Geographic distribution.

The language is spoken by approximately 6 million people in the Balkans, primarily in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, due to old communities in Italy and the large Albanian diaspora, the worldwide total of speakers is much higher than in Southern Europe and numbers approximately 7.5 million.

Europe.

The Albanian language is the official language of Albania and Kosovo and co-official in North Macedonia. Albanian is a recognised minority language in Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Romania and in Serbia. Albanian is also spoken by a minority in Greece, specifically in the Thesprotia and Preveza regional units and in a few villages in Ioannina and Florina regional units in Greece. It is also

Americas.

There are large numbers of Albanian speakers in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Canada. Some of the first ethnic Albanians to arrive in the United States were Arbëreshë. Arbëreshe have a strong sense of identity and are unique in that they speak an archaic dialect of Tosk Albanian called Arbëreshë.  In North America (United States and Canada), there are

Asia and Oceania.

Approximately 1.3 million people of Albanian ancestry live in Turkey, and more than 500,000 recognizing their ancestry, language and culture. There are other estimates, however, that place the number of people in Turkey with Albanian ancestry and or background upward to 5 million. However, the vast majority of this population is assimilated and no longer possesses fluency in the Albanian language, though a vibrant

Dialects.

The Albanian language has two distinct dialects, Tosk which is spoken in the south, and Gheg spoken in the north. Standard Albanian is based on the Tosk dialect. The Shkumbin river is the rough dividing line between the two dialects.  Gheg is divided into four sub-dialects, in Northwest Gheg, Northeast Gheg, Central Gheg, and Southern Gheg. It is primarily spoken in northern Albania and throughout Montenegro, Kosovo and northwestern North Macedonia.

Orthography.

The Albanian language has been written using many different alphabets since the earliest records from the 14th century. The history of Albanian language orthography is closely related to the cultural orientation and knowledge of certain foreign languages among Albanian writers. The earliest written Albanian records come from the Gheg area in makeshift spellings based on Italian or Greek. Originally, the Tosk dialect was written in the Greek alphabet and the Gheg dialect was written in the Latin script. Both dialects had also been written in the Ottoman Turkish version of the Arabic script, Cyrillic, and some local alphabets (Elbasan, Vithkuqi, Todhri, Veso Bey, Jan Vellara and others, see original Albanian alphabets). More specifically, the writers from northern Albania and under the influence of the Catholic Church used Latin letters, those in southern Albania and under the influence of the Greek Orthodox church used Greek letters, while

Classification.

The Albanian language occupies an independent branch of the Indo-European language tree. In 1854, Albanian was demonstrated to be an Indo-European language by the philologist Franz Bopp. Albanian

History.

The first written mention of the Albanian language was on 14 July 1284 in Dubrovnik in modern Croatia when a crime witness named Matthew testified: "I heard a voice shouting on the mountainside in the Albanian language" (). The oldest document written in Albanian dates back to 1462, while the first audio recording in the language was made by Norbert Jokl on 4 April 1914 in Vienna.  During the five-century period of the Ottoman presence in Albania, the language was not officially recognized until 1909, when the Congress of Dibra decided that Albanian schools would finally be allowed.

Linguistic affinities.

Albanian is considered an isolate within the Indo-European language family; no other language has been conclusively linked to its branch. The only other languages that are sole surviving members of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian and Greek.  The Albanian language is part of the Indo-European language group and is considered to have evolved from one of the Paleo-Balkan languages of antiquity, although it is still uncertain which particular Paleo-Balkan language represents the ancestor of Albanian, or where in Southern Europe that population lived. In

Historical presence and location.

The place and the time where the Albanian language was formed is uncertain. American linguist Eric Hamp stated that during an unknown chronological period a pre-Albanian population (termed as "Albanoid" by Hamp) inhabited areas stretching from Poland to the southwestern Balkans. Further analysis has suggested that it was in a mountainous region rather than on a plain or seacoast: while the words for plants and animals characteristic of mountainous regions are entirely original, the names for fish and for agricultural activities (such as ploughing) are borrowed from other languages.  A deeper analysis of

Proto-IE features.

Although Albanian has several words that do not correspond to IE cognates, it has retained many proto-IE features: for example, the demonstrative pronoun *"ḱi-" is ancestral to Albanian

Albanian–PIE phonological correspondences.

Phonologically, Albanian is not so conservative. Like many IE stocks, it has merged the two series of voiced stops (e.g. both *"d" and *"dh" became "d"). In addition, voiced stops tend to disappear in between vowels. There is almost complete loss of final syllables and very widespread loss of other unstressed syllables (e.g. "mik" 'friend' from Lat. "amicus"). PIE *"o" appears as "a" (also as "e" if a high front vowel "i" follows), while *"ē" and *"ā" become "o", and PIE *"ō" appears as "e".  The palatals, velars, and labiovelars show distinct developments, with Albanian showing the three-way distinction also found in Luwian. Labiovelars are for the

Standard Albanian.

Since World War II, standard Albanian used in Albania has been based on the Tosk dialect. Kosovo and other areas where Albanian is official adopted the Tosk standard in 1969.

Elbasan-based standard.

Until the early 20th century, Albanian writing developed in three main literary traditions: Gheg, Tosk, and Arbëreshë. Throughout this time, an intermediate subdialect spoken around Elbasan served as "lingua franca" among the Albanians, but was less prevalent in writing. The Congress of Manastir of Albanian writers held in 1908 recommended the use of the Elbasan subdialect for literary purposes and as a basis of a unified national language. While technically classified as a southern Gheg variety, the Elbasan speech is closer to Tosk in phonology and practically a hybrid between other Gheg subdialects and literary Tosk.  Between 1916 and

Tosk standard.

At the end of World War II, however, the new communist regime radically imposed the use of the Tosk dialect in all facets of life in Albania: administration, education, and literature. Most Communist leaders were Tosks from the south. Standardization was directed by the Albanian Institute of Linguistics and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of Albania. Two dictionaries were published in 1954: an Albanian language dictionary and a Russian–Albanian dictionary. New orthography rules were eventually published in 1967 and 1973 "Drejtshkrimi i gjuhës shqipe" (Orthography of the Albanian Language).  Until 1968, Kosovo and other Albanian-speaking areas in the former Yugoslavia followed the 1917 standard based on the Elbasan dialect, though it was gradually infused with Gheg elements in an effort to develop a Kosovan language separate

Calls for reform.

Since the fall of the communist regime, Albanian orthography has stirred heated debate among scholars, writers, and public opinion in Albania and Kosovo, with hardliners opposed to any changes in the orthography, moderates supporting varying degrees of reform, and radicals calling for a return to the Elbasan dialect. Criticism of Standard Albanian has centred on the exclusion of the'me+' infinitive and the Gheg lexicon. Critics say that Standard Albanian disenfranchises and stigmatizes Gheg speakers, affecting the quality of writing and impairing effective public communication. Supporters of the Tosk standard view the 1972 Congress as a milestone achievement in Albanian history and dismiss calls for reform as efforts to "divide the nation" or "create two languages." Moderates, who are especially prevalent in Kosovo, generally stress the need for a unified Albanian language, but believe that the'me+' infinitive and Gheg words should be included. Proponents of the Elbasan dialect have been vocal, but have gathered little support

Education.

Albanian is the medium of instruction in most Albanian schools. The literacy rate in Albania for the total population, age 9 or older, is about 99%. Elementary

Phonology.

Standard Albanian has 7 vowels and 29 consonants. Like English, Albanian has dental fricatives (like the "th" in "thin") and (like the "th" in "this"), written as "th" and "dh," which are rare cross-linguistically.  Gheg uses long and nasal vowels, which are absent in Tosk, and the mid-central vowel "ë" is lost at the end of the word. The stress is fixed mainly on the last syllable. Gheg "n" ("femën": compare English "feminine") changes to "r" by rhotacism in Tosk ("femër").

Consonants.

Vowels.

Schwa.

Although the Indo-European schwa ("ə" or -"h"-) was preserved in Albanian, in some cases it was lost, possibly when a stressed syllable preceded it. Until the standardization of the modern Albanian alphabet, in which the schwa is spelled as "ë", as in the work of Gjon Buzuku in the 16th century, various vowels and gliding vowels were employed, including "ae" by Lekë Matrënga and "é" by Pjetër Bogdani in the late 16th and early 17th century. The schwa in Albanian has a great degree of variability from extreme back to extreme front articulation. Within the borders of Albania, the phoneme is pronounced about the same in both the Tosk and the Gheg dialect due to the influence of standard Albanian. However, in the Gheg dialects spoken in the neighbouring Albanian-speaking areas of Kosovo and North Macedonia, the phoneme is still pronounced as back and rounded.

Grammar.

Albanian has a canonical word order of SVO (subject–verb–object) like English and many other Indo-European languages. Albanian nouns are categorized by gender (masculine, feminine and neuter) and inflected for number (singular and plural) and case. There are five declensions and six cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, and vocative), although the vocative only occurs with a limited number of words, and the forms of the genitive and dative are identical (a genitive is produced when the prepositions "i/e/të/së" are used with the dative). Some dialects also retain a locative case, which is not present in standard Albanian. The cases apply to both definite and indefinite nouns, and there are numerous cases of syncretism.  The following shows the declension of "mal" (mountain), a masculine noun which takes "i" in the definite singular:  The following shows the declension of the masculine noun "zog" (bird), a masculine noun which takes "u" in the definite singular:  The following table shows the declension of the feminine noun "vajzë" (girl):  The definite article is placed after the noun as in many other Balkan languages, like in Romanian, Macedonian and Bulgarian.  Albanian has developed an analytical verbal structure in place of the earlier synthetic system, inherited from Proto-Indo-European. Its complex system of moods (six types) and tenses (three simple and five complex constructions) is distinctive among Balkan languages. There are two general types of conjugations.  Albanian verbs, like those of other Balkan languages, have an "admirative" mood ("mënyra habitore") that is used to indicate surprise on the part of the speaker or to imply that an event is known to the speaker by report and not by direct observation. In some contexts, this mood can be translated using English "apparently".  For more information on verb conjugation and on inflection of other parts of speech, see Albanian morphology.

Word order.

Albanian word order is relatively free. To say 'Agim ate all the oranges' in Albanian, one may use any of the

Negation.

Verbal negation in Albanian is mood-dependent, a trait shared with some fellow Indo-European languages such as Greek.  In indicative, conditional, or

Literary tradition.

Earliest undisputed texts.

