title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The city is home to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, covering 39 counties and comprising 75 parishes and missions as well as seven Catholic high schools and nineteen elementary schools; there are also two Eastern Catholic parishes in the Birmingham area. Additionally, the Catholic television network EWTN is headquartered in metropolitan Birmingham. There are three Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Metro Area as well, Greek, Russian and American. There is also a Unitarian Universalist church in the Birmingham area.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The main campus of the Church of the Highlands is located in Birmingham. The church operates schools and churches across Alabama.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: From Birmingham's early days onward, the steel industry has always played a crucial role in the local economy. Though the steel industry no longer has the same prominence it once held in Birmingham, steel production and processing continue to play a key role in the economy. Steel products manufacturers American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO) and McWane are based in the city. Several of the nation's largest steelmakers, including CMC Steel, U.S. Steel, and Nucor, also have a major presence in Birmingham. In recent years, local steel companies have announced about $100 million worth of investment in expansions and new plants in and around the city. Vulcan Materials Company, a major provider of crushed stone, sand, and gravel used in construction, is based in Birmingham.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: In the 1970s and 1980s, Birmingham's economy was transformed by investments in bio-technology and medical research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and its adjacent hospital. The UAB Hospital is a Level I trauma center providing health care and breakthrough medical research. UAB is now the area's largest employer and the second largest in Alabama with a workforce of about 18,750 as of 2011. Health care services providers HealthSouth, Surgical Care Affiliates and Diagnostic Health Corporation are headquartered in the city. Caremark Rx was also founded in the city.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is a leading banking center and is the location of the headquarters of Regions Financial Corporation. Banks with over a 5% market share of deposits in Birmingham are Regions Financial Corporation, PNC Financial Services, Servisfirst Bank, and Wells Fargo.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Nearly a dozen smaller banks have been headquartered in the Magic City, such as Superior Bancorp and Cadence Bank. As of 2009, the finance & banking sector in Birmingham employed 1,870 financial managers, 1,530 loan officers, 680 securities commodities and financial services sales agents, 380 financial analysts, 310 financial examiners, 220 credit analysts, and 130 loan counselors.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: In 2012, Birmingham was the 9th largest banking hub in the United States by the amount of locally headquartered deposits. In 2014, Birmingham was the 10th largest banking center.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is a powerhouse of construction and engineering companies, including BE&K, Brasfield & Gorrie, Robins & Morton, and B.L. Harbert International which routinely are included in the Engineering News-Record lists of top design and international construction firms.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Two of the largest soft-drink bottlers in the United States, each with more than $500 million in sales per year, are located in Birmingham. The Buffalo Rock Company, founded in 1901, was formerly a maker of just ginger ale, but now it is a major bottler for the Pepsi Cola Company. Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, founded in 1902, is the third-largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the U.S.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: AT&T has a major nexus in Birmingham, supported by a skyscraper downtown as well as several large operational center buildings and a data center.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Protective Life, ProAssurance, and Liberty National are headquartered in Birmingham and employ many people in Greater Birmingham.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham has seen a noticeable decrease in the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the city, due to mergers, moves, and buy-outs. In 2000, there were 10 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the city, while in 2014 there was only 1, Regions Bank. Birmingham used to be home to more than 30 publicly traded companies, but in 2011 there were only 15. This number has increased since, but not significantly. Some companies such as Zoe's Kitchen were founded and operated in Birmingham, but moved their headquarters. Birmingham has rebounded with the growth of companies like HealthSouth, Alabama Power Company, Hibbett Sports, Autocar Company, and Books-A-Million. Food companies such as Chester's, Jack's, Grapico, Red Diamond, Milo's Hamburgers, and Yogurt Mountain are also based in Birmingham.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Birmingham metropolitan area has consistently been rated as one of America's best places to work and earn a living based on the area's competitive salary rates and relatively low living expenses. In 2006, Salary.com ranked Birmingham second in the nation for building personal net worth, based on local salary rates, living expenses, and unemployment rates.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: A 2006 study by "American City Business Journals" calculated Birmingham's "combined personal income" (the sum of all money earned by all residents of an area in a year) at $48.1 billion.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham's sales tax, which also applies fully to groceries, is 10% and is the highest tax rate of the nation's 100 largest cities.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Although Jefferson County's bankruptcy filing was the largest government bankruptcy in U.S. history in 2011, Birmingham remains solvent.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: In 2021, Birmingham's largest public companies by market capitalization were Regions Bank (RF, $14.61 billion), Vulcan Materials (VMC, $8.45 billion), Energen (EGN, $6.47 billion), Protective Life (PL, $5.47 billion), and HealthSouth (HLS, $3.15 billion). All were listed on the New York Stock Exchange.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Energen sold one of its largest subsidiaries, Alagasco, and Protective Life was bought by Dai-ichi Life and removed from stock exchanges. If Alabama Power was considered independent of the Southern Company (headquartered in Atlanta), it would be the largest company with more than $5.9 billion in revenue in 2014.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: In 2021, Birmingham's largest private companies by annual revenue and employees were O'Neal Steel ($2.66 billion; 550 employees), EBSCO Industries ($2.5 billion; 1,220 employees), Drummond Coal ($2.4 billion; 1,380 employees), Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC ($2.2 billion; 973 employees), and McWane ($1.7 billion, 620 employees).


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is the cultural and entertainment capital of Alabama with numerous art galleries in the area including the Birmingham Museum of Art, the largest art museum in the Southeast. Downtown Birmingham is currently experiencing a cultural and economic rejuvenation, with several new independent shops and restaurants opening in the area. Birmingham is also home to the state's major ballet, opera, and symphony orchestra companies such the Alabama Ballet, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Ballet, Birmingham Concert Chorale, and Opera Birmingham.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham's nightlife is primarily clustered around Five Points South and Lakeview. In addition, a $55-million "Uptown" entertainment district has recently opened adjacent to the BJCC featuring a number of restaurants and a Westin hotel.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham maintains Birmingham365.org, "a one-stop source for finding out what's going on where around" Birmingham.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is home to several museums. The largest is the Birmingham Museum of Art, which is also the largest municipal art museum in the Southeast. The area's history museums include the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, which houses a detailed and emotionally charged narrative exhibit putting Birmingham's history into the context of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. It is located on Kelly Ingram Park adjacent to the 16th Street Baptist Church.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Other history museums include the Southern Museum of Flight, Bessemer Hall of History, Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, Alabama Museum of Health Sciences, and the Arlington Home.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame is housed in the historic Carver Theatre, and offers exhibits about the numerous notable jazz musicians from the state of Alabama.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The McWane Science Center is a regional science museum with hands-on science exhibits, temporary exhibitions, and an IMAX dome theater. The center also houses a major collection of fossil specimens for use by researchers. Other unique museums include the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame; the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, which contains the largest collection of motorcycles in the world; the Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama at Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, near McCalla; the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame; and the Talladega Superspeedway International Motorsports Hall of Fame museum.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: South of downtown, on Red Mountain, Vulcan Park features the world's largest cast iron statue, depicting Vulcan at his forge. It was cast for the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, and erected at Vulcan Park in 1938.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is home to numerous cultural festivals showcasing music, films, and regional heritage. Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival brings filmmakers from all over the world to Birmingham to have their films viewed and judged. This festival usually is scheduled in late August at eight venues around downtown. Screenings are concentrated at the Alabama Theatre.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Another musical festival is the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival, presented at the end of August each year, concurrent with the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. This all day festival features national and local jazz acts. In 2007, the festival drew an estimated 6,000 people. The Birmingham Folk Festival is an annual event held since 2006. It moved to Avondale Park in 2008. In 2009 the festival featured nine local bands and three touring "headliner bands".


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Southern Heritage Festival began in the 1960s as a music, arts, and entertainment festival for the African-American community to attract mostly younger demographics. Do Dah Day is an annual pet parade held around the end of May. The Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil, an annual music festival event held in May to benefit local charities, always includes an all-star cast of talent. It typically draws more than 30,000 spectators for the annual two-day event. The annual Greek Festival, a celebration of Greek heritage, culture, and especially cuisine, is a charity fundraiser hosted by the Greek Orthodox Holy Trinity - Holy Cross Cathedral. The Greek Festival draws 20,000 patrons annually. The Lebanese Food Festival is held at St. Elias Maronite Church. Magic City Brewfest is an annual festival benefiting local grassroots organization, Free the Hops, and focusing on craft beer. Alabama Bound is an annual book and author fair that celebrates Alabama authors and publishers. Hosted by the Birmingham Public Library, it is an occasion when fans may meet their favorite authors, buy their books, and hear them read from and talk about their work. Book signings follow each presentation.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Vulcan statue is a cast iron representation of the Roman god of fire, iron, and blacksmiths that is the symbol of Birmingham. The statue stands high above the city looking down from a tower at the top of Red Mountain. Open to visitors, the tower offers views of the city below. The Birmingham Zoo is a large regional zoo with more than 700 animals and an interactive children's zoo.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Birmingham Botanical Gardens is a 67-acre (270,000 m) park displaying a wide variety of plants in interpretive gardens, including formal rose gardens, tropical greenhouses, and a large Japanese garden. The facility also includes a white-tablecloth restaurant, meeting rooms, and an extensive reference library. It is complemented by Hoover's Aldridge Botanical Gardens, an ambitious project open since 2002. Aldridge offers a place to stroll, and is to add unique displays in coming years. Splash Adventure (formerly VisionLand and Alabama Adventure) in Bessemer serves as the Birmingham area's water and theme park, featuring numerous slides, and water-themed attractions.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Kelly Ingram Park is the site of notable civil rights protests, and is adjacent to the historic 16th Street Baptist Church. Railroad Park opened in 2010 in downtown Birmingham's Railroad Reservation District. Oak Mountain State Park is about south of Birmingham. Red Mountain is one of the southernmost wrinkles in the Appalachian chain, and a scenic drive to the top provides views reminiscent of the Great Smoky Mountains further north. To the west of the city is located Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, a Civil War site which includes the well-preserved ruins of the Tannehill Iron Furnaces and the John Wesley Hall Grist Mill.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Summit is an upscale lifestyle center with many stores and restaurants. It is located in Southeast Birmingham off of U.S. Highway 280, parallel to Interstate 459.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham has a strong-mayor variant mayor-council form of government, led by a mayor and a nine-member city council. The current system replaced the previous city commission government in 1962 (primarily as a way to remove Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene "Bull" Connor from power).


