It's not like a Russian novel, where you read nine hundred forty-three pages and then finally Boris the peasant decides to commit suicide, and you wish he’d done it on page four. It’s not like that at all.
orig. Mikhail died May 2, 907, Preslave, Bulg. Khan of Bulgaria (852-89). He resolved to use Christianity to unite his ethnically divided country, and an unsuccessful war with the Byzantines led to his baptism in the Orthodox faith (864). Boris's attempt to enforce mass baptism set off a pagan rebellion, which he quelled, and he helped establish the Bulgarian church. He sponsored missionaries to foster Slavic learning and the use of the Old Church Slavic language. He abdicated in 889 to become a monk but returned to drive his reactionary son Vladimir from the throne. After installing another son, Simeon I, as khan, Boris went back to his monastery. He was later made an Orthodox saint. Becker Boris Franz Boris I Chain Sir Ernst Boris Godunov Boris Fyodorovich Karloff Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Spassky Boris Vasilyevich Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich
born Nov. 22, 1967, Leimen, W.Ger. German tennis player. He left school in the 10th grade to concentrate on tennis. In 1985 he became the youngest winner (at 17) of the Wimbledon's men's singles title and the youngest ever to win a men's grand-slam tournament, as well as the only unseeded player and the first German ever to win the title. He was victorious at Wimbledon again in 1986 and 1989 and also won singles titles at the 1989 U.S. Open and the 1991 and 1996 Australian Open
born Nov. 22, 1967, Leimen, W.Ger. German tennis player. He left school in the 10th grade to concentrate on tennis. In 1985 he became the youngest winner (at 17) of the Wimbledon's men's singles title and the youngest ever to win a men's grand-slam tournament, as well as the only unseeded player and the first German ever to win the title. He was victorious at Wimbledon again in 1986 and 1989 and also won singles titles at the 1989 U.S. Open and the 1991 and 1996 Australian Open
born 1551 died April 23, 1605, Moscow, Russia Tsar of Russia (1598-1605). After serving in the court of Ivan IV, he was named guardian to Ivan's dim-witted son Fyodor I and became the virtual ruler of Russia as Fyodor's chief adviser from 1584. When Fyodor's little brother Dmitry died mysteriously in 1591, Godunov was suspected of having had him put to death. When Fyodor died without heirs in 1598, an assembly of clergy and gentry elected Godunov tsar. A capable ruler, he instituted many reforms, but continuing boyar opposition and a general famine (1601-03) eroded his popularity. The False Dmitry led an army into Russia, and on Boris's sudden death, resistance broke down, and the country lapsed into the Time of Troubles
born 1551 died April 23, 1605, Moscow, Russia Tsar of Russia (1598-1605). After serving in the court of Ivan IV, he was named guardian to Ivan's dim-witted son Fyodor I and became the virtual ruler of Russia as Fyodor's chief adviser from 1584. When Fyodor's little brother Dmitry died mysteriously in 1591, Godunov was suspected of having had him put to death. When Fyodor died without heirs in 1598, an assembly of clergy and gentry elected Godunov tsar. A capable ruler, he instituted many reforms, but continuing boyar opposition and a general famine (1601-03) eroded his popularity. The False Dmitry led an army into Russia, and on Boris's sudden death, resistance broke down, and the country lapsed into the Time of Troubles
a British actor who worked in US horror films (=films that are intended to make you feel frightened) , and who is especially famous for appearing as the monster in the film Frankenstein (1931) (1887-1969). orig. William Henry Pratt born Nov. 23, 1887, London, Eng. died Feb. 2, 1969, Midhurst, West Sussex British-U.S. actor. He immigrated to Canada from England in 1909 and acted with touring companies before moving to Hollywood, where he played minor roles in films from 1919. His tender, sympathetic performance in Hollywood's first important monster film, James Whale's Frankenstein (1931), received so much critical praise that he became an overnight sensation. He acted in more than 100 films, specializing in horror pictures such as The Mummy (1932), The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), and his name became synonymous with the horror genre. He returned to the stage for highly acclaimed performances on Broadway in Arsenic and Old Lace (1941) and as Captain Hook in Peter Pan (1950). His most famous television performance was in the animated special How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), for which he provided the voices of both the Grinch and the narrator
{i} (1890-1960) Russian writer and translator who is famous for his novel Doctor Zhivago (1957) that was banned by the Soviet authorities but was translated and published in other countries (he was compelled to refuse the 1958 Nobel Prize for literature)
born Feb. 10, 1890, Moscow, Russia died May 30, 1960, Peredelkino, near Moscow Russian poet and prose writer. He studied music and philosophy and after the Russian Revolution of 1917 worked in the library of the Soviet commissariat of education. His early poetry, though avant-garde, was successful, but in the 1930s a gap widened between his work and officially approved literary modes, and he supported himself by doing translations. The novel Doctor Zhivago (1957; film, 1965), an epic of wandering, spiritual isolation, and love amid the harshness of the revolution and its aftermath, was a best-seller in the West but until 1987 circulated only in secrecy in the Soviet Union. Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, but he was forced to decline it because of Soviet opposition to his work