The earliest known texts in Albanian:  Albanian scripts were produced earlier than the first attested document, “formula e pagëzimit”, but none yet have been discovered.

Disputed earlier texts.

In 1967 two scholars claimed to have found a brief text in Albanian inserted into the Bellifortis text, a book written in Latin dating to 1402–1405.  Dr. Robert Elsie, a

Ottoman period.

In 1635, Frang Bardhi (1606–1643) published in Rome his "Dictionarum latinum-epiroticum", the first known Latin-Albanian dictionary. Other

Lexicon.

Albanian is known within historical linguistics as a case of a language which, although surviving through many periods of foreign rule and multilingualism, saw a "disproportionately high" influx of loans from other languages augmenting and replacing much of its original vocabulary. Some scholars suggest that Albanian seems to have lost more than 90% of its original vocabulary in favour of Latin, Greek, Slavic, Italian and Turkish loanwords, but according to other scholars this percentage is definitely overstated. Of all the foreign influences in Albanian, the deepest reaching and most impactful was the absorption of loans from Latin in the Classical period and its Romance successors afterward, with over 60% of Albanian vocabulary consisting of Latin roots, causing Albanian to once have been mistakenly identified as a Romance language.  Major work in reconstructing Proto-Albanian has been done with the help of knowledge of the original forms of loans from Ancient Greek, Latin and Slavic, while Ancient Greek loanwords are scarce the Latin loanwords are of extreme importance in phonology. The presence of loanwords from more well-studied languages from time periods before Albanian was attested, reaching deep back into the Classical Era, has been of great use in phonological reconstructions for earlier ancient and medieval forms of Albanian. Some words in the core vocabulary of Albanian have no known etymology linking them to Proto-Indo-European or any known source language, and as of 2018 are thus tentatively attributed to an unknown, unattested, pre-Indo-European substrate language; some words among these include (heart) and (iron). Some among these putative pre-IE words are thought to be related to putative pre-IE substrate words in neighboring Indo-European languages, such as (flower), which has been tentatively linked to Latin and Greek.  Lexical distance of Albanian in a lexicostatistical analysis of the Ukrainian linguist Tyshchenko (the lower figure – the higher similarity): 49% Slovenian, 53% Romanian, 56% Greek, 82% French, 86% Macedonian, 86% Bulgarian.

Early linguistic influences.

The earliest loanwords attested in Albanian come from Doric Greek, whereas the strongest influence came from Latin. According to Matthew C. Curtis, the loanwords do not necessarily indicate the geographical location of the ancestor of Albanian language. However, according to other linguists, the borrowed words can help to get an idea about the place of origin and the evolution of the Albanian language. Some scholars argue that Albanian originated from an area located east of its present geographic spread due to the several common lexical items found between the Albanian and Romanian languages. However it does not necessarily define the genealogical history of Albanian language, and it does not exclude the possibility of Proto-Albanian presence in both Illyrian and Thracian territory.  The period during which Proto-Albanian and Latin interacted was protracted, lasting from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. Over this period, the lexical borrowings

Early Greek loans.

There are some 30 Ancient Greek loanwords in Albanian. Many of these reflect a dialect which voiced its aspirants,

Latin influence.

In total Latin roots comprise over 60% of the Albanian lexicon. They include many frequently used core vocabulary items, including "shumë" ("very", from Latin "summus"), "pak" ("few", Latin "paucus"), "ngushtë" ("narrow", Latin "angustus"), "pemë" ("tree", Latin "poma"), "vij" ("to come", Latin "venio"), "rërë" ("sand", Latin "arena"), "drejt" ("straight", Latin "directus"), "kafshë" ("beast", Latin "causa", meaning "thing"), and "larg" ("far away", Latin "largus").  Jernej Kopitar (1780–1844) was the first to note Latin's influence on Albanian and claimed "the Latin loanwords in the Albanian language had the pronunciation of the time of Emperor Augustus". Kopitar gave examples such as Albanian "qiqer" ‘chickpea’ from Latin "cicer", "qytet" ‘city, town’ from "civitas", "peshk" ‘fish’ from "piscis", and "shigjetë" ‘arrow’ from "sagitta". The hard pronunciations of Latin and are retained as palatal and velar stops in the Albanian loanwords. Gustav Meyer (1888) and Wilhelm Meyer-Lübke (1914) later corroborated this. Meyer noted the similarity between the Albanian verbs "shqipoj" "to speak clearly, enunciate" and "shqiptoj" "to pronounce, articulate" and the Latin word "excipio" (meaning "to welcome"). Therefore, he believed that the word "Shqiptar" "Albanian person" was derived from "shqipoj", which in turn was derived from the Latin word

Gothic loans.

Some Gothic loanwords were borrowed through Late Latin, while others came

Other loans.

It is assumed that Greek and Balkan Latin (the ancestor of Romanian and other Balkan Romance languages) exerted a great influence on Albanian. Examples of words borrowed from Latin: "qytet < civitas" (city), "qiell < caelum" (sky), "mik < amicus" (friend), "kape ditën < carpe diem" (seize the day).  After

Patterns in loaning.

Although Albanian is characterized by the absorption of many loans, even, in the case of Latin, reaching deep into the core vocabulary, certain semantic fields nevertheless remained more resistant. Terms pertaining to social organization are often preserved, though not those pertaining to political organization, while those pertaining to trade are all loaned or innovated.  Hydronyms present a complicated picture; the term for "sea" ("det") is native and an "Albano-Germanic" innovation referring to the concept of depth, but a large amount of maritime vocabulary is loaned. Words referring to large streams and their banks tend to be loans, but "lumë" ("river") is native, as is "rrymë" (the flow of water). Words for smaller streams and stagnant pools of water are more often native, but the word for "pond", "pellg" is in fact a semantically shifted descendant of

Notes.

Co-official language.

Albanian (;, or, ) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and the Albanian diaspora in the Americas, Europe and Oceania. With about 7.5 million speakers, it comprises an independent branch within the Indo-European languages and is not closely related to any other language.

阿尔巴尼亚语( 或 ),属印欧语系。使用者约五百万人,主要分布在阿尔巴尼亚、科索沃、马其顿以及希腊。其他东南欧国家如蒙特内格罗的阿尔巴尼亚族裔亦有使用。它有几种方言,之间有一些区别:Tosk,用于阿尔巴尼亚南部和中部以及在希腊西北部的阿尔巴尼亚少数群体中;Gheg(或Geg)使用于阿尔巴尼亚北部(包括首都地拉那)以及马其顿的阿尔巴尼亚人中。阿尔巴尼亚语可能主要来源于二千年前用于该地区的伊利里亚语,以及其他一些印欧语系的亚族中。


血腥星期日 (1905年)

Background.

After the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 by Tsar Alexander II of Russia, there emerged a new peasant working class in Russia's industrializing cities. Prior to emancipation, no working class could be established because serfs working in the cities to supplement their incomes retained their ties to the land and their masters. Although the working conditions in the cities were horrific, they were only employed for short periods of time and returned to their village when their work was complete or it was time to resume agricultural work.  The emancipation of the serfs resulted in the establishment of a permanent working class in urban areas, which created a strain on traditional Russian society. Peasants “were confronted by unfamiliar social relationships, a frustrating regime of factory discipline, and the distressing conditions of urban life.” This new group of peasant workers made up the majority of workers in urban areas. Generally unskilled, these peasants received low wages, were employed in unsafe working environments, and worked up to fifteen hours a day. Although some workers still had a paternalistic relationship with their employer, factory employers were more present and active than the noble landowners that previously had ownership of the serfs. Under serfdom, peasants had little, if any, contact with their landowner. In the new urban setting, however, factory employers often used their absolute authority in abusive and arbitrary manners. Their abuse of power, made evident by the long working hours, low wages, and lack of safety precautions, led to strikes in Russia.

Early strikes.

“The Russian term for strike, "stachka", was derived from an old colloquial term, "stakat’sia"- to conspire for a criminal act.” As such, Russian laws viewed strikes as criminal acts of conspiracy and potential catalysts for rebellion. The governmental response to strikes, however, supported the efforts of the workers and promoted strikes as an effective tool that could be used by the workers to help improve their working conditions. Tsarist authorities usually intervened with harsh punishment, especially for the leaders and spokesmen of the strike, but often the complaints of the strikers were reviewed and seen as justified and the employers were required to correct the abuses about which the strikers protested.  These corrections did not address a grossly unbalanced system that clearly favoured the employers. This caused the continuation of strikes and the first major industrial strike in Russia, which occurred in the year 1870 in St. Petersburg. This new phenomenon was a catalyst to many more strikes in Russia, which increased until they reached a peak between 1884 and 1885 when 4,000 workers went on strike at Morozov's cotton mill. This large strike prompted officials to consider regulations that would restrain the abuses of employers and ensure safety in the workplace. A new law was passed in 1886 that required employers to specify working conditions in their factories in writing. This included the treatment of the workers, the workers' hours, and the safety precautions that were taken by the employer. This new law also created factory inspectors who were charged with preserving industrial peace. Despite these changes, strike activity again reached high proportions during the 1890s, resulting in the restriction of the workday to eleven and a half hours in 1897.

Father Gapon.

A leading role in these events was played by a priest Father Georgy Gapon. Fr. Gapon was a charismatic speaker and effective organizer who took an interest in the working and lower classes of the Russian cities.  The "Assembly of the Russian Factory and Mill Workers of the City of St. Petersburg", otherwise known as “the Assembly”, had been headed by Fr. Gapon since 1903. The Assembly was patronized by the Department of the Police and the St. Petersburg Okhrana (secret police); during 1904 the membership of the association had grown rapidly, although more radical groups saw it as being a "police union" – under government influence. The Assembly's objectives were to defend workers' rights and to elevate their moral and religious status. In the words of Fr. Gapon, this organization served as:  The Assembly served as a type of union for the workers of St. Petersburg. Depicted as strictly conservative in its support of the autocracy, the Assembly was a means of preventing revolutionary influences and appeasing the workers by striving for better conditions, hours, and pay. The Assembly would act as one of the catalysts for what would later be known as Bloody Sunday.

Prelude.

Putilov incident.

In December 1904, four workers at the Putilov Ironworks in St Petersburg were fired because of their membership of the Assembly, although the plant manager asserted that they were fired for unrelated reasons. Virtually the entire workforce of the Putilov Ironworks went on strike when the plant manager refused to accede to their requests that the workers be rehired. Sympathy strikes in other parts of the city raised the number of strikers up to 150,000 workers in 382 factories. By, the city had no electricity and no newspapers whatsoever and all public areas were declared closed.

