Early life and career.

Prosinečki was born in Schwenningen, West Germany, into a family of Yugoslav gastarbeiters of mixed ethnicity. His father Đuro was Croatian, hailing from the Gornji Čemehovec village near Kraljevec na Sutli, and his mother Emilija Đoković is Serbian, originally from the Ježevica village near Čačak.  Young Robert spent his childhood in Germany before moving back to SR Croatia with his family in 1979, at the age of ten. By that time he had already been playing in the Stuttgarter Kickers youth system. Once in Croatia, he continued in the youth setup of Dinamo Zagreb.

Club career.

Dinamo Zagreb.

After moving up the youth ranks for years, Prosinečki started getting occasional first team appearances during the 1986–87 league season under head coach Miroslav Blažević. On his league debut versus FK Željezničar, he managed to score a goal. By the end of the season, he recorded one more league appearance.  Wanting to secure his son's financial future, Prosinečki's father Đuro started pushing within the club hierarchy for a professional contract to be given to his 18-year-old son. However, coach Blažević sent him away, famously claiming that he would eat his coaching diploma if Prosinečki ever became a real football player.

Red Star Belgrade.

In the summer of 1987, Đuro Prosinečki took Robert over to Belgrade and got the professional contract they were after. Dragan Džajić, Red Star's then football director, remembers the transfer as follows:  Immediately upon arrival to his new club, Prosinečki became a first team regular and furthermore, much to Blažević's chagrin, also rapidly established himself as one of Yugoslavia's most gifted and talented players. Playing under head coach Vasović, the youngster earned a spot in Red Star's midfield alongside Dragan Stojković, Žarko Đurović, and Goran Milojević just a few weeks into the 1987–88 league season and never looked back. In October 1987, he was part of the Yugoslav youth squad which won the World Youth Championship in Chile, with Prosinečki winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. Playing in Chile meant that he was away from the club for the entire month of October, and he was already held in such high regard at Red Star, that the club brass attempted to bring him back from South America after the tournament's group stages, so that he could play in their 1987–88 UEFA Cup second round tie versus Club Brugge. The Yugoslav team players protested to FIFA, and João Havelange, the organisation's chairman at the time, intervened to keep Prosinečki in Chile.  During his four-year spell at the club, Prosinečki helped Red Star win three Yugoslav First League titles and one Yugoslav Cup, as well as participating in the club's greatest success in history by winning the 1991 European Cup.

Real Madrid.

Prosinečki joined the Spanish giants during summer of 1991 for a transfer fee of ₧ 450 Million (€15 million). Led by club president Ramón Mendoza and head coach Radomir Antić, the club had huge expectations from their expensive and highly rated signing. Real was coming off a difficult season, twice making a coaching change before barely managing a UEFA Cup spot by finishing third in La Liga under Antić, their third head coach that season.  However, pretty much immediately, twenty-two-year-old Prosinečki got sidelined with a string of muscular injuries. Administered by team doctors, he underwent a series of tests as well as a strict dietary regime in addition to getting forced into changing many lifestyle-related habits. Still, the first season turned out to be a complete write-off: he appeared in only three league matches with a notable shining moment — scoring a free-kick goal versus FC Barcelona in El Clásico on 19 October 1991.  Although injury-riddled as well, Prosinečki's second season at Real did provide a hint of a breakthrough with 29 league appearances and three goals, however, it was still far off the expectations indicated by his reputation and price tag.  His best season was incidentally his last, with six league goals.

Rest of his stay in Spain.

During the 1994 summer transfer window, Real brass decided that Prosinečki's physical fragility and injuries were too much to deal with and offloaded the twenty-five-year-old to Real Oviedo on a loan deal. Reuniting with Radomir Antić — the same head coach who brought him to Real three years earlier — Prosinečki played his best season yet in Spain, even winning a league match against his former club Real Madrid in May 1995. He stood out for his good performances as an organizer, he recovered his best level and he felt more satisfied with his physical and psychological state. He also started being a regular in the Croatian national team. In his statements to the press reflected " I'm enjoying my football" and reaffirmed his intention to leave Real Madrid without fulfilling the fifth year of contract he had left.  The arrival of his manager from Oviedo, Radomir Antić to Atlético Madrid motivated Atlético to reach an agreement with Real Madrid to whom Prosinečki was still contracted to. However, FC Barcelona interfered in the operation and presented Zoran Vekić, the Croatian's agent, with a better offer. While the interest of the Colchoneros was made public, the other bid was not leaked to the press. At the end, Prosinečki became a free agent, he rejected Atlético and signed on 20 July 1995 to FC Barcelona with a contract of €3 million for three seasons, plus two optional. Ramón Mendoza did not want his eternal rival to take the midfielder free, but the bad economic situation of Real Madrid precipitated his departure.  In Barcelona he suffered muscle injuries again that made him miss the first part of the season. By the time he recovered, coach Johan Cruyff did not trust him and relegated him to the substitution bench, so he only played 19 games in the 1995–96 season. The following season, manager Bobby Robson reduced Prosinečki to friendly matches. After this, Prosinečki wanted to leave. On 14 December 1996, he was bought by Sevilla for €1,67 million. He played for the club for the rest of the season and was always a first choice pick for the team.

Croatia Zagreb.

In 1997, he returned home to play for NK Croatia Zagreb (Dinamo's name at the time) for a fee of €2.5 million. His arrival was very well received by the fans and meant the return of the midfielder to the club where he began his professional career.  During his first season, he won the double with the team and reached the third round in the UEFA Cup, where Prosinečki's performances where a key factor to victory against MTK Hungária and Grasshoopper.  The next two seasons saw Prosinečki lead as captain one of the best generations of Dinamo Zagreb. Winning the league twice and playing in the UEFA Champions League also two seasons in a row. In their European campaign, Dinamo reached their best result in the competition. Prosinečki will be remembered by the fans most notably for his performances against Celtic and Manchester United.

Hrvatski Dragovoljac and Standard Liège.

On 14 July 2000, Prosinečki signed to NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac as a free agent. The club president, Stjepan Spajić said Prosinečki would sign a two-year contract with a clause that he could leave if a foreign club would make an offer to him.  In January 2001, he moved again to Standard Liège where he played until the end of the season finishing third in the Belgian First Division.

Portsmouth.

In summer of 2001, 32-year-old Prosinečki signed for Division 1 (second-tier of the English football league system) side Portsmouth F.C. on a one-year deal.  Prosinečki is still held as a folk hero at Portsmouth for his marvelous one man performances in the centre of the midfield. The team were saved from relegation through his goals and assists in the 2001–02 season, the highlight of which was scoring a hat-trick against Barnsley. At the end of the 2007–08 Premier League season, the readers of "The News" picked Prosinečki as part of an all-time best Portsmouth eleven. He was the only non-British player to be among the selection.  After speaking with Prosinečki, retired Croatia international, Niko Kranjčar made the decision to sign for Portsmouth in the summer of 2006.

Later career.

He then had one-year stint at Olimpija Ljubljana. With Olimpija Ljubljana Prosinečki won his last trophy the 2003 Slovenian Cup, he even scored a goal in the final. Prosinečki played one more professional season in his home country for NK Zagreb.  In spring 2005 he ended his career in low tier club NK Savski Marof.

Style of play.

Prosinečki, who was nicknamed Žuti ("the Yellow One") throughout his career due to his blonde hair, was considered one of the most creative and technically skilled footballers who emerged from Eastern Europe in the 1980s. His favourite position was that of a pure midfielder, although he often also played as a right winger or as an attacking midfielder, and delayed his relocation to the centre of the pitch in order to elaborate and organize the attacking plays of his teammates with his passing, as the number 10 role best utilized his excellent vision of the game. He used to retain possession due to his dribbling skills and would impose his pace on rivals with his passing and ability to exploit spaces. On a technical level, he stood out for his ability to pass short, dribble, and drive forward with the ball. He also had a strong shot that made him dangerous from set pieces.  His style was criticized at times by some Real Madrid fans, although he was often played out of position during his time in the Spanish capital. Vicente del Bosque, his last coach with the team, recovered him for the playmaker role and defined his performances in the following way:  He also mentioned that his favourite coach that trained him was Johan Cruyff and that he liked his coaching style.  His biggest weaknesses as a footballer were his proneness to muscle injuries (which saw him sidelined for almost the entire 1991–92 season), his poor defensive work-rate, his inconsistency, and his motivation. He also reproached himself for his addiction to tobacco.

Reputation.

Prosinečki was known for having a unique sports lifestyle, in May 1991 he came to declare that:.  During his time at Real Madrid, he had discussions with the board over his refusal to quit smoking and was criticized for his lifestyle with nighttime outings, something he denies.

International career.

Prosinečki has 49 caps for Croatia and has scored 10 goals for his country. He was also capped 15 times, scoring four goals, for Yugoslavia. In 1987, Prosinečki was named the tournament's best player as Yugoslavia won the World Youth Championship in Chile along with fellow Croatians Zvonimir Boban, Robert Jarni, Davor Šuker and Igor Štimac. He then played for Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Cup, and for Croatia at Euro 96 and the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. It was at the 1998 World Cup that Prosinečki and the Croatian squad managed a historic third-place finish, with Prosinečki scoring two goals throughout the tournament, including one in Croatia's 2–1 victory over Netherlands in the bronze-medal match; as a result, he is the only player in history to have scored World Cup finals goals for two different national teams. In 1990, he scored one goal for Yugoslavia in a group match against the United Arab Emirates and eight years later, he added two goals for Croatia by scoring in a group match against Jamaica and in the third place match against the Netherlands. He played in a total of nine World Cup matches, three for Yugoslavia in 1990 and six for Croatia in 1998 and 2002.

Managerial career.

Early career.

Prosinečki began his managerial career in 2004 as an assistant to Mile Petković at NK Zagreb.  In 2006, he was named the assistant to head coach Slaven Bilić at the Croatia national football team.

Red Star Belgrade.

