The name "Eesti", or Estonia, is thought to be derived from the word Aestii, the name given by the ancient Germanic peoples to the peoples living northeast of the Vistula River. The Roman historian Tacitus in 98 A.D. was the first to mention the "Aestii" people, and early Scandinavians called the land south of the Gulf of Finland "Eistland", and the people "eistr". Proto-Estonians (as well as other Finnic-speaking peoples) were also called Chuds (Ñ‡ÑƒÐ´Ñ ...

See also:

Estonians, Estonians - History, Estonians - Emigration

Read more here: » Estonians: Encyclopedia II - Estonians - History

The Waffen-SS ("Armed Protective Squadron") was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel. Headed by Heinrich Himmler who was ranked Reichsführer-SS (National Leader of the SS), the Waffen-SS saw action throughout the Second World War. After humble beginnings as a protection unit for the NSDAP leadership, the Waffen-SS eventually grew into a force of thirty-eight combat divisions comprising over 950,000 men, and including a number of elite units. In the Nuremberg Trials, the Waffen-SS was condemned as part of a criminal organisation ...

Including:

• Waffen-SS - Early history; LSSAH SS-VT
• Waffen-SS - Concept training
• Waffen-SS - Trial by fire
• Waffen-SS - Classic SS divisions
• Waffen-SS - Foreign volunteers and conscripts
• Waffen-SS - War crimes and atrocities

Read more here: » Waffen-SS: Encyclopedia - Waffen-SS

The terms "Baltic countries", "Baltic Sea countries", "Baltic states", and "Balticum" refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea. Baltic countries - Baltic Sea countries and Balticum. Geographically, the Baltic Sea countries are countries that have access to the Baltic Sea: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. The Baltic Sea countries, together with Norway, Iceland and t ...

Including:

• Baltic countries - Baltic Sea countries and Balticum
• Baltic countries - Baltic states
• Baltic countries - History of the Baltic states
• Baltic countries - Language and Culture in the Baltic states
• Baltic countries - Tourism of the Baltic states
• Baltic countries - Related statistics
• Baltic countries - Other uses

Read more here: » Baltic countries: Encyclopedia - Baltic countries

The Kalevala is an epic poem which Elias Lönnrot claimed to have compiled from Finnish folk sources in the 19th century. It is commonly called the Finnish national epic and is one of the most significant works of Finnish-language literature. The Kalevala is credited with inspiring the nationalism that ultimately led to Finnish independence from Russia in 1917. The name means "land of Kaleva" (derived from the Finish suffix -la/lä meaning land). The text of the Kalevala consists of 22,795 verses, divided into 50 poems o ...

Including:

• Kalevala - Writing the Kalevala
• Kalevala - Characters
• Kalevala - Influence of the Kalevala
• Kalevala - The quest for Kalevala
• Kalevala - Sample
• Kalevala - Books
• Kalevala - Movies

Read more here: » Kalevala: Encyclopedia - Kalevala

2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → August 2005 - Deaths in August. August 31: Michael Sheard August 26: Lord Fitt August 24: Jack Slipper August 24: Maurice Cowling August 24: Dr. Tom Pashby August 23: Brock Peters August 22: Lord Lane August 21: Robert Moog August 19: Mo Mowlam August 18: Gao Xiumin August 16: Frère Roger August ...

Including:

• August 2005 - Deaths in August
• August 2005 - 31 August 2005 Wednesday
• August 2005 - 30 August 2005 Tuesday
• August 2005 - 29 August 2005 Monday
• August 2005 - August 28 2005 Sunday
• August 2005 - August 27 2005 Saturday
• August 2005 - August 26 2005 Friday
• August 2005 - August 25 2005 Thursday
• August 2005 - August 24 2005 Wednesday
• August 2005 - August 23 2005 Tuesday
• August 2005 - August 22 2005 Monday
• August 2005 - August 21 2005 Sunday
• August 2005 - August 20 2005 Saturday
• August 2005 - August 19 2005 Friday
• August 2005 - August 18 2005 Thursday
• August 2005 - August 17 2005 Wednesday
• August 2005 - August 16 2005 Tuesday
• August 2005 - August 15 2005 Monday
• August 2005 - August 14 2005 Sunday
• August 2005 - August 13 2005 Saturday
• August 2005 - August 12 2005 Friday
• August 2005 - August 11 2005 Thursday
• August 2005 - August 10 2005 Wednesday
• August 2005 - August 9 2005 Tuesday
• August 2005 - August 8 2005 Monday
• August 2005 - August 7 2005 Sunday
• August 2005 - August 6 2005 Saturday
• August 2005 - August 5 2005 Friday
• August 2005 - August 4 2005 Thursday
• August 2005 - August 3 2005 Wednesday
• August 2005 - August 2 2005 Tuesday
• August 2005 - August 1 2005 Monday
• August 2005 - Events by month
• August 2005 - News collections and sources