Petition and preparation for the March.

The decision to prepare and present a petition was made in the course of discussions during the evening of, at the headquarters of Father Gapon's movement—the "Gapon Hall" on the Shlisselburg Trakt in Saint Petersburg. The petition, as drafted in respectful terms by Gapon himself, made clear the problems and opinions of the workers and called for improved working conditions, fairer wages, and a reduction in the working day to eight hours. Other demands included an end to the Russo-Japanese War and the introduction of universal suffrage. The idea of a petition resonated with the traditionally minded working masses. From the 15th to the early 18th centuries individual or collective petitions were an established means of bringing grievances to the attention of the Tsar's administration. They could be submitted to the Petitions Prikaz (office) in Moscow, or directly to the Tsar or his courtiers when the tsar was making an appearance outside the palace.  The march on the Winter Palace was not a revolutionary or rebellious act. Political groups, such as the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, and the Social Revolutionaries disapproved of the procession due to its lack of political demands. Fr. Gapon even encouraged his followers to tear up leaflets that supported revolutionary aims. The majority of Russian workers retained their traditional conservative values of Orthodoxy, faith in the autocracy, and indifference to political life. The workers of St. Petersburg wished to receive fair treatment and better working conditions; they decided, therefore, to petition the tsar in hopes he would act on it. In their eyes, the tsar was their representative who would help them if he was made aware of their situation. God appointed the tsar, therefore the tsar had an obligation to protect the people and do what was best for them. Their petition was written in subservient terms and ended with a reminder to the tsar of his obligation to the people of Russia and their resolve to do what it took to ensure their pleas were met. It concluded: "And if Thou dost not so order and dost not respond to our pleas we will die here in this square before Thy palace". Gapon, who had an ambiguous relationship with the Tsarist authorities, sent a copy of the petition to the Minister of the Interior together with a notification of his intention to lead a procession of members of his workers' movement to the Winter Palace on the following Sunday.  Troops had been deployed around the Winter Palace and at other key points. Despite the urging of various members of the imperial family to stay in St. Petersburg, the Tsar left on Saturday for Tsarskoye Selo. A cabinet meeting, held without any particular sense of urgency that same evening, concluded that the police would publicize his absence and that the workers would accordingly probably abandon their plans for a march.

Events of Sunday 22 January.

Beginning of march.

In the pre-dawn winter darkness of the morning of Sunday,, striking workers and their families began to gather at six points in the industrial outskirts of St Petersburg. Holding religious icons and singing hymns and patriotic songs (particularly "God Save the Tsar!"), a crowd of "more than 3,000" proceeded without police interference towards the Winter Palace, the Tsar's official residence. The crowd, whose mood was quiet, did not know that the Tsar was not in residence. Insofar as there was firm planning, the intention was for the various columns of marchers to converge in front of the palace at about 2 pm. Estimates of the total numbers involved range wildly from police figures of 3,000 to organizers' claims of 50,000. Initially, it was intended that women, children and elderly workers should lead, to emphasize the united nature of the demonstration. Vera Karelina, who was one of Gapon's inner circle, had encouraged women to take part although she expected that there would be casualties. On reflection, younger men moved to the front to make up the leading ranks.

Government measures.

A report had been made to the Tsar at Tsarskoe Selo on Saturday night on the measures being taken to contain the marchers. Substantial military forces were deployed in and around the environs of the Winter Palace. These comprised units of the Imperial Guard, who provided the permanent garrison of Saint Peterburg and Cossacks, plus infantry regiments brought in by rail in the early morning of 9 January from Revel and Pskov. The troops, who now numbered about 10,000, had been ordered to halt the columns of marchers before they reached the palace square but the reaction of government forces was inconsistent and confused. Individual policemen saluted the religious banners and portraits of the Tsar carried by the crowd or joined the procession. Army officers variously told the marchers that they could proceed in smaller groups, called on them to disperse or ordered their troops to fire into the marchers without warning. When the crowds continued to press forward, Cossacks and regular cavalry made charges using their sabres or trampling the people.

Shootings.

The first instance of shooting occurred between 10 and 11 am. There was no single encounter directly before the Winter Palace, as often portrayed, but rather a series of separate collisions at the bridges or other entry points to the central city. The column led by Gapon was fired upon near the Narva Gate. Around forty people were killed or wounded there, although Gapon himself was not injured. As late as 2 pm large family groups were promenading on the Nevsky Prospekt as was customary on Sunday afternoons, mostly unaware of the extent of the violence elsewhere in the city. Amongst them were parties of workers still making their way to the Winter Palace as originally intended by Gapon. A detachment of the Preobrazhensky Guards previously stationed in the Palace Square where about 2,300 soldiers were being held in reserve, now made its way onto the Nevsky and formed two ranks opposite the Alexander Gardens. Following a single shouted warning a bugle sounded and four volleys were fired into the panicked crowd, many of whom had not been participants in the organized marches.

Casualties.

The total number killed in the day's clashes is uncertain. The Tsar's officials recorded 96 dead and 333 injured; anti-government sources claimed more than 4,000 dead; moderate estimates still average around 1,000 killed or wounded, both from shots and being trampled during the panic. Another source noted that the official estimate was 132 people killed. Leon Trotsky did not put forward a precise figure but claimed that hundreds were killed and that many of the dead were secretly buried by the authorities.  Nicholas II described the day as "painful and sad". As reports spread across the city, disorder and looting broke out. Gapon's Assembly was closed down that day, and Gapon quickly left Russia.

Reactions.

Although the Tsar was not at the Winter Palace and did not give the order for the troops to fire, he was widely blamed for the inefficiency and callousness with which the crisis had been handled. While it was unrealistic for the marchers to expect Nicholas to ride out into the Palace Square to meet them, his absence from the city, against at least some advice, reflects a lack of imagination and perception that he was to show on other occasions. The killing of people, many of whom had seen the Tsar as their "Little Father", resulted in a surge of bitterness towards Nicholas and his autocratic rule. A widely quoted reaction was "we no longer have a Tsar".  This event was seen by the British ambassador as inflaming revolutionary activities in Russia and contributing to the Revolution of 1905. Media commentary in Britain and the United States was overwhelmingly negative towards the actions of an already unpopular regime. The writer Leo Tolstoy was emotionally affected by the event, reflecting the revulsion of liberal, socialist and intellectual opinion within Russia itself.

Consequences.

The immediate consequence of Bloody Sunday was a strike movement that spread throughout the country. Strikes began to erupt outside of St. Petersburg in places such as Moscow, Riga, Warsaw, Vilna, Kovno, Tiflis, Baku, Batum, and the Baltic region. In all, about 414,000 people participated in the work stoppage during January 1905. Tsar Nicholas II attempted to appease the people with a Duma; however, the autocracy eventually resorted to brute force near the end of 1905 in order to curtail the burgeoning strike movement that continued to spread. Between October 1905 and April 1906, an estimated 15,000 peasants and workers were either hanged or shot; 20,000 were injured and 45,000 sent into exile.  Perhaps the most significant effect of Bloody Sunday was the drastic change in the attitude of the Russian peasants and workers. Previously the tsar had been seen as the champion of the people: in dire situations, the masses would appeal to the tsar, traditionally through a petition, and the tsar would respond to his people promising to set things right. The lower classes placed their faith in the tsar. Any problems that the lower classes faced were associated with the boyars of Russia; however, after Bloody Sunday the tsar was no longer distinguished from the bureaucrats and was held personally responsible for the tragedy that occurred. The social contract between the tsar and the people was broken, which delegitimized the position of the tsar and his divine right to rule. Although Bloody Sunday was not initiated as a revolutionary or rebellious movement, the repercussions of the government's reaction laid the foundations for revolution by bringing into question autocracy and the legitimacy of the tsar.

In culture.

Dmitri Shostakovich's 11th Symphony, subtitled "The Year 1905", is a programmatic work centered on Bloody Sunday. The second movement, entitled "The Ninth of January", is a forceful depiction of the massacre. The sixth of Shostakovich's "Ten Poems on Texts by Revolutionary Poets" is also called "The Ninth of January". Shostakovich's father and uncle were both present at the march that day, a year before the composer's birth. Maxim Gorky's novel "The Life of a Useless Man" (1908) portrays the effects of Bloody Sunday on the Russian working class and operations of the spies employed by the Tsar.

Bloody Sunday or Red Sunday () is the name given to the events of Sunday, in St Petersburg, Russia, when unarmed demonstrators, led by Father Georgy Gapon, were fired upon by soldiers of the Imperial Guard as they marched towards the Winter Palace to present a petition to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

1905年1月22日,在乔治·加邦神甫的领导下,三万多名俄国工人聚集在圣彼得堡冬宫广场上,向沙皇尼古拉二世呈递一份有关改革社会与政治制度的请愿书。他们首先要求选举民意代表,其次要求农业改革、减轻农民沉重的负担,以及实行宗教自由等。


鲍里斯·尼古拉耶维奇·叶利钦

Early life.

Childhood: 1931–1948.

Boris Yeltsin was born on 1 February 1931 in the village of Butka, Talitsky District, Sverdlovsk, then in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union. His family, who were ethnic Russians, had lived in this area of the Urals since at least the eighteenth century. His father, Nikolai Yeltsin, had married his mother, Klavdiya Vasil'evna Starygina, in 1928. Yeltsin always remained closer to his mother than his father; the latter beat both his wife and children

University and career in construction: 1949–1960.

In September 1949, Yeltsin was admitted to the Ural Polytechnic Institute in Sverdlovsk. He took the stream in industrial and civil engineering, which included courses in maths, physics, materials and soil science, and draftsmanship. He was also required to study Marxist-Leninist doctrine and choose a language course, for which he selected German, although never became adept at it. Tuition was free and he was provided a small stipend to live on, which he supplemented by unloading railway trucks for a small wage. Academically, he achieved high grades, although temporarily dropped out in 1952 when afflicted with tonsillitis and rheumatic fever. He devoted much time to athletics, and joined the UPI volleyball team. He avoided any involvement in political organisations while there. During

Early membership of the Communist Party: 1960–1975.