In December 2010, during the mid-season winter break in the 2010–11 Serbian Superliga season, Prosinečki was announced as the new manager of Red Star Belgrade. Returning to the club of his biggest playing successes, the announcement made major headlines all over the Balkans and also generated plenty of buzz in the rest of Europe. The angle of Prosinečki being the first Croatian to coach in Serbia following the Yugoslav Wars also got a lot of attention. His annual salary was not officially disclosed, however, Serbian press speculated with figures from US$100,000 to $250,000 per year.  At the time of Prosinečki taking over, fifteen matches into the league season, the famous yet recently beleaguered Serbian club was in second place, five points behind league leaders FK Partizan. Red Star brass led by club president Vladan Lukić (Prosinečki's former teammate at Marakana) thus steered clear of stating league title as an explicit requirement for the club legend, still, it was understood that making an outside run at the title remained a priority. Prosinečki announced his intent to mold Red Star into an attacking team that utilizes short-passing game to break down opponents, picking Slobodan Marović and Žarko Đurović (also Red Star colleagues from playing days) to be his assistants. Immediately, however, the issue of Prosinečki's pro coaching licence came up when it was discovered that he may not yet meet criteria for one, which according to Serbian Superliga rules would preclude him from being physically present on the sidelines during official matches. The things were straightened out by the time league restarted and Prosinečki's bench debut, which was scheduled to take place versus FK Smederevo at Marakana on 26 February 2011.  His side finished in second place, six points off bitter rivals FK Partizan. The following season, the 2011/12 season, his side again finished in second place and again second to Partizan, this time the margin was doubled from six to twelve points. In August 2012 Prosinečki resigned as a manager of Red Star, even though he did win the 2011–12 Serbian Cup after beating FK Borac Čačak in the final 2–0, on 16 May 2012.

Kayserispor.

During next two months Prosinečki was linked to various teams, most notably Croatian sides HNK Rijeka and RNK Split, his former team Olimpija Ljubljana and even Slovenia national team. But on 15 October 2012 it was surprisingly announced that Prosinečki will replace Shota Arveladze as a manager of struggling Kayserispor in Turkish Super League. He became the new head coach of Kayserispor at the 8th week of the 2012–13 Süper Lig, and he gained 13 wins in 27 league matches and finished the league at 5th position.  The start of the 2013–14 season was not so successful for Prosinečki and his team. After achieving only one victory in 11 rounds, Kayserispor was at the bottom of the league table. In November 2013 Prosinečki resigned but his resignation was not accepted by the club board. A month and a half later, the club record had not improved. Kayserispor was 17th on the Süper Lig table and lost to Tokatspor in the Turkish Cup. In the last days of 2013 Prosinečki definitively resigned as manager of Kayserispor.

Azerbaijan.

On 1 December 2014, Prosinečki was named the new manager of the Azerbaijan national football team, replacing Berti Vogts with a two-year contract until UEFA Euro 2016. His contract fee was reported around 1.5 million dollars. After three years spent in Azerbaijan, it was announced that he did not extend his contract for two more years with the Azerbaijan Football Association and left the team shortly after. Prosinečki is considered one of the finest coaches of Azerbaijan national team along with Bert Vogts. Under his guidance Azerbaijan national team played well, having drawn against Croatia 0–0, undefeated against Norway, an away draw against Czech Republic, victory over Qatar 2–0, victory over Malta 2–0, biggest victory in Azerbaijan history 5–1 against San Marino. Despite this, he opted to leave Azerbaijan, having failed to guide Azerbaijan to qualify for any major competitions.

Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On 4 January 2018, Prosinečki was named as new manager of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team.  On 15 November 2018, after a goalless 0–0 draw against Austria in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, Bosnia and Herzegovina topped their group and got promoted to the League A of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League. With that draw, Prosinečki tied Safet Sušić's record with a 10-game unbeaten run in all official matches as Bosnia and Herzegovina national team manager. He secured play-offs for Euro 2020 by topping the group.  On 18 November, Prosinečki had a chance to make a new, 11-game unbeaten run record against Spain in a friendly match, but he did not, as Bosnia and Herzegovina lost 1–0 with a 78th-minute goal from Brais Méndez to secure Spain a win. Even though Bosnia and Herzegovina lost, throughout the whole match they were considered an equal opponent by some and some thought it showed what kind of change Prosinečki had made to the players and to their mentality and style of play.  His biggest win as the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team head coach came on 5 September 2019, in a 5–0 home win against Liechtenstein in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers.  On 8 September 2019, three days after the Liechtenstein victory, Prosinečki resigned from the position of Bosnia and Herzegovina national team head coach after a 2–4 away loss against Armenia, thus losing almost every direct chance of qualifying for the Euros. Two days later, on 10 September, Prosinečki decided to remain as the head coach. He stated that after talks with the Bosnia and Herzegovina FA board of directors, they eventually convinced him to withdraw the decision. His campaign during the qualifying had already been depressing, as Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered a shock 0–2 away loss to Finland, a poor 2–2 home draw with Greece and a 1–2 away defeat to Italy before the humiliating 2–4 loss away to Armenia.  Upon his first games following his decision to withdrawal the resignation as coach of the national team, Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to convincingly defeat Finland 4–1 at home soil to keep them on the race for the Euro spot. However, Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered another humiliation when the team fell 1–2 away to already eliminated Greece, that unofficially eliminated Bosnia and Herzegovina from qualifying directly. Prosinečki eventually upheld possibility that if Bosnia and Herzegovina couldn't qualify for the tournament via play-off, he would resign as the coach of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina team then suffered one of the worst ever defeats in Bosnian football history and also his coaching career, when the team lost 0–3 at home to Italy, confirming Bosnia and Herzegovina's play-off position.  Because of this shocking dismal performance despite, having topped their Nations League group earlier, and a relatively positive football strength, having been seeded in Pot 2 and expected to easily qualify for the tournament as one of two best teams, and the presence of star striker Edin Džeko, Prosinečki's tenure as the Bosnia and Herzegovina coach in the qualifying was heavily criticized to be the worst performance ever in Bosnian football history, only to be appeased by the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina had already secured the play-offs, making him one of four national team coaches that reached that phase of competition in Bosnian football history (Miroslav Blažević had reached the play-offs in 2009 for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; Safet Sušić had gotten to the play-offs for the UEFA Euro 2012 and qualified directly in 2014 for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Mehmed Baždarević for getting to the play-offs for UEFA Euro 2016). All other national team managers in history hadn't reached play-offs or qualified directly for any major tournament.  On November 27, it was announced that Prosinečki and the Bosnia and Herzegovina FA had reached mutual agreement and Prosinečki had left his role as Bosnia and Herzegovina national team head coach.

Return to Kayserispor.

On 29 December 2019, Prosinečki came back to Kayserispor, managing the club for a second time in his managerial career and managing a club for the first time in over six years.

Minifootball.

Prosinečki has also participated in Minifootball tournaments in. He won first place in 1989 with Termotehna Šela,1998 with team Moby Dick Segafredo and in 2002, 2003, 2004 with team Riva Grupa. In 1997 Moby Dick came in second place. In 2003 Prosinečki was awarded best player of the tournament.  Prosinečki even coached a team named Promotionplay in 2006 where they lost 5–0 in the final.  On 26 December 2017 Prosinečki played at a humanitarian tournament Četiri kafića (Four caffe's). Prosinečki got a standing ovation from the fans in Arena Gripe during his performances while playing.

Entrepreneurship.

In March 2007, several years following the end of his football playing career, Prosinečki decided to invest some of his earnings into launching a restaurant in Zagreb. Named Prosikito, after the nickname Spanish press gave him during his time in Spain, the restaurant is located in the Zagreb neighbourhood of Stara Peščenica and is run day-to-day by his younger brother Sven Daniel.  In late February 2016, in partnership with another retired footballer, Janko Janković, Prosinečki opened an 8-court indoor padel commercial facility called Padel.hr at the Zagreb Fair. Prosinečki and Janković became aware of padel — a simplified version of tennis with elements of squash — during their respective professional footballing stints in Spain and decided to try to monetize it back home where it is largely unknown. After struggling to attract patrons initially, the facility has reportedly recorded significant growth since with 7,000 registered players.

Controversy.

Relationship with Ćiro Blažević.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, parallel with Prosinečki's rise to football superstardom at Red Star Belgrade, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona as well as Yugoslav and Croatian national teams, the story of him being chased away from Dinamo Zagreb in 1987 by the famous coach Ćiro Blažević grew in Croatian and Yugoslav media and public. To this day it is often cited and referenced as an example of football mismanagement, poor judgment, and bad work with youth categories. Colourful Blažević, the villain of the piece, rarely talked on the record about the circumstances of Prosinečki's departure. However, in 2010, Blažević deflected responsibility for the flap by claiming he actually gave the youngster a four-year contract that was eventually, according to Blažević, annulled by Dinamo president Ante Pavlović on a technicality due to not being processed administratively by the subfederation responsible. On the same occasion, Blažević went on to accuse Prosinečki's father Đuro of not negotiating in good faith with Dinamo by saying "he already had his combination with Red Star". Asked about his famous quote about eating his diploma if Prosinečki ever became a player, Blažević responded that he only used it as a motivation tool.  Blažević and Prosinečki would reignite their simmering feud eleven years later during the 1998 World Cup where they were part of the Croatian national team that made it all the way to the semi-finals. In the semi-final match that Croatia lost 1–2 versus eventual winners France after going ahead 1–0, Blažević decided to leave 29-year-old Prosinečki on the bench (he eventually entered the contest in the 90th minute, coming on for Mario Stanić), which led to a lot of criticism.

Court case versus Dinamo.

In the summer of 1997, twenty-eight-year-old Prosinečki came back to Zagreb in order to play for the club where he had started his professional career eleven years earlier. Now called "Croatia Zagreb", the club was turned into a state project bankrolled by the Croatian government's highest echelons and personally supported by the country's president Franjo Tuđman. By 2000, Prosinečki left Croatia Zagreb, but in late 2001, decided to initiate a lawsuit against the club (whose name had been restored back to Dinamo in the meantime due to continuous fan protests) over DM1,550,000 (€750,000) in unpaid wages.  Years later in 2009, the court ruled against Prosinečki, asserting that the lawsuit against Dinamo had no merit since Prosinečki played for Croatia Zagreb, and not Dinamo Zagreb. Commenting on the verdict in late 2009, Prosinečki said he was cheated out of his money.

