title: J. D. Salinger

text: On October 23, 1992, "The New York Times" reported, "Not even a fire that consumed at least half his home on Tuesday could smoke out the reclusive J. D. Salinger, author of the classic novel of adolescent rebellion, "The Catcher in the Rye". Mr. Salinger is almost equally famous for having elevated privacy to an art form."


title: J. D. Salinger

text: In 1999, 25 years after the end of their relationship, Maynard auctioned a series of letters Salinger had written her. Her memoir "At Home in the World" was published the same year. The book describes how Maynard's mother had consulted with her on how to appeal to Salinger by dressing in a childlike manner, and describes Maynard's relationship with him at length. In the ensuing controversy over the memoir and the letters, Maynard claimed that she was forced to auction the letters for financial reasons; she would have preferred to donate them to the Beinecke Library at Yale. Software developer Peter Norton bought the letters for $156,500 and announced that he would return them to Salinger.


title: J. D. Salinger

text: A year later, Margaret Salinger published "Dream Catcher: A Memoir". In it, she describes the harrowing control Salinger had over her mother and dispelled many of the Salinger myths established by Hamilton's book. One of Hamilton's arguments was that Salinger's experience with post-traumatic stress disorder left him psychologically scarred. Margaret Salinger allowed that "the few men who lived through Bloody Mortain, a battle in which her father fought, were left with much to sicken them, body and soul", but she also painted her father as a man immensely proud of his service record, maintaining his military haircut and service jacket, and moving about his compound (and town) in an old Jeep.


title: J. D. Salinger

text: Both Margaret Salinger and Maynard characterized Salinger as a film buff. According to Margaret, his favorite movies included "Gigi" (1958), "The Lady Vanishes" (1938), "The 39 Steps" (1935; Phoebe's favorite movie in "The Catcher in the Rye"), and the comedies of W.C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, and the Marx Brothers. Predating VCRs, Salinger had an extensive collection of classic movies from the 1940s in 16 mm prints. Maynard wrote that "he loves movies, not films", and Margaret Salinger argued that her father's "worldview is, essentially, a product of the movies of his day. To my father, all Spanish speakers are Puerto Rican washerwomen, or the toothless, grinning-gypsy types in a Marx Brothers movie." Lillian Ross, a staff writer for "The New Yorker" and longtime friend of Salinger's, wrote after his death, "Salinger loved movies, and he was more fun than anyone to discuss them with. He enjoyed watching actors work, and he enjoyed knowing them. (He loved Anne Bancroft, hated Audrey Hepburn, and said that he had seen "Grand Illusion" ten times.)"


title: J. D. Salinger

text: Margaret also offered many insights into other Salinger myths, including her father's supposed longtime interest in macrobiotics and involvement with alternative medicine and Eastern philosophies. A few weeks after "Dream Catcher" was published, Margaret's brother Matt discredited the memoir in a letter to "The New York Observer". He disparaged his sister's "gothic tales of our supposed childhood" and wrote, "I can't say with any authority that she is consciously making anything up. I just know that I grew up in a very different house, with two very different parents from those my sister describes."


title: J. D. Salinger

text: Salinger died from natural causes at his home in New Hampshire on January 27, 2010. He was 91. His literary representative told "The New York Times" that Salinger had broken his hip in May 2009, but that "his health had been excellent until a rather sudden decline after the new year." His third wife and widow, Colleen O'Neill Zakrzeski Salinger, and Salinger's son Matt became the executors of his estate.


title: J. D. Salinger

text: Salinger wrote all his life. His widow and son began preparing this work for publication after his death, announcing in 2019 that "all of what he wrote will at some point be shared" but that it was a major undertaking and not yet ready.


title: J. D. Salinger

text: In a contributor's note Salinger gave to "Harper's Magazine" in 1946, he wrote, "I almost always write about very young people", a statement that has been called his credo. Adolescents are featured or appear in all of Salinger's work, from his first published story, "The Young Folks" (1940), to "The Catcher in the Rye" and his Glass family stories. In 1961, the critic Alfred Kazin explained that Salinger's choice of teenagers as a subject matter was one reason for his appeal to young readers, but another was "a consciousness [among youths] that he speaks for them and virtually "to" them, in a language that is peculiarly honest and their own, with a vision of things that capture their most secret judgments of the world." For this reason, Norman Mailer once remarked that Salinger was "the greatest mind ever to stay in prep school." Salinger's language, especially his energetic, realistically sparse dialogue, was revolutionary at the time his first stories were published and was seen by several critics as "the most distinguishing thing" about his work.


title: J. D. Salinger

text: Salinger identified closely with his characters, and used techniques such as interior monologue, letters, and extended telephone calls to display his gift for dialogue.