In March 1960, Yeltsin became a probationary member of the governing Communist Party and a full member in March 1961. In his later autobiography, he stated that his original reasons for joining were "sincere" and rooted in a genuine belief in the party's socialist ideals. In other interviews he instead stated that he joined because it was a necessity for career advancement. His career continued to progress during the early 1960s; in February 1962 he was promoted chief ("nachal'nik") of the construction directorate. In June 1963, Yeltsin was reassigned to the Sverdlovsk House-Building Combine as its head engineer, and in December 1965 became the combine's director. During this period he was largely involved in building residential housing, the expansion of which was a major priority for the government. He gained a reputation within the construction industry

First Secretary of the Sverdlovsk Oblast: 1976–1985.

In October 1976, Ryabov was promoted to a new position in Moscow. He recommended that Yeltsin replace him as the First Secretary of the Party Committee in Sverdlovsk Oblast. Leonid Brezhnev, who then lead the Soviet Union as General Secretary of the party's Central Committee, interviewed Yeltsin personally to determine his suitability and agreed with Ryabov's assessment. At the Central Committee's recommendation, the Sverdlovsk obkom then unanimously voted to appoint Yeltsin as its first secretary. This made him one of the youngest provincial first secretaries in the RSFR, and gave him significant power within the province.  Yeltsin sat on the civil-military collegium of the Urals Military District and attended its field exercises. In October 1978, the Ministry of Defence gave him the

Moscow.

On 11 March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the CPSU by the Politburo after the death of Konstantin Chernenko. Gorbachev's primary goal was to revive the Soviet economy; however, he came to believe that fixing the Soviet economy would be nearly impossible without reforming the political and social structure of the USSR. To begin implementation of these reforms, he immediately began gathering a younger and more energetic governing team of Communist Party members in Moscow. On 4 April 1985, Yeltsin received a call from Gorbachev's leading protege Yegor Ligachyov summoning him to Moscow to take up position

Resignation.

On 10 September 1987, after a lecture from hard-liner Yegor Ligachyov at the Politburo for allowing two small unsanctioned demonstrations on Moscow streets, Yeltsin wrote a letter of resignation to Gorbachev who was holidaying on the Black Sea. When Gorbachev received the letter he was stunned – nobody in Soviet history had voluntarily resigned from the ranks of the Politburo. Gorbachev phoned Yeltsin and asked him to reconsider.  On 27 October 1987 at the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Yeltsin, frustrated that Gorbachev had not addressed any of the issues outlined in his resignation letter, asked to speak. He expressed his discontent with the slow pace of reform in society, the servility shown to the general secretary, and opposition to him from Ligachyov making his position untenable, before requesting to resign from the Politburo, adding that the City Committee would decide whether he should resign from the post of First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party. Aside from the fact that no one had ever quit the Politburo before, no one in the party had ever addressed a leader of the party in such a manner in front of the Central Committee since Leon Trotsky in the 1920s. In his reply, Gorbachev accused Yeltsin of "political immaturity" and "absolute irresponsibility". Nobody in the Central Committee backed Yeltsin.  Within days, news of Yeltsin's actions leaked and rumours of his "secret speech" at the Central Committee spread throughout Moscow. Soon fabricated "samizdat" versions began to circulate – this was the beginning of Yeltsin's rise as a rebel and growth in popularity as an anti-establishment figure. Gorbachev called a meeting of the Moscow City Party Committee for 11 November 1987 to launch another crushing attack on Yeltsin and confirm his dismissal. On 9 November 1987, Yeltsin apparently tried to kill himself and was rushed to hospital bleeding profusely from self-inflicted cuts to his chest. Gorbachev ordered the injured Yeltsin from his hospital bed to the Moscow party plenum two days later where he was ritually denounced by the party faithful in what was reminiscent of a Stalinist show trial before he was fired from the

President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

On 4 March 1990, Yeltsin was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia representing Sverdlovsk with 72% of the vote. On 29 May 1990, he was elected chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), in spite of the fact that Gorbachev personally pleaded with the Russian deputies not to select Yeltsin. He was supported by both democratic and conservative members of the Supreme Soviet, which sought power in the developing political situation in the country.  A part of this power struggle was the opposition between power structures of the Soviet Union and the RSFSR. In an attempt to gain more power, on 12 June 1990, the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted a declaration of sovereignty. On 12 July 1990, Yeltsin resigned from the CPSU in a dramatic speech before party members at the 28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, some of whom responded by shouting "Shame!"

1991 presidential election.

On 12 June 1991, Yeltsin won 57% of the popular vote in the democratic presidential elections for the Russian republic, defeating Gorbachev's preferred candidate, Nikolai Ryzhkov, who got just 16% of the vote, and four other candidates. In his election campaign, Yeltsin criticized the "dictatorship of the center", but did not suggest the introduction of a market economy. Instead, he said that he would put his head on the railtrack in the event of increased prices. Yeltsin took office on 10 July, and reappointed Ivan Silayev as Chairman of the Council of Ministers – Government of

President of the Russian Federation.

Yeltsin's first term.

Radical reforms.

Just days after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin resolved to embark on a programme of radical economic reform. Unlike Gorbachev's reforms, which sought to expand democracy in the socialist system, the new regime aimed to completely dismantle socialism and fully implement capitalism, converting the world's largest command economy into a free-market one. During early discussions of this transition, Yeltsin's advisers debated issues of speed and sequencing, with an apparent division between those favouring a rapid approach and those favoring a gradual or slower approach.  On 2 January 1992, Yeltsin, acting as his own Prime Minister, ordered the liberalisation of foreign trade, prices, and currency. At the same time, Yeltsin followed a policy of "macroeconomic stabilisation", a harsh austerity regime designed to control inflation. Under Yeltsin's stabilisation programme, interest rates were raised to extremely high levels to tighten money and restrict credit. To bring state spending and revenues into

Confrontation with parliament.

Throughout 1992 Yeltsin wrestled with the Supreme Soviet of Russia and the Congress of People's Deputies for control over government, government policy, government banking and property. In the course of 1992, the speaker of the Russian Supreme Soviet, Ruslan Khasbulatov, came out in opposition to the reforms, despite claiming to support Yeltsin's overall goals. In December 1992, the 7th Congress of People's Deputies succeeded in turning down the Yeltsin-backed candidacy of Yegor Gaidar for the position of Russian Prime Minister. An agreement was brokered by Valery Zorkin, chairman of the Constitutional Court, which included the following provisions: a national

Chechnya.

In December 1994, Yeltsin ordered the military invasion of Chechnya in an attempt to restore Moscow's control over the republic. Nearly two years later, Yeltsin withdrew federal forces from the devastated Chechnya under a 1996 peace agreement brokered by Alexander Lebed, Yeltsin's then-security chief. The peace deal allowed Chechnya greater autonomy but not full independence. The decision to launch the war

Norwegian rocket incident.

In 1995, a Black Brant sounding rocket launched from the Andøya Space Center caused a high alert in Russia, known as the Norwegian rocket incident. The Russians thought it might be a nuclear missile launched from an American submarine. The incident occurred in the post-Cold War era, where many Russians were still very suspicious of the United States and NATO. This event resulted in a full

Privatization and the rise of "the oligarchs".

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin promoted privatisation as a way of spreading ownership of shares in former state enterprises as widely as possible to create political support for his economic reforms. In the West, privatisation was viewed as the key to the transition from Communism in Eastern Europe, ensuring a quick dismantling of the Soviet-era command economy to make way for "free market reforms". In the early-1990s, Anatoly Chubais, Yeltsin's deputy for economic policy, emerged as a leading advocate of privatisation in Russia.  In late 1992, Yeltsin launched a programme of free vouchers as a way to give mass privatisation a jump-start. Under the programme, all Russian citizens were issued vouchers, each with a nominal value of around 10,000 roubles, for the purchase of shares of select state enterprises. Although each citizen initially received a voucher of equal face value, within months the majority of them converged

Korean Air Lines Flight 007.

On 5 December 1991, Senator Jesse Helms, ranking member of the Minority on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, wrote to Yeltsin concerning U.S. servicemen who were POWs or MIAs: "The status of thousands and thousands of American servicemen who are held by Soviet and other Communist forces, and who were never repatriated after every major war this century, is of grave concern to the American people."  Yeltsin would ultimately respond with a statement made on 15 June 1992, whilst being interviewed onboard his presidential jet en route to the United States, "Our archives have shown that it is true — some of them were transferred to the territory of the USSR and were kept in labour camps... We can only surmise that some of them may still be alive." On 10 December 1991, just five days after Senator Helms had written to Yeltsin regarding American servicemen, he again wrote to Yeltsin, this time concerning Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KAL 007) requesting information concerning possible survivors, including Georgia Congressman Larry McDonald, and their whereabouts.  One of the greatest

1996 presidential election.

In February 1996, Yeltsin announced that he would seek a second term in the 1996 Russian presidential election in the summer. The announcement followed weeks of speculation that Yeltsin was at the end of his political career because of his health problems and growing unpopularity in Russia. At the time, Yeltsin was recuperating from a series of heart attacks. Domestic and international observers also noted his occasionally erratic behaviour. When campaigning began in early 1996, Yeltsin's popularity was close to being non-existent. Meanwhile, the opposition Communist Party had already gained ground in parliamentary voting on 17 December 1995, and its candidate, Gennady Zyuganov, had a strong grassroots organisation, especially in the rural areas and small towns, and appealed effectively to memories of the old days of Soviet prestige on the international stage and the domestic order under state socialism.  Panic struck the Yeltsin team when opinion polls suggested that the ailing president could not win; some members of his entourage urged him to cancel the presidential elections and effectively rule as a dictator from then on. Instead, Yeltsin changed his campaign team, assigning a key role to his daughter, Tatyana Dyachenko, and appointing Chubais as campaign manager. Chubais, acting

Yeltsin's second term.

Yeltsin underwent emergency quintuple heart bypass surgery in November 1996, and remained in the hospital for months. During his presidency, Russia received US$40,000,000,000 in funds from the International Monetary Fund and other international lending organisations. However, his opponents allege that most of these funds were stolen by people from Yeltsin's circle and placed into foreign banks.  In 1998, a political and economic crisis emerged when Yeltsin's government defaulted on its debts, causing financial markets to panic and the rouble to collapse in the 1998 Russian financial crisis. During the 1999 Kosovo war, Yeltsin strongly opposed the NATO military campaign against Yugoslavia, and warned of possible Russian intervention if NATO deployed ground troops to Kosovo. In televised comments he stated: "I told NATO, the Americans, the Germans: Don't push us towards military action. Otherwise there will be a European war

Attempted 1999 impeachment.