born Feb. 1, 1931, Sverdlovsk, Russia, U.S.S.R. Russian politician and president of Russia (1990-99). After attending the Urals Polytechnic Institute, he worked at construction projects in western Russia (1955-68). He became Communist Party leader in Sverdlovsk in 1976, and he was an ally of Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev later charged Yeltsin with eliminating corruption in the Moscow party organization, and as first secretary (mayor) of Moscow (1985-87) he proved a determined reformer. His criticism of the slow pace of reform led to a break with Gorbachev, and Yeltsin lost his position. In 1989 he was elected to the new Soviet parliament by a landslide, then became president of the Russian Republic (1990) and resigned from the Communist Party. In 1991 he won the presidency again in the first popular election in Russian history. When communist hard-liners staged a coup against Gorbachev, Yeltsin successfully opposed it, facing down its leaders with a dramatic outdoor speech in Moscow. He led the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (1991) and began to transform Russia's economy into one based on free markets and private enterprise. Hard-liners staged an unsuccessful coup against Yeltsin in 1993. When Chechnya unilaterally declared independence, Yeltsin sent troops to fight the rebels (1994). The Chechnya situation and Russia's deepening economic distress lessened his popularity, but he won reelection over a Communist Party challenger in 1996. After suffering a heart attack, he spent several months recovering. Continuing poor health led to his resignation on Dec. 31, 1999. He was succeeded by Vladimir Putin
{i} Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890-1960), Russian writer and translator who is famous for his novel Doctor Zhivago (1957) that was banned by the Soviet authorities but was translated and published in other countries (he was compelled to refuse the 1958 Nobel Prize for literature)
a Russian poet and writer. His most famous work is his novel about the Russian revolution Doctor Zhivago. In 1958 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature (1890-1960). born Feb. 10, 1890, Moscow, Russia died May 30, 1960, Peredelkino, near Moscow Russian poet and prose writer. He studied music and philosophy and after the Russian Revolution of 1917 worked in the library of the Soviet commissariat of education. His early poetry, though avant-garde, was successful, but in the 1930s a gap widened between his work and officially approved literary modes, and he supported himself by doing translations. The novel Doctor Zhivago (1957; film, 1965), an epic of wandering, spiritual isolation, and love amid the harshness of the revolution and its aftermath, was a best-seller in the West but until 1987 circulated only in secrecy in the Soviet Union. Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, but he was forced to decline it because of Soviet opposition to his work
born Jan. 30, 1937, Leningrad, Russia, U.S.S.R. Russian chess master. Spassky attained the rank of international grand master in chess in 1955. After a period of intermittent involvement with the game, he beat Tigran Petrosyan for the world title in 1969. In 1972 Spassky lost it to Bobby Fischer
v. born Jan. 30, 1937, Leningrad, Russia, U.S.S.R. Russian chess master. Spassky attained the rank of international grand master in chess in 1955. After a period of intermittent involvement with the game, he beat Tigran Petrosyan for the world title in 1969. In 1972 Spassky lost it to Bobby Fischer
born Feb. 1, 1931, Sverdlovsk, Russia, U.S.S.R. Russian politician and president of Russia (1990-99). After attending the Urals Polytechnic Institute, he worked at construction projects in western Russia (1955-68). He became Communist Party leader in Sverdlovsk in 1976, and he was an ally of Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev later charged Yeltsin with eliminating corruption in the Moscow party organization, and as first secretary (mayor) of Moscow (1985-87) he proved a determined reformer. His criticism of the slow pace of reform led to a break with Gorbachev, and Yeltsin lost his position. In 1989 he was elected to the new Soviet parliament by a landslide, then became president of the Russian Republic (1990) and resigned from the Communist Party. In 1991 he won the presidency again in the first popular election in Russian history. When communist hard-liners staged a coup against Gorbachev, Yeltsin successfully opposed it, facing down its leaders with a dramatic outdoor speech in Moscow. He led the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (1991) and began to transform Russia's economy into one based on free markets and private enterprise. Hard-liners staged an unsuccessful coup against Yeltsin in 1993. When Chechnya unilaterally declared independence, Yeltsin sent troops to fight the rebels (1994). The Chechnya situation and Russia's deepening economic distress lessened his popularity, but he won reelection over a Communist Party challenger in 1996. After suffering a heart attack, he spent several months recovering. Continuing poor health led to his resignation on Dec. 31, 1999. He was succeeded by Vladimir Putin
born June 19, 1906, Berlin, Ger. died Aug. 12, 1979, Ire. German-born British biochemist. With Howard Walter Florey he isolated and purified penicillin and performed the first clinical trials of the antibiotic. For their pioneering work, Chain, Florey, and Alexander Fleming shared a 1945 Nobel Prize. In addition to his work on antibiotics, Chain studied snake venoms, the spreading factor (an enzyme that aids the dispersal of fluids in tissue), and insulin. He was knighted in 1969