History.

Etymology.

Whereas the principal meaning of "submarine" is an armed, submersible warship, the more general meaning is for any type of submersible craft. The definition as of 1899 was for any type of "submarine boat". By naval tradition, submarines are still usually referred to as "boats" rather than as "ships", regardless

Early submersibles.

According to a report in "Opusculum Taisnieri" published in 1562: In 1578, the English mathematician William Bourne recorded in his book "Inventions or Devises" one of the first plans for an underwater navigation vehicle. A few years later the Scottish mathematician and theologian John Napier wrote in his "Secret Inventions" (1596) that

18th century.

By the mid-18th century, over a dozen patents for submarines/submersible boats had been granted in England. In 1747, Nathaniel Symons patented and built the first known working example of the use of a ballast tank for submersion. His design used leather bags that could fill with water to submerge the craft. A mechanism was used to twist the water

19th century.

In 1800, France built a human-powered submarine designed by American Robert Fulton,. The French eventually gave up on the experiment in 1804, as did the British when they later considered Fulton's submarine design.  In 1864, late in the American Civil War, the Confederate navy's became the first military submarine to sink an enemy vessel, the Union sloop-of-war. In the aftermath of its successful attack against the ship, "H. L. Hunley" also sank, possibly because it was too close to its own exploding torpedo.  In 1866, was the first submarine to successfully dive, cruise underwater, and resurface under the control of the crew. The design by German American Julius H. Kroehl (in German, "Kröhl") incorporated elements that are still used in modern submarines.  In 1866, was built at the request of the Chilean government, by Karl Flach, a German engineer and immigrant. It was the fifth submarine built in the world and, along with a second submarine, was intended to defend the port of Valparaiso against attack by the Spanish Navy during the Chincha Islands War.

Mechanical power.

The first submarine not relying on human power for propulsion was the French ("Diver"), launched in 1863, which used compressed air at. Narcís Monturiol designed the first air-independent and combustion-powered submarine,, which was launched in Barcelona, Spain in 1864.  The submarine became a potentially viable weapon with the development of the Whitehead torpedo, designed in 1866 by British engineer Robert Whitehead, the first practical self-propelled or 'locomotive' torpedo. The spar torpedo that had been developed earlier by the Confederate States Navy was considered to be impracticable, as it was believed to have sunk both its intended target, and probably

20th century.

Submarines were not put into service for any widespread or routine use by navies until the early 1900s. This era marked a pivotal time in submarine development, and several important technologies appeared. A number of nations built and used submarines. Diesel electric propulsion became the dominant power system and equipment such as the periscope became standardized. Countries conducted many experiments on effective tactics and weapons for submarines, which led to their large impact in World War I.  The Irish inventor John Philip Holland built a model submarine in 1876 and a full-scale version in 1878, which were followed by a number of unsuccessful ones. In 1896 he designed the Holland Type VI submarine, which used internal combustion engine power on the surface and electric battery power underwater. Launched on 17 May 1897 at Navy Lt. Lewis Nixon's Crescent Shipyard in Elizabeth, New Jersey, "Holland VI" was purchased by the United States Navy on 11 April 1900, becoming

World War I.

Military submarines first made a significant impact in World War I. Forces such as the U-boats of Germany saw action in the First Battle of the Atlantic, and were responsible for sinking, which was sunk as a result of unrestricted submarine warfare and is often cited among the reasons for the entry of the United States into the war.  At the outbreak of the war, Germany had only twenty submarines immediately available for combat, although these included vessels of the diesel-engined "U-19" class, which had a sufficient range of and speed of to allow them to operate effectively around the entire British coast. By contrast the Royal Navy had a

World War II.

During World War II, Germany used submarines to devastating effect in the Battle of the Atlantic, where it attempted to cut Britain's supply routes by sinking more merchant ships than Britain could replace. (Shipping was vital to supply Britain's population with food, industry with raw material, and armed forces with fuel and armaments.) While U-boats destroyed a significant number of ships, the strategy ultimately failed. Although the U-boats had been updated in the interwar years, the major innovation was improved communications, encrypted using the famous Enigma cipher machine. This

Cold-War military models.

The first launch of a cruise missile (SSM-N-8 Regulus) from a submarine occurred in July 1953, from the deck of, a World War II fleet boat modified to carry the missile with a nuclear warhead. "Tunny" and its sister boat,, were the United States' first nuclear deterrent patrol submarines. In the 1950s, nuclear power partially replaced diesel-electric propulsion. Equipment was also developed to extract oxygen from sea water. These two innovations gave submarines the ability to remain submerged for weeks or months. Most of the naval submarines built since that time in the US, the Soviet Union/Russian Federation, Britain, and France have been powered by nuclear reactors.  In 1959–1960, the first ballistic missile submarines were put into service by both the United States () and the Soviet Union () as part of the Cold War nuclear deterrent

Usage.

Military.

Before and during World War II, the primary role of the submarine was anti-surface ship warfare. Submarines would attack either on the surface using deck guns, or submerged using torpedoes. They were particularly effective in sinking Allied transatlantic shipping in both World Wars, and in disrupting Japanese supply routes and naval operations in the Pacific in World War II.  Mine-laying submarines were developed in the early part of the 20th century. The facility was used in both World Wars. Submarines were also used for inserting and removing covert agents and military forces in special operations, for intelligence gathering, and to rescue aircrew during air attacks on islands, where the airmen would be told of safe places to crash-land so the submarines could rescue them. Submarines could carry cargo through hostile waters or act as supply vessels for other submarines.  Submarines could usually locate and attack other submarines only on the surface, although managed to sink with a four torpedo spread while both were submerged. The British developed a specialized anti-submarine submarine in WWI, the R class. After WWII, with the development of the homing torpedo, better

Civilian.

Although the majority of the world's submarines are military, there are some civilian submarines, which are used for tourism, exploration, oil and gas platform inspections, and pipeline surveys. Some are also used in illegal activities.  The Submarine Voyage ride opened at Disneyland in 1959, but although it ran under water it was not a true submarine, as it ran on tracks and was open to the atmosphere. The first tourist submarine was, which went into service in 1964 at Expo64. By 1997 there were 45 tourist submarines operating around the world. Submarines with a crush depth in the range of are operated in several areas worldwide, typically

Technology.

Submersion and trimming.

All surface ships, as well as surfaced submarines, are in a positively buoyant condition, weighing less than the volume of water they would displace if fully submerged. To submerge hydrostatically, a ship must have negative buoyancy, either by increasing its own weight or decreasing its displacement of water. To control their displacement, submarines have ballast tanks, which can hold varying amounts of water and air.  For general submersion or surfacing, submarines use the forward and aft tanks, called Main Ballast Tanks (MBT), which are filled with water to submerge or with air to surface. Submerged, MBTs generally remain flooded, which simplifies their design, and on many submarines these tanks are a section of interhull space. For more precise and quick control of depth, submarines use smaller Depth Control Tanks (DCT)—also called hard tanks (due to their ability to withstand higher pressure), or trim tanks. The amount of water in depth control tanks can be controlled to change depth or to maintain a constant depth as outside conditions (chiefly water density) change. Depth control tanks may be located either near the submarine's center of gravity, or separated along the submarine body to prevent affecting trim.  When submerged, the

Hull.

Overview.

Modern submarines are cigar-shaped. This design, visible in early submarines, is sometimes called a "teardrop hull". It reduces the hydrodynamic drag when submerged, but decreases the sea-keeping capabilities and increases drag while surfaced. Since the limitations of the propulsion systems of early submarines forced them to operate surfaced most of the time, their hull designs were a compromise. Because of the slow submerged speeds of those subs, usually well below 10 kt (18 km/h), the increased drag for underwater travel was acceptable. Late in World War II, when technology allowed faster and longer submerged operation and increased aircraft surveillance forced submarines to stay submerged, hull designs became teardrop shaped again to reduce drag and noise. was a unique research submarine that pioneered the American version of the teardrop hull form (sometimes referred to as an "Albacore hull") of modern submarines. On modern military submarines the outer hull

Single and double hulls.

Modern submarines and submersibles, as well as the oldest ones, usually have a single hull. Large submarines generally have an additional hull or hull sections outside. This external hull, which actually forms the shape of submarine, is called the outer hull ("casing" in the Royal Navy) or light hull, as it does not have to withstand a pressure difference. Inside the outer hull there is a strong hull, or pressure hull, which withstands sea pressure and has normal atmospheric pressure inside.  As early as World War I, it was realized that the optimal shape for withstanding pressure conflicted with the optimal shape for seakeeping and minimal drag, and construction difficulties further complicated the problem. This was solved either by a

Pressure hull.

The pressure hull is generally constructed of thick high-strength steel with a complex structure and high strength reserve, and is separated with watertight bulkheads into several compartments. There are also examples of more than two hulls in a submarine, like the, which has two main pressure hulls and three smaller ones for control room, torpedoes and steering gear, with the missile launch system between the main hulls.  The dive depth cannot be increased easily. Simply making the hull thicker increases the weight and requires reduction of onboard equipment weight, ultimately resulting in a "bathyscaphe". This is acceptable for civilian research submersibles, but not military submarines.  WWI submarines had hulls of carbon steel, with a maximum depth. During WWII, high-strength alloyed steel was introduced, allowing depths. High-strength alloy steel remains the primary material for submarines today, with depths, which cannot be exceeded on a military submarine without design compromises. To exceed that limit, a few submarines were built with titanium hulls. Titanium can be stronger than steel, lighter, and is not ferromagnetic, important for stealth. Titanium submarines were built by the Soviet Union, which developed specialized high-strength alloys. It has produced several types of titanium submarines. Titanium alloys allow a major increase in depth, but other systems must be redesigned to cope, so test depth was

Propulsion.

The first submarines were propelled by humans. The first mechanically driven submarine was the 1863 French, which used compressed air for propulsion. Anaerobic propulsion was first employed by the Spanish "Ictineo II" in 1864, which used a solution of zinc, manganese dioxide, and potassium chlorate to generate sufficient heat to power a steam engine, while also providing oxygen for the crew. A similar system was not employed again until 1940 when the German Navy tested a hydrogen peroxide-based system, the Walter turbine, on the experimental V-80 submarine and later on the naval and type XVII submarines; the system was further developed for the British, completed in 1958.  Until the advent of nuclear marine propulsion, most 20th-century submarines used electric motors and batteries for running underwater and combustion engines on the surface, and for battery recharging. Early submarines used gasoline (petrol) engines but this quickly gave way to kerosene (paraffin) and then diesel engines

Diesel-electric transmission.