On 15 May 1999, Yeltsin survived another attempt of impeachment, this time by the democratic and communist opposition in the State Duma. He was charged with several unconstitutional activities, including the

Mabetex corruption.

With Pavel Borodin as the Kremlin property manager, Swiss construction firm Mabetex was awarded many important Russian government contracts. They were awarded the contracts to reconstruct, renovate and refurbish the former Russian Federation Parliament, the Russian Opera House, State Duma and the Moscow Kremlin.  In 1998, Prosecutor General of Russia Yuri Skuratov opened a bribery investigation against Mabetex, accusing CEO Mr.

Resignation.

On 31 December 1999, Yeltsin issued a televised resignation speech. In it, he praised the advances in cultural, political, and economic freedom that his administration had overseen although apologised to Russia's people for "not making many of your and my dreams come true. What seemed simple to do proved to be excruciatingly difficult."  By some estimates, his approval ratings when leaving office were as low as 2%. Polling also suggests that a majority of the Russian population were pleased by Yeltsin's resignation.

Illness and suspected alcoholism.

Yeltsin suffered from heart disease during his first term as President of the Russian Federation, probably continuing for the rest of his life. He is known to have suffered heart problems in March 1990, just after being elected as a member of parliament. It was common knowledge that in early 1996 he was recuperating from a series of heart attacks and, soon after, he spent months in hospital recovering from a quintuple bypass operation (see above). His death in 2007 was recorded as due to congestive heart failure.  According to numerous reports, Yeltsin was alcohol dependent. The subject made headlines abroad during Yeltsin's visit to the U.S. in 1989 for a series of lectures on social and political life in the Soviet Union. A report in the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica", reprinted by "Pravda", reported that Yeltsin often appeared drunk in public. His alleged alcoholism was also the subject of media discussion following his meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott following Clinton's inauguration in 1993 and an incident during a flight stop-over at Shannon Airport, Ireland, in September 1994 when the waiting Irish prime minister Albert Reynolds was told that Yeltsin was unwell and would not be leaving the aircraft. Reynolds tried to make excuses for him in an effort to offset his own humiliation in vainly waiting outside the plane to meet him. Speaking to the media in March 2010, Yeltsin's daughter Tatyana Yumasheva claimed that her father had suffered a heart attack on the flight from the United States to Moscow and was therefore

Life after resignation.

Yeltsin maintained a low profile after his resignation, making almost no public statements or appearances. He criticized his successor in December 2000 for supporting the reintroduction of the Soviet-era national anthem. In January 2001 he was hospitalized for six weeks with pneumonia resulting from a viral infection. On 13 September 2004, following the Beslan school hostage crisis and nearly concurrent terrorist attacks in

Death and funeral.

Boris Yeltsin died of congestive heart failure on 23 April 2007, aged 76. According to experts quoted by "Komsomolskaya Pravda", the onset of Yeltsin's condition began during his visit to Jordan between 25 March and 2 April. He was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery on 25 April 2007, following a period during which his body had lain in repose in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.  Yeltsin was the first Russian head of state in 113 years to be buried in a church ceremony, after Emperor Alexander III. He was survived by his wife, Naina Iosifovna Yeltsina, whom he married in 1956, and their two daughters Yelena and Tatyana, born in 1957 and 1959, respectively.  President Putin declared the day of his funeral a national day of mourning, with the nation's flags flown at half mast and all entertainment programs suspended for the day. Putin said, upon declaring 25 April 2007 a day of national mourning, that:  [Yeltsin's] presidency has inscribed him

Ideology.

In the late 1980s, Yeltsin told the Athens daily newspaper "Kathimerini" that "I regard myself as a social democrat", adding that "Those who still believe in communism are moving in the sphere of fantasy".  Linking Yeltsin with "liberal Russian nationalism", Alfred B. Evans described Yeltsin as having "exerted a crucial influence on the development of Russian nationalism." Yeltsin helped to channel the aspirations of Russian nationalism in ways that did not lead to clashes with the nationalisms of other national groups within the Soviet Union. As head

Personal life.

Colton described Yeltsin as a man who "teemed with inner complexities", who exhibited both a "mathematical cast of mind" and a "taste for adventure". Colton noted that Yeltsin had "the intuition for grasping a situation holistically". Colton thought Yeltsin could be bullheaded, and restless. Evans noted that in Yeltsin's autobiography, the leader appeared to view himself as much as a Soviet person as a Russian. As a child, he sustained both a broken nose and a maimed hand, physical attributes he remained self-conscious about; in public he would often conceal his left hand under the table or behind his tie. Although his mother was a devout

Reception and legacy.

Colton suggested that "Yeltsin leaves nobody indifferent. He needs to be understood if we are to understand the age we inhabit". Aron characterised him as "Russia's first modern leader". Colton understood him as "a hero in history", albeit one who was "enigmatic and flawed". He expressed the view that Yeltsin was part of "the global trend away from authoritarianism and statism" that occurred in the 1990s, comparing him to Nelson Mandela, Lech Wałęsa, Václav Havel and Mikhail Gorbachev.  In the years following his presidency, there was comparative little interest among biographers and historians in researching Yeltsin's life.  In April 2008, a new memorial to Yeltsin was dedicated in Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery, to mixed reactions. At the memorial service, a military chorus performed Russia's national anthem – an anthem that was changed shortly after the end of Yeltsin's term, to follow the music of the old Soviet anthem, with lyrics reflecting Russia's new status.  In 2013, a memorial sculpture in relief, dedicated to Boris Yeltsin, was erected on Nunne street, at the base of the Patkuli stairs in Tallinn, for his contribution to the peaceful independence of Estonia during 1990-1991.  In 2015 the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center was opened in Yekaterinburg.

Honours and awards.

Russian and Soviet  Foreign

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the first President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1961 to 1990, he later stood as a political independent, during which time he was ideologically aligned with liberalism and Russian nationalism.

鲍里斯·尼古拉耶维奇·叶利钦(,1931年-2月1日-2007年-4月23日),苏联和俄罗斯政治家,俄罗斯联邦首任总统,任期为1991年至1999年。曾历任苏联共产党中央政治局候补委员、苏共莫斯科市委第一书记、苏联俄罗斯联邦最高苏维埃主席。


卡巴尔达-巴尔卡尔共和国

Geography.

The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains, with plains in the northern part. Kabardino-Balkaria is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Rivers.

Major rivers include:

Lakes.

There are about 100 lakes in the Republic, none of which is large. Just over half (55) are located between the Baksan and Malka Rivers, the largest each of an area of no more than. Some of the lakes are:  Other major mountains include:

Natural resources.

Kabardino-Balkaria's natural resources include molybdenum, tungsten, and coal.

Climate.

The republic has a continental type climate.

History.

Germany penetrated this Area in 1942-3.

Demographics.

Population.

Population:

Vital statistics.

Note: TFR 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 source.

Ethnic groups.

Kabardino-Balkaria includes two major ethnic communities, the Kabardins (Circassians), who speak a North-West Caucasian language, and the Balkars who speak a Turkic language. According to the 2010 Census, Kabardins make up 57.2% of the republic's population, followed by Russians (22.5%) and Balkars (12.7%). Other groups include Ossetians (1.1%), Turks (1.6%), Ukrainians (0.6%), Armenians (0.6%), Koreans (0.5%), Chechens (0.2%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.

Religion.

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people, 60% of the population of Kabardino-Balkaria adheres to Islam, 15.6% to the Russian Orthodox Church, 3% to Adyghe (Kabardian) folk religion and other indigenous faiths, 5% are unaffiliated generic Christians. In addition, 12% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 5.4% is Atheist or follows other religions including Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Politics.

The head of government in Kabardino-Balkaria is the Head. The current Head is Kazbek Kokov.  The legislative body of the Republic is the Parliament comprising 72 deputies elected for a five-year term.

The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (, "Kabardino-Balkarskaya Respublika"; Kabardian: Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр Республикэ, "Ķêbêrdej-Baĺķêr Respublikê"; Karachay-Balkar: Къабарты-Малкъар Республика, "Qabartı-Malqar Respublika") or Kabardino-Balkaria (, "Kabardino-Balkariya"), is a federal subject of Russia (a republic) located in the North Caucasus. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 859,939 on 12,500 square km. Its capital is Nalchik. The area contains the highest mountain in Europe, Mount Elbrus, at 5,642 m. Mount Elbrus has 22 glaciers that feed three rivers — Baksan, Malka and Kuban. The mountain is covered with snow year-round.

卡巴尔达-巴尔卡尔共和国(;卡巴尔达语:;)位于大高加索北麓,南面与乔治亚接壤,是俄罗斯联邦主体之一,也是俄罗斯的自治共和国,属北高加索联邦管区。面积12,500平方公里,人口901,494(2002年)。首府纳尔奇克。


Etymology.

The city's current name comes from "Syktyv", the Komi name for the Sysola River, plus "kar", meaning "city".

Geography.

Syktyvkar is located on the Sysola River, which is the origin of its former name Ust-Sysolsk. The city is located near to the point where the Sysola joins the larger Vychegda River, which is itself a branch of the Northern Dvina.

History.

It is believed that the city was founded in 1586 as a settlement Ust-Sysola. It was granted city status by Catherine the Great in 1780, and in 1992, it became a capital of the Komi Republic. It has retained its position as the Komi capital since that point, although a large influx of ethnic Russians in the 20th century has actually left the Komi in a minority there.  The majority of the population were merchants and peasants. The main occupations of the inhabitants were agriculture, cattle-breeding, hunting, fishing, and trade.  By the beginning of the 20th century, the population had grown to 6,000 people. The Tsarist government made the Komi region a place of political exile.  In 1921, Ust-Sysolsk was given the status of administrative center of the newly formed Komi Autonomous Soviet Republic. It was renamed as Syktyvkar, which is Komi for "a town on the Sysola" in 1930, to mark the 150th anniversary of its receipt of city privileges. In 1936, Syktyvkar became the capital of the Komi ASSR.

Administrative and municipal status.

Syktyvkar is the capital of the republic. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with three urban-type settlements (Krasnozatonsky, Sedkyrkeshch, and Verkhnyaya Maksakovka) and three rural localities, incorporated as the city of republic significance of Syktyvkar—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of republic significance of Syktyvkar is incorporated as Syktyvkar Urban Okrug.

Economy.

