Etymology.

In Indonesian, ancient temples are referred to as "candi"; thus locals refer to "Borobudur Temple" as "Candi Borobudur". The term "candi" also loosely describes ancient structures, for example gates and baths. The origins of the name "Borobudur," however, are unclear, although the original names of most ancient Indonesian temples are no longer known. The name Borobudur was first written in Raffles's book on Javan history. Raffles wrote about a monument called "Borobudur", but there are no older documents suggesting the same name. The only old Javanese manuscript that hints the monument called "Budur" as a holy Buddhist sanctuary is "Nagarakretagama", written by Mpu Prapanca, a Buddhist scholar of Majapahit court, in 1365.  Most "candi" are named after a nearby village. If it followed Javanese language conventions and was named after the nearby village of "Bore", the monument should have been named "BudurBoro". Raffles thought that "Budur" might correspond to the modern Javanese word "Buda" ("ancient")—i.e., "ancient Boro". He also suggested that the name might derive

Location.

The three temples.

Approximately northwest of Yogyakarta and west of Surakarta, Borobudur is located in an elevated area between two twin volcanoes, Sundoro-Sumbing and Merbabu-Merapi, and two rivers, the Progo and the Elo. According to local myth, the area known as Kedu Plain is a

Ancient lake hypothesis.

Speculation about a surrounding lake's existence was the subject of intense discussion among archaeologists in the 20th century. In 1931, a Dutch artist and scholar of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, developed a hypothesis that the Kedu Plain was once a lake and Borobudur initially represented a lotus flower floating on the lake. It has been claimed that Borobudur was built on a bedrock hill, above sea level and above the floor of a dried-out paleolake.  Dumarçay together with Professor Thanikaimoni took soil samples in 1974 and again in 1977 from trial trenches that had been dug into the hill, as well as from

History.

Construction.

There are no known records of construction or the intended purpose of Borobudur. The duration of construction has been estimated by comparison of carved reliefs on the temple's hidden foot and the inscriptions commonly used in royal charters during the 8th and 9th centuries. Borobudur was likely founded around 800 AD. This corresponds to the period between 760 and 830 AD, the peak of the Sailendra dynasty rule over Mataram kingdom in central Java, when their power encompassed not only the Srivijayan Empire but also southern Thailand, Indianized kingdoms of Philippines, North Malaya (Kedah, also known in Indian texts as the ancient Hindu state of Kadaram). The construction has been estimated to have taken 75 years with completion during the reign of Samaratungga in 825.  There is uncertainty about Hindu and Buddhist rulers in Java around that time. The Sailendras were known as ardent followers of Buddhism, though stone inscriptions found at Sojomerto also suggest they may have been Hindus. It

Abandonment.

Borobudur lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth. The facts behind its abandonment remain a mystery. It is not known when active use of the monument and Buddhist pilgrimage to it ceased. Sometime between 928 and 1006, King Mpu Sindok moved the capital of the Medang Kingdom to the region of East Java after a series of volcanic eruptions; it is not certain whether this influenced the abandonment, but several sources mention this as the most likely period of abandonment. The monument is mentioned vaguely as late as 1365, in Mpu Prapanca's "Nagarakretagama," written during the Majapahit era and mentioning "the vihara in Budur". Soekmono (1976) also mentions the popular belief that the temples were disbanded when

Rediscovery.

Following its capture, Java was under British administration from 1811 to 1816. The appointed governor was Lieutenant Governor-General Thomas Stamford Raffles, who took great interest in the history of Java. He collected Javanese antiques and made notes through contacts with local inhabitants during his tour throughout the island. On an inspection tour to Semarang in 1814, he was informed about a big monument deep in a jungle near the village of Bumisegoro. He was not able to see the site himself, but sent, a Dutch engineer who, among other antiquity explorations had uncovered

Restoration.

Borobudur attracted attention in 1885, when the Dutch engineer, Chairman of the Archaeological Society in Yogyakarta, made a discovery about the hidden foot. Photographs that reveal reliefs on the hidden foot were made in 1890–1891. The discovery led the Dutch East Indies government to take steps to safeguard the monument. In 1900, the government set up a commission consisting of three officials to assess the monument: Jan Lourens Andries Brandes, an art historian,, a Dutch army engineer officer, and Benjamin Willem van de Kamer, a construction engineer from the Department of Public Works.  In 1902, the commission submitted a threefold plan of proposal to the government. First, the immediate dangers should be avoided by resetting the corners, removing stones that endangered the adjacent parts, strengthening the first balustrades and restoring several niches, archways, stupas and the main dome. Second, after fencing

Contemporary events.

Religious ceremony.

Following the major 1973 renovation funded by UNESCO, Borobudur is once again used as a place of worship and pilgrimage. Once a year, during the full moon in May or June, Buddhists in Indonesia

Tourism.

The monument is the single most visited tourist attraction in Indonesia. In 1974, 260,000 tourists, of whom 36,000 were foreigners, visited the monument. The figure climbed to visitors annually (80% were domestic tourists) in the mid-1990s, before the country's economic crisis. Tourism development, however, has been criticized for not including the local community, giving

Conservation.

UNESCO identified three specific areas of concern under the present state of conservation: (i) vandalism by visitors; (ii) soil erosion in the south-eastern part of the site; and (iii) analysis and restoration of missing elements. The soft soil, the numerous earthquakes and heavy rains lead to the destabilization of the structure. Earthquakes are by far the most important contributing factors, since not only do stones fall down and arches crumble, but the earth itself can move in waves, further destroying the structure. The

Rehabilitation.

Borobudur was heavily affected by the eruption of Mount Merapi in October and November 2010. Volcanic ash from Merapi fell on the temple complex, which is approximately west-southwest of the crater. A layer of ash up to thick fell on the temple statues during the eruption of 3–5 November, also killing nearby vegetation, with experts fearing that the acidic ash might damage the historic site. The temple complex was closed from 5 to 9 November to clean up the ashfall.  UNESCO donated US$3 million as a part of the costs towards the rehabilitation of Borobudur after Mount Merapi's 2010 eruption. More than 55,000 stone blocks comprising the temple's structure were dismantled to restore the drainage system, which had been clogged by slurry after the

Security threats.

On 21 January 1985, nine stupas were badly damaged by nine bombs. In 1991, a blind Muslim preacher, Husein Ali Al Habsyie, was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding a series of bombings in the mid-1980s, including the temple attack. Two other members of the Islamic extremist group that carried out the bombings were each sentenced to 20 years in 1986, and another man received a 13-year prison term.  On 27 May 2006, an earthquake of 6.2 magnitude

Visitor overload problem.

The high volume of visitors ascending the Borobudur's narrow stairs, has caused a severe wear out on the stone of the stairs, eroding the stones surface and made them thinner and smoother. Overall, Borobudur has 2,033 surfaces of stone stairs, spread over four cardinal directions; including the west side, the east, south and north. There are around 1,028 surfaces of them, or about 49.15 percent, that are severely worn out.  To avoid further wear of stairs' stones, since November 2014, two main sections of Borobudur stairs – the eastern (ascending route) and northern (descending route) sides – are covered with wooden structures. The similar technique has been applied in Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Egyptian Pyramids. In March 2015, Borobudur Conservation Center proposed further to seal the stairs with rubber cover. Proposals have also been made that visitors be issued special sandals.

Architecture.

The archaeological excavation into Borobudur during reconstruction suggests that adherents of Hinduism or a pre-Indic faith had already begun to erect a large structure on Borobudur's hill before the site was appropriated by Buddhists. The foundations are unlike any Hindu or Buddhist shrine structures, and therefore, the initial structure is considered more indigenous Javanese than Hindu or Buddhist.

Design.

Borobudur is built as a single large stupa and, when viewed from above, takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist "mandala", simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind. The original foundation is a square, approximately on each side. It has nine platforms, of which the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. The upper platform features seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa is bell-shaped and pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures.  The

Building structure.

Approximately of andesite stones were taken from neighbouring stone quarries to build the monument. The stone was cut to size, transported to the site and laid without mortar. Knobs, indentations and dovetails were used to form joints between stones. The roof of stupas, niches and arched gateways were constructed in corbelling method. Reliefs were created "in situ" after the building had been completed.  The monument is equipped with a good drainage system to cater to the area's high stormwater run-off. To prevent flooding, 100 spouts are installed at each corner, each with a

Reliefs.