Read more here: » August 2005: Encyclopedia - August 2005

The Roman historian Tacitus in his book Germania describes a people known as the Aesti or Aestii. According to his account, the Aesti speak a language related to that spoken in Britain. They worship a deity known as the 'mother of the gods', as well as the wild boar commonly found in the region; for weapons they use wooden clubs and occasionally iron implements. They are also the only people to gather and trade amber. Most scholars identify the Aesti as ancient inhabitants of Prussia, speakers of a Baltic language close ...

Read more here: » Aesti: Encyclopedia - Aesti

Valdemar II (1170–1241), called Valdemar the Conqueror or Valdemar the Victorious, was the King of Denmark from 1202 until 1241. He was the second son of King Valdemar I and Sophia of Polotsk, a Varangian princess. In 1202, Valdemar II succeeded his childless elder brother Canute VI after serving him for years. He is counted among the greatest of Danish (medieval) kings. In 1204 he secured the recognition of Norway as kingdom. In the 1210s he began to expand the Danish influence in the crusade against the last r ...

Read more here: » Valdemar II of Denmark: Encyclopedia - Valdemar II of Denmark

By 1945, Himmler's Waffen-SS numbered 800,000 members, with the Allgemeine-SS (at least on paper) hosting a membership of nearly two million. However, by the spring of 1945 Himmler had lost faith in German victory, probably partially due to his discussions with his masseur Felix Kersten and Walter Schellenberg2. He came to the realization that if the Nazi regime was to have any chance of survival, it would need to seek peace with Britain and the United States. Toward this end, h ...

See also:

Heinrich Himmler, Heinrich Himmler - Early life, Heinrich Himmler - Early Nazi Party activity, Heinrich Himmler - Rise in the SS, Heinrich Himmler - Consolidation of power, Heinrich Himmler - Himmler and the Holocaust, Heinrich Himmler - Poznań speech, Heinrich Himmler - The Second World War, Heinrich Himmler - Peace negotiations capture and death, Heinrich Himmler - Conspiracy theories, Heinrich Himmler - Historical view, Heinrich Himmler - Surviving family

Read more here: » Heinrich Himmler: Encyclopedia II - Heinrich Himmler - Peace negotiations capture and death

At the location of the current Kaunas old town, at the confluence of two large rivers, there was a settlement as far back as the tenth century BC. According to legend, the town was founded in 1030, but it is first mentioned in written sources in 1361. In the thirteenth century, a stone wall was built for protection from constant raids by the Teutonic Knights. In 1362, the town was captured by the Teutonic Knights, who destroyed the cast ...

See also:

Kaunas, Kaunas - Basic information, Kaunas - Coat of Arms, Kaunas - History, Kaunas - Historical population, Kaunas - Sights, Kaunas - Transportation, Kaunas - Sports, Kaunas - Education, Kaunas - Famous people of Kaunas, Kaunas - Yearly events, Kaunas - Interesting Facts

Read more here: » Kaunas: Encyclopedia II - Kaunas - History

Main article: History of Latvia Known originally as Livonia, the area that now constitutes Latvia was under the influence of the German Sword Brethren (Schwertbrüder) from the 13th century onward until the 16th century, when the institution of Livonia was terminated and sold by the local aristocracy to Poland. During several wars different regions of Latvia were occupied by Poland, Sweden and Russia. However, in the 18th century, during the Great Northern War, and later, following the Partitions of Poland, Russia gained control over La ...

See also:

Latvia, Latvia - History, Latvia - Politics, Latvia - Districts, Latvia - Geography, Latvia - Economy, Latvia - Religion, Latvia - Demographics, Latvia - Language, Latvia - Culture, Latvia - Sports, Latvia - International rankings, Latvia - Miscellaneous topics, Latvia - Accomplishments

Read more here: » Latvia: Encyclopedia II - Latvia - History

Estonian runo-song has been extensively recorded and studied, especially those sung by women. They can come in many forms, including work songs, ballads and epic legends. Much of the early scholarly study of runo-song was done in the 1860s by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, who used them to compose the Estonian national epic, Kalevipoeg. By the 20th century, though, runo-song had largely disappeared from Estonia, with vibrant tr ...