title: J. D. Salinger

text: Recurring themes in Salinger's stories also connect to the ideas of innocence and adolescence, including the "corrupting influence of Hollywood and the world at large", the disconnect between teenagers and "phony" adults, and the perceptive, precocious intelligence of children.


title: J. D. Salinger

text: Contemporary critics discuss a clear progression over the course of Salinger's published work, as evidenced by the increasingly negative reviews each of his three post-"Catcher" story collections received. Hamilton adheres to this view, arguing that while Salinger's early stories for the "slicks" boasted "tight, energetic" dialogue, they had also been formulaic and sentimental. It took the standards of "The New Yorker" editors, among them William Shawn, to refine his writing into the "spare, teasingly mysterious, withheld" qualities of "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" (1948), "The Catcher in the Rye", and his stories of the early 1950s. By the late 1950s, as Salinger became more reclusive and involved in religious study, Hamilton notes that his stories became longer, less plot-driven, and increasingly filled with digression and parenthetical remarks. Louis Menand agrees, writing in "The New Yorker" that Salinger "stopped writing stories, in the conventional sense ... He seemed to lose interest in fiction as an art form—perhaps he thought there was something manipulative or inauthentic about literary device and authorial control." In recent years, some critics have defended certain post-"Nine Stories" works by Salinger; in 2001, Janet Malcolm wrote in "The New York Review of Books" that "Zooey" "is arguably Salinger's masterpiece ... Rereading it and its companion piece 'Franny' is no less rewarding than rereading "The Great Gatsby"."


title: J. D. Salinger

text: Salinger's writing has influenced several prominent writers, prompting Harold Brodkey (an O. Henry Award-winning author) to say in 1991, "His is the most influential body of work in English prose by anyone since Hemingway." Of the writers in Salinger's generation, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Updike, attested that "the short stories of J. D. Salinger really opened my eyes as to how you can weave fiction out of a set of events that seem almost unconnected, or very lightly connected ... [Reading Salinger] stick[s] in my mind as really having moved me a step up, as it were, toward knowing how to handle my own material." Menand has observed that the early stories of Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Roth were affected by "Salinger's voice and comic timing".


title: J. D. Salinger

text: National Book Award finalist Richard Yates told "The New York Times" in 1977 that reading Salinger's stories for the first time was a landmark experience, and that "nothing quite like it has happened to me since". Yates called Salinger "a man who used language as if it were pure energy beautifully controlled, and who knew exactly what he was doing in every silence as well as in every word." Gordon Lish's O. Henry Award-winning short story "For Jeromé—With Love and Kisses" (1977, collected in "What I Know So Far", 1984) is a play on Salinger's "For Esmé—with Love and Squalor".


title: J. D. Salinger

text: In 2001, Menand wrote in "The New Yorker" that ""Catcher in the Rye" rewrites" among each new generation had become "a literary genre all its own". He classed among them Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" (1963), Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1971), Jay McInerney's "Bright Lights, Big City" (1984), and Dave Eggers's "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" (2000). Writer Aimee Bender was struggling with her first short stories when a friend gave her a copy of "Nine Stories"; inspired, she later described Salinger's effect on writers, explaining: "[I]t feels like Salinger wrote "The Catcher in the Rye" in a day, and that incredible feeling of ease inspires writing. Inspires the pursuit of voice. Not his voice. My voice. Your voice." Authors such as Stephen Chbosky, Jonathan Safran Foer, Carl Hiaasen, Susan Minot, Haruki Murakami, Gwendoline Riley, Tom Robbins, Louis Sachar, Joel Stein, Leonardo Padura, and John Green have cited Salinger as an influence. Musician Tomas Kalnoky of Streetlight Manifesto also cites Salinger as an influence, referencing him and Holden Caulfield in the song "Here's to Life". Biographer Paul Alexander called Salinger "the Greta Garbo of literature".


title: J. D. Salinger

text: In the mid-1960s, Salinger was drawn to Sufi mysticism through the writer and thinker Idries Shah's seminal work "The Sufis", as were others writers such as Doris Lessing and Geoffrey Grigson and the poets Robert Graves and Ted Hughes. As well as Shah, Salinger read the Taoist philosopher Lao Tse and the Hindu Swami Vivekananda who introduced the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko (; born 28 September 1976) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist (MMA), sambist, and judoka, currently competing for Rizin Fighting Federation and Bellator MMA. He has won championships and accolades in multiple sports, most notably in MMA Pride Fighting Championships (heavyweight champion 2003–2007), FIAS World Combat Sambo Championship (Heavyweight Champion 2002, 2005, 2007), and Russian Judo Federation National Championship (Bronze medal 1998, 1999).