Borobudur is constructed in such a way that it reveals various levels of terraces, showing intricate architecture that goes from being heavily ornamented with bas-reliefs to being plain in "Arupadhatu" circular terraces. The first four terrace walls are showcases for bas-relief sculptures. These are exquisite, considered to be the most elegant and graceful in the ancient Buddhist world.  The bas-reliefs in Borobudur depicted many scenes of daily life in 8th-century ancient Java, from the courtly palace life, hermit in the forest, to those of commoners in the village. It also depicted temple, marketplace, various flora and fauna, and also native vernacular architecture. People depicted here are the images of king, queen, princes, noblemen, courtier, soldier, servant, commoners, priest and hermit. The reliefs also depicted mythical spiritual beings in Buddhist beliefs such as asuras, gods, bodhisattvas, kinnaras, gandharvas and apsaras. The images depicted on bas-relief often served as reference for historians to research for certain subjects, such as the study of architecture, weaponry, economy, fashion, and also mode of transportation of 8th-century Maritime Southeast Asia. One of the famous renderings of an 8th-century Southeast Asian double outrigger ship is Borobudur Ship. Today, the actual-size replica of Borobudur Ship that had sailed from Indonesia to Africa in 2004 is displayed in the Samudra Raksa Museum, located a few hundred meters north of Borobudur.  The Borobudur reliefs also pay close attention to Indian aesthetic discipline, such as pose and gesture that contain certain meanings and aesthetic value. The reliefs of noblemen, and noble women, kings, or divine beings such as apsaras, taras and boddhisattvas are usually portrayed in tribhanga pose, the three-bend pose on neck, hips, and knee, with one leg resting and one upholding the body weight. This position is considered as the most graceful pose, such as the figure of Surasundari holding a lotus.  During Borobudur excavation, archeologists discovered colour pigments of blue, red, green, black, as well as bits of gold foil, and concluded that the monument that we see today – a dark gray mass of volcanic stone, lacking in colour – was probably once coated with "varjalepa" white plaster and then painted with bright colors, serving perhaps as a beacon of Buddhist teaching. The same "vajralepa" plaster can also be found in Sari, Kalasan and Sewu temples. It is likely that the bas-reliefs of Borobudur was originally quite colourful, before centuries of torrential tropical rainfalls peeled-off the colour pigments.  Borobudur contains approximately 2,670 individual bas reliefs (1,460 narrative and 1,212 decorative panels), which cover the façades and balustrades. The total relief surface is, and they are distributed at the hidden foot ("Kāmadhātu") and the five square platforms ("Rupadhatu").  The narrative panels, which tell the story of Sudhana and Manohara, are grouped into 11 series that encircle the monument with a total length of. The hidden foot contains the first series with 160 narrative panels, and the remaining 10 series are distributed throughout walls and balustrades in four galleries starting from the eastern entrance stairway to the left. Narrative panels on the wall read from right to left, while those on the balustrade read from left to right. This conforms with "pradaksina", the ritual of circumambulation performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise direction while keeping the sanctuary to their right.  The hidden foot depicts the workings of karmic law. The walls of the first gallery have two superimposed series of reliefs; each consists of 120 panels. The upper part depicts the biography of the Buddha, while the lower part of the wall and also the balustrades in the first and the second galleries tell the story of the Buddha's former lives. The remaining panels are devoted to Sudhana's further wandering about his search, terminated by his attainment of the Perfect Wisdom.

Buddha statues.

Apart from the story of the Buddhist cosmology carved in stone, Borobudur has many statues of various Buddhas. The cross-legged statues are seated in a lotus position and distributed on the five square platforms (the "Rupadhatu" level), as well as on the top platform (the "Arupadhatu" level).  The Buddha statues are in niches at the "Rupadhatu" level, arranged in rows on the outer sides of the balustrades, the number of statues decreasing as platforms progressively diminish to the upper level. The first balustrades have 104 niches, the second 104, the third 88, the fourth 72 and the fifth 64. In total, there are 432 Buddha statues at the "Rupadhatu" level. At the "Arupadhatu" level (or the three circular platforms), Buddha statues are placed inside perforated stupas. The first circular platform has 32 stupas, the second 24 and the third 16, which

Legacy.

The aesthetic and technical mastery of Borobudur, and also its sheer size, has evoked the sense of grandeur and pride for Indonesians. Just like Angkor Wat for Cambodian, Borobudur has become a powerful symbol for Indonesia — to testify for its past greatness. Sukarno made a point of showing the site to foreign dignitaries. The Suharto regime — realized its important symbolic and economic meanings — diligently embarked on a massive project to restore the monument with the help from UNESCO. Many museums in Indonesia contain a scale model replica of Borobudur. The monument has become almost an icon, grouped with the wayang puppet play and gamelan music into a vague classical Javanese past from which Indonesians are to draw inspiration.  Several archaeological relics taken from Borobudur or its replica have been displayed in some museums in Indonesia and abroad. Other than Karmawibhangga Museum within Borobudur temple ground, some museums boast to host relics of Borobudur, such as Indonesian National Museum in Jakarta, Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, British Museum in London, and Thai National Museum in

In literature.

In her poem (1835), Letitia Elizabeth Landon reflects on Borobudur from a Christian perspective.

Borobudur, or Barabudur (, ) is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, not far from the town of Muntilan, in Central Java, Indonesia. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple. The temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa.

Borobudur je chrámový komplex mahájánového buddhismu v indonéském Magelangu na Střední Jávě. Skládá se z šesti čtvercových teras završených třemi kruhovými terasami, celá stavba je poseta 2672 reliéfními panely a 504 sochami Buddhy. Hlavní stúpa, umístěná na vrcholu stavby ve středu nejvýše položené terasy, je obklopena 72 sochami Buddhy sedících uvnitř menších perforovaných stúp.


History.

Formation and early history: 1977–1981.

Shortly after guitarist Thurston Moore moved to New York City in early 1977, he formed a group, Room Tone, with his roommates, who later changed their name to the Coachmen. After the breakup of the Coachmen, Moore began jamming with Stanton Miranda, whose band, CKM, featured Kim Gordon. Moore and Gordon formed a band, appearing under names like Male Bonding and Red Milk and the Arcadians, before settling on Sonic Youth just before June 1981. The name came from combining the nickname of MC5's Fred "Sonic" Smith with "Youth" from reggae artist Big Youth. Gordon later recalled that "as soon as Thurston came up with the name Sonic Youth, a certain sound that was more of what we wanted to do came about." The band played Noise Fest in June 1981 at New York's White Columns gallery, where Lee Ranaldo was playing as a member of Glenn Branca's electric guitar ensemble. Their performance impressed Moore, who described them as "the most ferocious guitar band that I had ever seen in my life", and he invited Ranaldo to join the band. The new trio played three songs at the festival later in the week without a drummer. Each band member took turns playing the drums, until they met drummer Richard Edson.

Early releases: 1982–1985.

Branca signed Sonic Youth as the first act on his record label Neutral Records. In December 1981 the group recorded five songs in a studio in New York's Radio City Music Hall. The material was released as the "Sonic Youth (EP)" that, while largely ignored, was sent to a few key members of the US press, who gave it uniformly favorable reviews. The album featured a relatively conventional post-punk style, in contrast to their later releases. After their first release, Edson quit the group for an acting career and was replaced by Bob Bert.  During their early days as part of the New York music scene, Sonic Youth formed a friendship with fellow New York noise rock band Swans. The bands came to share the same rehearsal space, and Sonic Youth embarked on its first tour, a two-week journey through the southern United States starting in November 1982, supporting Swans. During a second tour with Swans of the Midwest the following month, tensions ran high and Moore constantly criticized Bert's drumming, which he felt was not "in the pocket". Bert was fired afterwards and replaced by Jim Sclavunos, who played drums on the band's first studio album, 1983's "Confusion Is Sex", which featured a dramatically louder and more dissonant sound than their debut EP. Sonic Youth set up a two-week tour of Europe for the summer of 1983. Sclavunos, however, quit after only a few months. The group asked Bert to rejoin, and he agreed, on the condition that he would not be fired again after the tour's conclusion. Bert went on to play on the band's "Kill Yr Idols" EP.  Sonic Youth found themselves well received in Europe, but the New York press largely ignored the local noise rock scene. Eventually, as the press began to take notice of the genre, Sonic Youth was grouped along with bands like Big Black, the Butthole Surfers and Pussy Galore under the "pigfucker" label by "Village Voice" editor Robert Christgau. After a substandard September concert in New York, another critic from "The Village Voice" panned it. Gordon wrote a scornful letter to the newspaper, criticizing it for not supporting its local music scene, to which Christgau responded by saying they are not obligated to support them. Moore retaliated by renaming the song "Kill Yr Idols" to "I Killed Christgau With My Big Fucking Dick", before the two eventually sorted out their differences amicably.  During another tour of Europe in 1984, Sonic Youth's disastrous London debut (where the band's equipment malfunctioned and Moore consequently destroyed the equipment onstage in frustration) actually resulted in rave reviews in "Sounds" and the "NME". By the time they returned to New York, they were so popular they played shows practically every week. That same year, Moore and Gordon were married, and Sonic Youth released "Bad Moon Rising", a self-described "Americana" album that served as a reaction to the state of the nation at the time. The album, recorded by Martin Bisi, was built around transitional pieces that Moore and Ranaldo had come up with in order to take up time onstage while the other guitarist was busy tuning his instrument; as a result, there are almost no breaks between the songs on the record, which feature walls of feedback and pounding rhythms. "Bad Moon Rising" featured an appearance by Lydia Lunch on the album's single "Death Valley '69", inspired by the Charles Manson Family murders. In contrast to their abrasive, atonal material of the time, the band considered the song relatively conventional. Due to a falling-out with Branca over disputed royalty payments from their Neutral releases, they were signed to Homestead Records by Gerard Cosloy and by Blast First in the UK (which founder Paul Smith created simply so he could distribute the band's records in Europe). While even the New York press ignored "Bad Moon Rising" upon its release, now viewing the band as too arty and pretentious, Sonic Youth was becoming quite critically acclaimed in the United Kingdom, where the new album had sold 5,000 copies in just six months.  Claiming he was bored with playing "Bad Moon Rising" live in its entirety for over a year, Bert quit the group and was replaced by Steve Shelley, formerly of the punk group The Crucifucks. The band was so impressed with Shelley's drumming after seeing him play live they hired him without an audition. Bert remained on good terms with the group; he and Shelley both appeared in the music video for "Death Valley '69", as Bert performed the drums on the song, but Shelley was the group's drummer when the video was made.

SST and Enigma: 1986–1989.