Honours.

Player.

Red Star Belgrade  Real Madrid  Dinamo Zagreb  Olimpija Ljubljana  Yugoslavia U20  Yugoslavia U21  Croatia  Individual

Manager.

Red Star Belgrade

Personal.

In June 1999, Prosinečki married his girlfriend Vlatka. The couple's first child, daughter Leonarda, was born in 1999 followed by another daughter, Roberta, in 2003.  Prosinečki smoked throughout his career playing professional football, which many of his former teammates talked about in form of anecdotes.

Robert Prosinečki (; born 12 January 1969) is a Croatian professional football manager and former football midfielder who is currently the manager of Süper Lig club Kayserispor. He is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

Robert Prosinečki [] (* 12. Januar 1969 in Schwenningen/Neckar, Deutschland) ist ein ehemaliger jugoslawischer und kroatischer Fußballspieler, Europapokalsieger und jetziger Trainer.


Gameplay.

"Planescape: Torment" is built on BioWare's Infinity Engine, which presents the player with a pre-rendered world in an isometric perspective in which player characters are controlled. The game's role-playing ruleset is based on that of "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" 2nd Edition. In "Planescape: Torment", the player takes the role of "The Nameless One", an immortal man with amnesia on a quest to learn why. Exploration around the painted scenery is accomplished by clicking on the ground to move, or on objects and characters to interact with them. Items and spells may be employed through hotkeys, "quick slots", or a radial menu. An alternative to armor is the use of magical tattoos, which can be applied to The Nameless One and certain other characters to enhance their abilities.  The game begins with character creation, where the player assigns attribute points, such as strength, intelligence, and charisma,

Synopsis.

Setting.

"Planescape: Torment" is set in the Planescape "multiverse", a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting which consists of various planes of existence, the creatures which live in them (such as devils, modrons, and deities), and the properties of the magic that infuses each plane. A large portion of "Planescape: Torment" takes place in Sigil, a large city located atop an infinitely tall spire at the center of

Characters.

"Planescape: Torment" protagonist is known as The Nameless One, a man cursed with immortality for thousands of years. Every time he dies, another person in the multiverse dies to fuel his resurrection. Upon rebirth, The Nameless One has little to no recollection of his past life, and often with completely different personality than before. When the game starts, The Nameless One wakes in a mortuary as a result of his latest death. He then sets out on a quest to discover how he died and why he is immortal, also hoping that the adventure will help him regain memories of his past incarnations.  During his quest, The Nameless One meets several characters who can join him as companions: Morte, Annah-of-the-Shadows, Dak'kon, Ignus, Nordom, Fall-From-Grace, and Vhailor. These playable characters can also interact with the

Plot.

The game begins when The Nameless One wakes up in a mortuary. He is immediately approached by a floating skull, called Morte, who offers advice on how to escape. Morte also reads the tattoos written on The Nameless One's back, which were inked there as reminders by a previous incarnation of himself, that contain instructions to find a man named Pharod. After a conversation with the ghost of his former lover, Deionarra, and passing by enslaved undead who work at the mortuary, The Nameless One leaves to explore the slums of Sigil. He finds Pharod, who is the chief of an underground village of scavengers, and is asked to retrieve a magical bronze sphere for him before he will give answers. After returning, Pharod does so, giving him further hints to help piece together his forgotten past. Later on,

Development.

In 1997, the game's designers produced a 47-page document that outlined the game's premise and vision statement, and was used to pitch the idea to management at Interplay. Initially, the game was to be called "Last Rites", and they described the game as "avant-garde" fantasy to distinguish it from high fantasy. The document also contained concept artwork for characters and areas of the game. It was one of three "Planescape" games being developed by Black Isle at the time, along with a PlayStation game by Colin McComb based on FromSoftware's "King's Field", and a PC game by Zeb Cook; the other two were canceled, and only "Last Rites" was released as "Torment". McComb, one of the designers of the overall "Planescape" setting, joined the "Torment" project after his game fell through. From the outset, "Planescape: Torment"s designers intended to challenge traditional role-playing game conventions: the game features no dragons, elves, goblins, or other common fantasy races; there are only three swords; the rats faced in the game can be quite challenging to defeat; and the undead sometimes prove more sympathetic than humans. The designers explained that most RPGs tend to have a "correct" approach to solving problems, which is almost always the morally good approach. They called this "predictable and stupid" and wished to make a game with greater moral flexibility, where a particular problem might have "two wrongs or two rights". The main quest is not about saving the world, but about understanding The Nameless One and his immortality. Death (of the protagonist or his companions) is often just a minor hindrance, and even necessary at times.  According to lead designer and writer Chris Avellone, "Planescape: Torment" was inspired by books, comics, and games, including "Archie Comics", "The Chronicles of Amber", "The Elementals," and "Shadowrun". The game's 1997 outline also makes references to "The Lord of the Rings" to describe some characters. While working on "Planescape: Torment", Avellone was simultaneously working on "Fallout 2". In an interview from 2007, he says that "Fallout 2" helped him rethink the possibilities of dialogue in "Planescape: Torment" (and in later games he was involved with, including "Neverwinter Nights 2"). Producer Guido Henkel commented on taking liberties with the "AD&D" rules by simplifying them: "I think we still take the "AD&D" rules very seriously and we follow those rules. We just take the liberty of removing some of the 'overhead'." The game's credits also cite "Final Fantasy VII" as an inspiration.  Avellone remarked that many of the ideas in the game "could only have been communicated through text, simply because no one would have the budget or resources to fully realise many of these fantasy works through TV or movies". Ultimately, Avellone has expressed some regret about the game's heavy focus on dialogue, as he feels this interfered with the overall game mechanics, particularly the combat

Adaptations.

A book by the same name was written by Ray and Valerie Vallese and released by Wizards of the Coast in 1999. The book's plot follows the game's only loosely; for example, in the game, the main character's lack

Reception.

"Planescape: Torment" received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. GameSpot's reviewer stated "It's clearly the best traditional computer role-playing game of the year", a comment which the website would later expand to "one of the greatest ever". Allen Rausch, writing for GameSpy's 2004 retrospective "A History of D&D Video Games", commented that Black Isle Studios "went "way" over the top for this one, crafting an utterly unique experience that has yet to be equaled by any RPG since". The gameplay was often compared to "Baldur's Gate", another Interplay game that used the same engine as "Planescape: Torment." Robert Mayer of Computer Games Magazine commented that it was "one dark and interesting game. There's lots of macabre humor, some rather deviant sexual references, and enough weirdness to send the devotees of Tolkienesque fantasy running for their copies of "The Hobbit"." Kieron Gillen of PC Gamer UK commented that ""Planescape: Torment" is attempting to be iconoclastic in the most stereotyped of genres. We're cheering it on."  The game's premise and writing were warmly received; a review in the "New York Times" noted "The game's level of detail and its emotional impact have prompted some players to cast about for literary peers." Reviewers were pleased with the ability to shape their character's journey as they wished. In 2005, GameSpot stated ""Planescape: Torment" has quite possibly the best implementation of role-playing an evil character ever to appear in a computer or video game to date". The heavily tattooed, egocentric, and potentially selfish Nameless One was welcomed as a change of pace from the conventional RPG hero, who was considered a predictable do-gooder. Reviewers also approved of the protagonist's ability to gain new powers by "remembering" past lives. The dark and diversified representation of the "D&D" setting of Planescape was lauded as a fresh departure from the traditional high fantasy of computer role-playing games. A review in "Next Generation" praised the game, saying that ""Torment" offers the best RPG gameplay anyone can find on store shelves, hands down." Uros Jojic of "Actiontrip" commented that ""Planescape: Torment" proves that it is possible to make an inventive, fun and refreshing game in this "sea of clones". Creating a computer edition of Planescape system is another triumph for Black Isle Studios." In a March 2000 article for "Game Studies", Diane Carr called the game's setting "a freak show, a long story, a zoo, and a cabinet of talkative curiosities" and described the creatures and monsters in the game as "grotesque rather than scary". Cindy Yans of Computer Games Magazine describes the setting as "a world where knowledge and thoughts wield more power than the sword. Belief has the ability to reshape worlds, kill and resurrect powers and change the laws of physics." Cindy Vanous of Computer Games Magazine notes that ""Planescape"'s bestiary features legions of the unknown, and its landscape is an ever-changing tapestry of the bizarre." "Planescape: Torment" is the first video game to be set in the Planescape universe.  The technical aspects of the game were also praised. Although by the time of its release in late 1999, "Planescape: Torment's" default 640x480 resolution was not considered particularly advanced, reviewers were pleased with the art design and color of the environments. The game's sound and music were described as "well above the norm" and "superb", and one reviewer stated that his only complaint about the music was that "there wasn't enough of it". Another reviewer said that "Planescape: Torment" had "just about the best sound" they had heard in a video game. GamePro stated, "... the characters talk with the talent of real professional voice actors during crucial bits of dialog". The game's graphics were moderately well received, with "incite PC Gaming" saying that "[the graphics] can be a little lackluster, although some of the spell effects certainly look very good", a statement echoed in "NextGen" which stated that "mind-blowing spell effects... will remind you of a two-dimensional "Final Fantasy" game."  The game's interface received positive remarks. The US edition of "PC Gamer" commented on the automap, which automatically marked important locations and allowed the user to add custom notes, and on the journal, which separated completed quests from unfinished quests. "PC Gamer" also praised the fine-tuning of the Infinity Engine, such as the use of a radial menu, which allowed the player to stay focused on the game instead of managing multiple screens and "messing with windows and buttons".  Criticism of the game was minimal and problems were generally described as minor, but included complaints about long load times on computers of the day, or the game slowing down during combat. Bugs were responsible for slowing down the game when a high level of graphical assets were on-screen at the same time, but it was reported that a fix was released that solved the problem. Allgame's Derek Williams considered the game's combat simplistic (with a comparison to "Diablo)", which made the game too easy. The most negative major review came from "Eurogamer", who gave the game seven out of ten (and later increased it to eight when the game was patched). Their reviewer expressed distaste at the immortality of the player character, saying that it made the lives of characters "cheap and meaningless", although other reviews welcomed this aspect, saying it was "implemented perfectly" and did not make the game easier. "Eurogamer" also disapproved of the amount of experience that was awarded for certain dialogues later in the game. However, other reviews cited this as one of the main things that elevated "Planescape: Torment" above the standard RPG format. Some reviewers also criticized the game's pathfinding AI as being "less than impressive".