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: By Alabama law, an issue before a city council must be approved by a two-thirds majority vote (Act No. 452, Ala. Acts 1955, as supplemented by Act No. 294, Ala. Acts 1965). Executive powers are held entirely by the Mayor's Office. Birmingham's current Mayor is Randall Woodfin. Mayor Bell, who previously served as interim Mayor in 1999, won a special election on January 19, 2010, to fill the unexpired term of former Mayor Larry Langford. Langford was removed from office after being convicted of federal corruption charges on October 28, 2009.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: In 1974, Birmingham established a structured network of neighborhood associations and community advisory committees to insure public participation in governmental issues that affect neighborhoods. Neighborhood associations are routinely consulted on matters related to zoning changes, liquor licenses, economic development, policing and other city services. Neighborhoods are also granted discretionary funds from the city's budget to use for capital improvements. Each neighborhood's officers meet with their peers to form Community Advisory Committees which are granted broader powers over city departments. The presidents of these committees, in turn, form the Citizen's Advisory Board, which meets regularly with the mayor, council, and department heads. Birmingham is divided into a total of 23 communities, and again into a total of 99 individual neighborhoods with individual neighborhood associations.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The United States Postal Service operates post offices in Birmingham. The main post office is located at 351 24th Street North in Downtown Birmingham. Birmingham is also the home of the Social Security Administration's Southeastern Program Service Center. This center is one of only seven in the United States that process Social Security entitlement claims and payments. In addition, Birmingham is the home of a branch bank of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham was ranked 425th in crime rate in the U.S. for 2012 by CQ Press. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area was ranked as having the 35th highest crime rate in the U.S., out of 347 MSAs ranked in 2011 by CQ Press. The Birmingham metro area crime rate is in line with other southern MSAs such as Jacksonville, FL, and Charlotte, NC. "U.S. News & World Report" ranked Birmingham as the third most dangerous city in the nation for 2011 (only Atlanta and St. Louis were ranked higher). The A&E Network series "The First 48" has filmed episodes with some of the city's homicide detectives.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The downtown district is patrolled by City Action Partnership (CAP), formed in 1995 to increase the perception of safety.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Birmingham Public Library administers 21 branches throughout the city and is part of a wider system including another 19 suburban branches in Jefferson County, serving the entire community to provide education and entertainment for all ages.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The city of Birmingham is served by the Birmingham City Schools system. It is run by the Birmingham Board of Education with a current active enrollment of 30,500 in 62 schools: seven high schools, 13 middle schools, 33 elementary schools, and nine kindergarten-eighth-grade primary schools.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The greater-Birmingham metropolitan area is the home of numerous independent school systems, because there has a been a great deal of fragmentation of educational systems in Alabama, and especially in Jefferson County. Some of these "school systems" only have three to five schools. The metropolitan area's three largest school systems are the Jefferson County School System, Birmingham City Schools, and the Shelby County School System. However, there are many smaller school systems.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Birmingham area is reputed to be the home of some of Alabama's best high schools, colleges, and universities. In 2005, the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School in Irondale, an eastern suburb of Birmingham, was rated as the No. 1 high school in America by "Newsweek", a national publication. The school remains among the nation's top 5 high schools. Mountain Brook High School placed 250th on the list. Other local schools that have been rated among America's best in various publications include Homewood High School, Vestavia Hills High School and the Alabama School of Fine Arts located downtown. The metro area also has three highly regarded preparatory schools: Saint Rose Academy located in Birmingham proper The Altamont School, also located in Birmingham proper, and Indian Springs School in north Shelby County near Pelham.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Noteworthy institutions of higher education in greater Birmingham include the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Samford University (includes the Cumberland School of Law), Birmingham School of Law, Miles College, the independent Miles Law School, Jefferson State Community College, Birmingham-Southern College, University of Montevallo (in Shelby County), Lawson State Community College, and Virginia College in Birmingham, the largest career college based in Birmingham.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is served by one major newspaper, "The Birmingham News" (circulation 150,346), which changed from daily to thrice-weekly publication on October 1, 2012. "The Birmingham News" Wednesday edition features six sub regional sections named "East", "Hoover", "North", "Shelby", "South", and "West" that cover news stories from those areas. The newspaper has been awarded two Pulitzer Prizes, in 1991 and 2007. The "Birmingham Post-Herald", the city's second daily, published its last issue in 2006. Other local publications include "The North Jefferson News, The Leeds News", "The Trussville Tribune" (Trussville, Clay and Pinson), "The Western Star" (Bessemer) and "The Western Tribune" (Bessemer).


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The "Birmingham Times", a historic African-American newspaper, also is published weekly. Birmingham is served by the city magazine of the Chamber of Commerce, "Birmingham" magazine. "The Alabama Baptist", published weekly in Birmingham, is an entity of the Alabama Baptist Convention. "Black & White, Weld", "Birmingham Weekly", and the "Birmingham Free Press" are some of the free alternative publications that were published in the past (all are now defunct).


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is part of the Birmingham/Anniston/Tuscaloosa television market. The major television affiliates, most of which have their transmitters and studios located on Red Mountain in Birmingham, are WBRC 6 (Fox), WBIQ 10 (PBS), WVTM 13 (NBC), WTTO 21 (CW), WIAT 42 (CBS), WPXH 44 (ION), WBMA-LD 58/68.2 (ABC), and WABM 68 (MyNetworkTV).


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Major broadcasting companies who own stations in the Birmingham market include Clear Channel, Cox Radio, Cumulus Media, and Crawford Broadcasting. The "Rick and Bubba" show, which is syndicated to over 25 stations primarily in the Southeast, originates from Birmingham's WZZK-FM. The Paul Finebaum sports-talk show, also syndicated and carried nationwide on Sirius digital radio, originated from WJOX.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is home to EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), the world's largest Catholic media outlet and religious media network of any kind, broadcasting to about 350 million television households in more than 145 countries and territories, as of 2022.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Before the first structure was built in Birmingham, the plan of the city was laid out over a total of by the directors of the Elyton Land Co. The streets were numbered from west to east, leaving Twentieth Street to form the central spine of downtown, anchored on the north by Capital Park and stretching into the slopes of Red Mountain to the south. A "railroad reservation" was granted through the center of the city, running east to west and zoned solely for industrial uses. As the city grew, bridges and underpasses separated the streets from the railroad bed, lending this central reservation some of the impact of a river (without the pleasant associations of a waterfront). From the start, Birmingham's streets and avenues were unusually wide at 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 m), purportedly to help evacuate unhealthy smoke.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: In the early 20th century professional planners helped lay out many of the new industrial settlements and company towns in the Birmingham District, including Corey (now Fairfield) which was developed for the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (subsequently purchased by U.S. Steel). At the same time, a movement to consolidate several neighboring cities gained momentum. Although local referendums indicated mixed feelings about annexation, the Alabama legislature enacted an expansion of Birmingham's corporate limits that became effective on January 1, 1910.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The Robert Jemison company developed many residential neighborhoods to the south and west of Birmingham which are still renowned for their aesthetic quality.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: A 1924 plan for a system of parks, commissioned from the Olmsted Brothers is seeing renewed interest with several significant new parks and greenways under development. Birmingham officials have approved a City Center Master Plan developed by Urban Design Associates of Pittsburgh, which advocates strongly for more residential development in the downtown area. The plan also called for a major park over several blocks of the central railroad reservation: Railroad Park, which opened in 2010. Along with Ruffner Mountain Park and Red Mountain Park, Birmingham ranks first in the United States for public green space per resident.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The city is served by four Interstate Highways: Interstate 20, Interstate 65, Interstate 59, and Interstate 22, as well as a southern bypass expressway Interstate 459, which connects with I-20/59 to the southwest, with I-65 the south, I-20 to the east, and I-59 to the northeast. Beginning in downtown Birmingham is the "Elton B. Stephens Expressway"—the "Red Mountain Expressway" to the southeast—which carries both U.S. Highway 31 and U.S. Highway 280 to, through, and over Red Mountain. Interstate 22 is on the verge of completion between Birmingham and Memphis, Tennessee, lacking only the final three to four miles that will connect it with I-65 just north of the Birmingham city limits. Construction has begun on the first segment of I-422, the Birmingham Northern Beltline that will serve the suburbs on the opposite side of Birmingham from I-459.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: In the area of metropolitan public transportation, Birmingham is served by the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA) bus, trolley, and paratransit system, which from 1985 until 2008 was branded the Metro Area Express (MAX). BJCTA also operates a "downtown circulator" service called "D A R T" (Downtown Area Runabout Transit), which consists of two routes in the central business district and one in the UAB area. A Bus rapid transit line, named the Birmingham Xpress, was opened in September 2022, running from Woodlawn to Five Points West along the US 11 corridor. Bus service to other cites is provided by Greyhound Lines. Megabus also offers bus service to Atlanta and Memphis.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is served by the Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport. This airport serves more than 3 million passengers every year. With more than 160 flights daily, the airport offers flights to 37 cities across the United States. Commercial passenger service through Birmingham is provided by United Express, Delta Air Lines/Delta Connection, American Eagle, and Southwest Airlines.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Birmingham is served by three major railroad freight companies: the Norfolk Southern Company, CSX Transportation, and the BNSF Railway. All three of these have major railroad yards in the metro area. Smaller regional railroads such as the Alabama Warrior Railway and the Birmingham Southern Railroad also freight customers in Birmingham. Amtrak's "Crescent" connects Birmingham with the cities and towns of Washington D.C. (and points northeast and northwest of that), Greensboro, NC, Charlotte, NC, Greenville, SC, Atlanta, GA, Anniston, AL, Tuscaloosa, AL Meridian, MS, Hattiesburg, MS, and New Orleans, LA. For the past several decades, the only passenger railroad service in Birmingham has been the Amtrak "Crescent", with one train eastbound and one train westbound daily from the Birmingham Station.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: The water for Birmingham and the intermediate urbanized area is served by the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB). A public authority that was established in 1951, the BWWB serves all of Jefferson, northern Shelby, western St. Clair counties. The largest reservoir for BWWB is Lake Purdy, which is located on the Jefferson and Shelby County line, but has several other reservoirs including Bayview Lake in western Jefferson County. There are plans to pipeline water from Inland Lake in Blount County and Lake Logan Martin, but those plans are on hold indefinitely.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Jefferson County Environmental Services serves the Birmingham metro area with sanitary sewer service. Sewer rates have increased in recent years after citizens concerned with pollution in area waterways filed a lawsuit that resulted in a federal consent decree to repair an aging sewer system. Because the estimated cost of the consent decree was approximately three times more than the original estimate, many blame the increased rates on corruption of several Jefferson County officials. The sewer construction and bond-swap agreements continue to be a controversial topic in the area.