Sonic Youth had a long fascination with influential indie label SST Records. Ranaldo said, "It was the first record company we were on that we really would have given anything to be on." Sonic Youth eventually signed to the label in early 1986 and began recording "EVOL" with Martin Bisi in March of that year.  "EVOL" itself represented an evolution of sorts for the band: in addition to increasingly melodic material and the impact of new drummer Shelley's playing, the record also dealt with themes of celebrity, particularly with songs like "Madonna, Sean, and Me" (also known as "Expressway to Yr. Skull" and called "a classic" by Neil Young) and "Marilyn Moore". Signing to SST catapulted the band on to a national stage, something that did not happen to their peers in the New York underground. The mainstream music press subsequently began to take notice of the band. Robert Palmer of "The New York Times" declared that Sonic Youth was "making the most startlingly original guitar-based music since Jimi Hendrix" and even "People" praised "EVOL" as the "aural equivalent of a toxic waste dump." "EVOL" is also notable for a guest appearance by bass guitarist Mike Watt, a friend whom the band coaxed to come to New York after he was deeply depressed by the death of his bandmate, D. Boon.  Around the same time, the band formed a side-project with Watt under the alias Ciccone Youth, which is a play on the names Sonic Youth and Ciccone, the birth surname of pop singer Madonna. As Ciccone Youth, the band released one single and one studio album during its career before disbanding in 1988. The single, "Into the Groove(y)", consisted of three tracks: "Into the Groove(y)" (a cover of Madonna's hit "Into the Groove", incorporating snippets of her recording) and the short "Tuff Titty Rap" on the A side (both performed by the Sonic Youth members), and "Burnin' Up" (performed by Watt with additional guitars by Greg Ginn) on the B side. The studio album,"The Whitey Album", included the previously released three tracks as well as three cover songs by other artists: "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer (recorded in a karaoke booth), and "Burnin' Up" and "Into the Groove" by Madonna.  On 1987's "Sister", Sonic Youth continued refining their blend of pop song structures with uncompromising experimentalism. Another loose concept album, "Sister" is partly inspired by the life and works of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (the "sister" of the title was Dick's fraternal twin, who died shortly after her birth, and whose memory haunted Dick his entire life). "Sister" sold 60,000 copies and received very positive reviews, becoming the first Sonic Youth album to crack the Top 20 of the "Village Voice"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Pazz & Jop critics poll.  Despite the critical success, the band was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with SST due to concerns about payment and other administrative practices. Sonic Youth decided to release their next record on Enigma Records, which was distributed by Capitol Records and partly owned by EMI. The 1988 double LP "Daydream Nation" was a critical success that earned Sonic Youth substantial acclaim. The album came in second on the "Village Voice" Pazz & Jop poll and topped the year-end album lists of the "NME", "CMJ" and "Melody Maker". In 2005, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. The lead single from the album, "Teen Age Riot", was their first song receiving significant airplay in modern and college rock stations, reaching number 20 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks. A number of prominent music periodicals including "Rolling Stone" hailed "Daydream Nation" as one of the best albums of the decade and named Sonic Youth as the "Hot Band" in its "Hot" issue. Unfortunately, distribution problems arose and "Daydream Nation" was often difficult to find in stores. Moore considered Enigma a "cheap-jack Mafioso outfit" and the band began looking for a major label deal.

Major label career and alternative icons: 1990–1999.

In 1990, Sonic Youth released "Goo", their first album for Geffen. The album featured the single "Kool Thing" on which Public Enemy's Chuck D made a guest appearance. "Kool Thing" was later featured in the Hal Hartley film "Simple Men" and the video game "" and was made available as a paid download for the "Rock Band" video game. The record is considered much more accessible than their previous work and became the band's best-selling record to date.  In 1992, the band released "Dirty" on the DGC label. Their influence as tastemakers continued with their discovery of acclaimed skateboard video director Spike Jonze, who they recruited for the video for "100%", which also featured skateboarder turned actor turned photographer Jason Lee. This song, along with the Gordon tune "JC", contains lyrical references to the murder of Joe Cole, a friend who worked with Black Flag as a roadie. The album features artwork by Los Angeles-based artist Mike Kelley. "Dirty" features a guest appearance by Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) playing guitar on the track "Youth Against Fascism".  In 1993, the band contributed the track "Burning Spear" to the AIDS benefit album "No Alternative", produced by the Red Hot Organization.  In 1994, the band released "Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star", their best-charting release in the United States (until 2009's "The Eternal"), which peaked at No. 34 on the "Billboard" 200. The album was filled with low-key melodies and even produced a hit single, "Bull in the Heather". Moore and Gordon's daughter, Coco Hayley Moore, was born later in the year, and many of the songs from the album were never played live because there was never a full tour to support the album due to Gordon's pregnancy. In 1994, the band also released a cover of The Carpenters' 1971 hit "Superstar" for the tribute album "If I Were a Carpenter"; their version was played in the 1996 film "The Frighteners" and would later be featured in the 2007 film "Juno".  The band headlined the 1995 Lollapalooza festival with alternative rock groups Hole and Pavement. By that time, alternative rock had gained considerable mainstream attention, and the festival was parodied on "The Simpsons" 1996 episode "Homerpalooza", which featured voiceovers from the band. They also performed the final credits theme for that episode.  Gordon collaborated in Free Kitten, and started a clothing label X-Girl, based in Los Angeles. Ranaldo and Moore played with many experimental/noise musicians, including William Hooker, Nels Cline, Tom Surgal, Don Dietrich, Christian Marclay, DJ Spooky and Mission of Burma, among others. Shelley started up the Smells Like Records record label, as well as playing in backing bands for Chan Marshall (Cat Power) and Two Dollar Guitar. Thurston Moore also made several guest appearances on DJ Spooky's albums, which combined rock and hip hop.  From Sonic Youth's earliest days, Gordon had occasionally played guitar with the group. Around the time of "Washing Machine" and "A Thousand Leaves", she began playing guitar more frequently, resulting in a three-guitar and drums lineup. These songs were something of a shift for the group's sound, and would lead to the introduction of a fifth member a few years later.  The "Washing Machine" album began a shift in the band away from their punk roots, seeing them working with longer jam sections. Two tracks showed the new approach in full force: the title track "Washing Machine" is just under 10 minutes long, and "The Diamond Sea" is over 19 minutes long.  During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the band began releasing a series of highly experimental records on their own Hoboken, New Jersey-based label SYR. The music was mostly instrumental and improvised, and the album and track titles and even the liner notes and credits were in different languages: "" was in French, "" in Dutch, "" in Esperanto, "SYR5" in Japanese, "" in Lithuanian, "" in Arpitan and "" in Danish. "SYR3" was the first to feature Jim O'Rourke, who went on to become an official band member. Tracks from the SYR releases featured in their live sets in 1998, particularly "Anagrama" from "SYR1", and tracks from "SYR2" formed the basis of two tracks from "A Thousand Leaves".  Released in 1998, "A Thousand Leaves" has a dreamy, semi-improvised feel, and features extended jam sections on tracks such as "Wildflower Soul" and "Female Mechanic Now on Duty". The album also features two Ranaldo-led numbers, "Hoarfrost" and "Karen Koltrane". The only single to be released from this album, "Sunday", was accompanied by a video directed by Harmony Korine and starring Macaulay Culkin.  "" was subtitled "Goodbye, 20th Century" and featured works by avant-garde classical composers such as John Cage, Yoko Ono, Steve Reich, and Christian Wolff played by Sonic Youth along with several collaborators from the modern avant-garde music scene such as Christian Marclay, William Winant, Wharton Tiers, Takehisa Kosugi and others. The album received mixed reviews, but some critics praised the group's efforts at popularizing and reinterpreting the composers' works.

Later DGC period: 2000–2006.

On July 4, 1999, Sonic Youth's instruments, amps and gear were stolen in the middle of the night while on tour in Orange County, California, with almost 30 guitars and bass were stolen (see initial post on Usenet). Forced to start from scratch with new instruments, they recorded "NYC Ghosts & Flowers" and opened for Pearl Jam during the east coast leg of their 2000 tour. They later recovered some of their instruments, amps and gear for next 12 years, with only 8 guitars and bass were recovered by them.  In 2001, Sonic Youth collaborated with French avant-garde singer and poet Brigitte Fontaine on Fontaine's album "Kékéland".  When the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred, several members of the band were blocks away; Jim at their NYC studio (Echo Canyon on Murray Street) and Ranaldo and his wife Leah nearby at home. After the attacks, they curated the first U.S. outing of the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in L.A. The festival was originally scheduled for October, but it was delayed until March the following year due to the attacks.  In the summer of 2002, "Murray Street" was released; many critics heralded a "return to form for SY", seemingly revitalized by the addition of Jim O'Rourke, who became a full member during this period, playing bass guitar, guitar and occasionally synthesizer. It was during this period that the band were filmed for Scott Crary's documentary "Kill Your Idols", depicting Sonic Youth as a key influence upon the post-punk revival then happening in New York. This was followed in 2004 by the release of "Sonic Nurse", an album similar in sound and approach to its immediate predecessor that also received positive reviews. "Pattern Recognition", a song named after the 2003 William Gibson novel, finds the band once again using Gibson's work for inspiration. The band also showed their pop culture commentary and sense of humor with the track "Mariah Carey and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream", a faster-tempo song sung by Gordon, which spoofed Carey's life, including her short-lived relationship with rapper Eminem, which originally appeared on a 2003 split 7" with Erase Errata (on the album cover, the reference to "Mariah Carey" in the title was replaced by "Kim Gordon" due to potential copyright issues.) "Sonic Nurse" had decent sales, in part due to performances on TV talk shows including "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". The band was also slated to perform in 2004's Lollapalooza tour along with acts such as Pixies and The Flaming Lips, but the concert was canceled due to lackluster ticket sales. When the band toured later that year, they played extensively from their 1980s catalog.  On October 6, 2005, "LA CityBeat" reported that some of the gear stolen in 1999 was surprisingly recovered and that it might be used for recording of the next album, then tentatively titled "Sonic Life". The report also said that Jim O'Rourke might be leaving the band soon; his departure was confirmed by Lee Ranaldo in an interview with Pitchfork Media. In May 2006, the group announced on their website that ex-Pavement member Mark Ibold would play bass for the band on their upcoming tour.  "Rather Ripped" was released in Europe on June 5, 2006 and in the USA on June 13, 2006. Compared to previous Sonic Youth recordings, the album features many short, conventionally-structured, melodic songs and fewer feedback-fuelled left-field improvisations (the band's avant-garde tendencies nowadays have been largely exorcised through SYR releases and solo outings rather than band albums). Later that summer, Sonic Youth played the 2006 Bonnaroo Festival, as well as Lollapalooza, promoting the album. In December, "Rolling Stone" made it their number three Album of the Year 2006.  The band released "" in December 2006. It features tracks previously available only on vinyl, limited-release compilations, B-sides to international singles, and some material that had never before been released. This marked the band's final Geffen release.