The Sysola, the Vychegda, and the Northern Dvina are navigable and are a major transport route of forestry products from Syktyvkar. Lumber and woodcrafts are the city's largest industries.  Previously Komiinteravia had its head office in Syktyvkar.

Transportation.

The city is served by Syktyvkar Airport and Syktyvkar Southwest airfield. The city has a railway station as well. Syktyvkar is the end point of route R176 (Vyatka Highway).

Culture and education.

Syktyvkar is the center of the cultural life in the republic. The oldest museum of the Republic of Komi, the National Museum, was founded in 1911. Nowadays, the National Museum is the Literature Memorial Museum of Ivan Kuratov and the museum of Viktor Savin.  The National Gallery was founded in Syktyvkar in 1943. It welcomes exhibitions from different museums of the country.  In 1930 Victor Savin, a poet, playwright, stage manager and actor, founded the Drama theater of the Republic of Komi and the theater still carries his name. Nowadays this theater is one of centers of spiritual and artistic culture of all people who live in the republic. Plays by Nicolai Diakonov, Vasili Lecanov, Alexandre Larev and others are familiar to everybody who knows the history of Komi culture. In 1966 the Drama theater was given the status of Academic theater.  The Theater of Opera and Ballet began its history in 1958.  The National Library numbers 2.5 million volumes, including books in the Russian language, foreign languages and in the Komi language.  Syktyvkar State University was founded in 1972 and has over 3,500 full-time students and 250 faculty members.  The city's folk ensemble "Asya Kya" has been representing Komi Republic on national and international festivals.  One of the oldest Russian progressive rock bands "The Gourishankar" was founded in Syktyvkar in 2001.

Sports.

Stroitel which has played many seasons in the highest division of Russian bandy, nowadays called the Russian Bandy Super League, has then played several seasons in the second division, called Russian Bandy Supreme League. At the final tournament of the 2016-17 season, with two Super League tickets held in Syktyvkar, Stroitel won and was thus eligible for promotion. After discussions whether or not to accept, the answer was a yes and the team will play Super League bandy again in the season of 2017-18. Its home venue is Respublikanskiy Stadion. In the 2016/17 season, the club adopted a new logotype (shown to the right in this article) instead of an old one which had a white bear playing bandy.  There is also a youth team called KDYuSSh-1.

Climate.

Syktyvkar experiences a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification "Dfc") with long, cold winters and short, warm summers.

Twin towns – sister cities.

Syktyvkar is twinned with:

Syktyvkar (, ; ) is the capital city of the Komi Republic, Russia. Population:

瑟克特夫卡尔 (),原名乌斯特-瑟索拉斯克 (),是俄罗斯科米共和国的首都,位于共和国西南部,维切格达河(北德维纳河的支流)与瑟索拉河会合之处。该市面积为152平方千米,海拔高度172米,2018年人口为245,083人。距莫斯科约1200km。


History.

Archaeological finds point to a settlement dating back to the 8th century. The first documentary evidence, in 1108, referenced "Aldenburg" in connection with Elimar I (also known as Egilmar I) who is now commonly seen as the first count of Oldenburg. The town gained importance due to its location at a ford of the navigable Hunte river. Oldenburg became the capital of the County of Oldenburg (later a Duchy (1774- 1810), Grand Duchy (1815-1918), and Free State (1918-1946)), a small state in the shadow of the much more powerful Hanseatic city of Bremen.  In the 17th century Oldenburg was a wealthy town in a time of war and turmoil and its population and power grew considerably. In 1667, the town was struck by a disastrous plague epidemic and, shortly after, a fire destroyed Oldenburg. The Danish kings, who were also counts of Oldenburg at the time, had little interest in the condition of the town and it lost most of its former importance. In 1773, Danish rule ended. Only then were the destroyed buildings in the city rebuilt in a neoclassicist style. (German-speakers usually call the "neoclassicist style" of that period ', while'specifically refers to the classicist style of the early 20th century.) After the German government announced the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II (9 November 1918) following the exhaustion and defeat of the German Empire in World War I, monarchic rule ended in Oldenburg as well with the abdication of Grand Duke Frederick Augustus II of Oldenburg "()" on 11 November 1918. The Grand Duchy now became the Free State of Oldenburg "()", with the city remaining the capital.  In the 1928 city elections, the Nazi Party received 9.8% of the vote, enough for a seat on the Oldenburg city council. In the September 1930 Oldenburg state elections, the Nazi Party's share of the vote rose to 27.3%, and on May 29, 1932, the Nazi Party received 48.4% in the state election, enough to put the Nazi party in charge of forming a state government and, significantly, making Oldenburg the first state in the country to put the Nazis in power based on electoral turnout. By that autumn, a campaign of Aryanization began, forcing the sale of formerly Jewish-owned properties at steep discounts.  In 1945, after World War II, the State of Oldenburg became part of the British zone of occupation. The British military government of the Oldenburg region resided in the city. Several displaced-persons camps were set up in the city that had suffered only 1.4% destruction during the bombing campaigns of World War II. About 42,000 refugees migrated into Oldenburg, which raised the number of residents to over 100,000. In 1946 the Free State of Oldenburg was dissolved and the area became the 'Administrative District' of Oldenburg "()" within the newly-formed federal German state of Lower Saxony "()". The city was now capital of the district. In 1978 the district was dissolved and succeeded by the newly formed Weser-Ems administrative region "()", again with the city as administrative capital. The state of Lower Saxony dissolved all of the by the end of 2004 in the course of administrative reforms.

City government.

Local elections take place every five years. The city council "(Stadtrat)" has 50 seats. The lord mayor "(Oberbürgermeister)" is elected directly by the citizens.

Economy and infrastructure.

Agriculture.

The city is surrounded by large agricultural areas, about 80% of which is grassland. There are farms near and even a few within city limits. Predominant agricultural activities of the region are the cultivation of livestock, especially dairy cows and other grazing animals, crops such as grains for food and animal feed, as well as asparagus, corn, and kale.

Industry.

Sea salt production in the Oldenburg region has been used since the 15th century to supply the huge salt demand in the Baltic region. Peat extraction in the area continued for many centuries until it was replaced by coal mines.

Cultural life.

Lutheran community.

Oldenburg is the seat of administration and bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg, whose preaching venue is the St Lamberti Church.

Jewish community.

The history of the Jewish community of Oldenburg dates back to the 14th century. Towards and during the 19th century, the Jews in Oldenburg were always around 1% of the total population, and by that time had acquired their own synagogue, cemetery and school. Most of them were merchants and businessmen. On 1938 Kristallnacht, the town men were led to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, among them Leo Trepp, the community Rabbi who survived and later became an honorary citizen of Oldenburg and honored by a street named after him. Since 1981 an annual commemoration walk (Erinnerungsgang) has been held by Oldenburg citizens in memory of the deportation of the Oldenburg Jews on November 10, 1938. Those who remained after 1938 emigrated to Canada, USA, United Kingdom, Holland or Mandatory Palestine.  After World War II, a group of survivors returned to the city and maintained a small community until it was dissolved during the 1970s. Nevertheless, due to Jewish emigration from the former USSR to Germany in the 1990s, a community of about 340 people is now maintaining its own synagogue, cemetery and other facilities. The old Jewish cemetery, which is no longer active after the opening of a new one, was desecrated twice in 2011 and 2013.

Education.

Tertiary education.

There are two public universities in Oldenburg:  Privately managed institutions of higher education:  Other:

Sports.

Oldenburg hosted the 2007 Fistball World Championship.  It has two football teams, VfB Oldenburg and VfL Oldenburg, who also have a handball section of the same name.  Moreover, Oldenburg is home to the basketball team EWE Baskets Oldenburg.

International relations.

Oldenburg is twin towns with following cities and districts:  Wilfred Hans-Günther Wlochal (Born 1927-2018), Author

Notable personalities associated with Oldenburg.

See in particular the Counts, Dukes and Grand Dukes of Oldenburg for the rulers who were not born in Oldenburg.

Oldenburg () is an independent city in the district of Oldenburg in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. The city is officially named Oldenburg (Oldb) ("Oldenburg in Oldenburg") to distinguish from Oldenburg in Holstein.

奥尔登堡(Oldenburg)是德国西北部的一座无属县城市,在下萨克森州境内。 它位于该州西部,洪特河畔,介于不来梅和荷兰城市格罗宁根之间。2018年人口168.210人,是下萨克森州的第四大城市。


Structure and basic properties.

Nonylphenols fall into the general chemical category of alkylphenols. The structure of NPs may vary. The nonyl group can be attached to the phenol ring at various locations, usually the 4- and, to lesser extent, the 2-positions, and can be either branched or linear. A branched nonylphenol, 4-nonylphenol, is the most widely produced and marketed nonylphenol. The mixture of nonylphenol isomers is a pale yellow liquid, although the pure compounds are colorless. The nonylphenols are moderately soluble in water but soluble in alcohol.  Nonylphenol arises from the environmental degradation of nonylphenol ethoxylates, which are the metabolites of commercial detergents called alkylphenol ethoxylates. NPEs are a clear to light orange color liquid. Nonylphenol ethoxylates are nonionic in water, which means that they have no charge. Because of this property they are used as detergents, cleaners, emulsifiers, and a variety of other applications. They are amphipathic, meaning they have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties, which allows them to surround non-polar substances like oil and grease, isolating them from water.

Production.

Nonylphenol can be produced industrially, naturally, and by the environmental degradation of alkylphenol ethoxylates. Industrially, nonylphenols are produced by the acid-catalyzed alkylation of phenol with a mixture of nonenes. This synthesis leads to a very complex mixture with diverse nonylphenols. Theoretically there are 211 constitutional isomers and this number rise to 550 isomers if we take the enantiomers into account. To make NPEs, manufacturers treat NP with ethylene oxide under basic conditions. Since its discovery in 1940, nonylphenol production has increased exponentially, and between 100 and 500 million pounds of nonylphenol are produced globally every year, meeting the definition of High Production Volume Chemicals.  Nonylphenols are also produced naturally in the environment. One organism, the velvet worm, produces nonylphenol as a component of its defensive slime. The nonylphenol coats the ejection channel of the slime, stopping it from sticking to the organism when it is secreted. It also prolongs the drying process long enough for the slime to reach its target.  Another surfactant called nonoxynol, which was once used as intravaginal spermicide and condom lubricant, was found to metabolize into free nonylphenol when administered to lab animals.

Applications.