While most early submarines used a direct mechanical connection between the combustion engine and the propeller, an alternative solution was considered as well as implemented at a very early stage. That solution consists in first converting the work of the combustion engine into electric energy via a dedicated generator. This energy is then used to drive the propeller via the electric motor and, to the extent required, for charging the batteries. In this configuration, the electric motor is thus responsible for driving the propeller at all times, regardless of whether air is available so that the combustion engine can also be used

Snorkel.

During World War II the Germans experimented with the idea of the "schnorchel" (snorkel) from captured Dutch submarines but did not see the need for them until rather late in the war. The "schnorchel" is a retractable pipe that supplies air to the diesel engines while submerged at periscope depth, allowing the boat to cruise and recharge its batteries while maintaining a degree of stealth.  Especially as first implemented however, it turned out to be far from a perfect solution. There were problems with the device's valve sticking shut or closing as it dunked in rough weather. Since the system used the entire pressure hull as a buffer, the diesels would instantaneously suck huge volumes of air from the boat's compartments, and the crew often suffered painful ear injuries. Speed was limited to, lest the device snap from stress. The "schnorchel" also created noise that

Air-independent propulsion.

During World War II, German Type XXI submarines (also known as ""Elektroboote"") were the first submarines designed to operate submerged for extended periods. Initially they were to carry hydrogen peroxide for long-term, fast air-independent propulsion, but were ultimately built with very large batteries instead. At the end of the War, the British and Soviets experimented with hydrogen peroxide/kerosene (paraffin) engines that could run surfaced and submerged. The results were not encouraging. Though the Soviet Union deployed a class of submarines with this engine type (codenamed by NATO), they were considered unsuccessful.  The United States also used hydrogen peroxide in an experimental midget submarine, X-1. It was originally powered by a hydrogen peroxide/diesel engine and battery system until an explosion of her hydrogen peroxide supply

Nuclear power.

Steam power was resurrected in the 1950s with a nuclear-powered steam turbine driving a generator. By eliminating the need for atmospheric oxygen, the time that a submarine could remain submerged was limited only by its food stores, as breathing air was recycled and fresh water distilled from seawater. More importantly, a nuclear submarine has unlimited range at top speed. This allows it to travel from its operating base to the combat zone in a much shorter time and makes it a far more difficult target for most anti-submarine weapons. Nuclear-powered submarines have a relatively small battery and diesel engine/generator powerplant for emergency use if the reactors must be shut down.  Nuclear power is now used in all large submarines, but due to the high cost and large size of nuclear reactors, smaller submarines still use diesel-electric propulsion. The ratio of larger to smaller submarines depends on strategic needs. The

Alternative.

Oil-fired steam turbines powered the British K-class submarines, built during World War I and later, to give them the surface speed to keep up with the battle fleet. The K-class subs were not very successful, however.  Toward the end of the 20th century, some submarines—such as the British "Vanguard" class—began to be fitted with pump-jet propulsors instead of propellers. Though these are heavier, more expensive, and less efficient than a propeller, they are significantly quieter, providing an important tactical advantage.

Armament.

The success of the submarine is inextricably linked to the development of the torpedo, invented by Robert Whitehead in 1866. His invention is essentially the same now as it was 140 years ago. Only with self-propelled torpedoes could the submarine make the leap from novelty to a weapon of war. Until the perfection of the guided torpedo, multiple "straight-running" torpedoes were required to attack a target. With at most 20 to 25 torpedoes stored on board, the number of attacks was limited. To increase combat endurance most World War I submarines functioned as submersible gunboats, using their deck guns against unarmed targets, and diving to escape and engage enemy warships. The importance of guns encouraged the development of the unsuccessful Submarine Cruiser such as the French and the Royal Navy's and M-class submarines. With the arrival of Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft, guns became more for defense than attack. A more practical method of increasing combat endurance was the external torpedo tube, loaded only in port.  The

Sensors.

A submarine can have a variety of sensors, depending on its missions. Modern military submarines rely almost entirely on a suite of passive and active sonars to locate targets. Active sonar relies on an audible "ping" to generate echoes to reveal objects around the submarine. Active systems are rarely used, as doing so reveals the sub's presence. Passive sonar is a set of sensitive hydrophones set into the hull or trailed in a towed array, normally trailing several hundred feet behind the sub. The towed array is the mainstay of NATO submarine detection systems, as it reduces the flow noise heard by operators. Hull mounted sonar is employed in addition to the towed array, as the

Navigation.

Early submarines had few navigation aids, but modern subs have a variety of navigation systems. Modern military submarines use an inertial guidance system for navigation while submerged, but drift error unavoidably builds over time. To counter this, the crew occasionally uses the Global Positioning System to obtain an accurate position. The periscope—a retractable tube with a prism system

Communication.

Military submarines use several systems to communicate with distant command centers or other ships. One is VLF (very low frequency) radio, which can reach a submarine either on the surface or submerged to a fairly shallow depth, usually less than. ELF (extremely low frequency) can reach a submarine at greater depths, but has a very low bandwidth and is generally used to call a submerged sub to a shallower depth where VLF signals can reach. A submarine also has the option of floating a long, buoyant wire

Life support systems.

With nuclear power or air-independent propulsion, submarines can remain submerged for months at a time. Conventional diesel submarines must periodically resurface or run on snorkel to recharge their batteries. Most modern military submarines generate breathing oxygen by electrolysis of water (using a device called an "Electrolytic Oxygen Generator"). Atmosphere control equipment includes a CO scrubber, which uses an amine absorbent to remove the gas from air and diffuse it into waste pumped overboard. A machine that uses a catalyst to convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide (removed by the CO scrubber) and bonds hydrogen produced from the ship's storage battery with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce water, is also used. An atmosphere monitoring system samples the air from different areas of the ship for nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, R-12 and R-114 refrigerants, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other gases. Poisonous gases are removed, and oxygen is replenished by use of an oxygen bank located in a main ballast tank. Some heavier submarines have two oxygen bleed stations (forward and aft). The oxygen

Crew.

A typical nuclear submarine has a crew of over 80; conventional boats typically have fewer than 40. The conditions on a submarine can be difficult because crew members must work in isolation for long periods of time, without family contact. Submarines normally maintain radio silence to avoid detection. Operating a submarine is dangerous, even in peacetime, and many submarines have been lost in accidents.

Women.

Most navies prohibited women from serving on submarines, even after they had been permitted to serve on surface warships. The Royal Norwegian Navy became the first navy to allow women on its submarine crews in 1985. The Royal Danish Navy allowed female submariners in 1988. Others followed suit including the Swedish Navy (1989), the Royal Australian Navy (1998), the Spanish Navy (1999), the German Navy (2001) and the Canadian Navy (2002). In 1995, Solveig Krey of the Royal Norwegian Navy became the first female officer to

Abandoning the vessel.

In an emergency, submarines can transmit a signal to other ships. The crew can use Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment to abandon the submarine. The crew can prevent a lung injury

Bibliography.

General history Culture Submarines before 1914 1900/Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905 World War II  Cold War

A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. It is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. Submarines are referred to as "boats" rather than "ships" irrespective of their size.

Ponorka je plavidlo schopné ponoru s možností ovládání pohybu i pod vodní hladinou. Ponorky mohou pracovat ve velkých hloubkách, do kterých se potápěči nedostanou. Ponorka může být civilní (vědecká nebo turistická) nebo vojenská. Vojenská ponorka bývá vyzbrojena širokým arzenálem zbraní, zvláště torpédy, případně střelami s balistickou nebo plochou dráhou letu. Velký pokrok pro ponorky znamenalo zavedení jaderného pohonu (jaderná ponorka), protože podstatně zvětšuje jejich akční rádius a zbavuje je nutnosti pravidelného a častého vynořování (dostatek elektrické energie umožňuje vytvářet si kyslík elektrolýzou mořské vody). Jaderný pohon je však velmi drahý a až na výjimky je vyhrazen jen pro vojenské ponorky. Moderní jaderná ponorka má zásobu paliva již při výrobě dodanou na palubě v takovém množství, aby pokrylo celou dobu životnosti plavidla. Není tedy nutné nijak doplňovat palivo a ponorka je schopna vydržet pod hladinou na moři téměř neomezenou dobu. Jediné omezení pak tvoří zásoby jídla a jiného spotřebního vybavení (pitná voda, toaletní potřeby atd.)


Background.

After the revolution of 1848 and its suppression, the cultural life of Czech people was weakened by the absolutism of the Austrian Empire's Bach government and also because a lot of intellectuals died. These included Ján Kollár, František Ladislav Čelakovský, Josef Kajetán Tyl, and Karel Havlíček Borovský. In 1853 two important masterpieces of Czech literature were published that avoided reflecting the political situation – "Babička (The Grandmother)" by Božena Němcová and "Kytice" by Karel Jaromír Erben. The first manifestation of the new generation of authors appeared in the literary almanac "Lada Nióla" published by Josef Václav Frič in 1856, which was the first to admire the legacy of Karel Hynek Mácha. The authors of the young generation did not have much to publish, and the only literary periodicals were in the hands of old and conservative writers (Jakub Malý, "Lumír" of Ferdinand Břetislav Mikovec).

The almanac.

The almanac was initiated by Jan Neruda, then a 24-year-old writer who had just entered his literary career with a collection of poems called "Hřbitovní kvítí" (Graveyard Flowers, 1857) which was not well received for its sorrowful scepticism. For this reason, Jan Neruda persuaded a journalist he knew, Josef Barák, who was on the contrary very popular for his tough attitude against the Bach system, to be the editor. The name for the almanac is said to come from Josef Václav Frič and shows the admiration for the imposing poem by Karel Hynek Mácha. The young authors gathered in the ballrooms of Karel Link and a café in Dominican Street (now Husova ulice 352/2), Prague. The almanac was published on 16 May 1858 (the feast of John of Nepomuk) by publisher Hermann Dominikus (another publisher who was suggested by Neruda and Hálek was not allowed to publish it by the police). The volume's first page had a dedication to Karel Hynek Mácha, and a portrait of the poet sketched to resemble a picture of John the Baptist by František Mašek (1836), in a little chapel in the compound of the ruins of Valdštejn Castle. Božena Němcová was the only author who was paid an honorarium for her contribution, which was motivated mainly by her difficult financial situation at the time.