See also:

Music of Estonia, Music of Estonia - History, Music of Estonia - 20th century, Music of Estonia - Today, Music of Estonia - External link

Read more here: » Music of Estonia: Encyclopedia II - Music of Estonia - History

There exist different theories on the pre-history of the farming Finnic peoples. According to earlier established theories, agricultural Finnic peoples were believed to have inhabited parts of what are now the Baltic countries before the first millennium. Perhaps due to the Germanic and Slavic migration period, or for other reasons, they were thought to have migrated over the Karelian isthmus into the inland of present-day Finland and Karelia in the first millennium. Since the 1970s, this theory has been considered obsolete: serious indicati ...

See also:

Finnic, Finnic - History, Finnic - Kvens

Read more here: » Finnic: Encyclopedia II - Finnic - History

Joseph Stalin - Industrialization. Main article: Industrialization of the USSR. The Russian Civil War and War communism had a devastating effect on the country's economy. Industrial output in 1922 was 13% of that in 1914. A recovery followed under the New Economic Policy, which allowed a degree of market flexibility within the context of socialism. Under Stalin's direction, this was replaced by a system of centrally ordained Five-Year Plans in the late 1920s. These called for a highly ambitious program of state-g ...

See also:

Joseph Stalin, Joseph Stalin - Childhood and early years, Joseph Stalin - Marriages and family, Joseph Stalin - Rise to power, Joseph Stalin - Campaign against the Left and Right Opposition, Joseph Stalin - Stalin and changes in Soviet society, Joseph Stalin - Industrialization, Joseph Stalin - Collectivization, Joseph Stalin - Science, Joseph Stalin - Social services, Joseph Stalin - Culture and religion, Joseph Stalin - Purges and deportations, Joseph Stalin - World War II, Joseph Stalin - Post-war era, Joseph Stalin - Stalin as theorist, Joseph Stalin - Death, Joseph Stalin - Cult of personality, Joseph Stalin - Policies and accomplishments, Joseph Stalin - Other names, Joseph Stalin - Stalin in arts, Joseph Stalin - Notes

Read more here: » Joseph Stalin: Encyclopedia II - Joseph Stalin - Stalin and changes in Soviet society

History of Estonia - Creation of Estonian SSR. On June 16-17, 1940, the Soviet troops occupied the whole territory of Estonia and demanded a change to a new pro-Soviet puppet government. Similarly to the developments in neighboring Latvia and Lithuania, the occupation and change of government was then in the three countries followed by "parliamentary elections" where all but pro-Communist candidates were outlawed. The "parliament" so elected proclaimed Estonia a Socialist Republic on July 21, 1940 and unanimously ...

See also:

History of Estonia, History of Estonia - Pre-history, History of Estonia - The Conquest, History of Estonia - The Middle Ages, History of Estonia - Swedish Period, History of Estonia - Part of Imperial Russia, History of Estonia - Independence, History of Estonia - Period of Soviet and German Occupation, History of Estonia - Creation of Estonian SSR, History of Estonia - German Occupation, History of Estonia - After World War II, History of Estonia - Regaining Independence, History of Estonia - Time line, History of Estonia - Prehistory, History of Estonia - Livonian Period, History of Estonia - Swedish period, History of Estonia - Russian Period, History of Estonia - Independent Estonia

Read more here: » History of Estonia: Encyclopedia II - History of Estonia - Period of Soviet and German Occupation

Immigration to the United Kingdom - Ice age. Modern humans arrived in what would become the United Kingdom 35,000 years ago during the Palaeolithic. During the following Ice Age they may have been forced out, returning 10,000 years ago as the Ice Age ended (Mesolithic becoming the Neolithic with the advent of farming). As sea levels rose these first immigrants would have been isolated from mainl ...

See also:

Immigration to the United Kingdom, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Pre-Historical and Historical immigration up to 1066, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Ice age, Immigration to the United Kingdom - The Beaker people bronze age, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Celtic settlement iron age Urnfield culture Hallstatt culture La Tène culture, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Roman Empire's invasion of Britain, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Arrival of the Angles Saxons and Jutes, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Arrival of the Scots, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Viking raids, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Historical immigration 1066–1875, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Norman invasion, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Huguenots, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Historical immigration 1875 to the modern day, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Russian Jews, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Empire & Commonwealth, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Second World War, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Western Europeans, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Contemporary immigration, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Refugees and asylum seekers, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Economic migrants, Immigration to the United Kingdom - 2001 Census, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Expansion of the EU 2004, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Illegal immigration, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Laws concerning immigration and naturalisation, Immigration to the United Kingdom - Effect of immigration on society and culture

Read more here: » Immigration to the United Kingdom: Encyclopedia II - Immigration to the United Kingdom - Pre-Historical and Historical immigration up to 1066

Himmler, wishing to expand the Waffen-SS, advocated the idea of SS controlled foreign legions. The Reichsführer, with his penchant for medieval lore, envisioned a united European 'crusade', fighting to save old Europe from the 'Godless bolshevik hordes'. While volunteers from regions which had been declared Aryan were approved almost instantly, Himmler eagerly pressed for the creation of more and more foreign units. In late 1940, the creation of a multinational SS division, the Wiking, was authorised. Command of the division w ...