title: Birmingham, Alabama

text: Electric power is provided primarily by Southern Company-subsidiary, Alabama Power. However, some of the surrounding area such as Bessemer and Cullman are provided by TVA. Bessemer also operates its own water and sewer system. Natural gas is provided by Spire, although some metro area cities operate their own natural gas services. The local telecommunications are provided by AT&T. Cable television service is provided by Charter Communications.


title: Sum 41

text: Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom Thacker (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals), and Frank Zummo (drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals).


title: Sum 41

text: In 1999, Sum 41 signed an international record deal with Island Records and released its first EP, "Half Hour of Power", in 2000. The band released its debut album, "All Killer No Filler", in 2001. The album achieved mainstream success with its first single, "Fat Lip", which reached number one on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart and remains the band's most successful single to date. The album's next singles "In Too Deep" and "Motivation" also achieved commercial success. "All Killer No Filler" was certified platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom and triple platinum in Canada. In 2002, the band released "Does This Look Infected?", which was also a commercial and critical success. The singles "The Hell Song" and "Still Waiting" both charted highly on the modern rock charts.


title: Sum 41

text: The band released its next album, "Chuck", in 2004, led by singles "We're All to Blame" and "Pieces". The album proved successful, peaking at number 10 on the "Billboard" 200. In 2007, the band released "Underclass Hero", which was met with a mixed reception, but became the band's highest charting album to date. It was also the band's last album on Aquarius Records. The band released the album "Screaming Bloody Murder", on Island Records in 2011 to a generally positive reception, though it fell short of its predecessors' commercial success. The band's sixth studio album, "13 Voices" was released in 2016. IMPALA awarded the album with a double gold award for 150,000 sold copies across Europe. The band's seventh studio album "Order in Decline" was released on July 19, 2019. The band is in production of their eighth studio album titled "Heaven and Hell". A release date has yet to be announced.


title: Sum 41

text: The band often performs more than 300 times each year and holds long global tours, most of which last more than a year. The group have been nominated for seven Juno Awards and won twice – Group of the Year in 2003, and Rock Album of the Year for "Chuck" in 2005. Sum 41 was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for the song "Blood in My Eyes". From their formation to 2016, Sum 41 were the 31st best-selling Canadian artist in Canada and among the top 10 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada.


title: Sum 41

text: Sum 41 was formed by guitarist Deryck Whibley, drummer Steve Jocz, bassist Richard Roy and vocalist Jon Marshall. They were originally called Kaspir. The band is from Ajax, Ontario. the band was formed as a NOFX cover band. The group members decided to change the band's name to Supernova while on tour on September 28, 1996, which happened to be the 41st day of their summer vacation, leading them to change their name to Sum 41.


title: Sum 41

text: The band met their manager and producer Greig Nori in 1996 at their first show as Sum 41. Whibley convinced Nori to watch his band perform. Nori is also the lead vocalist of the band Treble Charger. Nori was not impressed with the band's songs or original vocalist and advised Whibley to be the vocalist, causing Marshall to leave. With Whibley moving to lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Dave Baksh joined as lead guitarist. Early on; the band was involved in a near-fatal car accident, resulting in Roy leaving the band. Mark Spicoluk briefly filled in the position before Jason McCaslin was brought in on bass to complete the new line-up. In 1996, the band opened for Len.


title: Sum 41

text: In 1998, the band recorded a demo tape on compact cassette which they sent to record companies in the hope of getting a recording contract.


title: Sum 41

text: From 1999 to 2000, the band recorded several new songs. The "Introduction to Destruction" and later the "Cross The T's and Gouge Your I's" DVDs both contain the self-recorded footage, which show the band performing a dance to "Makes No Difference" in front of a theatre.


title: Sum 41

text: After signing with Island Records in 1999, Sum 41's first EP, "Half Hour of Power", was released on June 27, 2000. The first single released by the band was "Makes No Difference", which had two different music videos. The first video was put together using the video clips sent to the record label, and the second showed the band performing at a house party. The album was certified platinum in Canada.


title: Sum 41

text: Sum 41's first full-length album, "All Killer No Filler", was released on May 8, 2001. The album was very successful; it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in August 2001. "Fat Lip", the album's first single, achieved significant chart and commercial success; it topped the US "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart as well as many other charts around the world. The song remains the band's most successful to date. After "Fat Lip", two more singles were released from the album: "In Too Deep" and "Motivation". "In Too Deep" peaked at number 10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, while "Motivation" peaked at number 24 on the same chart. The album peaked at number 13 on the "Billboard" 200 chart and at number nine on the Top Canadian Albums chart. The album was a commercial success, and was certified Platinum in the United States, UK, and triple platinum in Canada The album's name was taken from the initial reaction from Joe Mcgrath, an engineer working in the studio.


title: Sum 41

text: The success of the album brought the band touring offers with mainstream bands such as Blink-182 and The Offspring. The band spent much of 2001 touring; the group played over 300 concerts that year before returning to the studio to record another album. The band took part in the 2001 Vans Warped Tour and the Campus Invasion Tour. In April 2002, the band went on a month long tour called the "Sum Like it Loud Tour". In October 2002, the band went on a month long tour called the "Sum on Your Face Tour".


title: Sum 41

text: On November 26, 2002, the group released its second album, "Does This Look Infected?" The special edition came with a DVD, "Cross The T's and Gouge Your I's". Whibley said of the album: "We don't want to make another record that sounds like the last record, I hate when bands repeat albums. The album featured a harder and edgier sound, and the lyrics featured a more serious outlook. The album peaked at number 32 on the "Billboard" 200 chart and at number eight on the Top Canadian Albums chart. It was certified Platinum in Canada and gold in the United States, but was not as successful as its predecessor.


title: Sum 41

text: The first single released from the album was "Still Waiting", which peaked at number seven on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The second single, "The Hell Song" peaked at number 13 on the chart. "The Hell Song"'s music video depicted the band members using dolls with their pictures on them and others, such as Korn, Kiss, AC/DC, Snoop Dogg, Destiny's Child, Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, and Pamela Anderson. The third single, "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)", had a video released exclusively in Canada and on the band's website, featuring live shots of the band. The video also appeared on the group's live DVD, "Sake Bombs And Happy Endings" (2003), as a bonus feature. The band again began a long tour to promote the album before recording the group's third studio album.


title: Sum 41

text: In late May 2004, the band traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo with War Child Canada, a branch of the British charity organization War Child, to document the country's civil war. Days after arriving, fighting broke out in Bukavu near the hotel where the band was staying. The band waited for the fighting to die down, but it did not. A UN peacekeeper, Charles "Chuck" Pelletier, called for armoured carriers to take the hotel's occupants out of the hot zone. After nearly twenty hours, the carriers arrived, and the band and forty other civilians were taken to safety.


title: Sum 41

text: In honor of Pelletier, Sum 41 named its next album "Chuck"; it was released on October 12, 2004. The album charted at number 10 on the "Billboard" 200 chart. It also peaked at number two on the Canadian Albums chart. The album received positive reviews, and was certified Platinum in Canada and gold in the United States.


title: Sum 41

text: The first single from the album was "We're All To Blame", which peaked at number 10 on the Alternative Airplay chart. It was followed by "Pieces", which reached the top of the charts in Canada. The next single was "Some Say", released only in Canada and Japan. The last single from the record was "No Reason", released at the same time as "Some Say", but with no music video. It was released only in Europe and the US, where it reached number 16 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. In 2004, the band went on a co-headlining North American Tour with Good Charlotte. The band joined Mötley Crüe on their Carnival of Sin summer tour as an opening act.