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko began his MMA career on 21 May 2000, with four straight victories. After a controversial loss in December 2000, Emelianenko was unbeaten in his next 28 fights up until June 2010, including wins over four former UFC champions, one Pride FC champion, one former and two future K-1 champions, and two Olympic medalists.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko has earned numerous MMA accolades. "Sports Illustrated", among other publications, named him the top MMA fighter of the 2000s.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko is currently a staff member of Russia's Presidential Council on Physical Fitness & Sports.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 14 July 2015, after a three-year hiatus from mixed martial arts, Emelianenko announced that he was returning to active competition. As of May 10, 2022, he is #3 in the Bellator Heavyweight Rankings.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko was born in 1976 in the city of Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. In 1978, when he was two, his family moved within the Soviet Union to Stary Oskol, Belgorod of the Russian SFSR. His mother, Olga Fedorovna, was a teacher, and his father, Vladimir Alexandrovich, was a welder.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: At age 11, Emelianenko began to practice Sambo and Judo under the tutelage of Vasily Ivanovich Gavrilov. A year later, he was admitted to sport classes taught by Vladimir Voronov, a coach who worked with him. According to Voronov, Emelianenko did not stand out from his peers initially but would achieve future success thanks to his own perseverance and hard work for many years. Voronov died in August 2020 due to complications caused by coronavirus.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko finished high school in 1991 and graduated with honors from a professional trade school as a Electrician in 1994. From 1995–97, he served in the Russian Army as a Military Firefighter and then as a member of the Tank Division near Nizhny Novgorod. During this time his parents divorced.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In 1997, Emelianenko received the certification of "Master of Sports" in Judo and Sambo. He also became part of the Russian national team.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In 2000, due to a lack of money, Emelianenko left the Russian national team and began to compete professionally in mixed martial arts.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko began his mixed martial arts as a member of Russian Top Team (RTT), a stable linked to Fighting Network RINGS where he trained under senior members like Volk Han and Andrei Kopylov. After his bout with Gary Goodridge, the Emelianenko brothers left Russian Top Team and began to train in St. Petersburg with Red Devil Sport Club, managed by Vadim Finkelchtein. Finkelchtein would remain his manager up until his first retirement in mid 2012. Emelianenko is also a member of the VOS gym in the Netherlands, where he trains with Johan Vos and Lucien Carbin. Emelianenko has trained with the likes of Ernesto Hoost, Tyrone Spong, and Denis Lebedev.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko suffered his first loss in the sport with RINGS. The defeat was controversial, by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka at the King of Kings 2000 Block B event on 22 December 2000, via doctor stoppage due to a cut 17 seconds into the fight. Footage shows that the cut was caused by a missed looping punch where Kohsaka's elbow struck Emelianenko's head. Emelianenko said that this elbow reopened a cut sustained in his previous fight against Ricardo Arona. The controversy surrounding the loss was due to the fact elbow strikes were illegal for the event.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: After defeating Renato Sobral in an elimination bout, Emelianenko fought for the World Heavyweight Class Championship against Bobby Hoffman the same night. However, Hoffman refused to fight Emelianenko, asserting he had sustained an injury to his shoulder during his previous match, and forfeited. Emelianenko was awarded the win by default and he was given the RINGS Heavyweight Class Championship.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Entering the Pride Fighting Championships on the heels of winning the RINGS King of Kings 2002 tournament, Emelianenko debuted at Pride 21 on 23 June 2002 against the , Dutch fighter Semmy Schilt, whom he defeated by unanimous decision. His next opponent was heavyweight Heath Herring, in a contest to establish the number-one heavyweight contender. Emelianenko, considered an underdog, dominated Herring with ground-and-pound, winning by doctor-stoppage after the first round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko was then signed to fight heavily favored Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for Pride's Heavyweight Championship title at Pride 25 on 16 March 2003. Nogueira was coming off wins against Mark Coleman, Heath Herring and an upset comeback victory against Bob Sapp, as well as victory in the RINGS 2000 King of Kings Tournament, in which Emelianenko had participated. Nogueira was considered by many fans to be virtually unbeatable, due to his endurance and submission skills. Emelianenko rocked him early with punches and Nogueira pulled guard. Emelianenko survived Nogueira's guard, considered the most dangerous in MMA and easily defended all of Nogueira's submission attempts, dominating him for 20 minutes with a brutal ground and pound. The judges rendered a unanimous decision and Emelianenko became the second Pride Heavyweight Champion, a title he would never lose.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Three months later Emelianenko embarked on his title defense. His first match was against former IWGP Heavyweight champion, amateur and professional wrestler Kazuyuki Fujita. A heavy favorite, Emelianenko was expected to make quick work of Fujita, but was caught by a right hook that stunned him. Badly hurt, he worked his way to a clinch, but was taken down. With Fujita unable to amount a significant attack, Emelianenko was able to recover. He worked his way up and knocked Fujita down with body kick and a punching combo. He then submitted Fujita at 4:17 in the first round with a rear naked choke. Emelianenko reminisced about it in February 2009, "Fujita is the only one who ever hit me right, and he hit hard!".