Independent agents and signing to Matador: 2007–2011.

In April 2007, the band became one of the earlier big-name rock bands to play China when they were brought on a China tour by Beijing and Shanghai based company Split Works.  In 2008, the band independently re-released "Master=Dik" for the first time on CD, exclusively at their online store. They also released two more editions to the SYR series, "" and "". "SYR7" was released on April 22, and "SYR8" was released July 28. On June 10, they also released a compilation album on Starbucks Music, called "Hits Are for Squares". The first fifteen tracks were selected by other celebrities, and track sixteen, "Slow Revolution", is a new recording by Sonic Youth.  On August 30, 2008, the band premiered two new songs at the final McCarren Park Pool show. Thurston Moore stated that in November the band would start recording a new studio album. The band did not continue their contract with Geffen, being discontented at the way Geffen handled their last four or five albums. On September 8, it was confirmed by Matador's Matablog that Sonic Youth would release its sixteenth album (titled "The Eternal") in spring 2009, on Matador Records. In December, it was also announced that the group had recently collaborated with John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin fame) on a piece that served as the soundtrack for a new Merce Cunningham Dance Company piece. This work was performed by the company on April 16–19, 2009, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in celebration of Cunningham's 90th birthday. On February 12, 2009 the band revealed the cover art for "The Eternal" via their website and blog. The album, produced by John Agnello, was released on June 9. With the release, Matador Records also offered an exclusive live LP only available to those who preordered the album. The band scored and composed the soundtrack of the French thriller-drama "Simon Werner a Disparu", which premiered in May, 2010 as part of the Cannes International Film Festival. The soundtrack has been released in 2011 as "SYR9: Simon Werner a Disparu", the latest edition of the SYR series.

Disbandment: 2011–present.

On October 14, 2011, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore announced, through a statement by Matador, that they had separated after 27 years of marriage. Matador also explained that plans for the band remained "uncertain", despite previously hinting that they would record new material later in the year.  In an interview on November 28, 2011, Lee Ranaldo said that Sonic Youth are "ending for a while". "I'm feeling optimistic about the future no matter what happens at this point", Ranaldo said. "It was a pretty good tour overall. I mean, there was a little bit of tiptoeing around and some different situations with the travelling – you know, they're not sharing a room any more or anything like that [...] It remains to be seen at this point what happens. I think they are certainly the last shows for a while and I guess I'd just leave it at that." Ranaldo also suggested there are no plans for Sonic Youth to record new material. "There's tons and tons of archival projects and things like that still going on," he said. "I'm just happy right now to let the future take its course."  In November 2013, Ranaldo said in response to the question of a possible reunion, "I fear not. Everybody is busy with their own projects, besides that Thurston and Kim aren't getting along together very well since their split. I think you can put a cross behind Sonic Youth, same as you can put it behind the names Mike Kelley and Lou Reed. Let them all rest in peace." In her 2015 autobiography "Girl in a Band", Gordon refers several times to the band having "split up" for good.  On June 25, 2019, "The New York Times Magazine" listed Sonic Youth among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Musical style and influences.

Sonic Youth is considered a pioneering band in the noise rock and alternative rock genres. Their music has also been labelled experimental rock, indie rock and post-punk.

Alternative tunings.

Sonic Youth's sound relied heavily on the use of alternative tunings. Scordatura on stringed instruments has been used for centuries and alternative guitar tunings had been used for decades in blues music, and to a limited degree in rock music (such as with Lou Reed's Ostrich guitar on "The Velvet Underground & Nico"). Azerrad writes that early in their career,  [Sonic Youth] could only afford cheap guitars, and cheap guitars "sounded" like cheap guitars. But with weird tunings or something jammed under a particular fret, those humble instruments could sound rather amazing – bang a drum stick on a cheap Japanese Stratocaster copy in the right tuning, crank the amplifier to within an inch of its life and it will sound like church bells.  The tunings were painstakingly developed by Moore and Ranaldo during the band's rehearsals; Moore once reported that the odd tunings were an attempt to introduce new sounds: "When you're playing in standard tuning all the time [...] things sound pretty standard." Rather than re-tune for every song, Sonic Youth generally used a particular guitar for one or two songs, and would take dozens of instruments on tour. This would be the source of much trouble for the band, as live performances of many songs relied on specific guitars that have been uniquely prepared or otherwise altered for those exact songs.

Influences.

Moore said that they were heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground. Besides The Stooges, Branca, Patti Smith, Wire, Public Image Ltd and French avant-gardist Brigitte Fontaine, another influence was 1980s-era hardcore punk; after seeing Minor Threat perform in May 1982, Moore declared them "the greatest live band I have ever seen". He also saw The Faith performing in 1981 and had a strong admiration towards their only two records, a split LP with fellow Washington, D.C. hardcore band Void and the EP "Subject to Change". While recognizing that their own music was very different from hardcore, Moore and Gordon, especially, were impressed by hardcore's speed and intensity, and by the nationwide network of musicians and fans. "It was great", said Moore, "the whole thing with slam dancing and stage diving, that was far more exciting than pogoing and spitting. [...] I thought hardcore was very musical and very radical."  Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo expressed on numerous occasions their admiration for the music of Joni Mitchell, such as this quote by Thurston Moore: "Joni Mitchell! I've used elements of her songwriting and guitar playing, and no one would ever know about it." Additionally, as with Sonic Youth, Joni Mitchell has always used a number of alternative tunings. The band named a song after her, "Hey Joni".  Members of the band have also maintained relationships with other avant-garde artists from other genres and even other media, drawing influence from the work of John Cage and Henry Cowell. For a 1988 John Peel Session, Sonic Youth covered three songs by The Fall and "Victoria" by The Kinks, also covered by The Fall. Sonic Youth has featured album art by several well-known avant-garde visual artists, such as Mike Kelley, Tony Oursler and Gerhard Richter, whose paintings from his "Candles" series was used as artwork on "Daydream Nation".

Musical instruments.

Sonic Youth's sound was generated by their vast collection of unique and exclusive instruments; from guitars altered to meet the needs of the unique tunings employed to effects and amps designed to around their whims, Sonic Youth used a wide array of custom instruments in creating their sound.

Members.

Final lineup  Former members

Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up. Jim O'Rourke (guitar) was a member of the band from 1999 to 2005.

Sonic Youth byla alternative rocková hudební skupina založená v roce 1981 v New Yorku. Skupinu zformoval kytarista a zpěvák Thurston Moore, basistka a zpěvačka Kim Gordon a doprovodný kytarista Lee Ranaldo. Od roku 1985 v kapele bubnoval Steve Shelley, v různých dobách se Sonic Youth vystupoval kytarista Mark Ibold.


Panzer Group Africa.

When the was formed on 11 January 1941 it was subordinated to the Italian chain of command in Africa. In the middle of 1941 Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, Armed Forces High Command) created a larger command structure in Africa, forming a new headquarters, Panzer Group Africa (, ). On 15 August 1941, Panzer Group Africa was activated with newly promoted Erwin Rommel in command. The Panzer Group controlled the and other units that were sent to Africa (notably the 90th Light Infantry Division), and the Italian X Corps and XX Corps.

Panzer Army Africa.

Panzer Group Africa was renamed Panzer Army Africa (, ) on 30 January 1942. (A German Panzer group was an army-level headquarters. As the war progressed all of the Panzer groups were renamed Panzer Armies.)

German-Italian Panzer Army.

Panzer Army Africa was renamed "German-Italian Panzer Army"' (, ) in October 1942 during the long retreat after the defeat at the Second Battle of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign.

Army Group Africa.

In February 1943, the headquarters was expanded and called Army Group Africa (, ) to manage the defence of Tunisia during the final stages of the North African Campaign. Army Group Africa included the German Fifth Panzer Army () and the Italian 1st Army. Command of the Army Group was turned over from Rommel to Hans-Jürgen von Arnim in March. He surrendered the Army Group on 13 May 1943, ending the Axis presence in Africa.

Order of battle.

Throughout its existence, this headquarters controlled the and for most of its life it controlled a number of other German and Italian units as well. Not all German units in Africa subordinate to the, some were reserves for the Panzer Army and some were occasionally subordinated to Italian armies or corps. The following overview of its components is taken from "lexikon-der-wehrmacht de", with dates corrected (see references).

Orders of battle.

Army Group Africa.

From February 1943:

As the number of German troops committed to the North African Campaign of World War II grew from the initial commitment of a small corps the Germans developed a more elaborate command structure and placed the enlarged "Afrika Korps", with Italian units under this new German command and a succession of commands were created to manage Axis forces in Africa:

Panzerarmee Afrika (tanková armáda Afrika) byla německá tanková armáda operující v Severní Africe mezi 30. lednem 1942 a 13. květnem 1943, kdy kapitulovala do rukou vojenských sil Spojených států amerických. Vznikla 30. ledna 1942 přeznačením Panzergruppe Afrika (tankové skupiny Afrika) a 1. října 1942 byla přejmenována na Deutsch-Italienische Panzer Armee (německo-italská tanková armáda). Zpočátku operuje pod velením vrchního velitele sil OSY v Severní Africe, resp. je přímo podřízena italskému Comando Supremo (vrchnímu velitelství) a od 22. února 1943, kdy již operuje na území Tuniska, je přeznačena na 1. italskou armádu a podřízena německé Heeresgruppe Afrika (skupině armád Afrika).