title: Sum 41

text: A documentary of the band's experience in Congo was made into a film called "" and later aired on MTV. War Child released it on DVD on November 29, 2005, in the United States and Canada. Following the album's release, the band went on a tour with Good Charlotte until 2006. On December 21, 2005, Sum 41 released a live album, "Happy Live Surprise", in Japan. The CD contained a full concert recorded live in London, Ontario and was produced by Whibley. The same CD was released March 7, 2006, in Canada under the name "Go Chuck Yourself". The band played videos before its set that were deemed "unsuitable for children". Controversy arose over some of the videos' violent content.


title: Sum 41

text: On May 10, 2006, Dave Baksh announced in a statement through his management company that he was leaving Sum 41 to work with his new band, Brown Brigade, which has a more "classic metal" sound. Baksh cited "creative differences" as the reason for his departure, but claimed that he was still on good terms with the band.


title: Sum 41

text: The next day, Whibley confirmed Baksh's departure and announced that the band would only replace him with a touring guitarist, who would not have any decision-making power in the band or be in videos, photo shoots, or albums. The band hired Gob frontman and guitarist Tom Thacker to replace Baksh.


title: Sum 41

text: Recording of the band's fourth studio album, "Underclass Hero", began on November 8, 2006, and finished on March 14, 2007. On April 17, 2007, the band released a song on iTunes, "March of the Dogs". Although not a single, the band released it early because, according to Whibley, "the record [wouldn't] be out until the summer". Whibley was threatened with deportation for the song, because he metaphorically "killed the president" on it.


title: Sum 41

text: The album, backed by the first single and title track, "Underclass Hero", was released on July 24, 2007. Despite mixed reviews, the album was a commercial success, debuting at number seven on the "Billboard" 200 and at number one on the "Billboard Rock Albums" chart, the band's highest US chart position to date. It also peaked at number one on the Canadian Albums chart and on the "Alternative Albums" chart. Two more singles were released from the album, "Walking Disaster" and "With Me". "With Me" especially found radio success by 2008. "Underclass Hero" was certified Platinum in Canada. On September 15, 2007, the band headlined the House of Blues with Yellowcard.


title: Sum 41

text: In October 2007, the band began the "Strength in Numbers Tour", a tour of Canada with Canadian band Finger Eleven; Die Mannequin opened each of Sum 41's shows. During the tour, Whibley sustained a herniated disk. As a result, the group cancelled the rest of its shows. After Whibley recovered from his injury, the band continued the "Underclass Hero" tour in March 2008 and toured until early July, when the group began preparation for its next album.


title: Sum 41

text: Sum 41 released a greatest hits album in Japan titled "8 Years of Blood, Sake and Tears" on November 26, 2008. The album included a previously unreleased song, "Always", and a DVD, which contains each of the band's music videos. On March 17, the band released the worldwide version of the album titled "All the Good Shit".


title: Sum 41

text: In July 2009, the band was an opening act for The Offspring on their Shit is Fucked Up Tour. Drummer Steve Jocz confirmed that Tom Thacker was now an official member of Sum 41, and would take part in the writing and recording. On November 5, 2009, Whibley posted a blog on the band's MySpace page announcing Gil Norton as the producer of the band's upcoming album, also saying that 20 songs were already written for the album. In an interview with Tom Thacker, some working titles for songs for the new album were confirmed, including "Panic Attack", "Jessica Kill" and "Like Everyone Else". Pre-production for the new album took 13 days in December 2009, with the band officially entering the studio to begin recording at Perfect Sound Studios on January 26, 2010. The new studio album, titled "Screaming Bloody Murder", was expected for a late 2010 release, but was delayed until early 2011. The band finished recording on June 24, 2010, just before joining the 2010 Warped Tour. While the group was on the tour, the new album entered the post-production stages of mixing and mastering. A new song called "Skumfuk" was leaked online on July 6, 2010. In an interview with Canoe.ca, Steve Jocz said that while producer Gil Norton was originally hired to engineer the new album, he was only around for a week and Sum 41 self-produced the record. From October to November 2010, the band headlined the .


title: Sum 41

text: The first single from the album, "Screaming Bloody Murder", was released on February 7, 2011, in the United States. The song had its worldwide premiere on January 14, 2011, on Windsor, Ontario radio station 89X. The album "Screaming Bloody Murder" was released in Japan on April 6, 2011. On February 28, 2011, a stream of "Blood in My Eyes", another new song from the album, was released for free listening on Alternative Press.


title: Sum 41

text: On May 28, 2011, Sum 41 performed a live set for "Guitar Center Sessions" on DirecTV. The episode included an interview with program host Nic Harcourt.


title: Sum 41

text: "Baby You Don't Wanna Know" was released as the album's second single. The band shot a music video for the song during a day off in Germany. A music video was also produced for the first single, "Screaming Bloody Murder", but it was left unreleased due to its content and difficulties with the label.


title: Sum 41

text: On August 9, 2011, Sum 41 released the live album "Live at the House of Blues, Cleveland 9.15.07" – a live recording of a show that took place on September 15, 2007, in Cleveland, Ohio, while the band was touring its previous album "Underclass Hero". A week later when the band was touring the US as part of the Vans Warped Tour, making up for dates the group had to cancel on its 2010 tour, they were forced once again to cancel all remaining dates, when Whibley re-injured his back after playing three shows. It was announced on the band's official website that they would be postponing indefinitely all upcoming tour dates for 2011 while Whibley underwent treatment. In an interview with Jason McCaslin that took place in Oppikoppi, he said that "it's safe to say Sum 41 won't have another album out for at least the next two years". In 2011, Sum 41 was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for the song "Blood in My Eyes", but lost to the Foo Fighters.


title: Sum 41

text: In February 2012, the band shot a music video for the song "Blood in My Eyes", the third single from the album, with director Michael Maxxis in Los Angeles. Shooting took place on February 29 at the desert around the Los Angeles area; it was released officially released on September 10, 2012.


title: Sum 41

text: From November to December 2012, the band undertook the "Does This Look Infected?" 10th Anniversary Tour, touring the United States to celebrate the album's release in 2002.


title: Sum 41

text: On November 26, 2012, the band members revealed that they were taking a break from touring in 2013 to begin work on a new record.


title: Sum 41

text: From March to April 2013, the band co-headlined the Dead Silence Tour with Billy Talent. On April 18, 2013, drummer Jocz announced he would be leaving the band on his official Facebook page, leaving Whibley as the sole founding member of the band.


title: Sum 41

text: On May 16, 2014, Deryck Whibley posted on his website, explaining that he had liver and kidney failure due to excessive drinking. He also said that he had some ideas for new songs, and that the band would be soon starting to make a new album. On June 9, 2014, Whibley said on his Facebook page that he was working on new Sum 41 music out of his home studio to get ready to record some new tunes.


title: Sum 41

text: On July 9, 2015, the band launched a PledgeMusic campaign for its comeback album. On July 23, 2015, the band played its comeback show at the Alternative Press Awards, which featured former lead guitarist Dave Baksh, joining the band on stage nine years after his departure. The band's set also featured DMC as guest. It also introduced Frank Zummo from Street Drum Corps as the new drummer. Sum 41 confirmed Baksh's official return to the band on August 14, 2015. On December 26, 2015, Sum 41 teased two new songs on their Instagram profile.


title: Sum 41

text: The band performed on the 2016 Warped Tour. On May 11, 2016, the group announced its signing to Hopeless Records. The band announced on June 6, 2016 that their sixth album would be called "13 Voices" and would be released on October 7, 2016. That same day, they also revealed album's track list and cover art. The first song from the upcoming album, "Fake My Own Death", was released on June 28, 2016, through Hopeless Records' official YouTube channel, along with a music video for the song. The song was performed on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on October 3, 2016. The album's first official single, "War", was released on August 25, 2016. On September 29, 2016, the track "God Save Us All (Death to Pop)" was officially released (along with a live music video). IMPALA awarded the album with a double gold award for 150,000 sold copies across Europe.


title: Sum 41

text: On September 29, 2016, it was announced that the band would be headlining the 2016 Kerrang! Tour. From October 2016 to August 2017, the band went on their Don't Call It a Sum-Back Tour in support of 13 Voices. The band played nearly 100 shows in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The band invited fans to record a music video for "Goddamn I'm Dead Again" that was released on May 3, 2017. In April 2017, the band co-headlined the 2017 Canadian Tour with Papa Roach. From April to May 2017, the band co-headlined the We Will Detonate Tour with Pierce the Veil.


title: Sum 41

text: On October 22, 2017, the band's Facebook page announced that Whibley had started writing new songs. The group embarked on a 15th anniversary tour of "Does This Look Infected" in 2018.


title: Sum 41

text: From April to May 2019, the band embarked on an intimate tour called the No Personal Space Tour. In April 2019, the band announced via social media its return with new music. On April 24, 2019 they released the single, "Out for Blood" through Hopeless Records. The same day, the band also announced their seventh studio album, "Order in Decline", with a set release date of July 19, 2019. The second single from the album "A Death in the Family" was released along with a music video on June 11, 2019. On June 18, 2019, "Never There" was released as the third single, along with a video. On July 8, 2019, the band released "45 (A Matter of Time)" as the fourth single, along with a video. In September 2019, the band started a North American tour called the "Order in Decline Tour". On top of supporting "Order in Decline", the tour was also done in support of the 15th Anniversary of their studio album "Chuck". From November to December 2019, the band went on a co-headlining tour with The Offspring. On May 28, 2021, the band released a version of "Catching Fire" featuring Nothing,Nowhere, along with a music video.


title: Sum 41

text: On February 22, 2022, the band announced a U.S. tour with Simple Plan called the "Blame Canada" tour set to run from April to August 2022.