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Next came a one-sided bout against heavy underdog Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge at Pride Total Elimination 2003. Emelianenko took down Goodridge after wobbling him with standing combinations, then finished him with ground and pound in the first round by referee stoppage. Emelianenko broke his hand in this fight, resulting in surgery. He has since reinjured this hand, leading to several postponed bouts. In 2011, Goodridge recalled his fight with Emelianenko; "Fedor hits so hard, I don't remember anything (from the fight). No one has his speed and power combo. He fought for 10 years at the top. He doesn't owe anything else to the sport."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: His next fight against New Japan professional wrestler Yuji Nagata at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 ended the same way, with Emelianenko first knocking Nagata to the ground twice with punches. Emelianenko fought at this event as opposed to Shockwave 2003 on the same day due to a higher fight purse because of the competition between the Japanese television networks screening these events and K-1 Premium Dynamite!! on the same night. Pride then set up an interim title match between Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Cro Cop, which ended with Nogueira winning via second round armbar.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: A notable match with Coleman's protégé Kevin "The Monster" Randleman followed just two months later at the tournament's second round. Randleman, a two-time Division I NCAA Wrestling Champion for Ohio State University and a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, was coming off an upset win over Mirko Cro Cop, which he ended by knockout. Randleman quickly scored a takedown. As Emelianenko gave his back, Randleman delivered a German suplex, slamming him to the canvas headfirst, a move that would become one of the most replayed highlights in PRIDE's and MMA's history for years to come. Emelianenko, seemingly unfazed, rolled over Randleman a few seconds later, getting top position and forcing him to submit with a kimura armlock 1:33 into the first round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 15 August 2004, Emelianenko faced six-time All-Japan Judo Champion and Olympic Silver Medalist Naoya Ogawa in the semifinals of the 2004 Grand Prix. After making quick work of Ogawa, winning by armbar, he advanced to face Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for the second time in his career. Nogueira had won a decision against Emelianenko's former teammate Sergei Kharitonov earlier that night. This match was not only to decide the winner of the 2004 Grand Prix, but to unify the heavyweight championship, as Nogueira was awarded the interim title due to Emelianenko's inability to defend his championship in a timely manner in the previous year. The rematch with Nogueira was very competitive, but the fight was stopped prematurely due to a cut to Emelianenko's head from an accidental head clash while on the ground. A third meeting was thus scheduled for Shockwave 2004, which Emelianenko won. On the line was PRIDE's Heavyweight Championship, and PRIDE's 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix title, as the final match of the tournament earlier that year was declared a no contest due to an accidental headbutt. Emelianenko this time chose not to engage Nogueira on the ground, in spite of having dominated him there in their first match. He overpowered the Brazilian on his feet in the first round, beating him to the punch for the first nine minutes. Nogueira faced great difficulty, getting dropped with punches and tossed to the mat multiple times by Judo throws. He was not able to implement his game plan of putting Emelianenko on his back, save for the final 30 seconds of the first round. He was not able to pull guard for any considerable time. During the second and third rounds, Emelianenko's takedown defense and counter-punching earned him a unanimous decision victory to retain the heavyweight championship.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: The match between Emelianenko and Cro Cop finally took place at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005. In the first round, Emelianenko was stunned and had his nose broken by two stiff jabs from Cro Cop. He got hit by body kicks that discolored his midsection. Emelianenko was then able to get the fight to the ground and land several body shots, which weakened his opponent. As the fight progressed, Emelianenko became more and more dominant, winning most of the stand up exchanges and scoring several takedowns. After 20 minutes, Emelianenko was awarded victory by unanimous decision.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Although originally endangered due to Emelianenko's recurring hand injury, a plate inserted in his hand enabled a rematch with Coleman in Pride's American debut show, Pride 32. In a fight where Coleman was unable to mount any significant offense, Emelianenko pounded him in the first round with punches, before securing an armbar at 1:15 in the second round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko's last defense of his Pride Heavyweight title was against 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt at Shockwave 2006. Josh Barnett was originally slated to fight Emelianenko for the Heavyweight title, but turned down the fight, asserting that he was unprepared. With Cro Cop's departure to the UFC organization in late 2006, Hunt became number-one contender. Sporting a broken toe during the contest, Emelianenko nevertheless secured an armbar in the second minute of the first round, but Hunt was able to escape and counter by stepping over Emelianenko, ending in side control. At five minutes into the first round, Hunt made two attempts at an americana on Emelianenko's left arm but failed to complete them. Emelianenko got back to his feet and after struggling to take the fight to the ground, he submitted Hunt with a kimura at 8:16 in the first round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: With a special clause in his Pride contract that allowed him to fight under the banner of any MMA organization as long as the event was held on Russian soil, Emelianenko accepted a match in BodogFight against Matt Lindland. The fight was held on 14 April 2007 at the "Clash of the Nations" event in St. Petersburg, Russia. Lindland moved up two weight classes (from middleweight to heavyweight) for the match and came in weighing 212.5 lb (96.5 kg) to Emelianenko's 230 lb (104.5 kg).