Gameplay.

"Grand Theft Auto III" is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. It is possible to have several active missions running at one time, as some missions require players to wait for further instructions or events. Outside of missions, players can freely roam the game's open world, and have the ability to complete optional side missions. Liberty City is composed of three boroughs: Portland, Staunton Island, and Shoreside Vale; the latter two areas become unlocked as the story progresses.  Players may run, jump or use vehicles to navigate the game's world. In combat, auto-aim can be used as assistance against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter can be fully regenerated through the use of health pick-ups. Body armour can be used to absorb gunshots and explosive damage, but is used up in the process. When health is entirely depleted, gameplay stops and players respawn at the nearest hospital, at the expense of losing armour, weapons, and an amount of money.  If players commit crimes while playing, the

Plot.

In 2001, a small-time criminal named Claude is betrayed by his girlfriend Catalina during a bank heist outside Liberty City. Left for dead, Claude is arrested, but escapes during his transfer to prison when members of the Colombian Cartel ambush his transport to abduct another prisoner. During his escape, Claude befriends bomb expert 8-Ball, who then introduces him to the Leone Mafia family. Working for various Leone family members, Claude ultimately earns the respect of Don Salvatore Leone who, after discovering that the Cartel are manufacturing a new street drug to fund their expansion into Liberty City, instructs Claude to destroy their floating drug lab with 8-Ball's help.  Shortly after, Salvatore asks Claude to deal with a minor problem, but his trophy wife Maria reveals it to be a set-up. Claiming that Salvatore has become paranoid and intends to kill him, Claude takes her with him to

Development.

The core development team of "Grand Theft Auto III" consisted of about 23 people at DMA Design in Edinburgh, who worked closely with publisher Rockstar Games in New York City. By early 2001, the team had designed the city, cars, and some weapons. An online multiplayer mode was initially planned for the game, but was ultimately dropped due to time and resource limitations. Producer Leslie Benzies described "Grand Theft Auto III" as a "crime simulation game". The game was released for the PlayStation 2 on 22 October 2001 in North America. When porting the game to Microsoft Windows, the team delayed it from the PlayStation 2 release in order to ensure quality, citing issues with the simultaneous platform release of previous "Grand Theft Auto" games.

Open world design.

"Grand Theft Auto III" is considered to be the first 3D game in the series, using Criterion Games' RenderWare game engine. When designing the game, the development team expanded upon concepts introduced in the previous "Grand Theft Auto" games. Benzies stated that the intention was to recreate the "freedom and diversity" of the previous games in a "living, breathing 3D world", using the power of the PlayStation 2 to do so. The console's ability to use DVDs, an improvement over the PlayStation's limit

Story and characters.

The team developed the story and design simultaneously. "We use the story to expose the mechanics, and we use the mechanics to tell the story," said Dan Houser. Houser found it difficult to create the narrative, as the game is so strongly focused on player freedom. He wanted the story to be more nuanced and interesting than the generic "rise and fall and rise again of a superhero bad guy". The game's script was also focused on mission objectives, attempting to implement high amounts of interactivity. Houser felt that each mission is "its own short story", and part of an "overarching story". Houser and co-writer James Worrall drew influence from mob films, and the mafiosi featured in films by Martin Scorsese. When writing the story, Houser and Worrall regularly met with the designers, and filled a room with post-it notes to reconstruct the story components to shape the game.

Sound design.

"Grand Theft Auto III" features about three-and-a-half hours of in-game radio material. For the music, the team sought a broad diversity, to recreate the real sensation of skipping through radio stations, reflecting the gangster movie culture invoked by the game. The team used the talk radio stations to

Cuts and changes.

Prior to the initial release, several modifications were made to the game. While changes are frequent during game development, the changes in "Grand Theft Auto III" were noted to be around the time of the September 11 attacks, which led to speculation that some changes were motivated by the attacks. On 19 September 2001, Rockstar delayed the game's release by three weeks, citing the attacks as an influencing factor in the delay. "Everyone had someone who had an uncle or brother [who was impacted by the attack]", said Paul Eibeler, then-president of distributor Take-Two Interactive.  One of the changes made shortly after the September 11 attacks was the colour scheme of the police cars; the original colour scheme of blue with white stripes specifically resembled that of the New York City Police Department. It was changed to black-and-white designs common among several police

Critical reception.

Initial release.

"Grand Theft Auto III" was released to critical acclaim. Metacritic calculated an average score of 97 of out 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 56 reviews. It is the sixth-highest rated game on Metacritic, tied with a number of others. Reviewers liked the game's sound, gameplay, and open world design, though some criticism was directed at the controls. Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer called "Grand Theft Auto III" "a luscious, sprawling epic", and "Official PlayStation Magazine" named it "the most innovative, outlandish, brilliant video

Microsoft Windows version.

When "Grand Theft Auto III" was released to Microsoft Windows in May 2002, it received similar critical acclaim. Metacritic calculated an average score of 93 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 20 reviews. It was the highest-rated Windows game on Metacritic in 2002. Reviewers liked the visual enhancements and control improvements, but criticised the port for its demanding system requirements.  The in-game features and controls in the port were generally well received. IGN's Tal Blevins praised the higher precision of the mouse controls, finding the aiming mechanic more precise. GameSpot's Erik Wolpaw also commended the mouse controls, but disapproved the replay system, particularly due to

Mobile version.

When "Grand Theft Auto III" was released to mobile devices in December 2011, it received generally positive reviews. Metacritic calculated an average score of 80 out of 100, based on 26 reviews. Reviewers liked the enhanced visuals, but criticism was directed at the touchscreen controls.  The port's visuals were well received. IGN's Peter Eykemans commended the smoother textures, especially condensed on a mobile screen, while Destructoid's Jim Sterling noted improvements in the character and vehicle models. Mark Walton of GameSpot wrote that the game runs well on high-end devices like the Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy S II, but

Commercial performance.

Sales.

"Grand Theft Auto III" was the highest-selling game of 2001 in the United States, selling over two million units by February 2002. The game was also the second best-selling game of 2002, behind only its sequel. Take-Two stock significantly increased following the game's launch, and the game was included in PlayStation's Greatest Hits selection. In the United States, the game had sold 5.35 million units by June 2004, and 6.55

Accolades.

"Grand Theft Auto III" received multiple nominations and awards from gaming publications. It was awarded Game of the Year at the Game Developers Choice Awards, and from GameSpot and GameSpy. It was named the Best PlayStation

Controversies.

Prior to and since the release of "Grand Theft Auto III", the game generated several controversies. GameSpy awarded "Grand Theft Auto III" with Most Offensive Game of the Year, calling it "absolutely reprehensible". They wrote that the game rewards players for "causing mayhem" and "killing innocent people by the dozen", ultimately questioning its appropriateness within the industry. The notoriety of "Grand Theft Auto III" resulted in Wal-Mart's decision to check the identification of purchasers who appeared to be under the age of 17, when purchasing mature titles. In an essay, assistant professor Shira Chess identified the lack of conclusion to player violence, due to the ability to respawn upon death or incarceration, and found that it denies the "reality of mortality and simultaneously [forces] it on players". When speaking about the game's depiction of violence, producer Leslie Benzies claims that is intended as comedic, and that the game is "not meant to be taken seriously". Producer Dan Houser stated that the team was conscious of the offence that the game would attract, but "never marketed it in a way that exploited that".  The game allows players to participate in sexual activities with prostitutes, and murder them to reclaim the payment. This was met with widespread controversy. The game also received controversy for its depiction of crime, and allowing violence against police officers. Psychologist David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the Family stated that the game "glamorizes antisocial and criminal activity", and that "the purpose

Legacy.

"Grand Theft Auto III" has been frequently included among the greatest video games of all time. In 2007, GamePro called "Grand Theft Auto III" the most important video game of all time, explaining that the "game's open-ended gameplay elements have revolutionized the way all video games are made". Similarly, IGN ranked the game among the Top 10 Most Influential Games, and GameSpot listed among the greatest games of all time. In 2009, "Game Informer" wrote that "Grand Theft Auto III" "changed the gaming landscape forever with its immersive open world sandbox", and in 2016, GamesRadar named it "the most important game of the decade". "Time" named it one of the greatest video games of all time in November 2012 and August 2016. The game was selected as part of the Game On touring exhibition, demonstrating some of the game's development plans and artwork.  "Grand Theft Auto III" is considered to have a leading role in the popularisation of sandbox games, inspiring those such as "True Crime" (2003–05), "Saints Row" (2006–present) and "Crackdown" (2007). The term ""Grand Theft Auto" clone" is frequently used to describe subsequent video games released with similar open-ended gameplay as "Grand Theft Auto III". While previous video games used open world design, including earlier "Grand Theft Auto" games, "Grand Theft Auto III" took this gameplay foundation and expanded it into a 3D world, offering an unprecedented variety of minigames and side-missions. Due to the greater success of the game over its predecessors, it is credited with popularising the open-world genre; Dan Houser felt that the game made it "one of the most vibrant genres today".  The game also led the trend of mature video games; Dan Houser felt that it allowed other developers to create violent shooters. Hal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association, described "Grand Theft Auto III" as the "lightning rod for the violence-in-games debate". "Metro"s Roger Hargreaves wrote that it "emboldened a whole new wave of games that were... fixated with violence, gang culture". Greg Ford of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" felt that the game allowed the medium to handle mature subject matter in a more serious manner than previously perceived, and noted the improvement of video game classification as a result of the game's controversy.  Following the game's success, Rockstar developed further titles in the series. "Vice City" and "San Andreas" are set in their titular locations in 1986 and 1992, respectively. "Grand Theft Auto Advance" (2004) is set in Liberty City roughly one year before the events of "Grand Theft Auto III". "" (2005) takes place three years before the events of "Grand Theft Auto III" in the same rendition of Liberty City. A completely redesigned version of the city was later used in "Grand Theft Auto IV" (2008), "" (2009), "" (2009) and "" (2009).