title: Sum 41

text: On March 23, 2022, the band announced their eighth studio album, "Heaven and Hell", which is set to be a double album. "Heaven" will return to the pop punk sound of the band's early career while "Hell" is a continuation of the band's more recent heavier metal sound.


title: Sum 41

text: Before the release of "Half Hour of Power," and up until the departures of Dave Baksh and Steve Jocz, Sum 41 occasionally played as an alter ego 1980s heavy metal band called Pain for Pleasure during shows. The band appeared in Sum 41's music videos for "Fat Lip" and "We're All to Blame" and had at least one song on each of the band's first three releases. The group's best known song under the Pain for Pleasure moniker is the song of the same name from "All Killer No Filler", a track that remains the band's staple during live shows and features drummer Steve Jocz on lead vocals. During the "Don't Call It a Sum-Back Tour" in 2017, Pain for Pleasure appeared performing the song at the end of their show with guitarist Tom Thacker replacing Jocz as the vocalist.


title: Sum 41

text: Sum 41 has collaborated with many other artists, both live and in the studio, including: Tenacious D, Ludacris, Iggy Pop, Pennywise, Bowling for Soup, Unwritten Law, Mike Shinoda, Treble Charger, Gob, Tommy Lee, Rob Halford, Kerry King, Metallica, Ja Rule, and Nothing,Nowhere.


title: Sum 41

text: Shortly after touring for "Does This Look Infected?", Sum 41 was recruited by Iggy Pop for his album, "Skull Ring". Whibley co-wrote the first single from the album, "Little Know It All", and joined Iggy on the "Late Show with David Letterman" to promote it. Following the band's show of September 11, 2005, in Quebec City, Quebec, the band went on a touring hiatus, although on April 17, 2006, Sum 41 played at a tribute to Iggy Pop, joining Iggy on stage for "Little Know It All" and "Lust For Life".


title: Sum 41

text: During the band's 2006 touring hiatus, Whibley focused on his producing career: he produced two songs for Avril Lavigne's album "The Best Damn Thing". Jocz recorded his first video as director for a Canadian band, The Midway State, and McCaslin started a side project with Todd Morse of HO and Juliette and the Licks. McCaslin's two-person band, named The Operation M.D., released its debut album, "We Have an Emergency", in early 2007. As well as playing bass, keyboards, and acoustic guitar, McCaslin contributed backing vocals as well as leading vocals on three songs. The album was co-produced and mixed by Whibley. The group's video for its first single, "Sayonara", was directed by Jocz. In 2022, Whibley was featured on the Simple Plan single, "Ruin My Life".


title: Sum 41

text: Sum 41 has been described as pop punk, skate punk, punk rock, heavy metal, alternative metal, alternative rock, melodic hardcore, thrash metal, punk metal, nu metal, arena rock, hard rock, and pop rock. The band also uses elements of rap, like on the song Fat Lip.


title: Sum 41

text: In a November 2004 interview, Deryck Whibley said: "We don't even consider ourselves punk. We're just a rock band. We want to do something different. We want to do our own thing. That's how music has always been to us." Dave Baksh reiterated Whibley's claims, stating "We just call ourselves rock... It's easier to say than punk, especially around all these fuckin' kids that think they know what punk is. Something that was based on not having any rules has probably one of the strictest fucking rule books in the world."


title: Sum 41

text: The band's style has been disputed by fans because of the complex combination of different musical styles and the more mature, serious, and heavy sound on later albums. The band's EP "Half Hour of Power" is described as pop punk and skate punk. "All Killer No Filler" was described as pop punk and skate punk (except for "Pain for Pleasure", which is purely heavy metal). "Does This Look Infected?" has been described as punk rock, pop punk melodic hardcore, horror punk, and heavy metal. "Chuck" was getting heavier opting out the original pop punk sound with a heavy metal sound, but the band kept in touch with its punk rock and melodic hardcore roots, which created an even more mature sound than the group's previous effort. Critics have described "Underclass Hero" as a revival of the band's pop punk style. "Screaming Bloody Murder" and "13 Voices" saw the band return to some alternative metal influences. Some of the band's songs contain political-social commentary; "Still Waiting" is an anti-George W. Bush and anti-Iraq War song, "The Jester" and "March of the Dogs" also are critical of Bush, "45 (A Matter of Time)" is critical of President Donald Trump, "Underclass Hero" is a song about class struggle, and "Dear Father" is about Whibley's absent father.


title: Sum 41

text: Sum 41's influences include Weezer, Slayer, the Police, Devo, Megadeth, Pennywise, Rancid, No Use for a Name, the Vandals, Anthrax, Carcass, Dio, Judas Priest, Foo Fighters, Green Day, NOFX, Lagwagon, Face to Face, Nirvana, the Beatles (including John Lennon's solo work), Elvis Costello, Beastie Boys, Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, and Iron Maiden.


title: Sum 41

text: Sum 41 has inspired modern artists such as 5 Seconds of Summer, Seaway, Dune Rats, Marshmello, PVRIS, Trash Boat, Neck Deep, the Vamps, Tonight Alive, Bully Waterparks, and ROAM.


title: Industry (TV series)

text: Industry is a television drama series created by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay. The show follows a group of young graduates competing for permanent positions at Pierpoint & Co, a prestigious investment bank in London.


title: Industry (TV series)

text: It premiered on 9 November 2020 on HBO in the United States, and on 10 November 2020 on BBC Two in the United Kingdom. In December 2020, it was renewed for a second season which premiered on 1 August 2022. In October 2022, the series was renewed for a third season.


title: Industry (TV series)

text: "Industry" features a large cast, although only Yasmin (Marisa Abela), Harper (Myha'la Herrold), Robert (Harry Lawtey) and Eric (Ken Leung) have appeared in every episode. Gus (David Jonsson), Kenny (Conor MacNeill) and Daria (Freya Mavor) appear in every episode of the first season, while Danny (Alex Alomar Akpobome) appears in every episode of the second season. All other cast members appear infrequently but are credited with the main cast when they appear.


title: Industry (TV series)

text: In November 2017, it was announced that HBO had put the series into development, with Mickey Down and Konrad Kay set to write the series with Jane Tranter set to serve as an executive producer, under the banner of her Bad Wolf British production company. In June 2019, it was announced that HBO had greenlit the series, with Lena Dunham set to direct the pilot. Principal photography began in June 2019, in Cardiff, Wales. In December 2019, it was announced that Myha'la Herrold, Marisa Abela, Harry Lawtey, David Johnson, Nabhaan Rizwan, Freya Mavor, Will Tudor, Conor MacNeill and Ken Leung had joined the cast of the series, with Tinge Krishnan, Ed Lilly and Mary Nighy set to serve as directors, and Sam H. Freeman and Kate Verghese to serve as writers.


title: Industry (TV series)

text: In December 2020, HBO renewed the series for a second season. In July 2021, Alex Alomar Akpobome and Adam Levy were cast as new series regular while Indy Lewis who guest starred in the first season was promoted to as a series regular for the second season. The second season filming wrapped on December 8, 2021. In March 2022, Jay Duplass, Sonny Poon Tip, and Katrine De Candole were cast as new series regulars for the second season. The second season premiered on 1 August 2022 on HBO. In October 2022, HBO renewed the series for a third season.


title: Industry (TV series)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 76% with an average rating of 7.7/10, based on 38 reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "Though "Industry" social critiques tend toward the superficial, sharp writing and an excellent ensemble make it easy to enjoy its soapy workplace drama anyway." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Industry (TV series)

text: The second season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Finessing complicated financial jargon into scathing repartee, "Industry"s stock is way up in this superlative sophomore season full of frustrated ambitions and tested loyalties."


title: Industry (TV series)

text: The series also took note by Vanity Fair by dubbing it as, "Succession meets Euphoria", within the missing link.


title: American Hustle

text: American Hustle is a 2013 American historical black comedy crime film directed by David O. Russell. It was written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell, inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It stars Christian Bale and Amy Adams as two con artists who are forced by an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) to set up an elaborate sting operation on corrupt politicians, including the mayor of Camden, New Jersey (Jeremy Renner). Jennifer Lawrence plays the unpredictable wife of Bale's character. Principal photography took place from March to May 2013 in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts as well as New York City.


title: American Hustle

text: "American Hustle" was released nationwide in the United States on December 13, 2013. It opened to acclaim from critics, who praised its screenplay and ensemble cast. The film received ten nominations at the 86th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Bale), Best Actress (Adams), Best Supporting Actor (Cooper), and Best Supporting Actress (Lawrence). It received three BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.


title: American Hustle

text: In 1978, con artists Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser have started a relationship, and are working together. She has improved his scams, posing as English aristocrat "Lady Edith Greensly". Irving loves Sydney, but is hesitant to leave his unstable and histrionic wife Rosalyn, fearing he will lose contact with his adopted son Danny. Rosalyn has also threatened to report Irving to the police if he leaves her.


title: American Hustle

text: FBI agent Richie DiMaso catches Irving and Sydney in a loan scam, but offers to release them if Irving can line up four additional arrests. Richie believes Sydney is English, but has proof that her claim of aristocracy is fraudulent. She tells Irving she will manipulate Richie, distancing herself from Irving.


title: American Hustle

text: Irving has a friend pretending to be a wealthy Arab sheikh looking for potential investments in America. An associate of Irving's suggests the sheikh do business with Mayor Carmine Polito of Camden, New Jersey, who is trying to revitalize gambling in Atlantic City, but has struggled to find investors. Carmine seems to have a genuine desire to help the area's economy and his constituents.


