Salzburg, Austria where he started school. In 1949 his family moved to Australia and he completed his schooling at Melbourne High School. He studied commerce (business) and law at the University of Melbourne during the 1960s.

## Career

Chernov became a barrister in 1968, practising mostly in commercial law and equity. He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1980. He was Chairman of the Victorian Bar 1985–86, Vice-President of the Australian Bar Association 1986–87 and President of the Law Council of Australia 1990–91. He was Vice President of LawAsia 1995–1997.

He wrote a book with Robert Brooking AO, _Tenancy Law and Practice: Victoria_ (1972) and edited the second edition (1980).

In May 1997 he was appointed to the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria, and in October 1998 to the Court of Appeal. He retired in February 2008.

He was elected the 20th Chancellor of the University of Melbourne in January 2009, serving in that office until he resigned to become Governor of Victoria.

## Vice-regal office

On 21 February 2011, it was announced that he would become the 28th Governor of Victoria. He took officee on 8 April 2011.

## Personal life

Chernov is married with three children.

## Honours

Chernov was appointed Queen's Counsel in and for the State of Victoria in 1980.

Chernov was created an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours list for service to the law and education.

On 26 January 2011, Chernov was named a Companion of the Order of Australia.

## Other websites

- University of Melbourne biography

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **honorific-prefix**: <small>Excellency, His Excellency The Honourable
</small>
- **name**: Alex Chernov
- **honorific-suffix**: <small>
Companion of the Order of Australia, AC Queen's Counsel, QC</small>
- **image**: Alex Chernov Governor of Victoria.png
- **imagesize**: 245px
- **order**: 28th
- **office**: Governor of Victoria
- **term start**: 8 April 2011
- **term end**: 1 July 2015
- **lieutenant**: Marilyn Warren AC
- **monarch**: Elizabeth II
- **premier**: Ted Baillieu
- **predecessor**: David de Kretser AC
- **successor**: Linda Dessau
- **birth place**: Lithuania
- **spouse**: Elizabeth Hopkins
- **residence**: Government House, Melbourne
- **alma mater**: University of Melbourne
- **profession**: Barrister
Judge
- **website**: http://www.governor.vic.gov.au/
Yellow-billed magpie

The **yellow-billed magpie** (_Pica nuttalli_) is a species of magpie, a type of songbird. It is a medium-sized member of the crow family with glossy black and white plumage and a yellow beak. The yellow-billed magpie lives only in California where it can be found in dry and warm oak savannah and shady valleys along the Central Valley. It is an omnivorous species: Insects and seeds are its main food, but it also takes carrion, small vertebrates and eggs. The breeding season of the yellow-billed magpie starts in April and it takes until the end of June for all chicks to fledge. The birds breed in loose colonies of 3−30 nests and they feed in flocks of several dozens.

John James Audubon was the first person to formally describe the yellow-billed magpie. He named it "_Corvus nuttalli_" to honor the naturalist Thomas Nuttall. Within the genus _Pica_, the species is closest to the North American black-billed magpie (_P. hudsonia_). Both species share a common ancestor that migrated from Kamtchatka to Alaska some time in the Pleistocene. Black-billed and yellow-billed magpie diverged as a result of the glaciation of the Rocky Mountains. The yellow-billed yagpie became isolated in the warm climate of California and adapted to it. The species' population was hit hard by the outbreak of the West Nile Virus after 1999. It is currently not considered as endangered, but the virus and the degradation of its habitat pose a serious threat to some populations.

## References

</references>
Ealing Broadway station

**Ealing Broadway railway station** is a station of the London Underground and National Rail in Ealing, in the borough of a same name.