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Early in the fight, Lindland opened a cut above Emelianenko's left eye and clinched with him, pushing him into the corner and working for a takedown. At this point, the referee warned Emelianenko against grabbing the ropes and Emelianenko corrected himself. After a few seconds in the clinch, Lindland attempted a bodylock takedown. When Lindland lifted Emelianenko from his feet, Emelianenko reversed the takedown, landing in Lindland's half guard. The fight then remained on the ground where Emelianenko won by submission via armbar at 2:58 of the first round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: After the purchase of Pride Fighting Championships by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III and the expiration of Emelianenko's Pride contract, there was speculation about him fighting in the UFC, especially after a public falling out between Bodog's Calvin Ayre and Emelianenko's manager, Vadim Finkelchtein. In a June 2007 interview with the "Baltimore Sun", Chuck Liddell suggested that Emelianenko was on his way to the UFC. Dana White expressed interest in signing Emelianenko, but considered his management team to be the primary barrier, whereas Finkelchtein cited difficult negotiations as the reason. A main point of contention between the two was Finkelchtein's request for the UFC to work with his Russian M-1 promotion, extending contractual offers to other members of the Red Devil Sport Club, and permitting Emelianenko to compete in combat sambo tournaments. At UFC 76 however, UFC president Dana White stated that he expected Emelianenko to sign with the UFC in late 2007 or early 2008, after Emelianenko finished competing in a Sambo competition that White would not allow him to participate in under a UFC contract. He revealed his intent to set up a unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture as his first UFC fight. Nevertheless, negotiations broke down, as Emelianenko committed to a non-exclusive, two-year and six-fight deal with M-1 Global in October 2007.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: President and CEO of M-1 Global Monte Cox confirmed Emelianenko would face South Korean kickboxer Hong-man Choi in a New Year's Eve event, Yarennoka!, taking place in Japan and organized by former Pride staff with support from M-1 Global, FEG, and DEEP. A special rule was used for this fight to not allow any knee strikes on the ground. The fight was broadcast live in the United States on cable network HDNet. Emelianenko defeated Choi in the opening round by submission via an armbar.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 13 February 2008, Emelianenko attended a press conference held by Dream, a newly formed Japanese mixed martial arts promoter. Vadim Finkelchtein confirmed that the organization had a tightly knit alliance with M-1 Global and that Emelianenko would be fighting on the new organization's fight cards. M-1 Global CEO Vadim Finkelchtein recently revealed plans to organize a fight for Fedor in co-operation with Dream, possibly on New Year's Eve in Japan.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 19 July 2008, at "", Emelianenko faced former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. Sylvia was coming off a submission loss via guillotine choke at the hands of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81 in a title fight for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Sylvia was the fourth-ranked heavyweight fighter in MMA by "Sherdog.com" prior to his fight with Emelianenko.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko defeated Sylvia in 36 seconds. He dropped him with a quick punch combination, took his back and then finished the fight via submission due to a rear naked choke. Sylvia said in the post-fight press conference, "I know that I'm one of the best in the world, I was amazed at how good Fedor is. He hurt me right away and submitted me. The guy's a stud. I don't even think he's human. That guy hits hard. I've never been hit that hard before."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Dana White, who had previously criticized the fighter, asserted that he was impressed with Emelianenko's performance against ex-UFC champion Sylvia. When asked if the submission win changed his opinion on Fedor, White said; "It does. Tim Sylvia was a real opponent."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 24 January 2009, at "", Emelianenko fought former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski, who was widely considered a top-5 heavyweight at the time. Arlovski was on a five-bout win streak and was ranked as high as No. 2 by Sherdog.com. Arlovski had some early success in the fight, landing punches and kicks. However, as Emelianenko backed into the ropes, Arlovski attempted a flying knee and Emelianenko was able to counter with an overhand right which resulted in a knockout of Arlovski at 3:14 of the first round. The victory was awarded knockout of the year for 2009 by "Sherdog". The preparation for this bout overlapped with filming for the movie "The 5th Execution".