title: American Hustle

text: Richie devises a plan to make Mayor Polito the target of a sting operation, despite the objections of Irving and of Richie's boss, Stoddard Thorsen. Sydney helps Richie manipulate an FBI secretary into making an unauthorized wire transfer of $2 million. When Stoddard's boss, Anthony Amado, hears of the operation, he praises Richie's initiative, pressuring Stoddard to continue.


title: American Hustle

text: Carmine leaves their meeting when Richie presses him to accept a cash bribe. Irving convinces him the sheikh is legitimate, expressing his dislike of Richie, and they become friends. Richie arranges for Carmine to meet the sheikh, and without consulting the others, has Mexican-American FBI agent Paco Hernandez play the sheikh, which displeases Irving.


title: American Hustle

text: Carmine brings the sheikh to a casino party, explaining that mobsters are there, and that it is a necessary part of doing business. Irving is surprised to hear that Mafia boss Victor Tellegio, right-hand man to Meyer Lansky, is present, and that he wants to meet the sheikh. Tellegio explains that the sheikh needs to become an American citizen, and that Carmine will need to expedite the process. Tellegio also requires a $10 million wire transfer to prove the sheikh's legitimacy.


title: American Hustle

text: Richie confesses his strong attraction to Sydney, but becomes confused and aggressive when she drops her English accent and admits to being from Albuquerque. Rosalyn starts an affair with mobster Pete Musane, whom she met at the party. She mentions her belief that Irving is working with the IRS, causing Pete to threaten Irving, who promises to prove the sheikh's investment is real.


title: American Hustle

text: Irving later confronts Rosalyn, who admits she told Pete and agrees to keep quiet, but wants a divorce. With Carmine's help, Richie and Irving videotape members of Congress receiving bribes. Richie assaults Stoddard in a fight over the money, and later convinces Amado that he needs the $10 million to get Tellegio, but gets only $2 million. A meeting is arranged at the offices of Tellegio's lawyer, Alfonse Simone, but Tellegio does not appear.


title: American Hustle

text: Irving visits Carmine and admits to the scam, but says he has a plan to help him. He throws him out, and the loss of their friendship deeply upsets Irving. The federal agents inform Irving that their $2 million are missing, and that they have received an anonymous offer to return the money in exchange for Irving and Sydney's immunity and a reduced sentence for Carmine.


title: American Hustle

text: It is revealed that Alfonse Simone, with whom Richie had arranged the wire transfer, was a con man working with Irving and Sydney. Amado accepts the deal, and Stoddard removes Richie from the case, which ends his career. The Congressmen are prosecuted, and so is Carmine, who is sentenced to 18 months in prison. Irving and Sydney move in together and open a legitimate art gallery, while Rosalyn lives with Pete and shares custody of Danny with Irving.


title: American Hustle

text: The film began as an Eric Warren Singer screenplay titled "American Bullshit". It was listed at #8 on the 2010 Black List of unproduced screenplays. The production was set up at Columbia Pictures, with Charles Roven and Richard Suckle producing through Atlas Entertainment, who initially considered Ben Affleck to direct, before David O. Russell ultimately signed on to helm the film. Russell re-wrote Singer's screenplay, replacing the characters with caricatures of their respective real-life figures. Russell regarded "Hustle", a highly fictionalized version of the Abscam scandal of the late 1970s and early 1980s, as the third in a loose trilogy of films about ordinary people trying to live passionate lives.


title: American Hustle

text: Principal photography started on March 8, 2013, and wrapped in May 2013. The film was shot in and around Boston, Massachusetts (such as in Worcester), and in New York City. Filming was put on hold in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings with the city in lockdown. After lockdown was lifted, the film wrapped its Boston shoot and spent its final few days of production in New York City.


title: American Hustle

text: Director David O. Russell released the teaser trailer for the film on July 31, 2013, and a theatrical trailer was released on October 9, 2013. The film received nationwide United States release on December 13, 2013.


title: American Hustle

text: "American Hustle" received critical acclaim, and the cast received praise for their performances, notably Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 92% rating, based on 299 reviews, with an average score of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Riotously funny and impeccably cast, "American Hustle" compensates for its flaws with unbridled energy and some of David O. Russell's most irrepressibly vibrant direction." Metacritic gives a score of 90 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: American Hustle

text: Christy Lemire awarded the film four out of four stars, praising David O. Russell's directing and the relationship between Irving and Sydney, as well as Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Rosalyn. She writes: "For all its brashness and big personality, "American Hustle" is a character study at its core—an exploration of dissatisfaction and drive, and the lengths to which we're willing to go for that elusive thing known as a better life." Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film an A+, especially complimenting Bradley Cooper's performance and stating that "American Hustle" was "the best time I've had at the movies all year". He later named it the year's best film. "Time" magazine's Richard Corliss wrote: ""American Hustle" is an urban eruption of flat-out fun — the sharpest, most exhilarating comedy in years. Anyone who says otherwise must be conning you."


title: American Hustle

text: Peter Debruge of "Variety" was critical of the film, calling it "a sloppy sprawl of a movie" and complaining that the improvisational performances overwhelm, instead of adding to a coherent plot. He also went on to write that it "makes your brain hurt — and worse, overwhelms the already over-complicated Abscam re-telling at the center of the film".


title: American Hustle

text: "Variety" estimated the production budget at $40 million. When producer Charles Roven was asked if the budget was in the $40 to $50 million area, he responded: "I'd say that's a good zone."


title: American Hustle

text: The film earned $150.1 million in North American and $101.1 million in international markets, for a worldwide total of $251.2 million. It made a net profit of $27 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.


title: American Hustle

text: "American Hustle" received seven Golden Globe Award nominations; it won for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, with Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence winning Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, respectively.


title: American Hustle

text: The film received 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and all four acting categories, but did not win in any category. The film received the second highest number of nominations for a film which did not win any Oscars, a distinction it shares with "True Grit" and "Gangs of New York", after the 11 for 1977's "The Turning Point" and 1985's "The Color Purple". It was the 15th film ever to be nominated in the four acting categories, and only the second since 1981, after 2012's "Silver Linings Playbook", which Russell also directed. Of the fifteen such films, it joins only 1936's "My Man Godfrey" and 1950's "Sunset Boulevard" to not win any acting awards.


title: American Hustle

text: The film took top honors at the 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards, winning for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture.


title: American Hustle

text: The film was nominated for 10 British Academy Film Awards, with Jennifer Lawrence winning for Actress in a Supporting Role, and David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer winning for Best Original Screenplay.


title: American Hustle

text: In October 2014, science writer Paul Brodeur filed a defamation lawsuit against the producers and distributors of "American Hustle" based on a line in the film in which Rosalyn tells Irving that microwave ovens take the nutrition out of food, stating that she read so in an article by Brodeur. In real life, Brodeur has written books including "The Zapping of America" about the dangers of microwave radiation, but claims that he has never stated that the process removes a food's nutrition. The defendants immediately filed a motion under California's anti-SLAPP statute to strike the complaint and award them attorney fees, which the trial court initially denied. The decision was reversed by the California Court of Appeal, which held that the motion should have been granted because "the general tenor of American Hustle, the entirely farcical nature of the 'science oven' scene, and the ditzy nature of the character uttering the allegedly defamatory statement, all indicate that an audience would not expect anything Rosalyn says to reflect objective fact" and that, in view of this, Brodeur "failed to carry his burden of showing a probability of prevailing on his defamation claim".


title: American Hustle

text: "American Hustle" is a dramatization of the FBI's "Abscam" sting operation in the late 1970s and early '80s that led to the convictions of seven members of the United States Congress, among others. The film does not attempt to directly document the events of Abscam. The names are changed, and the film begins with the on-screen message, "Some of this actually happened". Major departures from reality include:


title: E-Hentai

text: E-Hentai is an image-hosting and file-sharing website focused on hentai (Japanese cartoon pornography). The site hosts user-generated image galleries primarily of pornographic content originating or derived from anime, manga, and video games, such as fanart, scanlations of manga and "dōjinshi", and cosplay photographs. Its sister site Exhentai (colloquially known as Sad Panda) was spun off from E-Hentai in 2010 to host artwork that depicts material that is illegal in certain jurisdictions, such as lolicon, shotacon, and bestiality.


title: E-Hentai

text: E-Hentai launched as a Yahoo! Group on July 1, 1999. The group moved to a .net domain in 2001 before moving to its current .org domain in 2005 after ownership of its .net domain lapsed and was purchased by another party. On March 27, 2010, E-Hentai announced that in response to pressure from advertisers, it would no longer host artwork depicting underage characters (lolicon and shotacon) and bestiality. Existing galleries containing this content were deleted from the site, amounting to the removal of approximately 30,000 of the website's 150,000 galleries; this content was later spun off onto Exhentai, a sister site to E-Hentai. Access to Exhentai requires an existing E-Hentai account; for individuals without an account, Exhentai appears as a blank page with an illustration of a crying panda, and has consequently has earned the nickname "Sad Panda" among users of the site. In June 2019, both sites were removed from Google, per the company's policy of de-listing websites that violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.


title: E-Hentai

text: On July 26, 2019, E-Hentai and Exhentai announced that both sites would shut down in response to "recent legislative changes in the Netherlands", where the servers of the sites were hosted at the time. "Vice" speculated that the shutdown was in reaction to the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market adopted by the European Union in June 2019, which makes digital platforms legally liable for material posted by users that violates copyright, as well as a July 2019 proposal by Dutch Minister of Justice Ferdinand Grapperhaus to impose harsher punishments on websites that do not rapidly remove child pornography. 24 hours' notice was given for the shutdown of Exhentai, leading users on the image board 4chan to attempt to archive the entire site before it closed on July 27. On August 2, 2019, Exhentai relaunched after its servers relocated to Moldova.