## Infobox (london station)

- **name**: Ealing Broadway
- **symbol**: underground
- **symbol2**: crossrail
- **symbol3**: rail
- **image name**: File:Ealing Broadway station (1).jpg
- **locale**: Ealing
- **borough**: London Borough of Ealing
- **manager**: TfL Rail
- **railcode**: EAL
- **platforms**: 9
- **fare zone**: 3
- **original**: Great Western Railway
- **pregroup**: Great Western Railway
- **postgroup**: Great Western Railway
- **events1**: Opened (GWR)
- **events2**: Opened (DR)
- **events3**: Start (CLR)
- **events4**: Start (TFL-Rail)
- **years1**: 1838
- **years2**: 1879
- **years3**: 1920
- **years4**: 2018
- **railexits1314**: 5.286
- **raillowint1314**: 91,438
- **railexits1415**: 5.818
- **railint1415**: 0.107
- **railexits1516**: 6.581
- **raillowint1516**: 47,051
- **railexits1617**: 6.373
- **raillowint1617**: 37,391
- **dft category**: C1
Hayes & Harlington railway station

**Hayes & Harlington railway station** is a railway station in London.
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 tube station

**Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3** is a station of the London Underground. It is at Heathrow Airport and serves terminals 2 and 3 of the airport. The station used to be called **Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3** until January 2016 when Heathrow Terminal 1 closed. Although the station has been renamed, the signage and announcements on the train and platform do not use the new name. It is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly Line.
Andrew Huxley

**Sir Andrew Huxley** OM FRS (Andrew Fielding Huxley, 22 November 1917 – 30 May 2012) was an English physiologist and biophysicist.

Huxley was born in Hampstead, London. He was the youngest son of writer and editor Leonard Huxley by his second wife Rosalind Bruce. He was the half-brother of writer Aldous Huxley and fellow biologist Julian Huxley, and grandson of biologist T H. Huxley. He studied Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Huxley won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Alan Hodgkin and John Eccles for his experimental and mathematical work with Alan Hodgkin on the basis of nerve action potentials. These are the electrical impulses that make nerve fibres work, and so the whole central nervous system.

Hodgkin and Huxley shared the prize that year with Sir John Eccles, who was cited for research on nerve synapses. Hodgkin and Huxley's findings led the pair to suggest the existence of ion channels, which were found only decades later.

Huxley was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 17 March 1955. He was President of the Royal Society from 1980 to 1985, and Master of Trinity from  1984–1990. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 November 1974, and appointed to the Order of Merit on 11 November 1983. He was elected a member of the Academia Europaea in 1989.

## Related pages

- Huxley family

## References

- Huxley A.F. 1980. _Reflections on muscle._ The Sherrington Lectures XIV. Liverpool.

## Infobox (scientist)

- **embed**: yes
- **fields**: Physiology and biophysics
- **known for**: Nerve fibre action potentials


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Sir Andrew Huxley
- **image**: Andrew Fielding Huxley nobel.jpg
- **image size**: 192px
- **caption**: Huxley in 1963
- **birth name**: Andrew Fielding Huxley
- **birth place**: Hampstead, London, England
- **death place**: Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
- **nationality**: British people, British
- **alma mater**: Trinity College, Cambridge
- **awards**: 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- **spouse**: Jocelyn R.G. Pease
(m. 1947-2003; her death)
- **children**: 1 son, 5 daughters
- **relations**: Aldous Huxley (half-brother),
Julian Huxley (half-brother),
Thomas Henry Huxley, T.H. Huxley (Grandfather),
Michael Pease (Father-in-law),
Helen Bowen Wedgwood (Mother-in-law),
Josiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood, First Lord Wedgwood,
(See Huxley family)
Shōkyō

, also known as **Shōkei**, was a  of the Northern Court during the Nanboku-chō period  after Gentoku and before Kemmu.  This period started in April 1332 and ended in April 1334. The pretender in Kyoto was .  Kōgon's Southern Court rival in Yoshino during this time was .

## Events of the Shōkyō Era

- **1332** (_Shōkyō 1_):  The era name was changed to  in _Genkō_ 2, the 10th month.
- **1332** (_Shōkyō 1, 3rd month_): Go-Daigo was sent into exile on the Oki Province (the Oki Islands) in the Sea of Japan off the coast of the provinces of Izumo and Hōki.
- **1333** (_Shōkyō 2, 3rd month_): Go-Daigo escaped from island exile.

## Southern Court _nengō_

- Genkō, 1331-1334

## Related pages

- Muromachi period

## Other websites

- National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection

|Keichō|1st|2nd|3rd|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
||1332|1333|1334|