Legacy.

The game was re-released on DVD in 2009, and for purchase on GOG.com on September 28, 2010. Following the announcement of "", Beamdog's Overhaul Games announced their intention to make overhauls of more games set in the "Dungeons & Dragons" universes, at first naming only "Planescape: Torment". They said that such a release would depend on the success of "Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition". In November 2012, "Penny Arcade Report" wrote that Brian Fargo, the head of inXile Entertainment, had acquired the rights to "Torment". In January 2013, Brian Fargo announced that the spiritual successor, titled "", was in production and would be set in the Numenera universe created by Monte Cook. The game's design was led by Colin McComb, who helped design both the "Planescape" setting and "Torment", and was released in February 2017.

"Enhanced Edition".

"Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition", an upgraded version of the game, was created by Beamdog and released on April 11, 2017. It was announced in March 2017 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux PCs, as well as for iOS and Android devices. It features similar improvements that Beamdog has done for the other enhanced editions. Avellone provided assistance by helping to curate the improvements to the game. Beamdog had access to the original source code and

Planescape: Torment is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment. Released for Microsoft Windows on December 12, 1999, the game takes place in locations from the multiverse of Planescape, a "Dungeons & Dragons" ("D&D") fantasy campaign setting. The game's engine is a modified version of the Infinity Engine, which was used for BioWare's "Baldur's Gate", a previous "D&D" game set in the Forgotten Realms.

Planescape: Torment ist ein Computer-Rollenspiel, das in der Advanced-Dungeons-&-Dragons-Spielwelt Planescape, auch einfach nur "die Ebenen" genannt, angesiedelt ist. Das Spiel wurde von den Black Isle Studios entwickelt und im Jahr 2000 von Interplay Entertainment veröffentlicht. Chris Avellone war als Game Designer tätig. Guido Henkel, der maßgeblich an der Entwicklung der Computerspieleserie "" beteiligt war, fungierte als Produzent. Henkel verließ Interplay und die Black Isle Studios im Streit mit der Geschäftsleitung von Interplay jedoch schon einige Monate vor der Veröffentlichung des Spiels.


History.

Way of the Five Pecks of Rice.

In 142 CE Zhang Daoling announced that Laozi had appeared to him and commanded him to rid the world of decadence and establish a new state consisting only of the ‘chosen people.’ Zhang became the first Celestial Master, and began to spread his newly founded movement throughout the province of Sichuan. The movement was initially called the "Way of the Five Pecks of Rice", because each person wishing to join was required to donate five pecks of rice. The movement spread rapidly, particularly under his son and grandson Zhang Lu. Their rebellion against the Han dynasty is known as the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion. After the success of the rebellion in 194, they founded the theocratic state of Zhang Han in the Hanzhong Valley of Sichuan, enjoying full independence.  正一 Zhengyi included in their religious liturgy, the Daoist writings of the Han, Laozi, the 3 caves and 7 parts. 方士 Fangshi originated in southern China. Sin was punished by ailments in the view of the Heavenly Masters. The Shangqing syncretized the Heavenly Masters with fangshi. Buddhism, Fangshi, and Heavenly Masters were synchronized in Lingbao.  The 180 precepts of the Celestial Masters were rules on morality. Stocking up riches was banned by Daoism.  A 173 AD Sichuan stele provides physical proof for the Celestial Masters existence at its oldest. China's southeastern area may have seen the spread of Celestial Masters in the Six Dynasties. At the start of their existence a large amount of religious text canon was already written by the Celestial Masters. Celestial Masters used an 精室 "essential chamber" for ceremonies. Specific attire was worn by Daoists. Celestial Master collectives had secretaries assigned to them on the basis of their population. Clerics of the Celestial Masters were referred to as 黃赤祭酒 "libationers of the yellow and red" in the era of the Six dynasties. There were stationery clerics and roving clerics. Distinctions between different social groups in civilization were recognized and utilized accordingly by the Celestial Masters. The Celestial Masters did not find monastic lifestyle attractive and rather passed down their teachings to their biological heirs. Children and widows were part of the Celestial Master groups. Tablets were clutched and prostrations were conducted by clerics. The Dadaojia Lingjie denounced the Yellow Turbans who were enemies of the Celestial Masters. A ritual master of the Celestial Masters may have been a 齋官 fast officer. Daoist Lingbao and Celestial Masters may have overlapped in customs with the Daoist Louguan ceremonies.  Building temples, effigies and fasting was practiced by Daoists to gain blessings.  寇謙之 Kou Qianzhi was the leader of the Celestial Masters north branch.  Celestial Masters north branch under Kou Qianzhi worshipped divinities described in the 魏書 Book of Wei. Yin Xi and the Elder Lord are abesnt from the Celestial Masters of Kou Qianzhi.  Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi were where the Celestial Masters northern branch operated, while Louguan and Guanzhong Daoism developed around Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi. Celestial Masters are not believed to be connected with stele founded in Shaanxi.  An anti-Buddhist plan was concocted by the Celestial Masters under Kou Qianzhi along with Cui Hao under the Taiwu Emperor. The Celestial Masters of the north urged the persecution of Buddhists under the Taiwu Emperor in the Northern Wei, attacking Buddhism and the Buddha as wicked, and as anti-stability and anti-family. Anti-Buddhism was the position of Kou Qianzhi. There was no ban on the Celestial Masters despite the non-fulfillment of Cui Hao and Kou Qianzhi's agenda in their anti-Buddhist campaign.  太上老君 Taishang Laojun was the Celestial Masters' main deity.  In the Southern dynasties 正一經 Zhengyi Jing was part of the religious canon of the Celestial Masters. In the Tang and Sui Daoists reconciled the Zhengyi jing with the religious texts of the Lingbao.  Celestial Masters and the nobility of northern China subdued the nobility of southern China during the Eastern Jin and Western Jin in Jiangnan in particular.  The Celestial Master canon was not found among the religious texts in the Lingbao caves.  The ceremonies of the Celestial Masters, Sanhuang, Lingbao, and Shangqing were categorized and grouped by Lu Xiujing.  In the Eastern Han the Celestial Masters spread to the northwest. Celestial Masters believed in communication with spirits.  Religious canon was divided into 七部 7 sections during the Southern dynasties by the Celestial Masters. Non specific designations were used for the divinities of the most sublime station by the Celestial Masters. 道門定制 Daomen dingzhi was a religious texts composed in the Song dynasty. Buddhism, Celestial Masters and fangshi all contributed to the religious canon of Lingbao. Celestial Master petitions to divinities were copied by the canon of the Lingbao and fangshi rites were also copied by them. Sichuan was the origin of the Celestial Masters. Different beliefs were hed by the different groups of Daoists. 天師治儀 Tianshi zhiyi.  In 215, Zhang Lu submitted to Cao Cao, the ruler of the Wei Kingdom, surrendering his state in exchange for gaining state religion status for Tianshi Daoism. Zhang was given a title and land, as were several other family members and generals. His daughter was married to Cao Cao’s son, Cao Yu. His followers were forced to resettle in other parts of China, with one group being sent to the Chang'an area, and another being sent to Luoyang. Zhang relocated to the Han court until the Han Dynasty changed to the Wei. He then used his own popularity as a religious leader to lend legitimacy to the Wei, proclaiming that the Wei court had inherited divine authority from the Tao church, as well as from Confucian laws.  The collapse of the Wei Kingdom in 260 CE, along with the fall of Northern China to the Huns in 317, further scattered adherents to the Celestial Master. The Celestial Masters later reemerged in the 4th and 5th centuries as two distinct offshoots, the Northern and Southern Celestial Masters.  Celestial Masters had prophecy rituals banned since what happens in the future it was supposed to be just known already by the member without rituals.  For the water, earth, and heaven officials, Celestial Masters wrote the 三官手書 sanguan shoushu.

The Southern Celestial Masters.

After the fall of Luoyang to non-Chinese invaders in 311, the remnants of the court fled to Jiankang (modern-day Nanjing) and established a new state known as the Eastern Jin dynasty. Among the court members who fled were members of the Celestial Masters. There is also evidence that after Zhang Lu’s submission to Cao Cao, numerous adherents fled south from Sichuan. These various followers of The Way of the Celestial Master coalesced to form a distinct form of Celestial Master Daoism known as the Southern Celestial Masters. The Southern Celestial Masters lasted as a distinct movement into the fifth century.

The Northern Celestial Masters.

Kou Qianzhi, who was raised in a Celestial Master family, received two visions of Laozi in 415 and in 423. In 424, he brought the work that resulted from these visions to the court of the Northern Wei dynasty. The rulers put his works into practice, and Kou became the Celestial Master of the Daoist theocracy of the Northern Wei. After Kou died in 448, the prime minister, Cui Hao, became power hungry and began to insult the Wei rulers. Unhappy with his insubordination, the rulers had Cui executed in 450, and ended the Daoist theocracy.