Reception and following volumes.

The only extensive review was published in "Kritische Blätter" by Ignác Jan Hanuš. Other magazines either wrote nothing or just short reports. Jakub Malý wrote several diatribes against the young authors in a Písek magazine ("Poutník od Otavy") which provoked the authors' activity, and in the next three years three more volumes of Máj were published, edited by Vítězslav Hálek. The group received more and more attention and in the end totally seized Czech literary life. The group was called Májovci, and took on new members (e.g. Gustav Pfleger-Moravský), but after the last volume (1862) it gradually split up.

Máj was a Czech literary almanac published (in 1858, 1859, 1860 and 1862) by a group of authors centred around Jan Neruda and Vítězslav Hálek.

Almanach Máj je literární sborník sestavený básníky Janem Nerudou a Vítězslavem Hálkem. Vydal jej 1. května 1858 vydavatel Dominikus v Praze. Jako redaktor je uveden publicista Josef Barák, básněmi nebo menšími prozaickými díly do něj vedle Nerudy, Hálka a Baráka dále přispěli Jakub Arbes, Karolina Světlá, Adolf Heyduk, Rudolf Mayer, Josef Václav Frič (pod pseudonymem M. Brodský) a jeho manželka píšící pod pseudonymem Anna Sázavská, Karel Jaromír Erben (uveden jako J. E. Miletínský), Sofie Podlipská (podepsána křestním jménem Žofie), Božena Němcová, Bohumil Janda Cidlinský (pod pseudonymem V. Lánský), Karel Sabina (podepsán iniciály) a Jan Palacký.


History.

Formative and early years (1967–1972).

Becker and Fagen met in 1967 at Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. As Fagen passed by a café, The Red Balloon, he heard Becker practicing the electric guitar. In an interview, Fagen recounted the experience: "I hear this guy practicing, and it sounded very professional and contemporary. It sounded like, you know, like a black person, really." He introduced himself to Becker and asked, "Do you want to be in a band?" Discovering that they enjoyed similar music, the two began writing songs together.  Becker and Fagen began playing in local groups. One such group, known as the Don Fagen Jazz Trio, the Bad Rock Group and later the Leather Canary, included future comedy star Chevy Chase on drums. They played covers of songs by The Rolling Stones ("Dandelion"), Moby Grape ("Hey Grandma"), and Willie Dixon ("Spoonful"), as well as some original compositions. Terence Boylan, another Bard musician, remembered that Fagen took readily to the beatnik life while attending college: "They never came out of their room, they stayed up all night. They looked like ghosts—black turtlenecks and skin so white that it looked like yogurt. Absolutely no activity, chain-smoking Lucky Strikes and dope." Fagen himself would later remember it as "probably the only time in my life that I actually had friends."  After Fagen graduated in 1969, the two moved to Brooklyn and tried to peddle their tunes in the Brill Building in midtown Manhattan. Kenny Vance (of Jay and the Americans), who had a production office in the building, took an interest in their music, which led to work on the soundtrack of the low-budget Richard Pryor film "You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat". Becker later said bluntly, "We did it for the money." A series of demos from 1968 to 1971 are available in multiple different releases, not authorized by Becker and Fagen. This collection features approximately 25 tracks and is notable for its sparse arrangements (Fagen plays solo piano on many songs) and lo-fi production, a contrast with Steely Dan's later work. Although some of these songs ("Caves of Altamira", "Brooklyn", "Barrytown") were re-recorded for Steely Dan albums, most were never officially released.  Becker and Fagen joined the touring band of Jay and the Americans for about a year and a half. They were at first paid $100 per show, but partway through their tenure the band's tour manager cut their salaries in half. The group's lead singer, Jay Black, dubbed Becker and Fagen "the Manson and Starkweather of rock 'n' roll", referring to cult leader Charles Manson and spree killer Charles Starkweather.  They had little success after moving to Brooklyn, although Barbra Streisand recorded their song "I Mean To Shine" on her 1971 "Barbra Joan Streisand" album. Their fortunes changed when one of Vance's associates, Gary Katz, moved to Los Angeles to become a staff producer for ABC Records. He hired Becker and Fagen as staff songwriters; they flew to California. Katz would produce all their 1970s albums in collaboration with engineer Roger Nichols. Nichols would win six Grammy Awards for his work with the band from the 1970s to 2001.  After realizing that their songs were too complex for other ABC artists, at Katz's suggestion Becker and Fagen formed their own band with guitarists Denny Dias and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, drummer Jim Hodder and singer David Palmer, and Katz signed them to ABC as recording artists. Fans of Beat Generation literature, Fagen and Becker named the band after a "revolutionary" steam-powered dildo mentioned in the William S. Burroughs novel "Naked Lunch". Palmer joined as a second lead vocalist because of Fagen's occasional stage fright, his reluctance to sing in front of an audience, and because the label believed that his voice was not "commercial" enough.  In 1972, ABC issued Steely Dan's first single, "Dallas", backed with "Sail the Waterway". Distribution of "stock" copies available to the general public was apparently extremely limited; the single sold so poorly that promotional copies are much more readily available than stock copies in today's collectors market. As of 2015, "Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway" are the only officially released Steely Dan tracks that have not been reissued on cassette or compact disc. In an interview (1995), Becker and Fagen called the songs "stinko." "Dallas" was later covered by Poco on their "Head Over Heels" album.

"Can't Buy a Thrill" and "Countdown to Ecstasy" (1972–1973).

"Can't Buy a Thrill", Steely Dan's debut album, was released in 1972. Its hit singles "Do It Again" and "Reelin' In the Years" reached No. 6 and No. 11 respectively on the Billboard singles chart. Along with "Dirty Work" (sung by David Palmer), the songs became staples on classic rock radio.  Because of Fagen's reluctance to sing live, Palmer handled most of the vocal duties on stage. During the first tour, however, Katz and Becker decided that they preferred Fagen's interpretations of the band's songs, persuading him to take over. Palmer quietly left the group while it recorded its second album. He wrote the No. 2 hit "Jazzman" (1974) with Carole King.  Released in 1973, "Countdown to Ecstasy" was not as commercially successful as Steely Dan's first album. Becker and Fagen were unhappy with some of the performances on the record and believed that it sold poorly because it had been recorded hastily on tour. The album's singles were "Show Biz Kids" and "My Old School", both of which stayed in the lower half of the Billboard charts (though "My Old School" and—to a lesser extent—"Bodhisattva" became minor FM Rock staples in time).

"Pretzel Logic" and "Katy Lied" (1974–1976).

"Pretzel Logic "was released in early 1974. A diverse set, it includes the group's most successful single, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100), and a note-for-note rendition of Duke Ellington and James "Bubber" Miley's "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo".  During the previous album's tour, the band had added vocalist-percussionist Royce Jones, vocalist-keyboardist Michael McDonald, and session drummer Jeff Porcaro. Porcaro played the sole drum track on one song, "Night By Night" on "Pretzel Logic" (Jim Gordon played drums on all the remaining tracks, and he and Porcaro both played on "Parker's Band"), reflecting Steely Dan's increasing reliance on session musicians (including Dean Parks and Rick Derringer). Jeff Porcaro and "Katy Lied" pianist David Paich would go on to form Toto. Striving for perfection, Becker and Fagen sometimes asked musicians to record as many as forty takes of each track.  "Pretzel Logic" was the first Steely Dan album to feature Walter Becker on guitar. "Once I met [session musician] Chuck Rainey", he explained, "I felt there really was no need for me to be bringing my bass guitar to the studio anymore".  A rift began growing between Becker-Fagen and Steely Dan's other members (particularly Baxter and Hodder), who wanted to tour. Becker and Fagen disliked constant touring and wanted to concentrate solely on writing and recording. The other members gradually left the band, discouraged by this and by their diminishing roles in the studio. However, Dias remained with the group until 1980's "Gaucho" and Michael McDonald contributed vocals until the group's twenty-year hiatus after "Gaucho". Baxter and McDonald went on to join The Doobie Brothers. Steely Dan's last tour performance was on July 5, 1974, a concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California.  Becker and Fagen recruited a diverse group of session players for "Katy Lied" (1975), including Porcaro, Paich, and McDonald, as well as guitarist Elliott Randall, jazz saxophonist Phil Woods, saxophonist/bass-guitarist Wilton Felder, percussionist/vibraphonist/keyboardist Victor Feldman, keyboardist (and later producer) Michael Omartian, and guitarist Larry Carlton—Dias, Becker, and Fagen being Steely Dan's only original members. The album went gold on the strength of "Black Friday" and "Bad Sneakers", but Becker and Fagen were so dissatisfied with the album's sound (compromised by a faulty DBX noise reduction system) that they publicly apologized for it (on the album's back cover) and for years refused to listen to it in its final form. "Katy Lied" also included "Doctor Wu" and "Chain Lightning".

"The Royal Scam" and "Aja" (1976–1978).