Ports and remakes.

"Grand Theft Auto III" was released on 21 May 2002 for Microsoft Windows, supporting higher screen resolutions and draw distance, and featuring more detailed textures. A GameCube release was planned, but later cancelled. In December 2003, the game was released on the Xbox, with its sequel "Vice City" in a compilation titled "Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack". The Xbox port features custom soundtrack support as well as improved audio, polygon models, and reflections over the previous ports. "Double Pack" was later bundled with "San Andreas" in a

Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first main entry in the "Grand Theft Auto" series since 1999's "Grand Theft Auto 2". Set within the fictional Liberty City, loosely based on New York City, the game follows a criminal named Claude as he attempts to exact revenge on his girlfriend for betraying and leaving him for dead, and quickly becomes entangled in a world of gangs, crime and corruption. The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. The open world design lets players freely roam the three islands of Liberty City.

Grand Theft Auto III (zkracováno jako GTA III či GTA 3) je akční počítačová hra a videohra vydaná společností Rockstar Games v říjnu 2001 pro herní konzole Playstation 2, později v květnu 2002 pro osobní počítače s operačním systémem Windows a v listopadu 2003 i pro herní konzole Xbox, v roce 2011 pro mobily se systémem Android. Hra je součástí série Grand Theft Auto, předchází jí hra Grand Theft Auto 2 a následuje.


Design and development.

The aircraft was designed by Nikolai Polikarpov to replace the U-1 trainer (a copy of the British Avro 504), which was known as "Avrushka" to the Soviets.  The prototype of the U-2, powered by a 74 kW (99 hp) Shvetsov M-11 air-cooled five-cylinder radial engine, first flew on 7 January 1928 piloted by M.M. Gromov. Aircraft from the preproduction series were tested at the end of 1928 and serial production started in 1929 in Factory number 23 in Leningrad. Its name was changed to Po-2 in 1944, after Polikarpov's death, according to the then-new Soviet naming system, usually using the first two letters of the designer's family name, or the Soviet government-established design bureau that created it. Production in the Soviet Union ended in 1953, but license-built CSS-13s were still produced in Poland until 1959.

Operational history.

From the beginning, the U-2 became the basic Soviet civil and military trainer aircraft, mass-produced in a "Red Flyer" factory near Moscow. It was also used for transport, and as a military liaison aircraft, due to its STOL capabilities. Also from the beginning it was produced as an agricultural aircraft variant, which earned it its nickname "Kukuruznik". Although entirely outclassed by contemporary aircraft, the "Kukuruznik" served extensively on the Eastern Front in World War II, primarily as a liaison, medevac and general-supply aircraft. It was especially useful for supplying Soviet partisans behind the German front line. Manufacturing of the Po-2 in the USSR ceased in 1949, but until 1959 a number were assembled in Aeroflot repair workshops.  The first trials of arming the aircraft with bombs took place in 1941.  During the defence of Odessa, in September 1941, the U-2 was used as a reconnaissance aircraft and as a light, short-range, bomber. The bombs, dropped from a civil aircraft piloted by Pyotr Bevz, were the first to fall on enemy artillery positions. From 1942 it was adapted as a light night ground attack aircraft.  Nikolay Polikarpov supported the project, and under his leadership, the U-2VS ("voyskovaya seriya" - Military series) was created. This was a light night bomber, fitted with bomb carriers beneath the lower wing, to carry 50 or 100 kg (110 or 220 lbs) bombs up to a total weight of 350 kg (771 lb) and armed with ShKAS or DA machine guns in the observer's cockpit.  The U-2's 5-cylinder engine had an unusual exhaust manifold arrangement that gave the engine a peculiar rattling or popping sound and led to a number of nicknames. "Wehrmacht" troops nicknamed it "Nähmaschine" (sewing machine), and Finnish troops called it "Hermosaha" (Nerve saw). The Germans also called it "Kaffeemuhle," which literally means "coffee grinder" and is also slang meaning "whirlybird," probably for the engine which could sound like the rotating blades of a helicopter in flight. The fabric and wood construction of the airplane made it extremely vulnerable to catching fire, resulting in a Russian nickname of "Kerosinka," or kerosene lantern.  The material effects of these missions may be regarded as minor, but the psychological effect on German troops was noticeable. They typically attacked by surprise in the middle of the night, denying German troops sleep and keeping them on their guard, contributing to the already high stress of combat on the Eastern front. The usual tactic involved flying only a few meters above the ground, climbing for the final approach, throttling back the engine and making a gliding bombing run, leaving the targeted troops with only the eerie whistling of the wind in the wings' bracing-wires as an indication of the impending attack. Luftwaffe fighters found it extremely hard to shoot down the "Kukuruznik" because of two main factors: the pilots flew at treetop level where they were hard to see or engage and the stall speed of both the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was similar to the U-2s maximum speed, making it difficult for the fighters to keep a Po-2 in weapons range for an adequate period of time. The success of the Soviet night harassment units inspired the Luftwaffe to set up similar "Störkampfstaffel" "harassment combat squadrons" on the Eastern Front using their own obsolete 1930s-era, open cockpit biplanes (most often the Gotha Go 145 and Arado Ar 66 biplanes) and parasol monoplane aircraft, eventually building up to larger "Nachtschlachtgruppe" (night attack group) units of a few squadrons each.  The U-2 became known as the aircraft used by the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, composed of an all-woman pilot and ground crew complement. The unit was notorious for daring low-altitude night raids on German rear-area positions. Veteran pilots Yekaterina Ryabova and Nadezhda Popova on one occasion flew eighteen missions in a single night. The women pilots observed that the enemy suffered a further degree of demoralization simply due to their antagonists being female. As such, the pilots earned the nickname "Night Witches" (German "Nachthexen", Russian "Ночные Ведьмы"/Nočnye Ved’my). The unit earned numerous Hero of the Soviet Union citations and dozens of Order of the Red Banner medals; most surviving pilots had flown nearly 1,000 combat missions by the end of the war and took part in the Battle of Berlin.  The Polish Air Force used these slow and manoeuvrable aircraft for air reconnaissance and COIN operations against UPA bands in mountainous area of Bieszczady. Pilots and navigators were dispatched to look for concentrations of UPA forces and if needed, engage them with machine guns and grenades. On several occasions, the UPA managed to bring down some of the Po-2s, but never captured or operated them.  North Korean forces used the Po-2 in a similar role during the Korean War. A significant number of Po-2s were fielded by the Korean People's Air Force, inflicting serious damage during night raids on United Nations bases. During one such attack, a lone Po-2 attacked Pyongyang airfield in northwestern Korea. Concentrating on the 8th Fighter-Bomber Group's parking ramp, the Po-2 dropped a string of fragmentation bombs squarely across the group's lineup of P-51 Mustangs. Eleven Mustangs were damaged, three so badly that they were destroyed when Pyongyang was abandoned several days later.  On 17 June 1951, at 01:30 hours, Suwon Air Base was bombed by two Po-2s. Each biplane dropped a pair of fragmentation bombs. One scored a hit on the 802nd Engineer Aviation Battalion's motor pool, damaging some equipment. Two bombs burst on the flightline of the 335th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. One F-86A Sabre (FU-334 / 49-1334) was struck on the wing and began burning. The fire took hold, gutting the aircraft. Prompt action by personnel who moved aircraft away from the burning Sabre prevented further loss. Eight other Sabres were damaged in the brief attack, four seriously. One F-86 pilot was among the wounded. The North Koreans subsequently credited Lt. La Woon Yung with this damaging attack.  UN forces named the Po-2's nighttime appearance "Bedcheck Charlie" and had great difficulty in shooting it down – even though night fighters had radar as standard equipment in the 1950s. The wood-and-fabric material of the Po-2 had only a small radar cross-section, making it hard for an opposing fighter pilot to acquire his target. As Korean war U.S. veteran Leo Fournier remarked about "Bedcheck Charlie" in his memoirs: "... no one could get at him. He just flew too low and too slow." On 16 June 1953, a USMC AD-4 from VMC-1 piloted by Major George H. Linnemeier and CWO Vernon S. Kramer shot down a Soviet-built Polikarpov Po-2 biplane, the only documented Skyraider air victory of the war. The Po-2 is also the only biplane credited with a documented jet-kill, as one Lockheed F-94 Starfire was lost while slowing down to – below its stall speed – during an intercept in order to engage the low flying Po-2.

The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2, for its initial, 'training', role as a flight instruction aircraft) served as a general-purpose Soviet biplane, nicknamed "Kukuruznik" (, from Russian "kukuruza" (кукуруза) for maize; thus, "maize duster" or "crop duster"), NATO reporting name "Mule". The reliable, uncomplicated concept of the Po-2's design made it an ideal trainer aircraft, as well as doubling as a low-cost ground attack, aerial reconnaissance, psychological warfare and liaison aircraft during war, proving to be one of the most versatile light combat types to be built in the Soviet Union. As of 1978 it remained in production for a longer period of time than any other Soviet-era aircraft.

Polikarpov Po-2 (před rokem 1944 označovaný U-2, v kódu NATO „Mule“) byl sovětský dvouplošník používaný během druhé světové války na východní frontě k velkému množství různých úkolů.