The Celestial Masters today.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the Zhengyi Dao School of Daoism claimed lineage to the Celestial Masters. They became one of the two leading schools of Daoism in China, along with Quanzhen Dao. Zhengyi Daoists became common in the Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Fujian provinces of China, as well as in Taiwan.  Zhang Yucai, the Celestial Master (38th) draw a handscroll of a dragon. Zhang Sicheng was the 39th and succeeded him.  Celestial Master teachings and Daoxue were mixed together by Yu Ji, whose teacher was 吳澄 Wu Cheng.  Daoism's biggest known conceptions are folk religion, the Celestial Masters and Quanzhen Daoism in the modern era since Wang Changyue launched a renaissance of the Quanzhen.  The Celestial Masters have survived into the 20th century. In 1949, after the communists gained power in the mainland, the 64th Celestial Master, Zhang Enpu, fled to Taiwan. After his death, a succession dispute arose between different branches of the family in Taiwan and mainland China.  In fact, the Way of the Celestial Masters have flourished during the reign of Communism. They regularly ordain priests at the Zhengyi Monastery at the Celestial Master’s Mansion in Mainland China.

Beliefs and practices.

Each of the three different eras of the Celestial Masters had distinct beliefs. However, because the Southern and Northern Celestial Masters both descended directly from the initial movement founded by Zhang Daoling, there are many beliefs that are shared. A number of texts exist that give insight into early Celestial Master practice, in particular the "Taiping Jing" and the "Xiang'er" commentary to the Laozi.  The foundation of Daoist belief is that there is an energy source known as qi that pervades all things. The human body also contains qi, but it only has a limited amount of qi. Qi could be lost from the body through things such as sweating and ejaculation. The Celestial Masters shared these foundational Daoist beliefs, but modified them slightly.  One such change was that illness was caused by sin. This was because sin caused qi to leave the body. In order to cure any illness, repentance was a crucial factor in ensuring that the loss of qi could be staunched. Repentance could be accomplished by spending time in a 'Chamber of Silence,' and reflecting on one's sins, or by beating one's breasts and kowtowing to heaven. Illness could also be cured in other ways as well, among them using medicinal herbs and by listening to ritual music. Eating very little was also of extreme importance, and an ideal diet would consist of no food at all, but only noncorporeal things such as air, which the person could absorb through meditation.  Sexual practices (known as heqi, or 'The Union of the Breaths') were not part of Celestial Master Daoism. While the School of the Naturalists (and offshoot schools) advocate not ejaculating during sex in order to 'nourish the brain,' the Celestial Masters frowned upon this, and simply advocated celibacy as a way to avoid losing qi. In addition, the Celestial Masters thought that the macrobiotic method of stealing a woman's qi to replenish the man's own qi was completely wrong, and should not be practiced.

Significance.

The Celestial Masters were the first group of organized Daoists. Before their foundation, Daoism did not exist as an organized religion. Being the first organized religious Daoists, the Celestial Masters are the ancestors of subsequent Daoist movements such as the Shangqing and Lingbao movements.

The Way of the Celestial Masters is a Chinese Daoist movement that was founded by Zhang Daoling in 142 CE. They rebelled against the Han Dynasty and won their independence in 194. At its height, the movement controlled a theocratic state in what is now Sichuan.

Der Himmelsmeister-Daoismus (, auch "Zhengyi" ) ist die erste Erscheinungsform des organisierten Daoismus, die bis in die heutige Zeit in China fortbesteht. Die "Himmelsmeister" sind eine religiöse daoistische Organisation, deren Ursprünge in der späteren Han-Zeit liegen. Die Bewegung der Himmelsmeister wurde durch Zhang Daoling gegründet.


Biography.

Born in Düren, Max von Schillings was brother to the photographer Carl Georg Schillings. He received his first musical training in violin, piano and theory at the same time as his formal education in Bonn. His teachers were Caspar Joseph Brambach and Otto von Königslow. Schillings later studied jurisprudence, philosophy, literature and art history at the University of Munich. On October 1, 1892, he married his cousin Caroline Josefa Peill in Römlinghoven. They were divorced in 1923, and on June 11, 1923, he married the opera singer Barbara Kemp in Berlin-Charlottenburg.  Max Schillings was given a professorship by the Royal Bavarian Ministry of the Interior ("Königliches Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Innern") on February 16, 1903. In October 1911, he was named an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy by the Philosophy Faculty at the University of Heidelberg. He was awarded the "Ehrenkreuz" (Ger. honorary cross) by the Order of the Württemberg Crown, the fifth highest rank awarded. With this honor, he was allowed to use the name Max von Schillings. In Düren, the street between Goethestraße and Aachener Straße was renamed "Schillingsstraße".  As early as the 1890s, he was given a position as an assistant at the Bayreuth Festival; later he was engaged as a conductor and music teacher in Munich. Between 1908 and 1918 he was the Intendant at the "Königlichen Hoftheater" (Royal Court Theatre) in Stuttgart, for which he received the honor mentioned above. From 1918 to 1925, he succeeded Richard Strauss as intendant of the State Opera in Berlin, whilst concurrently being the musical director of the summer-time "Zoppot Forest Opera". In the second half of this decade, he undertook concert tours which took him through Europe and to the USA.  Having returned to Germany, he took over the job of President of the Prussian Academy of the Arts in 1932, succeeding Max Liebermann. From March 1933 until his death, Schillings was also the artistic director of the Städtische Oper Berlin. He died in 1933 from a pulmonary embolism in Berlin. His ashes were entombed at Frankfurt-am-Main.  His composition work includes several operas, melodramas, choral works, chamber music pieces, violin and piano concertos, symphonic poems and works for stage (see list below). His most important work is undoubtedly his opera "Mona Lisa" (first performed on September 26, 1915 in Stuttgart), which became one of the most-performed operas in Germany until his death. He stands beside Engelbert Humperdinck and Richard Strauss as one of the composers who re-established the music form of melodrama at the start of the 20th century. Schillings was renowned as a music educator - one of his more famous students was Wilhelm Furtwängler. He was the dedicatee of "Sea Drift" by Frederick Delius.  Max von Schillings was an opponent of the Weimar Republic and a declared anti-Semite. The expulsion and exclusion of important Jewish and free-thinking artists from the Prussian Academy of the Arts began during his time as President - some artists affected were Käthe Kollwitz, Heinrich Mann, Ricarda Huch, Alfred Döblin, Thomas Mann, Max Liebermann, Alfons Paquet, Franz Werfel and Jakob Wassermann. He laid off Arnold Schoenberg from the teaching staff of the Academy, in contravention of Schoenberg's contract and in 1933, he ordered Franz Schreker, the leader of masterclasses in composition at the Academy, into early retirement.

Documents.

Letters by Max von Schillings held by the State Archives in Leipzig, company archives of the Music Publishing House C.F.Peters (Leipzig).

Max von Schillings (April 19, 1868 – July 24, 1933 in Berlin) was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925.

Max von Schillings (* 19. April 1868 in Düren im Rheinland; † 24. Juli 1933 in Berlin) war ein deutscher Komponist, Dirigent und Theaterintendant.


Examples of systems that require pivoting.

In the case of Gaussian elimination, the algorithm requires that pivot elements not be zero. Interchanging rows or columns in the case of a zero pivot element is necessary. The system below requires the interchange of rows 2 and 3 to perform elimination.  The system that results from pivoting is as follows and will allow the elimination algorithm and backwards substitution to output the solution to the system.  Furthermore, in Gaussian elimination it is generally desirable to choose a pivot element with large absolute value. This improves the numerical stability. The following system is dramatically affected by round-off error when Gaussian elimination and backwards substitution are performed.  This system has the exact solution of x = 10.00 and x = 1.000, but when the elimination algorithm and backwards substitution are performed using four-digit arithmetic, the small value of a causes small round-off errors to be propagated. The algorithm without pivoting yields the approximation of x ≈ 9873.3 and x ≈ 4. In this case it is desirable that we interchange the two rows so that a is in the pivot position  Considering this system, the elimination algorithm and backwards substitution using four-digit arithmetic yield the correct values x = 10.00 and x = 1.000.

Partial and complete pivoting.

In partial pivoting, the algorithm selects the entry with largest absolute value from the column of the matrix that is currently being considered as the pivot element. Partial pivoting is generally sufficient to adequately reduce round-off error. However, for certain systems and algorithms, complete pivoting (or maximal pivoting) may be required for acceptable accuracy. Complete pivoting interchanges both rows and columns in order to use the largest (by absolute value) element in the matrix as the pivot. Complete pivoting is usually not necessary to ensure numerical stability and, due to the additional cost of searching for the maximal element, the improvement in numerical stability that it provides is typically outweighed by its reduced efficiency for all but the smallest matrices. Hence, it is rarely used.

Scaled pivoting.

A variation of the partial pivoting strategy is scaled pivoting. In this approach, the algorithm selects as the pivot element the entry that is largest relative to the entries in its row. This strategy is desirable when entries' large differences in magnitude lead to the propagation of round-off error. Scaled pivoting should be used in a system like the one below where a row's entries vary greatly in magnitude. In the example below, it would be desirable to interchange the two rows because the current pivot element 30 is larger than 5.291 but it is relatively small compared with the other entries in its row. Without row interchange in this case, rounding errors will be propagated as in the previous example.

Pivot position.

A pivot position in a matrix, A, is a position in the matrix that corresponds to a row–leading 1 in the reduced row echelon form of A. Since the reduced row echelon form of A is unique, the pivot positions are uniquely determined and do not depend on whether or not row interchanges are performed in the reduction process. Also, the pivot of a row must appear to the right of the pivot in the above row in row echelon form.

The pivot or pivot element is the element of a matrix, or an array, which is selected first by an algorithm (e.g. Gaussian elimination, simplex algorithm, etc.), to do certain calculations. In the case of matrix algorithms, a pivot entry is usually required to be at least distinct from zero, and often distant from it; in this case finding this element is called pivoting. Pivoting may be followed by an interchange of rows or columns to bring the pivot to a fixed position and allow the algorithm to proceed successfully, and possibly to reduce round-off error. It is often used for verifying row echelon form.