"The Royal Scam" was released in May 1976. Partly because of Carlton's prominent contributions, it is the band's most guitar-oriented album. It also features performances by session drummer Bernard Purdie. The album sold well in the United States, though without the strength of a hit single. "Haitian Divorce" (Top 20) drove sales in the UK, becoming Steely Dan's first major hit in that country. Steely Dan's sixth album, the jazz-influenced "Aja, " was released in September 1977. "Aja" reached the Top Five in the U.S. charts within three weeks, winning the Grammy award for "Engineer – Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical." It was also one of the first American LPs to be certified 'platinum' for sales of over 1 million albums.  Featuring Michael McDonald's backing vocals, "Peg" (No. 11) was the album's first single, followed by "Josie" (No. 26) and "Deacon Blues" (No. 19). "Aja" solidified Becker's and Fagen's reputations as songwriters and studio perfectionists. It features such jazz and fusion luminaries as guitarists Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour; bassist Chuck Rainey; saxophonists Wayne Shorter, Pete Christlieb, and Tom Scott; drummers Steve Gadd, Rick Marotta and Bernard Purdie; pianist Joe Sample and ex-Miles Davis pianist/vibraphonist Victor Feldman and Grammy award-winning producer/arranger Michael Omartian (piano).  Planning to tour in support of "Aja", Steely Dan assembled a live band. Rehearsal ended and the tour was canceled when backing musicians began comparing pay. The album's history was documented in an episode of the TV and DVD series "Classic Albums".  After "Aja's "success, Becker and Fagen were asked to write the title track for the movie "FM". The movie was a box-office disaster, but the song was a hit, earning Steely Dan another engineering Grammy award. It was a minor hit in the UK and barely missed the Top 20 in the U.S.A.

"Gaucho" and breakup (1978–1981).

Becker and Fagen took a break from songwriting for most of 1978 before starting work on "Gaucho". The project would not go smoothly: technical, legal, and personal setbacks delayed the album's release and subsequently led Becker and Fagen to suspend their partnership for over a decade.  Misfortune struck early when an assistant engineer accidentally erased most of "The Second Arrangement", a favorite track of Katz and Nichols, which was never recovered. More trouble — this time legal — followed. In March 1979, MCA Records bought ABC, and for much of the next two years Steely Dan could not release an album. Becker and Fagen had planned on leaving ABC for Warner Bros. Records, but MCA claimed ownership of their music, preventing them from changing labels.  Turmoil in Becker's personal life also interfered. His girlfriend died of a drug overdose in their Upper West Side apartment, and he was sued for $17 million. Becker settled out of court, but he was shocked by the accusations and by the tabloid press coverage that followed. Soon after, Becker was struck by a taxi while crossing a Manhattan street, shattering his right leg in several places and forcing him to use crutches.  Still more legal trouble was to come. Jazz composer Keith Jarrett sued Steely Dan for copyright infringement, claiming that they had based "Gaucho"'s title track on one of his compositions, "Long As You Know You're Living Yours" (Fagen later admitted that he'd loved the song and that it had been a strong influence).  "Gaucho" was finally released in November 1980. Despite its tortured history, it was another major success. The album's first single, "Hey Nineteen", reached No. 10 on the pop chart in early 1981, and "Time Out of Mind" (featuring guitarist Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits) was a moderate hit in the spring. "My Rival" was featured in John Huston's 1980 film "Phobia". Roger Nichols won a third engineering Grammy award for his work on the album.

Time off (1981–1993).

Steely Dan disbanded in June 1981. Becker and his family moved to Maui, where he became an "avocado rancher and self-styled critic of the contemporary scene." He stopped using drugs, which he had used for most of his career. Meanwhile, Fagen released a solo album, "The Nightfly "(1982), which went platinum in both the U.S. and the U.K. and yielded the Top Twenty hit "I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)." In 1988 Fagen wrote the score of "Bright Lights, Big City" and a song for its soundtrack, but otherwise recorded little. He occasionally did production work for other artists, as did Becker. The most prominent of these were two albums Becker produced for the British sophisti-pop group China Crisis, who were strongly influenced by Steely Dan. Becker is listed as an official member of China Crisis on the first of these albums, 1985's "Flaunt the Imperfection", and played keyboards on the band's Top 20 UK hit "Black Man Ray". For the second of the two albums, 1989's "Diary of a Hollow Horse", Becker is only listed as a producer and not as a band member.  In 1986 Becker and Fagen performed on "Zazu", an album by former model Rosie Vela produced by Gary Katz. The two rekindled their friendship and held songwriting sessions between 1986 and 1987, leaving the results unfinished. On October 23, 1991, Becker attended a concert by New York Rock and Soul Revue, co-founded by Fagen and producer/singer Libby Titus (who was for many years the partner of Levon Helm of The Band and would later become Fagen's wife), and spontaneously performed with the group.  Becker produced Fagen's second solo album, "Kamakiriad", in 1993. Fagen conceived the album as a sequel to "The Nightfly".

Reunion, "Alive in America" (1993–2000).

Becker and Fagen reunited for an American tour to support "Kamakiriad", which sold poorly despite a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. With Becker playing lead and rhythm guitar, the pair assembled a band that included a second keyboard player, second lead guitarist, bassist, drummer, vibraphonist, three female backing singers, and four-piece saxophone section. Among the musicians from the live band, several would continue to work with Steely Dan over the next decade, including bassist Tom Barney and saxophone players Cornelius Bumpus and Chris Potter. During this tour, Fagen introduced himself as "Rick Strauss" and Becker as "Frank Poulenc".  The next year, MCA released "Citizen Steely Dan", a boxed set featuring their entire catalog (except their debut single "Dallas"/"Sail The Waterway") on four CDs, plus four extra tracks: "Here at the Western World" (originally released on 1978's "Greatest Hits"), "FM" (1978 single), a 1971 demo of "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" and "Bodhisattva (live)", the latter recorded on a cassette in 1974 and released as a B-side in 1980. That year Becker released his debut solo album, "11 Tracks of Whack", which Fagen co-produced.  Steely Dan toured again in support of the boxed set and "Tracks". In 1995 they released a live CD, "Alive in America", compiled from recordings of several 1993 and 1994 concerts. The Art Crimes Tour followed, including dates in the United States, Japan, and their first European shows in 22 years. After this activity, Becker and Fagen returned to the studio to begin work on a new album.

"Two Against Nature" and "Everything Must Go" (2000–2003).

In 2000 Steely Dan released their first studio album in 20 years: "Two Against Nature". It won four Grammy Awards: Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal ("Cousin Dupree"), and Album of the Year (despite competition in this category from Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" and Radiohead's "Kid A"). In the summer of 2000, they began another American tour, followed by an international tour later that year. The tour featured guitarist Jon Herington, who would go on to play with the band over the next two decades. The group released the "Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party" DVD, documenting a live-in-the-studio concert performance of popular songs from throughout Steely Dan's career. In March 2001, Steely Dan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In 2003 Steely Dan released "Everything Must Go". In contrast to their earlier work, they had tried to write music that captured a live feel. Becker sang lead vocals on a Steely Dan studio album for the first time ("Slang of Ages" — he had sung lead on his own "Book of Liars" on "Alive in America"). Fewer session musicians played on "Everything Must Go" than had become typical of Steely Dan albums: Becker played bass on every track and lead guitar on five tracks; Fagen added piano, electric piano, organ, synthesizers, and percussion on top of his vocals; touring drummer Keith Carlock played on every track.

Firing of Roger Nichols.

In 2002 during the recording of "Everything Must Go", Becker and Fagen fired their engineer Roger Nichols, who had worked with them for 30 years, without explanation or notification, according to band biographer Brian Sweet's 2018 revision of his book "Reelin' in the Years."

Touring, solo activity (2003–2017).

To complete his "Nightfly" trilogy, Fagen issued "Morph the Cat" in 2006. Steely Dan returned to annual touring that year with the Steelyard "Sugartooth" McDan and The Fab-Originees.com Tour. Despite much fluctuation in membership, the live band featured mainstays Herrington, Carlock, bassist Freddie Washington, the horn section of Michael Leonhart, Jim Pugh, Roger Rosenberg, and Walt Weiskopf, and backing vocalists Carolyn Leonhart and Cindy Mizelle. The 2007 Heavy Rollers Tour included dates in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, making it their most expansive tour.  The smaller Think Fast Tour followed in 2008, with keyboardist Jim Beard joining the live band. That year Becker released a second album, "Circus Money", produced by Larry Klein and inspired by Jamaican music. In 2009 Steely Dan toured Europe and America extensively in their Left Bank Holiday and Rent Party Tour, alternating between standard one-date concerts at large venues and multi-night theater shows that featured performances of "The Royal Scam", "Aja", or "Gaucho" in their entirety on certain nights. The following year, Fagen formed the touring supergroup Dukes of September Rhythm Revue with McDonald, Boz Scaggs, and members of Steely Dan's live band, whose repertoire included songs by all three songwriters. Longtime studio engineer Roger Nichols died of pancreatic cancer on April 10, 2011. Steely Dan's Shuffle Diplomacy Tour that year included an expanded set list and dates in Australia and New Zealand. Fagen released his fourth album, "Sunken Condos", in 2012. It was his first solo release unrelated to the "Nightfly" trilogy.  The Mood Swings: 8 Miles to Pancake Day Tour began in July 2013 and featured an eight-night run at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Jamalot Ever After, their 2014 United States tour, ran from July 2 in Portland, Oregon to September 20 in Port Chester, New York. 2015's Rockabye Gollie Angel Tour included opening act Elvis Costello and the Imposters and dates at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The Dan Who Knew Too Much tour followed in 2016, with Steve Winwood opening. Steely Dan also performed at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with an accompanying orchestra.  The band played its final shows with Becker in 2017. In April, they played the 12-date Reelin' In the Chips residency in Las Vegas and Southern California. Becker's final performance came on May 27 at the Greenwich Town Party in Greenwich, Connecticut. Due to illness, Becker did not play Steely Dan's two Classics East and West concerts at Dodger Stadium and Citi Field in July. Fagen embarked on a tour that summer with a new backing band, The Nightflyers.

After Becker's death (2017–present).

Becker died from complications of esophageal cancer on September 3, 2017. In a note released to the media, Fagen remembered his longtime friend and bandmate, and promised to "keep the music we created together alive as long as I can with the Steely Dan band." After Becker's death, Steely Dan honored commitments to perform a short North American tour in October 2017 and three concert dates in the United Kingdom and Ireland for Bluesfest on a double bill with the Doobie Brothers. The band played its first concert following Becker's death in Thackerville, Oklahoma, on October 13. In tribute to Becker, they performed his solo song "Book of Liars", with Fagen singing the lead vocals, at several concerts on the tour.  Becker's widow and estate sued Fagen later that year, arguing that the estate should control 50% of the band's shares. Fagen filed a counter suit, arguing that the band had drawn up plans in 1972 stating that band members leaving the band or dying relinquish shares of the band's output to the surviving members. In December, Fagen said that he would rather have retired the Steely Dan name after Becker's death, and would instead have toured with the current iteration of the group under another name, but was persuaded not to by promoters for commercial reasons.  In 2018, Steely Dan performed on a summer tour of the United States with The Doobie Brothers as co-headliners. The band also played a nine-show residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York City that October. In February 2019, the band embarked on a tour of Great Britain with Steve Winwood. Guitarist Connor Kennedy of The Nightflyers joined the live band, beginning with a nine-night residency at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas in April 2019.  On June 25, 2019, "The New York Times Magazine" listed Steely Dan among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Musical and lyrical style.