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko met Shinya Aoki during a five-minute "special exhibition" at a 29 April M-1 Challenge (presented by Affliction) event in Tokyo. Emelianenko made Aoki tap out from an Achilles lock just before the bell sounded to end the exhibition. In another exhibition match, Emelianenko met Gegard Mousasi, a friend and teammate, during M-1 Global: Breakthrough, held in Kansas City on 28 August. The two friends fought a competitive and friendly spirited exhibition with several Judo throws from both Emelianenko and Mousasi. Emelianenko finished the fight via armbar.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko was scheduled to fight former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett on 1 August 2009, at , but on 22 July Barnett was denied his license to compete by the California State Athletic Commission after testing positive for anabolic steroids. On 23 July 2009, Vitor Belfort – who was already on the card – was reported as a likely replacement, but the next day Affliction canceled the event citing limited time to find a suitable replacement and inadequate time to promote the fight.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: After the collapse of Affliction, UFC President Dana White tried repeatedly to sign Emelianenko to an exclusive UFC contract. White said of Emelianenko; "He has become my obsession. I want it (him in the UFC) worse than the fans want it." Widely considered to be the best heavyweight MMA fighter at the time, Emelianenko would receive an immediate title shot against then current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, an event that White deemed "huge". After reportedly offering Emelianenko a contract worth just under 2 million US dollars per fight, with incentives to make much more based on pay per view revenues for fights he headlined, negotiations fell apart after Emelianenko's management team demanded a co-promotion between UFC and M-1 Global, terms which White deemed unacceptable.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In 2012, White tried to lure Emelianenko out of retirement after overwhelming fan demand for a UFC bout between Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar. However, White stated that Emelianenko was firmly retired.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Following the failed negotiations with the UFC, Emelianenko signed a three-fight contract with Strikeforce. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed that Emelianenko's debut would take place on 7 November, broadcast nationally on CBS.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko's first fight in Strikeforce was against then-undefeated Brett Rogers in the main event of on 7 November 2009. Emelianenko won the fight via TKO in the second round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko suffered his first loss in 10 years on 26 June 2010 to Fabrício Werdum. After knocking Werdum down early in the first round, Emelianenko closed in, but Werdum secured a deep triangle and an armbar from his guard, and Fedor was forced to tap. Emelianenko stated through a translator on "The MMA Hour" that he considered retirement before the Werdum fight due to accumulating injuries and ageing.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In January 2011, it was announced that Fedor had agreed to enter the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, and would face Antônio Silva on 12 February in the first quarterfinal match. After a close first round, Silva took control in round 2. After passing to mount, he unleashed a barrage of ground-and-pound that ultimately caused Emelianenko's right eye to swell shut. Ringside doctors called a stop, stating that Emelianenko could not see.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko faced Dan Henderson on 30 July 2011 at . After both fighters landed significant punches in the first round, Fedor knocked Henderson down with a combination of strikes. Fedor followed Henderson to the mat and began to ground-and-pound him but Henderson was able to sweep and reverse position before delivering a punch underneath Fedor's armpit which landed on his chin, knocking Fedor unconscious, and sending him face first into the mat. Henderson continued to punch Fedor until referee Herb Dean jumped in to stop the fight. Dean explained, saying, "The fight is over when he's unconscious. Because he comes back swiftly after I've already stepped in and stopped the fight, I can't restart the fight. Dan's still throwing punches, but once I've touched Dan, I've stopped the fight. If I was to do it again – if I see a fighter face down receiving shots, I'm going to step in and stop the fight. I can't predict how long he's going to be unconscious for."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Following his third loss in a row, Emelianenko was reportedly released from Strikeforce. UFC president Dana White stated he was being released, "Yeah, he's being cut." However, Emelianenko disputed White's claims, saying, "That's Dana White's style to make comments. I didn't have a contract with Strikeforce. My current contract is with Showtime. So I think people shouldn't pay attention to these "loud" comments." According to M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan, Fedor was only under contract to Showtime and from there he fought under the Strikeforce banner, but was never a direct employee of Zuffa, and therefore was not "cut". "Strikeforce is not the only MMA promotion on Showtime so there are a number of options for Fedor which will be looked at," Kogan told "MMA Weekly".