See also:

Waffen-SS, Waffen-SS - Early history; LSSAH SS-VT, Waffen-SS - Concept training, Waffen-SS - Trial by fire, Waffen-SS - Classic SS divisions, Waffen-SS - Foreign volunteers and conscripts, Waffen-SS - War crimes and atrocities

Read more here: » Waffen-SS: Encyclopedia II - Waffen-SS - Foreign volunteers and conscripts

Tbilisi - Early History. According to an old legend, the present-day territory of Tbilisi was covered by forests as late as the 5th century A.D. One widely accepted variant of the legend of Tbilisi's founding states that King Vakhtang I Gorgasali of Georgia went hunting in the heavily forested region with a falcon (sometimes the falcon is either substituted by a hawk or other small birds of prey in the legend). The King's falcon allegedly caught/injured a pheasant during the hunt, after which both b ...

See also:

Tbilisi, Tbilisi - History, Tbilisi - Early History, Tbilisi - Tbilisi Turns into a Capital, Tbilisi - Foreign Domination, Tbilisi - Tbilisi as the Capital of a Unified Georgian State and the Georgian Renaissance, Tbilisi - Mongol Domination and the following Period of Instability, Tbilisi - Tbilisi Under Russian Control, Tbilisi - Independence: 1918–1921, Tbilisi - Under Communist Rule, Tbilisi - After the Break-Up of the Soviet Union, Tbilisi - Geography, Tbilisi - Climate, Tbilisi - People and culture, Tbilisi - Demographics, Tbilisi - Religion, Tbilisi - Architecture, Tbilisi - Periodic events, Tbilisi - Landmarks, Tbilisi - Miscellaneous, Tbilisi - Pronunciation, Tbilisi - Education, Tbilisi - Sister cities, Tbilisi - Notable people, Tbilisi - Photo Tour

Read more here: » Tbilisi: Encyclopedia II - Tbilisi - History

After the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany on August 23, 1939, Latvia became a strategic interest of the USSR. On June 15, 1940 at 03:00 AM Soviet troops stormed Latvian border posts Masļeņiki and Smaiļi. During the following year Soviet Union placed several army garrisons in the territory of Latvia. On June 17, 1940 Soviet Union orchestrated and supported communist uprisings in all three Baltic nations, a puppet government was installed which a few months later requested Latvia t ...

See also:

History of Latvia, History of Latvia - Legendary History, History of Latvia - German Period, History of Latvia - Polish and Swedish Period, History of Latvia - Russian Period, History of Latvia - Independence, History of Latvia - Soviet Period, History of Latvia - Reinstating Independence

Read more here: » History of Latvia: Encyclopedia II - History of Latvia - Soviet Period

There exist different theories on the pre-history of the farming Finnic peoples. According to earlier established theories, agricultural Finnic peoples were believed to have inhabited parts of what are now the Baltic countries before the first millennium. Perhaps due to the Germanic and Slavic migration period, or for other reasons, they were thought to have migrated into the inland of present-day Finland and Karelia in the first millennium. Since the 1970´s, this theory has been considered obsolete: serious indications of such migration do ...

See also:

Finnic, Finnic - History

Read more here: » Finnic: Encyclopedia II - Finnic - History

The Russian Federation is home to as many as 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples. As of the 2002 census, 79.83% of the population (115,889,107 people) is ethnically Russian, followed by (groups larger than one million): 3.83 % Tatars (5,554,601) 2.03% Ukrainians (2,942,961) 1.15% Bashkirs (1,673,389) 1.13% Chuvashs (1,637,094) 0.94% Chechens ...

See also:

Demographics of Russia, Demographics of Russia - Population, Demographics of Russia - Ethnic groups, Demographics of Russia - Gradient, Demographics of Russia - Languages, Demographics of Russia - Religion, Demographics of Russia - Education, Demographics of Russia - Labor force, Demographics of Russia - Health, Demographics of Russia - Main cities

Read more here: » Demographics of Russia: Encyclopedia II - Demographics of Russia - Ethnic groups