Music.

Overall sound.

Special attention is given to the individual sound of each instrument. Recording is done with the utmost fidelity and attention to sonic detail, and mixed so that all the instruments are heard and none are given undue priority. Their albums are also notable for the characteristically 'warm' and 'dry' production sound, and the sparing use of echo and reverberation.

Backing vocals.

Becker and Fagen favored a distinctly soul-influenced style of backing vocals, which after the first few albums were almost always performed by a female chorus (although Michael McDonald features prominently on several tracks, including the 1975 song "Black Friday" and the 1977 song "Peg"). Venetta Fields, Sherlie Matthews and Clydie King were the preferred trio for backing vocals on the group's late 1970s albums. Other backing vocalists include Timothy B. Schmit, Tawatha Agee, Brenda White-King, Carolyn Leonhart, Janice Pendarvis, Catherine Russell, Cynthia Calhoun, Victoria Cave, Cindy Mizelle, and Jeff Young. The band also featured singers like Patti Austin and Valerie Simpson on later projects such as "Gaucho".

Horns.

Horn arrangements have been used on songs from all Steely Dan albums. They typically feature instruments such as trumpets, trombones and saxophones, although they have also used other instruments such as flutes and clarinets. The horn parts occasionally integrate simple synth lines to alter the tone quality of individual horn lines; for example in "Deacon Blues" this was done to "thicken" one of the saxophone lines. On their earlier albums Steely Dan featured guest arrangers and on their later albums the arrangement work is credited to Fagen.

Composition and chord use.

Steely Dan is famous for their use of chord sequences and harmonies that explore the area of musical tension between traditional pop sounds and jazz. In particular, they are known for their use of the add 2 chord, a type of added tone chord, which they nicknamed the mu major. Other common chords used by Steely Dan include slash chords for example Bb/C or E7/A. This notation shows a chord (shown to the left of the slash) with a note other than the tonic (shown to the right of the slash) as the lowest pitched note.

Lyrics.

Steely Dan's lyrical subjects are diverse, but in their basic approach they often create fictional personae that participate in a narrative or situation. The duo have said that in retrospect, most of their albums have a "feel" of either Los Angeles or New York City, the two main cities where Becker and Fagen lived and worked. Characters appear in their songs that evoke these cities. Steely Dan's lyrics are often puzzling to the listener, with the true meaning of the song "uncoded" through repeated listening, and a richer understanding of the references within the lyrics. For example, in the song "Everyone's Gone to the Movies," the line "I know you're used to 16 or more, sorry we only have eight" refers not to the count of some article, but to eight-millimeter film, which was lower quality than 16 mm or larger formats, underscoring the illicitness of Mr. Lapage's movie parties.  Thematically, Steely Dan creates a universe peopled by losers, creeps and failed dreamers, often victims of their own obsessions and delusions. These motifs are introduced in the Dan's first hit song, "Do It Again," which contains a description of a murderous cowboy who beats the gallows, a man taken advantage of by a cheating girlfriend, and an obsessive gambler, all of whom are unable to command their own destinies; similar themes of being trapped in a death spiral of one's own making appear throughout their catalog. Other themes that they explore include prejudice, aging, poverty, and middle-class ennui.  Many would argue that Steely Dan never wrote a genuine love song, instead dealing with personal passion in the guise of a destructive obsession. Many of their songs concern love, but typical of Steely Dan songs is an ironic or disturbing twist in the lyrics that reveals a darker reality. For example, expressed "love" is actually about prostitution ("Pearl of the Quarter"), incest ("Cousin Dupree"), pornography ("Everyone's Gone to the Movies"), or some other socially unacceptable subject. However, some of their demo-era recordings show Fagen and Becker expressing romance, including "This Seat's Been Taken", "Oh, Wow, It's You" and "Come Back Baby".  Steely Dan's lyrics contain subtle and encoded references, unusual (and sometimes original) slang expressions, a wide variety of "word games." The obscure and sometimes teasing lyrics have given rise to considerable efforts by fans to explain the "inner meaning" of certain songs. Jazz is a recurring theme, and there are numerous other film, television and literary references and allusions, such as "Home at Last" (from "Aja"), which was inspired by Homer's "Odyssey".  Some of their lyrics are notable for their unusual meter patterns; a prime example of this is their 1972 hit "Reelin' In the Years", which crams an unusually large number of words into each line, giving it a highly syncopated quality.  "Name dropping" is another Steely Dan lyrical device; references to real places and people abound in their songs. The song "My Old School" is an example, referring to Annandale (Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, is home to Bard College, which both attended and where they met), and the "Two Against Nature" album (2000) contains numerous references to the duo's original region, the New York metro area, including the district of Gramercy Park, the Strand Bookstore, and the upscale food store Dean & DeLuca. In the song "Glamour Profession" the conclusion of a drug deal is celebrated with dumplings at Mr. Chow, a Chinese restaurant in Beverly Hills. The band even employed self-reference; in the song "Show Biz Kids," the titular subjects are sardonically portrayed as owning "the Steely Dan T-shirt."  The band also often name-checks drinks, typically alcoholic, in their songs: rum and cokes ("Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More"), piña coladas ("Bad Sneakers"), zombies ("Haitian Divorce"), black cows ("Black Cow"), Scotch whisky ("Deacon Blues"), retsina ("Home at Last"), grapefruit wine ("FM"), cherry wine ("Time Out of Mind"), Cuervo Gold ("Hey Nineteen"), kirschwasser ("Babylon Sisters"), Tanqueray ("Lunch with Gina"), Cuban breeze (Fagen's solo track "The Goodbye Look"), and margaritas ("Everything Must Go") are all mentioned in Steely Dan lyrics.

Members.

Current members  Former members

Discography.

Studio albums

Steely Dan is an American rock duo founded in 1972 by core members Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Blending rock, jazz, latin music, reggae, traditional pop, R&B, blues, and sophisticated studio production with cryptic and ironic lyrics, the band enjoyed critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981. Throughout their career, the duo recorded with a revolving cast of session musicians, and in 1974 retired from live performances to become a studio-only band. "Rolling Stone" has called them "the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies".

Steely Dan je americká jazz rocková skupina, jejíž jádro tvoří hudebníci Walter Becker a Donald Fagen. Vrcholem popularity skupiny byla 70. léta, kdy vydali šest alb, která byla směsicí stylů jazz, rock, funk, R&B a pop. Skupina v letech 1972 až 1974 podnikala turné, ale v roce 1975 se stala ryze studiovou záležitostí. Po rozpadu v roce 1981 se znovu formovala ke dvěma koncertním turné v letech 1993 a 1994, dále ke studiové práci na albu "Two Against Nature" v roce 2000 a následnému albu "Everything Must Go" v roce 2003 s následným podpůrným turné.


Text.

The question of whether "The Canterbury Tales" is a finished work has not been answered to date. There are 84 manuscripts and four incunabula (printed before 1500) editions of the work, dating from the late medieval and early Renaissance periods, more than for any other vernacular literary text with the exception of "The Prick of Conscience". This is taken as evidence of the "Tales"' popularity during the century after Chaucer's death. Fifty-five of these manuscripts are thought to have been originally complete, while 28 are so fragmentary that it is difficult to ascertain whether they were copied individually or as part of a set. The "Tales" vary in both minor and major ways from manuscript to manuscript; many of the minor variations are due to copyists' errors, while it is suggested that in other cases Chaucer both added to his work and revised it as it was being copied and possibly as it was being distributed. Determining the text of the work is complicated by the question of the narrator's voice which Chaucer made part of his literary structure.  Even the oldest surviving manuscripts of the "Tales" are not Chaucer's originals. The very oldest is probably MS Peniarth 392 D (called "Hengwrt"), written by a scribe shortly after Chaucer's death. Another famous example is the Ellesmere Manuscript, a manuscript handwritten by one person with illustrations by several illustrators; the tales are put in an order that many later editors have followed for centuries. The first version of "The Canterbury Tales" to be published in print was William Caxton's 1476 edition. Only 10 copies of this edition are known to exist, including one held by the British Library and one held by the Folger Shakespeare Library.  In 2004, Linne Mooney claimed that she was able to identify the scrivener who worked for Chaucer as an Adam Pinkhurst. Mooney, then a professor at the University of Maine and a visiting fellow at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, said she could match Pinkhurst's signature, on an oath he signed, to his handwriting on a copy of "The Canterbury Tales" that might have been transcribed from Chaucer's working copy. Recent scholarship has cast severe doubt upon that identification.

Order.

In the absence of consensus as to whether or not a complete version of the "Tales" exists, there is also no general agreement regarding the order in which Chaucer intended the stories to be placed.  Textual and manuscript clues have been adduced to support the two most popular modern methods of ordering the tales. Some scholarly editions divide the "Tales" into ten "Fragments". The tales that make up a Fragment are closely related and contain internal indications of their order of presentation, usually with one character speaking to and then

Language.

Chaucer wrote in a London dialect of late Middle English, which has clear differences from Modern English. From philological research, some facts are known about the pronunciation of English during the time of Chaucer. Chaucer pronounced "-e" at the end of many words, so that "care" was, not as in Modern English. Other silent letters were also pronounced, so that the word "knight" was, with both the "k" and the "gh" pronounced, not. In some cases, vowel letters in Middle English were pronounced very differently from Modern English, because the Great

Sources.