Nonylphenol is used in manufacturing antioxidants, lubricating oil additives, laundry and dish detergents, emulsifiers, and solubilizers. It can also be used to produce tris(4-nonyl-phenyl) phosphite (TNPP), which is an antioxidant used to protect polymers, such as rubber, Vinyl polymers, polyolefins, and polystyrenics in addition to being a stabilizer in plastic food packaging. Barium and calcium salts of nonylphenol are also used as heat stabilizers for polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Nonylphenol is also often used an intermediate in the manufacture of the non-ionic surfactants nonylphenol ethoxylates, which are used in detergents, paints, pesticides, personal care products, and plastics. Nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates are only used as components of household detergents outside of Europe. Nonyl Phenol, is used in many epoxy formulations mainly in North America.

Prevalence in the environment.

Nonylphenol persists in aquatic environments and is moderately bioaccumulative. It is not readily biodegradable, and it can take months or longer to degrade in surface waters, soils, and sediments. Nonbiological degradation is negligible. Nonylphenol is partially removed during municipal wastewater treatment due to sorption to suspended solids and biotransformation. Many products that contain nonylphenol have "down-the-drain" applications, such as laundry and dish soap, so the contaminants are frequently introduced into the water supply. In sewage treatment plants, nonylphenol ethoxylate degrades into nonylphenol, which is found in river water and sediments as well as soil and groundwater. Nonylphenol photodegrades in sunlight, but its half-life in sediment is estimated to be more than 60 years. Although the concentration of nonylphenol in the environment is decreasing, it is still found at concentrations of 4.1 μg/L in river waters and 1 mg/kg in sediments.  A major concern is that contaminated sewage sludge is frequently recycled onto agricultural land. The degradation of nonylphenol in soil depends on oxygen availability and other components in the soil. Mobility of nonylphenol in soil is low.  Bioaccumulation is significant in water-dwelling organisms and birds, and nonylphenol has been found in internal organs of certain animals at concentrations of 10 to 1,000 times greater than the surrounding environment. Due to this bioaccumulation and persistence of nonylphenol, it has been suggested that nonylphenol could be transported over long distances and have a global reach that stretches far from the site of contamination.  Nonylphenol is not persistent in air, as it is rapidly degraded by hydroxyl radicals.

Environmental hazards.

Nonylphenol is considered to be an endocrine disruptor due to its ability to mimic estrogen and in turn disrupt the natural balance of hormones in affected organisms. The effect is weak because nonylphenols are not very close structural mimics of estradiol, but the levels of nonylphenol can be sufficiently high to compensate.  The effects of nonylphenol in the environment are most applicable to aquatic species. Nonylphenol can cause endocrine disruption in fish by interacting with estrogen receptors and androgen receptors. Studies report that nonylphenol competitively displaces estrogen from its receptor site in rainbow trout. It has much less affinity for the estrogen receptor than estrogen in trout (5 x 10 relative binding affinity compared to estradiol) making it 100,000 times less potent than estradiol. Nonylphenol causes the feminization of aquatic organisms, decreases male fertility, and decreases survival in young fish. Studies show that male fish exposed to nonylphenol have lower testicular weight. Nonylphenol can disrupt steroidogenesis in the liver. One function of endogenous estrogen in fish is to stimulate the liver to make vitellogenin, which is a phospholipoprotein. Vitellogenin is released by the maturing female and sequestered by developing oocytes to produce the egg yolk. Males do not normally produce vitellogenin, but when exposed to nonylphenol they produce similar levels of vitellogenin to females. The concentration needed to induce vitellogenin production in fish is 10 ug/L for NP in water. Nonylphenol can also interfere with the level of FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) being released from the pituitary gland. Concentrations of NP that inhibit reproductive development and function in fish also damages kidneys, decreases body weight, and induces stressed behavior.

Human health hazards.

Alkylphenols like nonylphenol and bisphenol A have estrogenic effects in the body. They are known as xenoestrogens. Estrogenic substances and other endocrine disruptors are compounds that have hormone-like effects in both wildlife and humans. Xenoestrogens usually function by binding to estrogen receptors and acting competitively against natural estrogens. Nonylphenol has been shown to mimic the natural hormone 17β-estradiol, and it competes with the endogeous hormone for binding with the estrogen receptors ERα and ERβ. Nonylphenol was discovered to have hormone-like effects by accident because it contaminated other experiments in laboratories that were studying natural estrogens that were using polystyrene tubes.

Effects in pregnant women.

Subcutaneous injections of nonylphenol in late pregnancy causes the expression of certain placental and uterine proteins, namely CaBP-9k, which suggest it can be transferred through the placenta to the fetus. It has also been shown to have a higher potency on the first trimester placenta than the endogenous estrogen 17β-estradiol. In addition, early prenatal exposure to low doses of nonylphenol cause an increase in apoptosis (programmed cell death) in placental cells. These “low doses” ranged from 10-10 M, which is lower than what is generally found in the environment.  Nonylphenol has also been shown to affect cytokine signaling molecule secretions in the human placenta. In vitro cell cultures of human placenta during the first trimester were treated with nonylphenol, which increase the secretion of cytokines including interferon gamma, interleukin 4, and interleukin 10, and reduced the secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha. This unbalanced cytokine profile at this part of pregnancy has been documented to result in implantation failure, pregnancy loss, and other complications.

Effects on metabolism.

Nonylphenol has been shown to act as an obesity enhancing chemical or obesogen, though it has paradoxically been shown to have anti-obesity properties. Growing embryos and newborns are particularly vulnerable when exposed to nonylphenol because low-doses can disrupt sensitive processes that occur during these important developmental periods. Prenatal and perinatal exposure to nonylphenol has been linked with developmental abnormalities in adipose tissue and therefore in metabolic hormone synthesis and release (Merrill 2011). Specifically, by acting as an estrogen mimic, nonylphenol has generally been shown to interfere with hypothalamic appetite control. The hypothalamus responds to the hormone leptin, which signals the feeling of fullness after eating, and nonylphenol has been shown to both increase and decrease eating behavior by interfering with leptin signaling in the midbrain. Nonylphenol has been shown mimic the action of leptin on neuropeptide Y and anorectic POMC neurons, which has an anti-obesity effect by decreasing eating behavior. This was seen when estrogen or estrogen mimics were injected into the ventromedial hypothalamus. On the other hand, nonylphenol has been shown to increase food intake and have obesity enhancing properties by lowering the expression of these anorexigenic neurons in the brain. Additionally, nonylphenol affects the expression of ghrelin: an enzyme produced by the stomach that stimulates appetite. Ghrelin expression is positively regulated by estrogen signaling in the stomach, and it is also important in guiding the differentiation of stem cells into adipocytes (fat cells). Thus, acting as an estrogen mimic, prenatal and perinatal exposure to nonylphenol has been shown to increase appetite and encourage the body to store fat later in life. Finally, long-term exposure to nonylphenol has been shown to affect insulin signaling in the liver of adult male rats.

Cancer.

Nonylphenol exposure has also been associated with breast cancer. It has been shown to promote the proliferation of breast cancer cells, due to its agonistic activity on ERα (estrogen receptor α) in estrogen-dependent and estrogen-independent breast cancer cells. Some argue that nonylphenol's suggested estrogenic effect coupled with its widespread human exposure could potentially influence hormone-dependent breast cancer disease.

Human exposure and breakdown.

Exposure.

Diet seems the most significant source of exposure of nonylphenol to humans. For example, food samples were found with concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 19.4 μg/kg in a diet survey in Germany and a daily intake for an adult were calculated to be 7.5 μg/day. Another study calculated a daily intake for the more exposed group of infants in the range of 0.23-0.65 μg/ kg bodyweight/ day. In Taiwan, nonylphenol concentrations in food ranged from 5.8 to 235.8 μg/kg. Seafood in particular was found to have a high concentration of nonylphenol.  One study conducted in Italian women showed that nonylphenol was one of the highest contaminants at a concentration of 32 ng/mL in breast milk when compared to other alkyl phenols, such as octylphenol, nonylphenol monoethoxylate, and two octylphenol ethoxylates. The study also found a positive correlation between fish consumption and the concentration of nonylphenol in breast milk. This is a large problem because breast milk is the main source of nourishment for newborns, who are in early stages of development where hormones are very influential. Elevated levels of endocrine disruptors in breast milk have been associated with negative effects on neurological development, growth, and memory function.  Drinking water does not represent a significant source of exposure in comparison to other sources such as food packing materials, cleaning products, and various skin care products. Concentrations of nonylphenol in treated drinking water varied from 85 ng/L in Spain to 15 ng/L in Germany.  Microgram amounts of nonylphenol have also been found in the saliva of patients with dental sealants.

Breakdown.

When humans orally ingest nonylphenol, it is rapidly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. The metabolic pathways involved in its degradation are thought to involve glucuronide and sulfate conjugation, and the metabolites are then concentrated in fat. There is inconsistent data on bioaccumulation in humans, but nonylphenol has been shown to bioaccumulate in water-dwelling animals and birds. Nonylphenol is excreted in feces and in urine.

Analytics.

Since nonylphenols are ubiquitous in different environmentally relevant matrices like food, drinking water and human tissue samples there are many possible analytical methods for their detection. Most common methods are the analysis with GC-MS. Also as special two-dimensional application with a GCxGC-ToF-MS. Nevertheless, nonylphenols are also separated via HPLC technics.  As the branching of the nonyl sidechain plays an important role because of their varying estrogen potential different nonylphenols where synthesized and analyzed on GC-MS or GC-FID systems. In these studies the scope was also on the enantioselective separation of different nonylphenols since biological systems are usually enantioselective.

Regulation.

The production and use of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates is prohibited in the European Union due to its effects on health and the environment. In Europe, due to environmental concerns, they also have been replaced by more expensive alcohol ethoxylates, which are less problematic for the environment due to their ability to degrade more quickly than nonylphenols. The European Union has also included NP on the list of priority hazardous substances for surface water in the Water Framework Directive. They are now implementing a drastic reduction policy of NP's in surface waterways. The Environmental quality standard for NP was proposed to be 0.3 ug/l. In 2013 nonylphenols were registered on the REACH candidate list.  In the US, the EPA set criteria which recommends that nonylphenol concentration should not exceed 6.6 ug/l in fresh water and 1.7 ug/l in saltwater. In order to do so, the EPA is supporting and encouraging a voluntary phase-out of nonylphenol in industrial laundry detergents. Similarly, the EPA is documenting proposals for a "significant new use" rule, which would require companies to contact the EPA if they decided to add nonylphenol to any new cleaning and detergent products. They also plan to do more risk assessments to ascertain the effects of nonylphenol on human health and the environment. It was suggested that nonylphenol could be added to the list of chemicals on the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, but this has yet to occur as of 2014.  In other Asian and South American countries nonylphenol is still widely available in commercial detergents, and there is little regulation.