Biography.

Early life and education.

Sterne was born in Clonmel, County Tipperary on 24 November 1713. His father, Roger Sterne, was an ensign in a British regiment recently returned from Dunkirk, which was disbanded on the day of Sterne's birth. Within six months the family had returned to Yorkshire. His great-grandfather Richard Sterne had been the Master of the Jesus College, Cambridge as well as the Archbishop of York. Roger Stern was the youngest son of Richard Sterne's youngest son and consequently, Roger Sterne inherited little of Richard Sterne's wealth. Roger Sterne left his family and enlisted in the army at the age of 25; he enlisted uncommissioned, which was unusual for someone from a family of high social position. Despite being promoted to an officer, he was of the lowest commission and lacked financial resources. Roger Sterne married Agnes Hobert, the widow of a military captain.  The first decade of Laurence Sterne's life was spent moving from place to place as his father was reassigned throughout Ireland. During this period Sterne never lived in one place for more than a year. In 1724, Roger took Sterne to his wealthy brother, Richard, so that Laurence could attend Hipperholme Grammar School near Halifax; Laurence never saw his father again as Roger was ordered to Jamaica where he died of malaria in 1731. Laurence was admitted to a sizarship at Jesus College, in July 1733 at the age of 20. He graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in January 1737 and returned in the summer of 1740 to be awarded his Master of Arts degree.

Early career.

Sterne was ordained as a deacon on 6 March 1737 and as a priest on 20 August 1738. His religion is said to have been the "centrist Anglicanism of his time", known as "latitudinarianism". A few days after his ordination as a priest, Sterne was awarded the vicarship living of Sutton-on-the-Forest in Yorkshire. Sterne married Elizabeth Lumley on 30 March 1741, despite both being ill with consumption. In 1743, he was presented to the neighbouring living of Stillington by Rev. Richard Levett, Prebendary of Stillington, who was patron of the living. Subsequently Sterne did duty both there and at Sutton. He was also a prebendary of York Minster. Sterne's life at this time was closely tied with his uncle, Jaques Sterne, the Archdeacon of Cleveland and Precentor of York Minster. Sterne's uncle was an ardent Whig, and urged Sterne to begin a career of political journalism which resulted in some scandal for Sterne and, eventually, a terminal falling-out between the two men.  Jaques Sterne was a powerful clergyman but a mean-tempered man and a rabid politician. In 1741–42 Laurence Sterne wrote political articles supporting the administration of Sir Robert Walpole for a newspaper founded by his uncle but soon withdrew from politics in disgust. His uncle became his arch-enemy, thwarting his advancement whenever possible. Despite the friction with his uncle, Laurence's Whig sympathies remained with him throughout his life. Laurence lived in Sutton for twenty years, during which time he kept up an intimacy which had begun at Cambridge with John Hall-Stevenson, a witty and accomplished "bon vivant", owner of Skelton Hall in the Cleveland district of Yorkshire.

Writing.

In 1759, to support his dean in a church squabble, Sterne wrote "A Political Romance" (later called "The History of a Good Warm Watch-Coat"), a Swiftian satire of dignitaries of the spiritual courts. At the demands of embarrassed churchmen, the book was burnt. Thus, Sterne lost his chances for clerical advancement but discovered his real talents; until the completion of this first work, "he hardly knew that he could write at all, much less with humour so as to make his reader laugh".  Having discovered his talent, at the age of 46, he turned over his parishes to a curate, and dedicated himself to writing for the rest of his life. It was while living in the countryside, having failed in his attempts to supplement his income as a farmer and struggling with tuberculosis, that Sterne began work on his best-known novel, "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman", the first volumes of which were published in 1759. Sterne was at work on his celebrated comic novel during the year that his mother died, his wife was seriously ill, and his daughter was also taken ill with a fever. He wrote as fast as he possibly could, composing the first 18 chapters between January and March 1759. Due to his poor financial position, Sterne was forced to borrow money for the printing of his novel, suggesting that Sterne was confident in the prospective commercial success of his work and that the local critical reception of the novel was favourable enough to justify the loan.  The publication of "Tristram Shandy" made Sterne famous in London and on the continent. He was delighted by the attention, famously saying "I wrote not [to] be "fed" but to be "famous."" He spent part of each year in London, being fêted as new volumes appeared. Even after the publication of volumes three and four of "Tristram Shandy", his love of attention (especially as related to financial success) remained undiminished. In one letter, he wrote "One half of the town abuse my book as bitterly, as the other half cry it up to the skies—the best is, they abuse it and buy it, and at such a rate, that we are going on with a second edition, as fast as possible." Indeed, Baron Fauconberg rewarded Sterne by appointing him as the perpetual curate of Coxwold, North Yorkshire in March 1760.  In 1766, at the height of the debate about slavery, the composer and former slave Ignatius Sancho wrote to Sterne encouraging him to use his pen to lobby for the abolition of the slave trade. In July 1766 Sterne received Sancho's letter shortly after he had finished writing a conversation between his fictional characters Corporal Trim and his brother Tom in "Tristram Shandy", wherein Tom described the oppression of a black servant in a sausage shop in Lisbon which he had visited. Sterne's widely publicised response to Sancho's letter became an integral part of 18th-century abolitionist literature.

Foreign travel.

Sterne continued to struggle with his illness, and departed England for France in 1762 in an effort to find a climate that would alleviate his suffering. Sterne was lucky to attach himself to a diplomatic party bound for Turin, as England and France were still adversaries in the Seven Years' War. Sterne was gratified by his reception in France, where reports of the genius of "Tristram Shandy" had made him a celebrity. Aspects of this trip to France were incorporated into Sterne's second novel, "A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy".

Eliza.

Early in 1767, Sterne met Eliza Draper, the wife of an official of the East India Company, then staying on her own in London. He was quickly captivated by Eliza’s charm, vivacity, and intelligence, and she did little to discourage the attentions of such a celebrated man. They met frequently, exchanged miniature portraits, and Sterne’s admiration seems to have turned into an obsession which he took no trouble to conceal. To his great distress, Eliza had to return to India three months after their first meeting, and he died from consumption a year later without seeing her again. At the beginning of 1768, Sterne brought out his "Sentimental Journey" which contains some extravagant references to her, and the relationship, though platonic, aroused considerable interest. He also wrote his "Journal to Eliza" part of which he sent to her, and the rest of which came to light when it was presented to the British Museum in 1894. After Sterne’s death, Eliza allowed ten of his letters to be published under the title "Letters from Yorick to Eliza" and succeeded in suppressing her letters to him, though some blatant forgeries were produced, probably by William Combe, in a volume entitled "Eliza's Letters to Yorick".

Death.

Less than a month after "Sentimental Journey" was published, early in 1768, Sterne died in his lodgings at 41 Old Bond Street on 18 March, at the age of 54. He was buried in the churchyard of St George's, Hanover Square on 22 March. It was widely rumoured that Sterne's body was stolen shortly after it was interred and sold to anatomists at Cambridge University. Circumstantially, it was said that his body was recognised by Charles Collignon, who knew him and discreetly reinterred back in St George's, in an unknown plot. A year later a group of Freemasons erected a memorial stone with a rhyming epitaph near to his original burial place. A second stone was erected in 1893, correcting some factual errors on the memorial stone. When the churchyard of St. George's was redeveloped in 1969, amongst 11,500 skulls disinterred, several were identified with drastic cuts from anatomising or a post-mortem examination. One was identified to be of a size that matched a bust of Sterne made by Nollekens.  The skull was held up to be his, albeit with "a certain area of doubt". Along with nearby skeletal bones, these remains were transferred to Coxwold churchyard in 1969 by the Laurence Sterne Trust. The story of the reinterment of Sterne's skull in Coxwold is alluded to in Malcolm Bradbury's novel "To the Hermitage".

Works.

The works of Laurence Sterne are few in comparison to other eighteenth-century authors of comparable stature. Sterne's early works were letters; he had two sermons published (in 1747 and 1750), and tried his hand at satire. He was involved in, and wrote about, local politics in 1742. His major publication prior to "Tristram Shandy" was the satire "A Political Romance" (1759), aimed at conflicts of interest within York Minster. A posthumously published piece on the art of preaching, "A Fragment in the Manner of Rabelais", appears to have been written in 1759. Rabelais was by far Sterne's favourite author, and in his correspondence he made clear that he considered himself as Rabelais' successor in humour writing, distancing himself from Jonathan Swift. Sterne's novel "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" sold widely in England and throughout Europe. Translations of the work began to appear in all the major European languages almost upon its publication, and Sterne influenced European writers as diverse as Denis Diderot and the German Romanticists. His work had also noticeable influence over Brazilian author Machado de Assis, who made use of the digressive technique in the novel "The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas".  English writer and literary critic Samuel Johnson's verdict in 1776 was that "Nothing odd will do long. "Tristram Shandy" did not last." This is strikingly different from the views of European critics of the day, who praised Sterne and "Tristram Shandy" as innovative and superior. Voltaire called it "clearly superior to Rabelais", and later Goethe praised Sterne as "the most beautiful spirit that ever lived". Swedish translator Johan Rundahl described Sterne as an arch-sentimentalist. The title page to volume one includes a short Greek epigraph, which in English reads: "Not things, but opinions about things, trouble men." Before the novel properly begins, Sterne also offers a dedication to Lord William Pitt. He urges Pitt to retreat with the book from the cares of statecraft.  The novel itself starts with the narration, by Tristram, of his own conception. It proceeds mostly by what Sterne calls "progressive digressions" so that we do not reach Tristram's birth before the third volume. The novel is rich in characters and humour, and the influences of Rabelais and Miguel de Cervantes are present throughout. The novel ends after 9 volumes, published over a decade, but without anything that might be considered a traditional conclusion. Sterne inserts sermons, essays and legal documents into the pages of his novel; and he explores the limits of typography and print design by including marbled pages and an entirely black page within the narrative. Many of the innovations that Sterne introduced, adaptations in form that were an exploration of what constitutes the novel, were highly influential to Modernist writers like James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, and more contemporary writers such as Thomas Pynchon and David Foster Wallace. Italo Calvino referred to "Tristram Shandy" as the "undoubted progenitor of all avant-garde novels of our century". The Russian Formalist writer Viktor Shklovsky regarded "Tristram Shandy" as the archetypal, quintessential novel," the most typical novel of world literature."  However, the leading critical opinions of "Tristram Shandy" tend to be markedly polarised in their evaluations of its significance. Since the 1950s, following the lead of D. W. Jefferson, there are those who argue that, whatever its legacy of influence may be, "Tristram Shandy" in its original context actually represents a resurgence of a much older, Renaissance tradition of "Learned Wit"—owing a debt to such influences as the Scriblerian approach. "A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy" has many stylistic parallels with "Tristram Shandy", and indeed, the narrator is one of the minor characters from the earlier novel. Although the story is more straightforward, "A Sentimental Journey" is interpreted by critics as part of the same artistic project to which "Tristram Shandy" belongs. Two volumes of Sterne's "Sermons" were published during his lifetime; more copies of his "Sermons" were sold in his lifetime than copies of "Tristram Shandy". The sermons, however, are conventional in substance. Several volumes of letters were published after his death, as was "Journal to Eliza". These collections of letters, more sentimental than humourous, tell of Sterne's relationship with Eliza Draper.

Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and an Anglican clergyman. He wrote the novels "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" and "A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy", and also published many sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics. Sterne died in London after years of fighting tuberculosis.

Laurence Sterne (24. listopad 1713, Clonmel, Irsko – 18. březen 1768, Londýn) byl britský duchovní a romanopisec období preromantismu. Sterne se narodil v irském Clonmelu v rodině důstojníka. Studoval teologii na University of Cambridge a v roce 1738 se stal farářem. Prvním dílem, které napsal, je román "Politická romance" (1759, A Political Romance), satira na provinční církevní politiku. Jeho patrně nejznámějším dílem je devítidílný román "Život a názory blahorodého pana Tristrama Shandyho" (The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman), na kterém pracoval od roku 1759 do roku 1767. Většina situací v knize je založena na absurdních rodinných nedorozuměních, které vyznívají humorně. Vtip vyprávění spočívá také v tom, že Tristram neumí nic vysvětlit jednoduše a do všeho zaplétá široké souvislosti. Proud vyprávění je neustále přerušován epizodami, vtipnými odbočkami a postřehy a právě tato na svou dobu nová forma způsobila, že Sternovo postavení v historii románu 18. století bývá srovnáváno s postavením velkých tvůrců moderní prózy.


Biography.

Born in Čaklov, Figeľ studied power electronics at the Technical University of Košice for five years, beginning in 1978. During his studies, he was Faculty chairman of the Socialist Youth Union, a youth Marxist–Leninist organization of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. From 1983 he worked as a research and development scientist for ZPA Prešov. He joined the conservative Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) in 1990 and was elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1992, serving on its Foreign Affairs Committee and becoming a member of Slovakia's delegation to the Council of Europe a year later.  In 1998 Figeľ left his parliamentary seat and was appointed State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Unlike most of his colleagues in the European Commission, he never rose to a cabinet-level position, but led Slovakia's accession negotiations with the European Union until 2003. He also represented the Slovak government in the European Convention which drafted the European Constitution. He returned to the National Council in 2002 where he chaired its Foreign Affairs Committee, stepping down in 2004 to take up his Commission post.  From 1995 to 2000 Figeľ lectured in international relations at Trnava University. He is married with four children.

European Commissioner.

Figeľ served briefly in the Prodi Commission. From Slovakia's accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004 to the confirmation of the Barroso Commission later that year he jointly held the Enterprise and Information Society portfolio, sharing his role for most of that period with the Finnish appointee Olli Rehn, also new to the job. The Slovak government nominated Figeľ for the incoming Barroso Commission which took office on 22 November 2004. His appointment to the Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism portfolio was regarded as something of a disappointment. Figeľ himself said that the role was not his "primary choice", but he accepted it "as a challenge". Questioned by the European Parliament, Figeľ said that the goal of a true European labour market would require more investment in education, professional training, mobility, and simpler Europe-wide acknowledgment of qualifications. He said that the promotion of education was vital to the aims set out in the Lisbon Strategy. He told MEPs that he would like all children in the EU to be taught at least two foreign languages at school, and also stressed his support for UNESCO. From 1 January 2007, in the enlarged Barroso Commission after the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union, responsibility for multilingualism was transferred to Commissioner for Multilingualism, Romanian Leonard Orban. Figeľ announced his resignation from the Commission on 21 September 2009, following his election as the leader of Christian Democratic Movement in Slovakia. He was replaced by Maroš Šefčovič on 1 October 2009.  Figeľ received a Ph.D. title in the field of social work at St Elizabeth's School of Medicine and Social Work in Bratislava, a university-level private academic institution, in 2007. The majority of the thesis was copied from a publication he edited in 2003 with Slovak diplomat Miroslav Adamiš, "Slovakia on the Road to the European Union – Chapters and Contexts", in which they described the country's EU accession process. The rector of St Elizabeth's School, Vladimír Krčméry, said that they took into consideration Figeľ's position and had granted Figeľ a Ph.D. mainly due to the fact that he was at the time serving as a European commissioner. On 24 August 2012 Science Insider reported that he "is facing an official inquiry into the legitimacy of his Ph.D., awarded while he was in office."

Slovak Minister of Transports.

From 2010 to 2012 Figeľ was a Slovak Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport, Construction and Regional Development.  Figeľ was chairman of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) from 19 September 2009 until 15 March 2016, when he resigned as party leader following unsuccessful general elections when KDH took just 4.96 percent of the vote and, as a result, Christian Democrats did not win any seats in the parliament for the first time since they were established in 1990 and paid the price for not passing the baton to a new generation. Furthermore, Figeľ created a controversy with an electoral campaign focusing on anti immigration and nationalist rhetoric with a slogan about "white Slovakia". In May 2019, he ran for European Parliament elections but, receiving only 23792 preferential votes, he was not elected.  In autumn 2010, Slovak media raised controversy regarding Figeľ's generous EU perks making him a politician with best revenues in Slovakia. Furthermore, Slovak daily newspaper SME recalled that in 2001, when his party colleague Andrej Ďurkovský was Bratislava's Old City district Mayor, Figeľ obtained a social housing apartment in downtown Bratislava for almost nothing (156 sq meters for 1.813 €). Figeľ has defended this transaction as legal and justified by his service to the country as EU Chief Negotiator and his family needs. Nevertheless, these allegations pushed Figeľ to declare his intention to offer his apartment to a charity endowment. Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová said that if Figeľ had taken any different course of action it would have harmed the whole ruling coalition, since she could have not used the justification employed by her predecessor Robert Fico who dismissed scandals connected to his coalition partners by saying that they were their own business.

Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the European Union.

Following unsuccessful general elections in Slovakia in March 2016, Figeľ resigned as chairman of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), and was then appointed Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the European Union by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on May 6, 2016. The European Parliament supported and had called for this initiative in its Resolution of 4 February 2016. During his mandate, Figeľ reported to the European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans who was then responsible for the dialogue with churches and faith-based organisation (Art.17 TFEU). He served in this position as Special Adviser to the Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica. His mandate expired with the end of term of Juncker Commission on 30 November 2019. No such special envoy was appointed in the Von der Leyen Commission.  In January 2018, during his visit to Pakistan, Figeľ's claim that the Asia Bibi case is directly linked to the outcome of negotiations and renewal of an EU-Pakistan preferential tariffs agreement GSP+ raised controversy, as it was later demonstrated as a false claim. Even though Figeľ later deleted his views on the topic published in February 2018 on his personal blog, his claim, which was not aligned to the official position of the EU, raised many concerns among Pakistani Christian community. The British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) Chairman Wilson Chowdhry said during a seminar in the European Parliament on 11 April 2018 that "[the BPCA] is embarrassed that it ever believed Jan Figel, special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU, who told the Pakistani government that the outcome of Bibi's case is going to be directly linked to trade favors the EU bestows upon Pakistan.". Furthermore, Figeľ final report on his activities contained several inaccuracies and diplomatic mistakes  In 2020, several MEPs reiterated in a public letter to new Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen their concerns about the conduct of Figeľ as special envoy, in particularly his "association with religious-extremist organisations from the fringes of Christianity, which actively pursue an anti-choice agenda, targeting in particular LGBTI and women's rights around the world." The same MEPs said they had lodged a complaint with the European Ombudsman, to whom Figeľ's office had not provided information in due time. The MEPs noted that his role as Mimica's special adviser blurred the lines of accountability with the European Parliament. The MEPs also called for any future such special envoy to equally speak up for persecuted atheists and apostates.

Ján Figeľ (born 20 January 1960 in Čaklov) is a Slovak politician. Figeľ served as European Commissioner from 2004 to 2009, then as Slovak minister of Transports from 2010 to 2012. From 2016 to 2019 he was European Commission special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion outside the EU.

Ján Figeľ (* 20. ledna 1960 Vranov nad Topľou) je slovenský politik, který byl v letech 2004–2010 evropským komisařem pro výchovu a vzdělávání. Od roku 2009 do března 2016 zastával funkci předsedy Křesťanskodemokratického hnutí. V letech 2010–2012 působil ve funkci místopředsedy vlády a ministra dopravy, výstavby a regionálního rozvoje v kabinetu Ivety Radičové.