No other work prior to Chaucer's is known to have set a collection of tales within the framework of pilgrims on a pilgrimage. It is obvious, however, that Chaucer borrowed portions, sometimes very large portions, of his stories from earlier stories, and that his work was influenced by the general state of the literary world in which he lived. Storytelling was the main entertainment in England at the time, and storytelling contests had been around for hundreds of years. In 14th-century England the English Pui was a group with an appointed leader who would judge the songs of the group. The winner received a crown and, as with the winner of "The Canterbury Tales", a free dinner. It was common for pilgrims on a pilgrimage to have a chosen "master of ceremonies" to guide them and organise the journey. Harold Bloom suggests that the structure is mostly original, but inspired by the "pilgrim" figures of Dante and Virgil in "The Divine Comedy". New research suggests that the General Prologue, in which the innkeeper and host Harry Bailey

Genre and structure.

"The Canterbury Tales" is a collection of stories built around a frame narrative or frame tale, a common and already long established genre of its period. Chaucer's "Tales" differs from most other story "collections" in this genre chiefly in its intense variation. Most story collections focused on a theme, usually a religious one. Even in the "Decameron", storytellers are encouraged to stick to the theme decided on for the day. The idea of a pilgrimage to get such a diverse collection of people together for literary purposes was also unprecedented, though "the association of pilgrims and storytelling was a familiar one". Introducing a competition among the tales encourages the reader to compare the tales in all their variety, and allows Chaucer to showcase the breadth of his skill in different genres and literary forms.  While the structure of

Style.

The variety of Chaucer's tales shows the breadth of his skill and his familiarity with many literary forms, linguistic styles, and rhetorical devices. Medieval schools of rhetoric at the time encouraged such diversity, dividing literature (as Virgil suggests) into high, middle, and low styles as measured by the density of rhetorical forms and vocabulary. Another popular method of division came from St. Augustine, who focused more on audience response and less on subject matter (a Virgilian concern). Augustine divided literature into "majestic persuades", "temperate pleases", and "subdued teaches". Writers were encouraged to write in a way that kept in mind the speaker, subject, audience, purpose, manner, and occasion. Chaucer moves freely between all of these styles, showing favouritism to none. He not only considers the readers of his work as an audience, but the other pilgrims within the story as well, creating a multi-layered rhetoric  With this, Chaucer avoids targeting any specific audience or social class

Historical context and themes.

"The Canterbury Tales" was written during a turbulent time in English history. The Catholic Church was in the midst of the Western Schism and, although it was still the only Christian authority in Western Europe, it was the subject of heavy controversy. Lollardy, an early English religious movement led by John Wycliffe, is mentioned in the "Tales", which also mention a specific incident involving pardoners (sellers of indulgences, which were believed to relieve the temporal punishment due for sins that were already forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession) who nefariously claimed to be collecting for St. Mary Rouncesval hospital in England. "The Canterbury Tales" is among the first English literary works to mention paper, a relatively new invention that allowed dissemination of the written word never before seen in England. Political clashes, such as the 1381 Peasants' Revolt and clashes ending in the deposing of King Richard II, further reveal the complex turmoil surrounding Chaucer in the time of the "Tales"' writing. Many of his close friends were executed and he himself moved to Kent to get away from events in London.  While some readers look to interpret the characters of "The Canterbury Tales" as historical figures, other readers choose to interpret its significance in less literal terms. After analysis of Chaucer's diction and historical context, his work appears to develop a critique of society during his lifetime. Within a number of his descriptions, his comments can appear complimentary in nature, but through clever language, the statements are ultimately critical of the pilgrim's actions. It is unclear whether Chaucer would intend for the reader to link his characters with actual persons. Instead, it appears that Chaucer creates fictional characters to be general representations of people in such fields of work. With an understanding of medieval society, one can detect subtle satire at work.

Religion.

The "Tales" reflect diverse views of the Church in Chaucer's England. After the Black Death, many Europeans began to question the authority of the established Church. Some turned to lollardy, while others chose less extreme paths, starting new monastic orders or smaller movements exposing church corruption in the behaviour of the clergy, false church relics or abuse of indulgences. Several characters in the "Tales" are religious figures, and the very setting of the pilgrimage to Canterbury is religious (although the prologue comments ironically on its merely seasonal attractions),

Social class and convention.

The upper class or nobility, represented chiefly by the Knight and his Squire, was in Chaucer's time steeped in a culture of chivalry and courtliness. Nobles were expected to be powerful warriors who could be ruthless on the battlefield yet mannerly in the King's Court and Christian in their actions. Knights were expected to form a strong social bond with the men who fought alongside them, but an even stronger bond with a woman whom they idealised to strengthen their fighting ability. Though the aim of chivalry was to noble action, its conflicting values often degenerated into violence. Church leaders frequently tried to place restrictions on jousts and tournaments, which at times ended in the death of the loser. The Knight's Tale shows how the brotherly love of two fellow knights turns into a deadly feud at the sight of a woman whom both idealise. To win her, both are willing to fight to the death. Chivalry was on the decline in Chaucer's

Relativism versus realism.

Chaucer's characters each express different—sometimes vastly different—views of reality, creating an atmosphere of testing, empathy, and relativism. As Helen Cooper says, "Different genres give different readings of the world: the fabliau scarcely notices the

Liminality.

The concept of liminality figures prominently within "The Canterbury Tales". A liminal space, which can be both geographical as well as metaphorical or spiritual, is the transitional or transformational space between a “real” (secure, known, limited) world and an unknown or imaginary space of both risk and possibility. The notion of a pilgrimage is itself a liminal experience, because it centres on travel between destinations and because pilgrims undertake it hoping to become more holy in the process. Thus, the structure of "The Canterbury Tales" itself

Influence on literature.

It is sometimes argued that the greatest contribution that this work made to English literature was in popularising the literary use of the vernacular English, rather than French or Latin. English had, however, been used as a literary language for centuries before Chaucer's life, and several of Chaucer's contemporaries—John Gower, William Langland, and the Pearl Poet—also wrote major

Reception.

While Chaucer clearly states the addressees of many of his poems (the "Book of the Duchess" is believed to have been written for John of Gaunt on the occasion of his wife's death in 1368), the intended audience of "The Canterbury Tales" is more difficult to determine. Chaucer was a courtier, leading some to believe that he was mainly a court poet who wrote exclusively for the nobility. He is referred to as a noble translator and poet by Eustache Deschamps and by his contemporary John Gower. It has been suggested that the poem was intended to be read aloud, which is probable as this was a common activity at the time. However, it also seems to have been intended for private reading as well, since Chaucer frequently refers to himself as the writer, rather than the speaker, of the work. Determining the intended audience directly from the text is even more difficult, since the audience is part of the story. This makes it difficult to tell when Chaucer is writing to the fictional pilgrim audience or the actual reader.  Chaucer's works may have been distributed in some form during his lifetime in part or in whole. Scholars speculate that manuscripts were circulated among his friends, but likely remained unknown to most people until after his death. However, the speed with which copyists strove to write complete versions of his tale in manuscript form shows that Chaucer was a famous and respected poet in his own day. The Hengwrt and Ellesmere manuscripts are examples of the care taken to distribute the work. More manuscript copies of the poem exist than for any other poem of its day except "The Prick of Conscience", causing some scholars to give it the medieval equivalent of bestseller status. Even the most elegant of the illustrated manuscripts, however, is not nearly as highly decorated as the work of authors of more respectable works such as John Lydgate's religious and historical literature.

15th century.

John Lydgate and Thomas Occleve were among the first critics of Chaucer's "Tales", praising the poet as the greatest English poet of all time and the first to show what the language was truly capable of poetically. This sentiment

Literary additions and supplements.

The incompleteness of the "Tales" led several medieval authors to write additions and supplements to the tales to make them more complete. Some of the oldest existing manuscripts of the tales include new or modified tales, showing that even early on, such additions were being created. These emendations included various expansions of the "Cook's Tale", which Chaucer never finished, "The Plowman's Tale", "The Tale of Gamelyn", the "Siege of Thebes", and the "Tale of Beryn".  The "Tale of Beryn", written by an anonymous author in the 15th century, is preceded by a lengthy prologue in which the pilgrims arrive at Canterbury and their activities there are described. While the rest of the pilgrims disperse throughout the town, the Pardoner seeks the affections of Kate the barmaid, but faces problems dealing with the man in her life and the innkeeper Harry Bailey. As the pilgrims turn back home, the Merchant restarts the storytelling with "Tale of Beryn". In this tale, a young man named Beryn travels from Rome to Egypt to seek his fortune only to be cheated by other businessmen there. He is then aided by a local man in getting his revenge. The tale comes from the French tale

Literary adaptations.

Many literary works (both fiction and non-fiction alike) have used a similar frame narrative to "The Canterbury Tales" as an homage. Science-fiction writer Dan Simmons wrote his Hugo Award winning novel "Hyperion" based on an extra-planetary group of pilgrims. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins used "The Canterbury Tales" as a structure for his 2004 non-fiction book about evolution titled "". His animal pilgrims are on their

Adaptations and homages.

"The Two Noble Kinsmen", by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, a retelling of "The Knight's Tale", was first performed in 1613 or 1614 and published in 1634. In 1961, Erik Chisholm completed his opera, "The Canterbury Tales". The opera is in three acts: The Wyf of Bath's Tale, The Pardoner's Tale and The Nun's Priest's Tale. Nevill Coghill's modern English version formed the basis of a musical version that was first staged in 1964.  "A Canterbury Tale", a 1944 film jointly written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is loosely based on the narrative frame of Chaucer's tales. The movie opens with a group of medieval pilgrims journeying through the Kentish countryside as a narrator speaks the opening lines of the "General Prologue". The scene then makes a now-famous transition to the time of World War II. From that point on, the film follows a group of strangers, each with his or her own story and in need of some kind of redemption, who are making their way to Canterbury together. The film's main story takes place

External links.

General  Online texts  Facsimiles

The Canterbury Tales () is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. In 1386, Chaucer became Controller of Customs and Justice of Peace and, in 1389, Clerk of the King's work. It was during these years that Chaucer began working on his most famous text, "The Canterbury Tales". The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return.