title: E-Hentai

text: Works posted to E-Hentai and Exhentai are typically pirated and are uploaded without the consent or knowledge of the original creators. The site is owned and operated by an anonymous moderator who uses the handle Tenboro and is funded through a combination of advertising revenue and donations; in 2009, E-Hentai estimated its annual hosting costs at USD$46,000, with donations covering "less than half" of operating costs. In 2019, Tenboro stated that a persistent tendon injury limited their ability to perform timely maintenance on the website and that they were considering options for its future, such as naming a successor moderator or preserving the website as a permanent archive.


title: E-Hentai

text: Collectively, E-Hentai and Exhentai are one of the largest databases of hentai manga and contain over 100,000 image galleries. The site hosts both original Japanese hentai manga and scanlations in multiple languages, including Chinese, English, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Thai. At its peak popularity, the commercial web traffic company Alexa ranked E-Hentai as the 264th-most popular website on the internet. Outlets have noted that E-Hentai functions as a "de facto" archive for artwork that is rare or non-existent on other physical and digital platforms; the site hosts content such as Comiket-exclusive works ("dōjin") and out-of-print art books that are both pornographic and non-pornographic in nature, with "Vice" calling the website the "Alexandria Library of hentai". "The Daily Dot" described E-Hentai as "a relic of 'the old internet, citing it as an example of niche portals for digital content that predate contemporary social media.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (; ; ; abbreviated as "ChRI" or "CRI") was a "de facto" state that controlled most of the former Checheno-Ingush ASSR. On 30 November 1991, a referendum was held in Ingushetia in which the results dictated its separation from the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, joining the Russian Federation instead as a constituent republic.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: The First Chechen War of 1994–96 resulted in the victory of the separatist forces. After achieving de facto independence from Russia in 1996, gangs arose over the country which the government put a large effort to crack down upon. In November 1997 Chechnya was proclaimed an Islamic republic. A Second Chechen War began in August 1999 and officially ended in April 2009 after several years of insurgency.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: In October 2022, Ukraine's parliament voted to recognize the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as "temporarily occupied".