Das Pivotelement (vom Französischen "pivot" ‚Dreh-/Angelpunkt‘; im Militärjargon bezeichnet Pivot den Flügelmann einer Formation bei einem Wendemanöver) ist dasjenige Element einer Zahlenmenge, das als Erstes von einem Algorithmus (z. B. gaußsche Eliminationsverfahren, Quicksort oder Basisaustauschverfahren) ausgewählt wird, um bestimmte Berechnungen durchzuführen.


Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup.

According to a study published in 2014, the Y-DNA of the Bunun people belongs mainly to haplogroup O1a2-M50 (34/56 = 60.7%) or haplogroup O2a1a-M88 (21/56 = 37.5%), with a single representative of haplogroup P*-M45(xQ-M242, R-M207) (1/56 = 1.8%). Haplogroup O-M88 is rare among other aboriginal peoples of Taiwan and its vicinity, being found more commonly among populations of southwestern China and the northern parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, such as Tai peoples and Vietnamese.

History.

Until the coming of the Christian missionaries in the beginning of the 20th century, the Bunun were known to be fierce warriors and headhunters. The Bunun were one of the "high-mountain peoples" (along with the Atayal and the Taroko) who traditionally lived in small family units in Taiwan's Central Mountain Range and were hostile to all outsiders, whether they be Chinese immigrants or surrounding aboriginal peoples. Whereas most other aborigines were quite sedentary and tended to live in lower areas, the Bunun, along with the Atayal and Taroko were constantly on the move in Taiwan's Central Mountain Range, looking for new hunting grounds and practicing slash-and-burn agriculture. Their staple foods were millet, yam, and game.  During the Japanese rule (1895–1945), the Bunun were among the last peoples to be "pacified" by the Japanese government in residence. After an initial period of fierce resistance, they were forced to move down from the mountains and concentrated into a number of lowland villages that were spread across the Island. As a result, the family unit became less important and life centred on individual village units. The Japanese government restricted hunting practices (mainly to control the use of firearms) and introduced wet rice cultivation. The Bunun Aboriginals under Chief (lāhè· āléi) engaged in guerilla warfare against the Japanese for twenty years. Raho Ari's revolt was sparked when the Japanese implemented a gun control policy in 1914 against the Aboriginals in which their rifles were impounded in police stations when hunting expeditions were over. The began at Dafen when a police platoon was slaughtered by Raho Ari's clan in 1915. A settlement holding 266 people called Tamaho was created by Raho Ari and his followers near the source of the Laonong River and attracted more Bunun rebels to their cause. Raho Ari and his followers captured bullets and guns and slew Japanese in repeated hit and run raids against Japanese police stations by infiltrating over the Japanese "guardline" of electrified fences and police stations as they pleased. Many Bunun were recruited as local policemen and during WWII, the Japanese army had Bunun regiments.  Throughout the 20th century, several waves of missionaries of various denominations spread across Taiwan. They were particularly successful with the aboriginal inhabitants of the island and after the last missionary wave in the 1940s, that originated in Japan, a majority of aborigines were converted to Christianity. Today, most Bunun either belong to the Catholic Church or to the local Presbyterian Church.  After the arrival of the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang in October 1945, difficult days began for the aboriginal population. The "one language, one culture" policy of the Nationalist government prohibited to use of any language other than Standard Mandarin, for official use as well as in daily life, and indigenous cultures were systematically discriminated against and encouraged to assimilate into mainstream culture. Bunun culture was eroded by the joint pressure of their new faith as well as the government's sinification policies. The situation improved only recently after two decades of democratic reforms.

Culture.

According to Bunun legend, in times long past, two suns shone down upon the earth and made it unbearably hot. A father and a son endured numerous hardships and finally shot down one of the suns, which then became the moon. In its wrath, the moon demanded that father and son would return to their own people to tell them that they henceforth had to obey three commandments or face annihilation. The first was that they had to constantly observe the waxing and waning of the moon and conduct all rituals and work according to its rhythm. The second commandment stated that all Bunun had to conduct rituals throughout their lives to honor the spirits of heaven and earth. The third commandment told them of forbidden behaviours, and forced them to become an orderly and peaceful people.  A variant of the story tells that long, long ago, a mother and father went out working in the field and took their newly born son with them. While working, they put the child in a basket at the side of the field, and for a whole day he lay in the unbearable heat of the two suns. When the parents returned in the late afternoon, they found that their son had completely dried up and turned into a black lizard. Stricken by grief, the father took his bow and shot down one of the suns.  This story illustrates the importance of the sky in traditional Bunun animist religion. The Bunun assumed that the world in which they lived were full of supernatural beings ("qanitu") that were often associated with particular places (trees, rocks, etc.). An important locus of supernatural power was the sky ("dihanin"/"diqanin"). All supernatural forces seem to have had a fairly abstract character and it is therefore not really clear whether the sky "was" a god or just a "place" in which all kinds of spirits lived.  It is certain, however, that the moon was considered to be one of the major spirits, and almost all activities in daily life had to be aligned with the lunar calendar. This could go very far, for instance, in a certain lunar month it was forbidden for women to wash themselves. The Bunun are the only aboriginal people in Taiwan that developed a primitive form of writing to record lunar cycles and their relationship to important events such as the harvest or the slaughter of pigs.  The prescriptions related to the lunar calendar are part of a larger system of prescriptions and taboos that used to govern all aspects of Bunun life. Many of these had a ritualistic character and all were part of an age-based pecking order where an absolute obedience to one's elders was demanded. For instance, in order to determine whether a man could go hunting, he had to wait till one of the elders had had a prophetic dream ("matibahi"). If the dream was good, he could go out hunting. A bad dream indicated that great mishap would befall the hunter if he would go in the woods, and the elders would forbid him to go. Most of these rules got into disuse after the coming of Christianity (which branded them as superstition), but present-day Bunun society has still retained a number of social rituals and still imposes a strong obligation on children to behave in a respectful and obedient way towards anyone that is older than themselves.  The "Pasibutbut" is a song of Bunun Sowing Festival, sung polyphonically in four-part harmony (Common 8 heterophonic voice, usually 5-12 heterophonic voices). The Taiwan composer analyzed the structure of this song. Japanese Musicologist Takatomo Kurosawa (黑澤隆朝) recorded with Bunun musicians in 1943.  The origin story of the Bunun people's tendency to live in mountainous areas was related by the wife of the American consul general in Yokohama in the following way:

Ear-shooting festival.

The ear-shooting festival is a male rite of passage ceremony in Bunun culture. The festival is usually held between March and April, and women are traditionally barred from attending. Before the festival, every adult male would journey to the mountains to hunt. Following a successful hunt, the men would return home and hang the carcasses from wooden frames so that the boys could shoot the dead animals. Those who could shoot a deer's ear were considered especially talented due to its small size. After this ritual, the participating boys were considered adults and could from then on join their brothers and fathers in the hunt.  With modern lifestyle changes in Bunun society, the ear-shooting festival has become more of a ritualized performance; though the marksmanship and hunting skills taught through the festival are no longer as relevant, the event is still considered beneficial as it teaches respect for elders and the community at large.

The Bunun (), also historically known as the Vonum, are a Taiwanese indigenous people and are best known for their sophisticated polyphonic vocal music. They speak the Bunun language. Unlike other aboriginal peoples in Taiwan, the Bunun are widely dispersed across the island's central mountain ranges. In the year 2000, the Bunun numbered 41,038. This was approximately 8% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the fourth-largest indigenous group. They have five distinct communities: the Takbunuaz, the Takituduh, the Takibaka, the Takivatan, and the Isbukun.

Die Bunun (chinesisch: 布農) sind ein indigenes Volk Taiwans. Der Name „Bunun“ bedeutet „Mensch“ und ist auch eine Benennung der Volksgruppe. Die Gesamtbevölkerung der Bunun beträgt 69.426 (Stand: Sept. 2016). Sie wohnen beiderseits des Taiwanischen Zentralgebirges in einer Höhe von etwa 1000 bis 2300 Metern.


Name.

The Abkhazians call their homeland (', '), popularly etymologised as "a land/country of the soul", yet literally meaning "a country of mortals (mortal beings)". It possibly first appeared in the seventh century in an Armenian text as "Psin(oun)", perhaps referring to the ancient Apsilians. Although the term ""Abkhazeti"" first appeared

History.

Early history.

Between 1000 and 550 BC, the Greeks established trade colonies along the Black Sea coast of present-day Abkhazia, in particular at Pitiunt and Dioscurias, which was to become the capital of modern-day Abkhazia. Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the great multitude of languages they spoke. Arrian, Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of the Abasgoi and Moschoi peoples somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea.  Between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient kingdom of Colchis. This kingdom was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Lazica.  The Roman

Within the Russian Empire.

In the beginning of the 19th century, while the Russians and Ottomans were vying for control of the region, the rulers of Abkhazia shifted back and forth across the religious divide. The first attempt to enter into relations with Russia was made by Keilash Bey in 1803, shortly after the incorporation of eastern Georgia into the expanding Tsarist empire (1801). However, the pro-Ottoman orientation prevailed for a short time after his assassination by his son Aslan-Bey on 2 May 1808. On 2 July 1810, the Russian Marines stormed Sukhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his rival

Within the Soviet Union.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the creation of an independent Georgia which included Abkhazia, in 1918. German support enabled the Georgians to repel the Bolshevik threat from Abkhazia in 1918. The 1921 constitution granted Abkhazia autonomy.  In 1921, the Bolshevik Red Army invaded Georgia and ended its short-lived independence. Abkhazia was made a Socialist Soviet Republic (SSR Abkhazia) with the ambiguous status of a "treaty republic" associated with the Georgian SSR. In 1931, Joseph Stalin made it an autonomous republic (Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or in short Abkhaz ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. Despite its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to strong direct rule from central Soviet authorities. Under the

Post-Soviet Georgia.

As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate at the end of the 1980s, ethnic tensions grew between the Abkhaz and Georgians over Georgia's moves towards independence. Many Abkhaz opposed this, fearing that an independent Georgia would lead to the elimination of their autonomy, and argued instead for the establishment of Abkhazia as a separate Soviet republic in its own right. With the onset of perestroika, the agenda of Abkhaz nationalists became more radical and exclusive. In 1988 they began to ask for the reinstatement of Abkhazia's former status of Union republic, as the

Abkhazian War.