Nonylphenols are a family of closely related organic compounds composed of phenol bearing a 9 carbon-tail. Nonylphenols can come in numerous structures, all of which may be considered alkylphenols. They are used in manufacturing antioxidants, lubricating oil additives, laundry and dish detergents, emulsifiers, and solubilizers. These compounds are also precursors to the commercially important non-ionic surfactants alkylphenol ethoxylates and nonylphenol ethoxylates, which are used in detergents, paints, pesticides, personal care products, and plastics. Nonylphenol has attracted attention due to its prevalence in the environment and its potential role as an endocrine disruptor and xenoestrogen, due to its ability to act with estrogen-like activity. The estrogenicity and biodegradation heavily depends on the branching of the nonyl sidechain. Nonylphenol has been found to act as an agonist of the GPER (GPR30).

壬基酚,也称壬基苯酚;英文名称为Nonyl Phenol(简称NP);分子式为CHO。


Biography.

Early life.

Coleman was born on the 9th of March, 1930, in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was raised.  He attended I.M. Terrell High School, where he participated in band until he was dismissed for improvising during "The Washington Post" march. He began performing R&B and bebop on tenor saxophone and started The Jam Jivers with Prince Lasha and Charles Moffett.  Eager to leave town, he accepted a job in 1949 with a Silas Green from New Orleans traveling show and then with touring rhythm and blues shows. After a show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he was assaulted and his saxophone was destroyed.  He switched to alto saxophone, which remained his primary instrument, first playing it in New Orleans after the Baton Rouge incident. He then joined the band of Pee Wee Crayton and traveled with them to Los Angeles. He worked at various jobs, including as an elevator operator, while pursuing his music career.  In California he found like-minded musicians such as Ed Blackwell, Bobby Bradford, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, Billy Higgins, and Charles Moffett. He recorded his debut album, "Something Else!!!!" (1958) with Cherry, Higgins, Walter Norris, and Don Payne. During the same year he belonged briefly to a quintet led by Paul Bley that performed at a club in New York City. By the time "Tomorrow Is the Question!" was recorded soon after with Cherry, Higgins, and Haden, the jazz world had been shaken up by Coleman's alien music. Some jazz musicians called him a fraud, while conductor Leonard Bernstein praised him.

1959: "The Shape of Jazz to Come".

In 1959 Atlantic released "The Shape of Jazz to Come". According to music critic Steve Huey, the album "was a watershed event in the genesis of avant-garde jazz, profoundly steering its future course and throwing down a gauntlet that some still haven't come to grips with." "Jazzwise" listed it No. 3 on their list of the 100 best jazz albums of all time.  Coleman's quartet received a long – and sometimes controversial – engagement at Five Spot jazz club in New York City. Leonard Bernstein, Lionel Hampton, and Modern Jazz Quartet were impressed and offered encouragement. Hampton asked to perform with the quartet; Bernstein helped Haden obtain a composition grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. But trumpeter Miles Davis said Coleman was "all screwed up inside", although he recanted this comment and became a proponent of Coleman's innovations.  Coleman's early sound was due in part to his use of a plastic saxophone. He bought a plastic horn in Los Angeles in 1954 because he was unable to afford a metal saxophone, though he didn't like the sound of the plastic instrument at first.  On the Atlantic recordings, Coleman's sidemen in the quartet are Cherry on cornet or pocket trumpet; Charlie Haden, Scott LaFaro, and then Jimmy Garrison on bass; and Higgins or his replacement Ed Blackwell on drums. The complete recordings for the label were collected on the box set "Beauty Is a Rare Thing".

1960: "Free Jazz".

In 1960, Coleman recorded "", which featured a double quartet, including Don Cherry and Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet, Haden and LaFaro on bass, and both Higgins and Blackwell on drums. The album was recorded in stereo with a reed/brass/bass/drums quartet isolated in each stereo channel. "Free Jazz" was, at nearly 40 minutes, the longest recorded continuous jazz performance to date and was one of Coleman's most controversial albums. The music features a regular but complex pulse, one drummer playing "straight" while the other played double-time; the thematic material is a series of brief, dissonant fanfares. A series of solo features for each member of the band, but the other soloists are free to chime in as they wish. In the January 18, 1962 issue of "Down Beat" magazine, in a review titled "Double View of a Double Quartet," Pete Welding gave the album five stars while John A. Tynan rated it zero stars. Time has been kinder to the album, though, with AllMusic listing it as one of "20 Essential Free Jazz albums."  Coleman intended "free jazz" as simply an album title. But his growing reputation placed him at the forefront of jazz innovation, and free jazz was soon considered a new genre, though Coleman has expressed discomfort with the term. Among the reasons he may have disapproved of the term is that his music contains composition. His melodic material, although skeletal, recalls melodies that Charlie Parker wrote over standard harmonies. The music is closer to the bebop that came before it than is sometimes popularly imagined.

1960s–70s: Avant-garde and harmolodic funk.

After the Atlantic period and into the early part of the 1970s, Coleman's music became more angular and engaged with the avant-garde jazz which had developed in part around his innovations.  After his quartet disbanded, he formed a trio with David Izenzon on bass and Charles Moffett on drums. He extended the sound of his music, introducing string players and playing trumpet and violin, which he played left-handed. He had little conventional musical technique and used the instruments to make large, unrestrained gestures. His friendship with Albert Ayler influenced his development on trumpet and violin. Charlie Haden sometimes joined this trio to form a two-bass quartet.  Coleman signed with Blue Note and recorded "At the Golden Circle Stockholm". In 1966, he recorded "The Empty Foxhole" with his son, Denardo Coleman, who was ten years old. Freddie Hubbard and Shelly Manne regarded this as an ill-advised piece of publicity on Coleman's part. Despite his youth, Denardo Coleman had studied drumming for several years. His technique was unrefined but enthusiastic, owing more to pulse-oriented free jazz drummers like Sunny Murray than to bebop drummers. He became his father's primary drummer in the late 1970s.  Coleman formed another quartet. Haden, Garrison, and Elvin Jones appeared, and Dewey Redman joined the group, usually on tenor saxophone. On February 29, 1968 in a group with Haden, Ed Blackwell, and David Izenzon Coleman performed live with Yoko Ono at Albert Hall. One song was included on the album "Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band" (1970)  He continued to explore his interest in string textures – from "Town Hall, 1962", culminating with the "Skies of America" album in 1972. (Sometimes this had a practical value, as it facilitated his group's appearance in the UK in 1965, where jazz musicians were under a quota arrangement but classical performers were exempt.)  Coleman, like Miles Davis before him, took to playing with electrified instruments. The 1976 funk album "Dancing in Your Head", Coleman's first recording with the group which later became known as Prime Time, prominently featured electric guitars. While this marked a stylistic departure for Coleman, the music maintained certain similarities to his earlier work. These performances had the same angular melodies and simultaneous group improvisations – what Joe Zawinul referred to as "nobody solos, everybody solos" and what Coleman called "harmolodics" – and although the nature of the pulse was altered, Coleman's rhythmic approach was not.

1980s–90s.

In the 1980s, albums like "Virgin Beauty" and "Of Human Feelings" continued to use rock and funk rhythms, sometimes called free funk. Jerry Garcia played guitar on three tracks from Coleman's 1988 album "Virgin Beauty": "Three Wishes", "Singing in the Shower", and "Desert Players". Coleman joined the Grateful Dead on stage in 1993 during "Space" and stayed for "The Other One", "Stella Blue", Bobby Bland's "Turn on Your Lovelight", and the encore "Brokedown Palace". Another collaboration was with guitarist Pat Metheny, with whom Coleman recorded "Song X" (1985); though released under Metheny's name, Coleman was essentially co-leader (contributing all the compositions).  In 1990, the city of Reggio Emilia in Italy held a three-day "Portrait of the Artist" featuring a Coleman quartet with Cherry, Haden, and Higgins. The festival also presented performances of his chamber music and the symphonic "Skies of America". In 1991, Coleman played on the soundtrack for David Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch"; the orchestra was conducted by Howard Shore. It is notable among other things for including a rare sighting of Coleman playing a jazz standard: Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso". Two 1972 (pre-electric) Coleman recordings, "Happy House" and "Foreigner in a Free Land", were used in Gus Van Sant's 2000 "Finding Forrester". He released four records in 1995 and 1996, and for the first time in many years worked regularly with piano players (either Geri Allen or Joachim Kühn).

2000s.

In September 2006 he released a live album titled "Sound Grammar" with his son, Denardo Coleman, and two bassists, Greg Cohen, and Tony Falanga. This was his first album of new material in ten years and was recorded in Germany in 2005. It won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for music, Coleman being only the second jazz musician to win the prize.  Jazz pianist Joanne Brackeen stated in an interview with Marian McPartland that Coleman mentored her and gave her music lessons.

Personal life, death, and subsequent material loss.

Coleman married poet Jayne Cortez in 1954. The couple divorced in 1964. They had one son, Denardo, born in 1956.  Coleman died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 85 in New York City on June 11, 2015. His funeral was a three-hour event with performances and speeches by several of his collaborators and contemporaries.  On June 25, 2019, "The New York Times Magazine" listed Ornette Coleman among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

In popular culture.

McClintic Sphere, a fictional character in Thomas Pynchon's debut novel "V." (1963), is an innovative saxophonist modeled on Ornette Coleman.

Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9 or 19, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer. In the 1960s, he was one of the founders of free jazz, a term he invented for his album "". His "Broadway Blues" and "Lonely Woman" have become standards and are cited as important early works in free jazz. His album "Sound Grammar" received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

奥尼特·科尔曼(英语:Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman,1930年-3月9日-2015年-6月11日),美国籍的爵士乐萨克斯风演奏家、小提琴手、小号手和作曲家。他是1960年代「自由爵士」(free jazz)运动的主要创新者之一,自由爵士这个词也是在他的自由爵士:集体即兴所发明的。科尔曼的音色很有特色:他的热切、嚎叫般的声音受到蓝调音乐的强烈影响。他的专辑《Sound Grammar》获得了2007年的普利策音乐奖。