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 7 October 2011 Emelianenko stated "Yes, I've lost my last fights, but every time there were definite reasons for that. Some changes in my family took place at that time and they affected my performance. Certainly, there were mistakes in my preparations. Naturally, I was strained analyzing my fights,". Four days later, Emelianenko continued on the subject: "In the three bouts I lost, I felt like I could've won. But the win somehow eluded me. I felt I could do it. I had chances, but God's will was different."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Following his stint in Strikeforce, Emelianenko fought Jeff Monson at M-1 Global on 20 November 2011 at the Olympic Arena in Moscow, Russia.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: After four years, Emelianenko made his return to Japan—where he spent most of his career—at on 31 December 2011, facing Satoshi Ishii. Emelianenko won by knockout in the first round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 21 June 2012 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Emelianenko faced three-time UFC heavyweight title contender Pedro Rizzo in an M-1 Global event. Prior to the bout, it was rumored that Fedor would retire. Originally denying retirement rumors, Emelianenko made his announcement post-fight after defeating Rizzo by knockout in the first two minutes of the first round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: He was a top 10 heavyweight from January 2002 to July 2011 according to FightMatrix, holding the #1 rank from April 2003 to April 2010.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 14 July 2015, after a three year hiatus from mixed martial arts, Emelianenko announced that he will be returning to active competition and has started training immediately. He was in negotiations with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA. In a statement released through his management, Emelianenko added that he has retired from his position at the Russian Ministry of Sport, and will put all attention toward his comeback.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 19 September 2015, at the , Fedor declared in English that he will fight on New Year's Eve for a newly created regional promotion in Japan, Rizin Fighting Federation, under the presidency of former Pride Fighting Championships boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Jaideep Singh and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka were initially in talks for being Fedor's opponent, but both fighters were ruled out for lack of competitiveness. Singh was eventually confirmed as the opponent and The Last Emperor easily won his comeback fight in the first round by submission to punches.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko faced Fábio Maldonado on 17 June 2016 competing for a promotion on the regional circuit in St. Petersburg (Russia). Despite being dropped and nearly finished in the first round, Emelianenko rallied over the last two rounds and was awarded a controversial majority decision victory. 4 of 5 media outlets scored the bout a draw. All three judges being appointed by the Russian MMA Union was pondered as a conflict of interest. In turn, in mid-July the official result was overturned to a draw. However, WMMAA has no real authority to change the outcome and its decision is merely symbolic in nature.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko later announced that he was going to pursue his career and study all the proposals he had received; the most anticipated being the one from the UFC, which Emelianenko confirmed he received prior to the fight against Maldonado.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 19 November 2016, during the Bellator 165 broadcast it was announced that Emelianenko signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 20 November 2016 it was announced that Emelianenko would face Matt Mitrione at Bellator's 18 February 2017 show in San Jose, California at Bellator 172. The fight was canceled only few hours before the fight as Mitrione was suffering from kidney stones and the promoter was unable to line up a substitute opponent in such a short notice. This fight against Mitrione was rescheduled for the Bellator NYC on 24 June 2017. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In November 2017, Bellator announced the 2018 Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix that will crown the Bellator Heavyweight champion, vacated in May 2016 by Vitaly Minakov. Eight fighters will compete between February and December 2018.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko faced former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir at Bellator 198 on 28 April 2018. The bout was part of the opening round of the Bellator Heavyweight Tournament. Emelianenko won the fight via TKO in the first round. He next faced Chael Sonnen in the semi-finals at Bellator 208 on 13 October 2018. Emelianenko won the fight via TKO in the first round.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In October 2018, Fedor Emelianenko left the post of the Russian MMA Union's President. After this, he became the Honorary President and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Union.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In the final, Emelianenko faced Ryan Bader for the vacant Bellator Heavyweight World Championship in the main event at Bellator 214 on 26 January 2019. He lost the fight via knockout just 35 seconds into round one.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Despite contemplating retirement, news surfaced on 15 June 2019, that Emelianenko had signed a new exclusive, multi-fight contract with Bellator.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko fought Quinton Jackson on 29 December 2019 at a Bellator and Rizin co-produced event in Japan. He won the fight via (technical) knockout in round one.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko fought Timothy Johnson on 23 October 2021 at Bellator 269. He won the bout via knockout in round one.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko is scheduled to face Ryan Bader for the Bellator Heavyweight World Championship on February 4, 2023 at Bellator 290.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Sports Illustrated, among other publications, named Emelianenko as the top MMA fighter of the 2000s. Former combat sports fighters Chuck Norris and Mike Tyson; MMA fighters such as Junior dos Santos, Fabrício Werdum, Jose Aldo, and Georges St-Pierre; and several publications have called Emelianenko the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. MMA referee John McCarthy, sports commentator Michael Schiavello and others, have compared Emelianenko's impact and legacy in MMA to the likes of Muhammad Ali, Pelé, Wayne Gretzky, and their legacies in their respective sports. Sports and MMA media, ESPN, Bleacher Report, Sherdog, SB Nation (mmafighting) and Fight Matrix, list him as the greatest MMA heavyweight fighter of all time. Emelianenko is also the longest-reigning heavyweight lineal champion. As of 2021, Emelianenko has defeated seven former UFC champions. In 2020, UFC President Dana White stated that the only fight he regrets not having made was a match between Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar, when Lesnar was the UFC heavyweight champion.