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: In November 1990, Dzhokhar Dudayev was elected head of the Executive Committee of the unofficial opposition Chechen National Congress (NCChP), which advocated sovereignty for Chechnya as a separate republic within the Soviet Union.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: On 8 June 1991, at the initiative of Dzhokhar Dudayev, a part of the delegates of the First Chechen National Congress gathered in Grozny, which proclaimed itself the All-National Congress of the Chechen People (OKChN). Following this, was proclaimed the Chechen Republic (Nokhchi-cho). A month later, the self-proclaimed republic was declared an independent state.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: The Soviet coup d'état attempt on 19 August 1991 became the spark for the so-called Chechen Revolution. On 21 August, the OKChN called for the overthrow of the Supreme Soviet of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR. On 6 September 1991, OKChN squads seized the local KGB headquarters, and took over the building of the Supreme Soviet. The OKChN declared itself the only legitimate authority in the region. On 27 October 1991, Dudayev was elected president of the Chechen Republic. Dudayev, in his new position as president, issued a unilateral declaration of independence on 1 November 1991. Initially, his stated objective was for Checheno-Ingushetia to become a union republic within Russia.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: The separatist Interior Minister promised amnesty to any prison inmates who would join pro-independence rallies. Among the prisoners was Ruslan Labazanov, who was serving a sentence for armed robbery and murder in Grozny and later headed a pro-Dudayev militia. As crowds of armed separatists gathered in Grozny, Russian President Boris Yeltsin sought to declare a state of emergency in the region, but his efforts were thwarted by the Russian parliament. An early attempt by Russian authorities to confront the pro-independence forces in November 1991 ended after just three days.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: According to an article originally published by a Kremlin-backed publication, Komsomolskaya Pravda, and reprinted in early 1992 by The Guardian, Dudayev allegedly signed a decree outlawing the extradition of criminals to any country which did not recognize Chechnya. After being informed that the Russian government would not recognize Chechnya's independence, he declared that he would not recognize Russia. Grozny became an organized crime haven, as the government proved unable or unwilling to curb criminal activities.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Dudayev's government created the constitution of the Chechen Republic, which was introduced in March 1992. In the same month, armed clashes occurred between pro and anti-Dudayev factions, leading Dudayev to declare a state of emergency. Chechnya and Ingushetia separated on 4 June 1992. Relationship between Dudayev and the parliament deteriorated, and in June 1992 he dissolved the parliament, establishing direct presidential rule.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: In late October 1992, federal forces were dispatched to end the Ossetian-Ingush conflict. As Russian troops sealed the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia to prevent arms shipments, Dudayev threatened to take action unless the Russians withdrew. Russian and Chechen forces mutually agreed to a withdrawal, and the incident ended peacefully.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Clashes between supporters and opponents of Dudayev occurred in April 1993. The President fired Interior Minister Sharpudin Larsanov after he refused to disperse the protesters. The opposition planned a no-confidence referendum against Dudayev for 5 June 1993. The government deployed army and riot police to prevent the vote from taking place, leading to bloodshed.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: After staging another coup attempt in December 1993, the opposition organized a Provisional Council as a potential alternative government for Chechnya, calling on Moscow for assistance.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: On 14 January 1994, by Dudayev's decree, the Chechen Republic (Nokhchi-cho) was renamed the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: The general feeling of lawlessness in Chechnya increased during the first seven months in 1994, when four hijacking accidents occurred, involving people trying to flee the country. In May 1994, Labazanov changed sides, establishing the anti-Dudayev Niyso Movement. In July 1994, 41 passengers aboard a bus near Mineralniye Vody were held by kidnappers demanding $15 million and helicopters. After this incident, the Russian government started to openly support opposition forces in Chechnya.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: In August 1994, Umar Avturkhanov, leader of the pro-Russian Provisional Council, launched an attack against pro-Dudayev forces. Dudayev ordered the mobilization of the Chechen military, threatening a jihad against Russia as a response to Russian support for his political opponents.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: In November 1994, Avturkhanov's forces attempted to storm the city of Grozny, but they were defeated by Dudayev's forces. Dudayev declared his intention to turn Chechnya into an Islamic state, stating that the recognition of sharia was a way to fight Russian aggression. He also vowed to punish the captured Chechen rebels under Islamic law, and threatened to execute Russian prisoners.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: The First Chechen War began in December 1994, when Russian troops were sent to Chechnya to fight the separatist forces. During the Battle of Grozny (1994–95), the city's population dropped from 400,000 to 140,000. Most of the civilians stranded in the city were elderly ethnic Russians, as many Chechens had support networks of relatives living in villages who took them in.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Former Minister of the Chemical and Oil Refining Industry of the USSR Salambek Khadzhiyev was appointed leader of the officially recognized Chechen government in November 1994. The conflict ended after the Russian defeat in the Battle of Grozny of August 1996.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: According to Russian sources, after the Russian withdrawal, crime became rampant, with kidnappings and murders multiplying as rival rebel factions fought for territory. In December 1996, six Red Cross workers were killed, resulting in most foreign aid workers leaving the country.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Parliamentary and presidential elections took place in January 1997 in Chechnya and brought to power Aslan Maskhadov. The elections were deemed free and fair, but no government recognized Chechnya's independence, except for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. According to a 1997 Moscow Times article, Ethnic Russian refugees were prevented from returning to vote by threats and intimidation, and Chechen authorities refused to set up polling booths outside the republic.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Maskhadov sought to maintain Chechen sovereignty while pressing Moscow to help rebuild the republic, whose formal economy and infrastructure were virtually destroyed in Russia's war against Chechen independence from Moscow.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Russia continued to transfer funds for schools and hospitals in Chechnya and paid pensions to its residents. Some of this money was stolen by the Chechen authorities and divided between the warlords. Nearly half a million people (40% of Chechnya's prewar population) have been internally displaced and lived in refugee camps or overcrowded villages. The economy was destroyed. Two Russian brigades were stationed in Chechnya and did not leave. Maskhadov made efforts to rebuild the country and its devastated capital Grozny by trading oil in countries such as the United Kingdom.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Chechnya had been badly damaged by Russia's war against the newly formed republic's independence, and the economy was in shambles. According to Russian sources, Aslan Maskhadov tried to concentrate power in his hands to establish authority, but had trouble creating an effective state or a functioning economy. Maskhadov requested $260 billion in war reparations from Russia to rebuild infastructure destroyed in heavy Russian fighting, an amount equivalent to 60% of the Russian GDP.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: The war ravages and lack of economic opportunities left numbers of armed former guerrillas with no occupation. Machine guns and grenades were sold openly and legally in Grozny's central bazaar. The years of independence had some political violence as well. On 10 December, Mansur Tagirov, Chechnya's top prosecutor, disappeared while returning to Grozny. On 21 June, the Chechen security chief and a guerrilla commander fatally shot each other in an argument. The internal violence in Chechnya peaked on 16 July 1998, when fighting broke out between Maskhadov's National Guard force led by Sulim Yamadayev (who joined pro-Moscow forces in the second war) and militants in the town of Gudermes; over 50 people were reported killed and the state of emergency was declared in Chechnya.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Maskhadov proved unable to guarantee the security of the oil pipeline running across Chechnya from the Caspian Sea, and illegal oil tapping and acts of sabotage deprived his regime of crucial revenues and agitated his allies in Moscow. In 1998 and 1999, Maskhadov survived several assassination attempts, which he blamed on foreign intelligence services. Russian sources maintain that the attacks were likely to originate from within Chechnya, despite the Kremlin's difficult negotiations with Maskhadov and difference of opinion regarding the Chechen conflict.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: In December 1998, the supreme Islamic court of Chechnya suspended the Chechen Parliament, asserting that it did not conform to the standards of sharia. After the Chechen Vice-President Vakha Arsanov defected to the opposition, Maskhadov abolished his post, leading to a power struggle. In February 1999 President Maskhadov removed legislative powers from the parliament and convened an Islamic State Council. At the same time several prominent former warlords established the Mehk-Shura, a rival Islamic government. The Shura advocated the creation of an Islamic confederation in the North Caucasus, including the Chechen, Dagestani and Ingush peoples.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: On 9 August 1999, Islamist fighters from Chechnya infiltrated Russia's Dagestan region, declaring it an independent state and calling for a jihad until "all unbelievers had been driven out". This event prompted Russian intervention, and the beginning of the Second Chechen War. As more people escaped the war zones of Chechnya, President Maskhadov threatened to impose sharia punishment on all civil servants who moved their families out of the republic. This time, however, the Russian invasion met much less resistance as during the First Chechen War. The infighting among the rival factions within Chechyna as well as the rise of radical jihadists convinced several former separatist leaders and their militias to switch sides. Aided by these defectors, the Russians took the minor cities and countryside around Grozny in the period from October to December 1999, encircling Grozny.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: After a hard-fought battle, Grozny fell in February 2000; much of the city was destroyed. Some of the Ichkerian government subsequently moved into exile, including in Poland and the United Kingdom. On 23 January 2000, a diplomatic representation of Ichkeria was based in Kabul during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Other remnants of the government and the armed forces retreated into Chechyna's south which was dominated by mountains and not yet under Russian control. From these bases, they waged a guerrilla campaign, even as Russia cemented its control by establishing a loyal administration in the region. In June 2000, Kremlin appointee Akhmed Kadyrov became the new controversial head of the official administration of Chechnya. Kadyrov who has been criticised as a cult of personality, was not democratically elected by either Russian or Chechen constituents. The separatists continued to fight, but were gradually whittled down.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: On 31 October 2007, the separatist news agency Chechenpress reported that Dokka Umarov had announced the Caucasus Emirate and declared himself its Emir. He integrated the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as Vilayat Nokhchicho. This change of status was rejected by some Chechen politicians and military leaders who continue to support the existence of the republic. Since November 2007, Akhmed Zakayev was proclaimed to be the Prime Minister of Ichkeria's government-in-exile. However, the influence of Zakayev's government was described as "marginal" by political scientist Mark Galeotti who argued that the Caucasus Emirate proved more influential both among the militants as well as within the Chechen diaspora.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: From 2007 until 2017, the remaining insurgency in the North Caucasus was mainly waged by Islamist factions, most importantly the Caucasus Emirate. In course of several years, however, the Caucasus Emirate gradually declined and had mostly ceased to exist by 2015. Non-Jihadist Chechen separatist groups continued to operate in Ukraine where they fought against Russia in the War in Donbas. The early pro-Ukrainian Chechen volunteer units included the Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion and Sheikh Mansur Battalion.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: In 2022, Russia launched a full invasion of Ukraine. Anti-Kadyrov Chechens like the Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion and Sheikh Mansur Battalion continued to fight in this conflict. In May 2022, Ichkeria's government-in-exile leader Akhmed Zakayev travelled to Kyiv and met with Ukrainian officials for "confidential" talks. Later, the creation of the "Separate Special Purpose Battalion of the Chechen Republic's Armed Forces" was announced by Zakayev; this unit officially styled itself as continuation of Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. A fourth separatist unit, called "Khamzat Gelayev Joint Task Detachment" was also founded. As the Russo-Ukrainian War continued to escalate, the pro-Ukrainian Chechen separatists increasingly framed the war as a chance to restore the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. On 18 October 2022, Ukraine's parliament recognized the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as temporarily occupied state. At this point, Islamist separatists belonging to Ajnad al-Kavkaz had also moved to Ukraine to fight Russia there. In November, the Ichkerian exile government recognized the Holodomor as a genocide against the Ukrainian people.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Dudayev spent the years from 1991 to 1994 preparing for war, mobilizing men aged 15–55 and seizing Russian weapons depots. The Chechen National Guard counted 10,000 troops in December 1994, rising to 40,000 soldiers by early 1996.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Major weapons systems were seized from the Russian military in 1992, and on the eve of the First Chechen War they included 23 air defense guns, 108 APC/tanks, 24 artillery pieces, 5 MiG-17/15, 2 Mi-8 helicopters, 24 multiple rocket launchers, 17 surface to air missile launchers, 94 L-29 trainer aircraft, 52 L-39 trainer aircraft, 6 An-22 transport aircraft, 5 Tu-134 transport aircraft.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Since the declaration of independence in 1991, there has been an ongoing battle between secessionist officials and federally appointed officials. Both claim authority over the same territory.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: In late 2007, the President of Ichkeria, Dokka Umarov, declared that he had renamed the republic to Noxçiyc̈ó and converted it into a province of the much larger Caucasus Emirate, with himself as Emir. This change was rejected by some members of the former Chechen government-in-exile.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was officially a secular state, with its constitution stating, "The Chechen Republic is a secular state. No religion may be established as a state or compulsory religion." Despite this, the criminal code of Chechnya legally established Sharia courts and included Islamic hudud punishments of decapitation, stoning and other punishments for crimes such as alcohol drinking, sodomy, and apostasy from Islam.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Ichkeria was a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. Former president of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, deposed in a military coup of 1991 and a leading participant in the Georgian Civil War, recognised the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in 1993.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Diplomatic relations with Ichkeria were also established by the partially recognized Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under the Taliban government on 16 January 2000. This recognition ceased with the fall of the Taliban in December 2001. However, despite Taliban recognition, there were no friendly relations between the Taliban and Ichkeria—Maskhadov rejected their recognition, stating that the Taliban were illegitimate. In June 2000, the Russian government claimed that Maskhadov had met with Osama bin Laden, and that the Taliban supported the Chechens with arms and troops. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration called on Maskhadov to cut all links with the Taliban.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Ichkeria also received limited support from certain political factions in Poland, the Baltic countries and Ukrainian nationalists. Estonia once voted to recognize, but the act never was consummated due to pressure from both Russia and pro-Russian elements within the European Union. Dudayev also had contacts with Islamist movements and guerrillas in the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: The situation for Human rights in Chechnya during the hostility phases had long been a concern among several human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch, who after several years of investigation and gathering evidence referred to the situation as disturbing. Throughout the span of the first Chechen war, Russian forces have been accused by Human Rights organizations of starting a brutal war with total disregard for humanitarian law, causing tens of thousands of unnecessary civilian casualties among the Chechen population. The main strategy in the Russian war effort had been to use heavy artillery and air strikes leading to numerous indiscriminate attacks on civilians. This has led to Western and Chechen sources calling the Russian strategy deliberate terror bombing on parts of Russia. According to Human Rights Watch, the campaign was "unparalleled in the area since World War II for its scope and destructiveness, followed by months of indiscriminate and targeted fire against civilians". Russian forces attacked civilians many times throughout the war. One of the most notable war crimes committed by the Russian army during the First Chechen War is the Samashki massacre, in which it is estimated that up to 300 civilians died during the attack. Russian forces conducted an operation of zachistka, house-by-house searches throughout the entire village. Federal soldiers deliberately and arbitrarily attacked civilians and civilian dwellings in Samashki by shooting residents and burning houses with flame-throwers. They wantonly opened fire or threw grenades into basements where residents, mostly women, elderly persons and children, had been hiding. Russian troops intentionally burned many bodies, either by throwing the bodies into burning houses or by setting them on fire. A Chechen surgeon, Khassan Baiev, treated wounded in Samashki immediately after the operation and described the scene in his book:


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Dozens of charred corpses of women and children lay in the courtyard of the mosque, which had been destroyed. The first thing my eye fell on was the burned body of a baby, lying in fetal position... A wild-eyed woman emerged from a burned-out house holding a dead baby. Trucks with bodies piled in the back rolled through the streets on the way to the cemetery.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: While treating the wounded, I heard stories of young men - gagged and trussed up - dragged with chains behind personnel carriers. I heard of Russian aviators who threw Chechen prisoners, screaming, out their helicopters. There were rapes, but it was hard to know how many because women were too ashamed to report them. One girl was raped in front of her father. I heard of one case in which the mercenary grabbed a newborn baby, threw it among each other like a ball, then shot it dead in the air.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Leaving the village for the hospital in Grozny, I passed a Russian armored personnel carrier with the word SAMASHKI written on its side in bold, black letters. I looked in my rearview mirror and to my horror saw a human skull mounted on the front of the vehicle. The bones were white; someone must have boiled the skull to remove the flesh.


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Chechen forces have admitted to the execution of captured Russian pilots throughout the First Chechen War, and of at least eight Russian detainees. In probably the most notorious violation of humanitarian law by committed by Chechen Forces, a Chechen unit led by Shamil Basayev captured a hospital and held it as hostage in the Russian city of Budyonnovsk. At least seven hostages were killed by the captors, and the rest were denied water, food and medicine. According to official figures, 129 civilians were killed during the siege, most by the numerous attempts of the Russian army to retake the hospital. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights had this to report on the incident:


title: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

text: Although the conduct of Chechen fighters has scarcely been documented in non-governmental reports, information indicates that they indiscriminately fired on, and killed, civilians. For example, on 14 June 1995, Chechen commandos took some 2,000 people hostage in the town of Budennovsk in the Stavropol region and barricaded themselves in the town's hospital. The hostage-takers allegedly shot to death in the hospital four civilian men. In this incident, over 100 hostages were reportedly killed when Federal forces attempted to take over the hospital.