Canterburské povídky (také Povídky canterburské, v originále "The Canterbury Tales") je sbírka dvaceti šesti povídek (včetně prologu a zavírky), napsaná Geoffreym Chaucerem v průběhu 14. století. Většina povídek je veršovaná, pouze dvě jsou v próze, několik povídek není dokončeno. Povídky jsou spojeny tzv. rámcovým příběhem, podle níž si jednotlivé povídky vyprávějí navzájem pro zábavu poutníci, putující do Canterbury. Sbírka je silně ovlivněna Dekameronem od Giovanniho Boccaccia. Sbírka není dokončena, původně bylo plánováno 120 povídek.


Background.

The recording and writing for "Death Certificate" began in early 1991, and carried on throughout most of the year. While making the album, as also heavily involved in several other projects, including Yo-Yo's debut album "Make Way for the Motherlode", his younger cousin Del tha Funkee Homosapien's "I Wish My Brother George Was Here", and perhaps more importantly, his film debut, "Boyz n the Hood", in which he co-starred with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Laurence Fishburne. Similar to "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted", Ice Cube was very active in the album's production, though the overall sound differed. Unlike "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted", which featured the Bomb Squad's hard edged beats, "Death Certificate" featured a slightly more West Coast-oriented sound in comparison, with heavy use of 70's Funk and Soul samples. A number of the tracks also use samples taken from acts such as Zapp (Ohio) and Fishbone (California).

Content.

While making "Death Certificate", Ice Cube was said to be affiliated with the Nation of Islam, which had a large impact on the majority of the album's content, although he has denied being part of the organization. "Death Certificate" was roughly organized as two thematic elements of a larger whole, and opens with Cube's explanation: "The Death Side: a mirror image of where we are today; The Life Side: a vision of where we need to go." The first half, therefore, is replete with the tales of drug dealing, whore-mongering and violence expected of a gangsta rap album in 1991.  The Death Side's "A Bird in the Hand" laments a young man's slide into a life of drug-dealing for economic survival.  The Life Side's "Black Korea" threatens rioting and arson alongside Black entrepreneurship as a response to the preponderance of Korean grocery stores in ghettos across the United States. The track was seen as a response to the death of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old African American girl who was shot to death by a Korean store owner on March 16, 1991 in an altercation over a bottle of orange juice. Since the release of the track preceded the 1992 Los Angeles riots, in which many of the people targeted were of Korean descent, Ice Cube was accused of inciting racism by African Americans towards Asians.  The track "Look Who's Burnin'" tells of the dangers of sexually transmitted infection in low income neighborhoods, while "Alive on Arrival" tells the story of a young man caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout who slowly bleeds to death while in a hospital waiting room, being questioned by police. "Color Blind" preaches neutrality and brotherhood between gangs, such as the Bloods and Crips. Although Ice Cube's previous album avoided direct attacks on N.W.A, "Death Certificate" contained "True to the Game" and most notably "No Vaseline," which were diss tracks aimed at his former bandmates.  Unlike Ice Cube's other albums, "Death Certificate" was not released in a censored version. The tracks "Steady Mobbin'," "True To The Game," and "Givin' up the Nappy Dug Out," were, however, recorded with clean lyrics and released for airplay.

Critical reception.

"Death Certificate" received critical acclaim. AllMusic called it "even harder and angrier than "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted"... It continues the sharp insights and unflinching looks at contemporary urban lifestyles that his solo debut only hinted at; in short, it's hardcore without any gangsta posturing." They also call it "funkier, noisier, and more musically effective (than "AmeriKKKa")." Initially giving a four-and-a-half out of five "mic" rating, "The Source" retrospectively awarded "Death Certificate" full marks in a list of "5 Mic Hip-Hop Classics", in its 150th issue.  "His homophobia may be irksome," wrote Ted Kessler in "Select", "but the shock value of these views has been blunted by lesser rappers. It's the sublime combination of '70s P-Funk and Ice Cube's excellent, taut delivery of rhymes calculated to jolt that pleases." "Spin" wrote that it "integrates vitriolic politics with raw street knowledge" and "achieves an almost George Clinton-esque sense of celebratory freakiness".  "There's a rule in music journalism at the moment," observed the hip-hop fanzine "Louder Than A Bomb!". "It says that every Ice-T/N.W.A./Ice Cube record must be described as something like 'a grisly and uncompromising portrait of life in the ghetto'... "O.G." was the last. "Death Certificate" is the next. [But] you can't shut your eyes while listening and imagine the ghetto. It's just a lot of songs about shooting, shagging and N.W.A."  "Death Certificate" received a meager $18,000 promotion budget, and neither of its singles, "Steady Mobbin'" and "True to the Game", received much airplay, although they did receive music video treatment.

Controversy.

In 1991, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission banned a poster for St. Ides Malt Liquor, which Ice Cube endorsed at the time, that displayed Ice Cube holding a can of St. Ides and flashing a gang sign. In the September 2006 issue of "FHM", Ice Cube stated in an interview that he did not regret the controversial statements made on the album.  Due to fear that laws against racial incitement in the United Kingdom could see the album banned, the original United Kingdom release removed the tracks "Black Korea" and "No Vaseline". Island Records, the distributor of this version of the album, deleted these tracks with the consent of Priority Records, but not Ice Cube himself. "We're very excited about Ice Cube," said Island MD Marc Marot, "but on a personal level I just could not take those two songs. I understand that self-censorship after the NWA case puts us in a strange position, but we're not going to support minority racism or antisemitism. We came to a compromise with Profile that was acceptable." The tracks have since been reinstated on a CD reissue readily available in the UK.

Commercial performance.

"Death Certificate" debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200 and number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, selling 105,000 copies in its first week of release. On December 20, 1991, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies. It was certified only two months after the album was released. To date, the album has sold over two million copies in the United States and over five million copies worldwide. On September 4, 2015, "Death Certificate" went back on the "Billboard" 200 chart and ranked at number 99 with 14,000 sales in that week; also, "Greatest Hits" and "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" came back on the "Billboard" 200 in that week with "Greatest Hits" charting at number 118 with 11,920 sales and "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" at number 150 with 8,300 sales.

Death Certificate is the second studio album by American rapper Ice Cube, released on October 29, 1991 by Lench Mob Records and Priority Records. It was highly anticipated with over one million advanced orders. The album was certified platinum in sales on December 20, 1991.

Death Certificate je v pořadí druhé album amerického rapera Ice Cubea, vyšlo v roce 1991 a dostalo se na 2.místo v žebříčku The Billboard 200. Platinového alba se prodalo přes 1 milion kopií.


History.

Before 1917.

Geography has long influenced the economy of the Ukrainian lands. Rich fertile soils (such as chernozem areas) made the area a "breadbasket": for ancient Greece as well as for early modern Europe. The maintenance of trade corridors – the route from the Varangians to the Greeks and access through the Straits to the Mediterranean world – became important.

1991 to 2000.

On 24 August 1991, Ukraine established its independence from the Soviet Union. The new state's economy suffered huge output declines and soaring inflation in the following years. Ukraine saw hyperinflation in the early 1990s because of a lack of access to financial markets and massive monetary expansion to finance government spending, while output declined sharply. Huge output declines and soaring inflation was at the time common to most former Soviet republics, but Ukraine was among the hardest hit by these problems. In response to this hyperinflation the National Bank of

2000 to 2014.

Ukraine stabilised by the early 2000s. The year 2000 saw the first year of economic growth (since Ukraine's independence). The economy continued to grow thanks to a 50% growth of exports between 2000 and 2008 – mainly exports from the traditional industries of metals, metallurgy, engineering, chemicals, and food. Between 2001 and 2008 metals and chemicals prices boomed because of fast international economic growth, while the price of natural gas imported from Russia remained low. Monetization also helped to drive the economic boom Ukraine

After Euromaidan: 2014 to present.

Due to the loss of Ukraine's largest trading partner, Russia, over the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, and exacerbated by the War in Donbass which started in April 2014 Ukraine's economy shrank by 6.8% in 2014; it had been expected to decline by 8%. The annexation of Crimea by Russia also contributed directly to this shrinkage. A Ukrainian government report stated early in February 2016 that Ukraine's economy had shrunk by 10.4% in 2015. For 2015 the National Bank of Ukraine had expected a further decline of 11.6%, and the World Bank anticipated a 12% shrinkage. The World Bank forecast growth of 1% in 2016.  Early in February 2014, the National Bank of Ukraine changed the hryvnia into a fluctuating/floating currency in an attempt to meet IMF requirements and to try to enforce a stable price for the currency in the Forex market. In 2014 and 2015 the hryvnia lost about 70% of its value against the U.S. dollar.  The IMF agreed to a four-year loan program worth about $17.5 billion in eight tranches over 2015 and 2016, subject to

Economic Data - Statistical Information.

Ukraine is subdivided into nine economic regions: Carpathian, Northwestern, Podillia, Capital, Central-Ukrainian, Northeastern, Black-Sea-Coastal, Trans-Dnipro, and Donetsk. Those regions were redrawn from the three Soviet economic regions of the Ukrainian SSR: Donetsk-TransDnieper, Southwestern, and Southern.

Trade.

Until recently, Russia was Ukraine's largest trading partner with 25.7% of exports and 32.4% of imports in 2012. In 2012, 24.9% of exports and 30.9% of imports were to and from the EU. In 2013, 35.9% of Ukrainian exports went to CIS countries, including eight countries other than Ukraine. Simultaneously, exports to EU countries, of which there are twenty-eight, was 26.6%. By 2015 the EU became Ukraine's largest trading partner, accounting for more than a third of its trade. In 2015 the Ukrainian export to Russia figure had fallen to 12.7%. In 2017 Ukraine imported 14.5% of all its imports from

Natural resources.

Ukraine is relatively rich in natural resources, particularly in mineral deposits. Although oil and natural

Sectors.

Industries.

In Ukraine covering about 20 major industries, namely power generating, fuel, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical and gas, machine-building and metal-working, forest, wood-working and wood pulp and paper, construction materials, light, food and others. Industry accounted for 26% of GDP in 2012. The country possesses a massive high-tech industrial base, including electronics, arms industry and space program.

Mining and production.