In August 1992, the Georgian government accused Gamsakhurdia's supporters of kidnapping Georgia's Interior Minister and holding him captive in Abkhazia. The Georgian government dispatched 3,000 soldiers to the region, ostensibly to restore order. The Abkhaz were relatively unarmed at the time and the Georgian troops were able to march into Sukhumi with relatively little resistance and subsequently engaged in ethnically based pillage, looting, assault, and murder. The Abkhaz units were forced to retreat to Gudauta and Tkvarcheli.  The Abkhaz military defeat was met with a hostile response by the self-styled Confederation of Mountain

Ethnic cleansing of Georgians.

Before the 1992 War, Georgians made up nearly half of Abkhazia's population, while less than one-fifth of the population was Abkhaz. As the war progressed, confronted with hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians who were unwilling to leave their homes, the Abkhaz separatists implemented the process of ethnic cleansing in order to expel and eliminate the Georgian ethnic population in Abkhazia. The exact number of those killed during the ethnic cleansing is disputed, however, it ranges from 8,000 to 10,000 people, not including the civilians who were killed in 1998 during the separatist onslaught on Gali region. Roughly up to 250,000 ethnic Georgians were expelled from their homes. Slightly over 200,000 Georgians remain displaced in Georgia proper.  The campaign of ethnic cleansing also included Russians, Armenians, Greeks, moderate Abkhaz and other minor ethnic groups living in Abkhazia.

Post-war.

Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on 3 October 2004. Russia supported Raul Khadjimba, the prime minister backed by the ailing outgoing separatist President Vladislav Ardzinba. Posters of Russia's President Vladimir Putin together with Khadjimba, who, like Putin, had worked as a KGB official, were everywhere in Sukhumi. Deputies of Russia's parliament and Russian singers, led by Joseph Cobsohn, a State Duma deputy and a popular singer, came to Abkhazia, campaigning for Khadjimba.  However Raul Khadjimba lost the elections to Sergei Bagapsh. The tense situation in the republic led to the cancellation of the election results by the Supreme Court. After that, a deal was struck between former rivals to run jointly, with Bagapsh as a presidential candidate and Khadjimba as a vice presidential candidate. They received more than 90% of the votes in the new election.  In July 2006, Georgian forces launched a successful police operation against the rebelled administrator of the Georgian-populated Kodori Gorge, Emzar Kvitsiani. Kvitsiani had been appointed by the previous president of Georgia Edvard Shevardnadze and refused to recognise the authority of president Mikheil Saakashvili, who succeeded Shevardnadze after the Rose Revolution. Although Kvitsiani escaped capture by Georgian police, the Kodori Gorge was brought back under the control of the central government in Tbilisi.  Sporadic acts of violence continued throughout the postwar years. Despite the peacekeeping status of the Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia,

Status.

Abkhazia, Nagorno Karabakh, Transnistria, and South Ossetia are post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zones. These four states maintain friendly relations with each other and form the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations. Russia and Nicaragua officially recognised Abkhazia after the Russo-Georgian War. Venezuela recognised Abkhazia in September 2009. In December 2009, Nauru recognised Abkhazia, reportedly in return for $50 million in humanitarian aid from Russia. The unrecognised republic of Transnistria and the partially recognised republic of South Ossetia have recognised Abkhazia since 2006. Abkhazia is also a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).  A majority of sovereign states recognise Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia and support its territorial integrity according to the principles of international law, although Belarus has expressed sympathy toward the recognition of Abkhazia. Some have officially noted Abkhazia as under occupation by the Russian military. The United Nations has been urging both sides to settle the dispute through diplomatic dialogue and ratifying the final status of Abkhazia in the Georgian constitution. However, the Abkhaz "de facto" government considers Abkhazia a sovereign country even if it is recognised by few other countries. In early 2000, then-UN Special Representative of the Secretary General Dieter Boden and the Group of Friends of Georgia, consisting of the representatives of Russia, the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, drafted and informally presented a document to the parties outlining a possible distribution of competencies between the Abkhaz and Georgian authorities, based on core respect for Georgian territorial integrity. The Abkhaz side, however, has never accepted the paper as a basis for negotiations. Eventually, Russia also withdrew its approval of the document. In 2005 and 2008, the Georgian government offered Abkhazia a high degree of autonomy and possible federal structure within the borders and jurisdiction of Georgia.  On 18 October 2006, the People's Assembly of Abkhazia passed a resolution, calling upon Russia, international organisations and the rest of the international community to recognise Abkhaz independence on the basis that Abkhazia possesses all the properties of an independent state. The United Nations has reaffirmed "the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders" and outlined the basic principles of conflict resolution which call for immediate return of all displaced persons and for non-resumption of hostilities.  Georgia accuses the Abkhaz secessionists of having conducted a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing of up to 250,000 Georgians, a claim supported by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE; Budapest, Lisbon and Istanbul declaration). The UN Security Council has avoided the use of the term "ethnic cleansing" but has affirmed "the unacceptability of the demographic changes resulting from the conflict". On 15 May 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution recognising the right of all refugees (including victims of reported "ethnic cleansing") to return to Abkhazia and to retain or regain their property rights there. It "regretted" the attempts to alter pre-war demographic composition and called for the "rapid development of a timetable to ensure the prompt voluntary return of all refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes."  On 28 March 2008, the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili unveiled his government's new proposals to Abkhazia: the broadest possible autonomy within the framework of a Georgian state, a joint free economic zone, representation in the central authorities including the post of vice-president with the right to veto Abkhaz-related decisions. The Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh rejected these new initiatives as "propaganda", leading to Georgia's complaints that this scepticism was "triggered by Russia, rather than by real mood of the Abkhaz people." On 3 July 2008, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly passed a resolution at its annual session in Astana, expressing concern over Russia's recent moves in breakaway Abkhazia. The resolution calls on the Russian authorities to refrain from maintaining ties with the breakaway regions "in any manner that would constitute a challenge to the sovereignty of Georgia" and also urges Russia "to abide by OSCE standards and generally accepted international norms with respect to the threat or use of force to resolve conflicts in relations with other participating States."  On 9 July 2012, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly passed a resolution at its annual session in Monaco, underlining Georgia's territorial integrity and referring to breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia as "occupied territories". The resolution "urges the Government and the Parliament of the Russian Federation, as well as the de facto authorities of Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, Georgia, to allow the European Union Monitoring Mission unimpeded access to the occupied territories." It also says that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is "concerned about the humanitarian situation of the displaced persons both in Georgia and in the occupied territories of Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, Georgia, as well as the denial of the right of return to their places of living." The Assembly is the parliamentary dimension of the OSCE with 320 lawmakers from the organisation's 57 participating states, including Russia.

Geography and climate.

Abkhazia covers an area of about at the western end of Georgia. The Caucasus Mountains to the north and northeast divide Abkhazia and the Russian Federation. To the east and southeast, Abkhazia is bounded by the Georgian region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti; and on the south and southwest by the Black Sea.  Abkhazia is diverse geographically with lowlands stretching to the extremely mountainous north. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range runs along the region's northern border, with its spursthe Gagra, Bzyb and Kodori rangesdividing the area into a number of deep, well-watered valleys. The highest peaks of Abkhazia are in the northeast and east and several exceed above sea level. Abkhazia's landscape ranges from coastal forests and citrus plantations to permanent snows and glaciers in the north of the region. Although Abkhazia's complex topographic setting has spared most of the territory from significant human development, its cultivated fertile lands produce tea, tobacco, wine and fruits, a mainstay of the local agricultural sector.  Abkhazia is richly irrigated by small rivers originating in the Caucasus Mountains. Chief of these are: Kodori, Bzyb, Ghalidzga, and

Politics and government.

Abkhazia is a semi-presidential republic, and the second elected president of Abkhazia was Sergei Bagapsh. Bagapsh came to power following the deeply divisive October 2004 presidential election. The next election was held on 12 December 2009. Bagapsh was re-elected as president with 59.4% of the total vote. Alexander Ankvab, his vice president, was appointed acting president after the former president's death on 29 May 2011 until winning election in his own right later on 26 August 2011.  Legislative powers are vested in the People's Assembly, which consists of 35 elected members. The last parliamentary elections were held on 10/24 March 2012. Ethnicities other than Abkhaz (Armenians, Russians and Georgians) are claimed to be under-represented in the Assembly.  Most refugees from the 1992–1993 war (mainly ethnic Georgians) have not been able to return and have thus been excluded from the political process.  Abkhazian officials have stated that they have given the Russian Federation the responsibility of representing their interests abroad.  According to a 2010 study published by the University of Colorado Boulder, the vast majority of Abkhazia's population supports independence, while a smaller number is in favour of joining the Russian Federation. Support for a reunification with Georgia is very low. Even among ethnic Georgians, nearly 50% prefer Abkhazia to remain an independent state and less than 20% of them believe returning to Georgia is necessary, as most of them have adjusted to the current situation. Among ethnic Abkhaz, explicit support for reunification with Georgia is around 1%; a similar figure can be found among ethnic Russians and Armenians as well.

Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.

The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia is the government in exile that Georgia recognises as the legal government of Abkhazia. This pro-Georgian government maintained a foothold on Abkhazian territory, in the upper Kodori Valley from July 2006 until it was forced out by fighting in August 2008. This government is also partly responsible for the affairs of some 250,000 IDPs, forced to leave Abkhazia following the War in Abkhazia and ethnic cleansing that followed. The current Head of the Government is Vakhtang Kolbaia.  During the War in Abkhazia, the Government

Administrative divisions.

The Republic of Abkhazia is divided into seven raions named after their primary cities: Gagra, Gudauta, Sukhumi, Ochamchira, Gulripshi, Tkvarcheli and Gali. These districts remain mostly unchanged since the breakup of the Soviet Union, with the exception of the Tkvarcheli district,

Military.