Ukraine is one of the world's most important mineral producing countries, in terms of both the range and size of its reserves. There are nearly 8,000 separate deposits, harboring some 90 different minerals, of which about 20 are economically significant. About half of all the known deposits are under exploitation. Coal reserves in Ukraine amount to 47.1 billion tons. The annual domestic demand for coal as fuel is about 100 million tons, of which 85 percent can be satisfied by domestic production. Ukraine has oil and gas fields that meet 10 percent of her oil and 20 percent of her gas consumption, respectively. Ukraine contains natural gas reserves of 39.6 trillion cubic feet, but only about 20 percent of the country's demand is met by domestic production. Deposits of iron ore (estimated at 28 billion tons), manganese ore (3 billion tons), chalk and limestone (1.5 billion tons) are also large in Ukraine. The domestic industrial sector suffers from constant energy shortages and energy supply payment debts totaling about $792 million at the end of 1995.

Chemical industry.

Another important branch is the country's chemical industry

Strategic and defense complex.

Ukraine's defense industry is organized around Ukroboronprom, a state owned conglomerate of over 130 companies. These companies include Soviet era giants such as Ivchenko-Progress aircraft design bureau that was opened in 1945, to newer companies such as RPC Fort which came into existence in the 1990s. Ukraine is also among the top 10 arms exporters in the world. The signing of recent large contracts

Fuel and energy complex.

Automotive industry.

Ukraine automobile manufacturers produces diesel locomotives, tractors, trucks, buses, trolleybuses, own-designed cars and trams. There are 12 automobile manufacturers in Ukraine includes ZAZ, LuAZ, Bogdan, KrAZ, Eurocar, Electron, LAZ.  ZAZ (Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant) is the main automobile-manufacturer of Ukraine, based in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhia. Beginning of passenger cars manufacturing in Ukraine started in 1959. From 1960 to 1994, a total of 3,422,444 Zaporozhets vehicles were manufactured in Zaporizhia and engines with air-cooling in Melitopol. In 2011-2012, Zaporizhia Automobile Building

Aircraft and aerospace industry.

Ukraine is one of nine countries with a full cycle of aerospace hardware engineering and production. Besides to design and production of passenger and transportation aircraft, Ukraine also boasts a network of aircraft repair enterprises, including companies involved in recovery of military planes and helicopters. In March 2007, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine created State aircraft building concern «Aviation of Ukraine» (SACAU), which is governed by the Ministry of industrial policy. Production of An-148 aircraft is now one of the most prospective projects for Ukrainian plane manufacturing industry with 35 units manufactured since 2009 (together with Russian production). The aircraft were engineered by Antonov Scientific and Production Complex Design Office (Antonov ANTK). The largest single airplane in the world, Antonov An-225 Mriya was also designed by Antonov ANTK and made in 1988. Gross production of light and ultra light planes in Ukraine does not exceed 200 units

Shipbuilding.

The USSR's collapse put Ukraine's shipbuilding into a long-term decline. It lasted until 1999 and was mostly due to a minimum volume of state shipbuilding orders. In general, between 1992 till 2003, the 11 shipyards of the country produced 237 navigation units for a total value of USD 1.5 billion. Production facilities are not working near full capacity, and customers are not always timely in paying for services. Growth of production volumes was witnessed at the enterprises of shipbuilding industry over 2000-2006. State support and the

Agriculture.

Although typically known as the industrial base of the Soviet Union, agriculture is a large part of Ukraine's economy. In 2008 the sector accounted for 8.29% of the country's GDP and by 2012 has grown to 10.43% of the GDP. Agriculture accounted for $13.98 billion value added to the economy of Ukraine in 2012, however despite being a top 10 world producer of several crops such as wheat and corn Ukraine still only ranks 24 out of 112 nations measured in terms of overall agricultural production. Ukraine is the world's largest producer of sunflower oil, a major global producer of grain and sugar, and future global player on meat and dairy markets. It is also one of the largest producers of nuts. Ukraine also produces more natural honeythan any other European country and is one of the world's largest honey producers, an estimated 1.5% of its population is involved in honey production, therefore Ukraine has the highest honey per capita production rate

Information technology.

Ukraine has a long-standing reputation as a major technology region, with a well-developed scientific and educational base. In March 2013 Ukraine ranks fourth in the world in number of certified IT professionals after the United States, India and Russia. On top of that, the experts recognize both quantitative and qualitative potential of the Ukrainian specialists. In 2011 the number of IT specialists working in the industry reached 25,000 people with 20% growth. The volume of the

Infrastructure.

Maritime.

About 100,000 Ukrainians regularly work on foreign merchant ships, one of the largest group of Ukrainian labor migrants and the sixth

Communications.

Ukraine ranks eighth among the world's nations in terms of the Internet speed with the average download speed of 1,190 kbit/s. Five national providers of fixed (DSL, ADSL, XDSL) internet access — Ukrtelecom, Vega Telecom, Datagroup, Ukrnet, Volia, and 5 national operators of mobile internet — MTS, Kyivstar, PEOPLEnet, Utel, and Intertelecom are currently operating in Ukraine. Every regional center and large district center has a number of local providers and home networks.  2011 revenues from Internet service providing in Ukraine reached ₴ 4.75 bn  Over 16 million Ukrainians had Internet access in 2012, growing to 22 million in 2015. In Kyiv 90% of the population had internet access.  The mobile-cellular telephone system's expansion has slowed, largely due to saturation of the market which has reached 144 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people.

Tourism.

In 2012, Ukraine was the 8th most popular tourism destination in Europe with 23 million visitors. The country's tourism industry is generally considered to be underdeveloped, but it does provide crucial support for Ukraine's economy. In 2012, the contribution of tourism to the GDP amounted to 28.8 billion ₴, or 2.2% of GDP and directly supported 351,500 jobs (1.7% of total employment).

Shopping tourism.

Ukraine's neighbours (Poles, Slovaks, Hungarians, Belarusians and even Russians) are known to come to

Recreational tourism and sightseeing.

Ukraine has impressive landscapes, ruins of ancient castles, historical parks, vineyards where they produce native wines, unique structures such as Saint Sophia Cathedral or Chersonesos. Officially, there are seven World Heritage Sites in Ukraine. The Carpathian Mountains suitable for skiing, hiking, fishing and hunting. Bukovel — is the largest ski resort in Ukraine situated in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. The 2010-2011 winter season recorded 1,200,000 day visits with foreigners amounting to 8-10% of all visitors. In 2012 the Bukovel was named the fastest growing ski resort worldwide. The coastline on the Black Sea is a popular summer destination for vacationers, especially Odessa.

Financing, banking, investments.

Investments.

A political crisis in the middle of 2006 was feared as a threat to economic and investment stability, however, despite the forecasts, the political situation has

International financial institutions.

In 1992, Ukraine became a member of the IMF and the World Bank. It is a member of the European

Foreign direct investment.

Ukraine encourages foreign trade and investment. The Parliament of Ukraine has approved a foreign investment law allowing foreigners to purchase businesses and property, to repatriate revenue and profits, and to receive compensation if the property is nationalized by a future government. However, complex laws and regulations, poor corporate governance, weak enforcement of contract law by courts, and corruption all continue to stymie direct large-scale foreign investment in Ukraine. While there is a functioning stock market, the lack of protection of shareholders' rights severely restricts portfolio investment activities.  As of April 2011 total foreign direct investment stock in Ukraine stood at $44.7 billion. Statistics from FDi Magazine show Ukraine suffered a year

Legal environment.

According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 "the country’s most important challenge is the needed overhaul of its institutional framework, which cannot be relied on because it suffers from red tape, lack of transparency, and favoritism".  Since the late 1990s, the government has pledged to reduce the number of government agencies, streamline the regulatory process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs, and enact a comprehensive tax overhaul. Outside institutions — particularly the International Monetary Fund — have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms and have threatened to withdraw financial support. But reforms in some politically sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatizations are still lagging.  On 24 June 2010 Ukraine's Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko signed an agreement on free trade with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).  According to specialists, a double taxation avoidance treaty with Cyprus (signed in 1982 by the Soviet Union) has cost Ukraine billions of US dollars of tax revenues.  The recent Lustration in Ukraine has been criticized as it might have adverse economic effects.

Foreign workers.

A number of foreign guest workers come to work in

Environmental issues.

Ukraine is interested in cooperating on regional environmental issues. Conservation of natural resources is a stated high priority, although implementation suffers from a lack of financial resources. Ukraine established its first nature preserve, Askania-Nova, in 1921 and has programs to breed endangered species.  The country has significant environmental problems, especially those resulting from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986 and from industrial pollution. In accordance with its previously announced plans, Ukraine permanently closed the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station in December 2000. In November 2001, Ukraine withdrew an application it had made to the EBRD for funding to complete

Major Ukrainian companies.

"See also: List

Facts & figures.

Poverty rate: 4% in 2018 (below 5.5 USD/day).  Industrial production growth rate: 6% (2007 est.), 6.5 (2008)  Electricity:  Electricity - production by source:  Oil:  Natural gas:  Agriculture - exports: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables, beef, milk  Agriculture - imports: seafood, pork, beef, grain  Exchange rates: hryvnia per US$1 – 22 (2015), 7.97 (2009), 5.05 (2007), 5.05 (2006), 5.13 (2005), 5.33 (May 2004), 5.30 (October 2002), 5.59 (February 2000), 5.3811 (January 2000), 4.1304 (1999), 2.4495 (1998), 1.8617 (1997), 1.8295 (1996), 1.4731 (1995)  Minimum wage: ₴4,173/ ~$177 per month (2019-01-12)  Average salary by region

The economy of Ukraine is an emerging free market economy. Like other post-Soviet states, Ukraine's gross domestic product fell sharply for 10 years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, it grew rapidly from 2000 until 2008 when the Great Recession began worldwide and reached Ukraine as the 2008-2009 Ukrainian financial crisis. The economy recovered in 2010 and continued improving until 2013. From 2014 to 2015 the Ukrainian economy suffered a downturn, with the GDP in 2015 being slightly above half of its value in 2013. In 2016, the economy again started to grow. By 2018, the Ukrainian economy was growing rapidly, and reached almost 80% of its size in 2008.

Ekonomika Ukrajiny náleží k chudším v Evropě a od rozpadu Sovětského svazu prochází dlouhodobou stagnací. V rámci sbližování Ukrajiny s Evropskou unií probíhá proces politických i hospodářských reforem, které mají situaci zlepšit.