The Abkhazian Armed Forces are the military of the Republic of Abkhazia. The basis of the Abkhazian armed forces was formed by the ethnically Abkhaz National Guard, which was established in early

Economy.

The economy of Abkhazia is heavily integrated with Russia and uses the Russian ruble as its currency. Abkhazia has experienced a modest economic upswing since the 2008 South Ossetia war and Russia's subsequent recognition of Abkhazia's independence. About half of Abkhazia's state budget is financed with aid money from Russia.  Tourism is a key industry and, according to Abkhazia's authorities, almost a million tourists (mainly from Russia) came to Abkhazia in 2007. Abkhazia also enjoys fertile lands and an abundance of agricultural products, including tea, tobacco, wine and fruits (especially tangerines and hazelnuts). Electricity is largely supplied by the Inguri hydroelectric power station located on the Inguri River between Abkhazia and Georgia (proper) and operated jointly by both parties. In the first half of 2012, the principal trading partners of Abkhazia were Russia (64%) and

Demographics.

According to the last census in 2011 Abkhazia has 240,705 inhabitants.  The exact size of Abkhazia's population was unclear. According to the census carried out in 2003 it measured 215,972 people, but this is contested by Georgian authorities. The Department of Statistics of Georgia estimated Abkhazia's population to be approximately 179,000 in 2003, and 178,000 in 2005 (the last year when such estimates were published in Georgia). "Encyclopædia Britannica" estimates the population in 2007 at 180,000 and the International Crisis Group estimates Abkhazia's total population in 2006 to be between 157,000 and 190,000 (or between 180,000 and 220,000 as estimated by UNDP in 1998).

Ethnicity.

The ethnic composition of Abkhazia has played a central role in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict and is equally contested. The demographics of Abkhazia were very strongly affected by the 1992–1993 War with Georgia, which saw the expulsion and flight of over half of the republic's population, measuring 525,061 in the 1989 census. The population of Abkhazia remains ethnically very diverse, even after the 1992–1993 War. At present the population of Abkhazia is mainly made up of ethnic Abkhaz (50.8% according to the 2011 census), Georgians (mostly Mingrelians), Hemshin Armenians, and Russians. Other ethnicities include Ukrainians, Belarusians, Greeks, Ossetians, Tatars, Turks, and Roma.  Greeks constituted a significant minority in the area in the early 1920s (50,000), and remained a major ethnic component until 1945 when they were deported to Central Asia. Under the Soviet Union, the

Diaspora.

Thousands of Abkhaz, known as "muhajirun", fled Abkhazia for the Ottoman Empire in the mid-19th century after resisting the Russian conquest

Religion.

Most inhabitants of Abkhazia are Christian (Eastern Orthodox (see also: Abkhazian Orthodox Church) and Armenian Apostolic) or Sunni Muslim. The Abkhaz Native Religion has undergone a strong revival in recent decades. There is a very small number of adherents of Judaism, Jehovah's Witnesses and new religious movements. The Jehovah's Witnesses organisation has officially been banned since 1995,

Language.

Article 6 of the Constitution of Abkhazia states: The official language of the Republic of Abkhazia shall be the Abkhazian language. The Russian language, equally with the Abkhazian language, shall be recognized as a language of State and other institutions. The State shall guarantee the right to freely use the mother language for all the ethnic groups residing in Abkhazia.  The languages spoken in Abkhazia are Abkhaz, Russian, Mingrelian, Svan, Armenian, and Greek. The Autonomous Republic passed a law in 2007 defining the Abkhaz language as the only state language of Abkhazia.

Nationality issues.

Adoption of Russian nationality.

After the breakup of the USSR, many Abkhazians kept their Soviet passports, even after a decade, and used them to eventually apply for Russian citizenship.  Before 2002, Russian law allowed residents of former Soviet Union to apply for citizenship if they had not become citizens of their newly independent states. The procedure was extremely complex. The new citizenship law of Russia adopted on 31 May 2002 introduced a simplified procedure of citizenship acquisition for former citizens of the Soviet Union regardless of their place of residence. In Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the application process was simplified even further, and people could apply even without leaving their homes. Russian nationalist non-governmental organisations with close ties to Russian officialdom simply took their papers to a nearby Russian city for processing.  Abkhazians began mass acquisition of Russian passports in 2002. It is reported that the public organisation the Congress of Russian Communities of Abkhazia started collecting Abkhazians' Soviet-era travel documents. It then sent them

Issue of ethnic Georgians.

In 2005, citing the need to integrate ethnic Georgian residents of eastern districts of Abkhazia, the then leadership of Abkhazia showed signs of a softening stance towards granting of citizenship to the residents of Gali, Ochamchire and Tkvarcheli districts.  According to the Abkhazian law on citizenship, ethnic Abkhazians, regardless of place of residence, can become Abkhaz citizens. Those who are not ethnic Abkhazians are eligible for citizenship if they lived in Abkhazia for at least five years prior to adoption of act of independence in October 1999. This provision aimed at creating a legal hurdle in obtaining Abkhaz passports for those ethnic Georgians who fled Abkhazia as a result of 1992–1993 armed conflict and who then returned to the Gali district. Abkhazian legislation forbids citizens of Abkhazia from holding dual citizenship with any other state apart from Russia.  Ethnic Georgians who have returned to the Gali district and want to obtain Abkhaz passports, according to Abkhazian law, should undergo lengthy procedures which also include a requirement to submit documented proof that they renounced their Georgian citizenship. President Bagapsh was inclined to regard Georgians in Gali as "Georgianised Abkhazians." According to Bagapsh, these were actually ethnic Abkhaz people who were "Georgianised" during the long process of the Georgianisation of Abkhazia that culminated during the rule of Joseph Stalin and Lavrenti Beria. So in his official speeches, Bagapsh often added the Gali Georgians to population estimates of the Abkhaz, disregarding the fact that they still thought of themselves as ethnic Georgians rather than

Culture.

The written Abkhaz literature appeared relatively recently, in the beginning of the 20th century. However, Abkhaz share the Nart sagas, a series of tales about mythical heroes, with other Caucasian peoples. The Abkhaz alphabet was created in the 19th century. The first newspaper in Abkhaz, called "Abkhazia" and edited by Dmitry Gulia, appeared in 1917.  Arguably the most famous Abkhaz writers are Fazil Iskander, who wrote mostly in Russian, and Bagrat Shinkuba, a poet.  Football remains the most popular sport in Abkhazia. Other popular sports include basketball, boxing and wrestling. The National Basketball Team of Abkhazia played its first game with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Basketball team on 27 May 2015, which Abkhaz team won by 76–59. Abkhaz basketball team "Apsny" also plays in the Russian Basketball League's Third-Tier in Krasnodar Krai.  Abkhazia has had its own amateur Abkhazian football league since 1994 though it has no international football union membership. In total, there are [nineteen Abkhazian Football Clubs across the two leagues. In 2016 it hosted and won the ConIFA World Football Cup.

Abkhazia ( or ) is a self-declared sovereign state that is recognized by most countries as an autonomous republic of Georgia. It lies in the South Caucasus on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus mountains in northwestern Georgia. It covers and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital is Sukhum.

Abchasien [] (; ; ) ist eine an das Schwarze Meer grenzende Region im Süden des Kaukasus. Die Einwohnerzahl betrug 2011 laut offizieller Schätzung 242.862, die Fläche umfasst 8.600 km2.


History.

In mid-1966, Beach Boys business manager Nick Grillo formed the Brother Records corporation, bringing in Van Dyke Parks's manager and Brian Wilson's friend David Anderle to run the organization from an office on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Motivated in no small part by the negative reaction of Capitol Records to some of Brian's ideas for "Smile", the company gave the band more control over recordings.  The shareholders were the 1966 members of the Beach Boys: Wilson brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis, their first cousin Mike Love, and their friends Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston, who traded his share in 1971. In 1983, shortly after the death of Dennis Wilson, his estate sold his share back to the corporation to repay loans. In 1998, following Carl Wilson's death, his share of the corporation passed to and is still controlled by his estate.  The label's first releases were the Beach Boys' "Heroes and Villains" single and "Smiley Smile" album in 1967. The label was almost immediately rendered dormant, only releasing the Brian Wilson/Mike Love single "Gettin' Hungry" before the band's albums and singles reverted to appearing on the Capitol label alone. In 1969 concurrent with their signing to Reprise Records, the Brother label was reactivated, beginning with the single "Add Some Music to Your Day" and the "Sunflower" album.  Other Beach Boys albums followed on the joint Brother/Reprise label during the 1970s, including "Holland" and "15 Big Ones." An album by The Flame, produced by Carl Wilson, was released in 1970 on the Brother label and distributed by Star-day King Records. By the late 1970s, Beach Boys records were issued on Brother and distributed by Caribou Records through CBS. As of 2007, the most recent CD re-release series of the Beach Boys' 1970s albums is on the joint Brother/Capitol Records label.  Since the 1980s, Brother Records' business manager is Elliott Lott, a former chauffeur for The Beach Boys.

Logo.

The logo for Brother Records is a rendition of Cyrus E. Dallin's 1908 life size bronze statue "Appeal to the Great Spirit" at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. When Carl Wilson was asked in 1975 why the group used this as their logo, he said the Indian was chosen because the Wilson brothers' grandfather believed that there was a spiritual Indian guide who watched over them from the "other side". The choice of the logo was Brian Wilson's.

Brother Records, Inc. (BRI) is a holding company established in 1967 that owns the intellectual property rights of the Beach Boys, including "The Beach Boys" trademark. Brother Records was also a record label founded by the Beach Boys' manager Nick Grillo in October 1966. For only a few months in 1967, it functioned as a vanity label with its output distributed by Capitol Records. From 1970 to 1978, the label was active again, this time with its distribution handled by Reprise Records.

Brother Records (Brother Records Incorporated, kurz: BRI) ist ein amerikanisches Plattenlabel. Es wurde 1966 von der US-Band „The Beach Boys“ gegründet. Den ersten Vorsitz dieses Plattenlabels übernahm 1966 David Anderle.