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Although Emelianenko is mainly known as a striker, he is considered to excel in all of the attributes of the MMA game. MMA analyst Jack Slack wrote that, "very few men can claim to have Olympic alternate level judo and still able to out-strike the best kickboxer in MMA history". Mixed martial arts champion and commentator Bas Rutten described Emelianenko's versatility as, "if you give him an arm, he arm-bars you. If you give him a leg, he leg locks you. If you give him a punch, he knocks you out."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In the stand-up, Emelianenko's aggressive boxing makes a wide usage of the "Russian hook" or casting punch popularised by Igor Vovchanchyn, as well as other types of more technical power punches to the body and head. This, combined with smart footwork, allows him to disrupt the offence of more scientific strikers and land strikes. He frequently darts into striking range with either a left hook or an overhand right to disrupt counterpunches, resulting in a flurry of punches that often stun or flatten his opponents.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko has shown a high level acumen of hip throws from judo and sambo to bring his adversary to the ground, preferring to work from the clinch as opposed to the more common leg take downs. Once on the mat, he favors a strategy of ground-and-pound executed with viciousness and dynamism, able to negate his opponent's work from the bottom and cause damage with heavy strikes. He rarely seeks to improve position over his opponent, instead attacking freely from positions widely considered as dangerous, sometimes baiting for submissions in order to create openings.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Towards the end of his mixed martial arts career, Emelianenko entered politics. He was elected to a five-year term as a deputy of the Belgorod Regional Duma on 10 October 2010 under the United Russia political party.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 28 July 2012, Emelianenko replaced Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as a staff member of Russia's Council of Physical Fitness & Sports. The corresponding decree was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In 2014, Emelianenko expressed support of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and commented on the choice of the majority of the Crimean population to become a part of Russia in the 2014 Crimean status referendum: "Crimea has made the right choice, by joining Russia." He travelled to Crimea in order to promote MMA in the peninsula.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: As for the Donbass war, Emelianenko accused Ukraine of waging a war against its own people, accused the Ukrainian government of fascism, and of "murdering Russians simply for being Russian."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In 1999, two years after his army service, he married Oksana, whom he had known since school, and their daughter Masha was born in the same year. They divorced in 2006. On 29 December 2007, his second daughter, Vasilisa, was born to his long-time girlfriend Marina. Emelianenko and Marina married in October 2009. In his spare time, he likes to read, listen to music, and draw. in July 2011 their second daughter Elizaveta was born. He is a practicing Orthodox Christian and a parishioner at the church of St. Nicholas in Stary Oskol. His entrance theme song, "oy, to ne vecher", was performed at his request by archdeacon Andrey Zheleznyakov, soloist at the Episcopal Choir of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese. In February 2014, Emelianenko remarried his first wife.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko has stated his driving force for winning fights was: "Years ago we hardly had anything to eat. Now I earn more money and I see every opponent as a man that tries to put me back to that poorer period. That man has to be eliminated." and about his state of mind before a fight: "When I walk into a fight, I'm trying not to think about anything; collect myself and concentrate. And going into a fight, I don't feel any emotions, neither anger nor compassion. I don't emotionalize. I'm going into a fight with a clear mind... During the fight, my senses dim and basically I don't feel any pain."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: In "Fighters Only" magazine, a sports psychologist was quoted as saying, "The best when it comes to the stare down is Fedor Emelianenko. Watch him: he does not make eye contact and his entire expression is extremely relaxed – you would think he is about to perform a ballet or something. But here is the crucial thing. When the referee tells them to head back to their corners, Fedor suddenly darts a short look directly at his opponent – or through his opponent, I should say. This kind of look is associated with antisocial behavioral disorders and psychopaths. They don't look at you, they look through you. It's emotionless; it goes deeper than skin level. You will get a lot of fighters who will catch that look and suddenly realize they don't want to be there. Wanderlei Silva has a stare-down that makes you think 'this is gonna hurt', but Fedor's makes you think 'I might die'."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: Emelianenko was one of 80 Russian sports champions, cultural icons and national heroes to carry the Olympic torch in St. Petersburg in 2008.


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: When asked about his ethnicity, Fedor Emelianenko (who was born in Ukraine) said he was of Russian ethnicity, but that he "doesn't divide our countries." He said that Russia and Ukraine are "two different states," but that for him they were "still the same country."


title: Fedor Emelianenko

text: On 21 January 2021, Emelianenko was hospitalised in Moscow after contracting COVID-19. On 27 January, it was revealed that Emelianenko was released from the hospital.


title: VK (service)

text: VK (short for its original name VKontakte; , meaning "InContact") is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predominantly used by Russian speakers. VK users can message each other publicly or privately, create groups, public pages, and events; share and tag images, audio, and video; and play browser-based games.


title: VK (service)

text: , VK had at least 500 million accounts. As of March 2022, it is the fourth most popular website in Russia. The network was also popular in Ukraine until it was banned by the Verkhovna Rada in 2017.


title: VK (service)

text: VKontakte was incorporated on 19 January 2007 as a Russian private limited company. Founder Pavel Durov launched VKontakte for beta testing in September 2006, shortly after his graduation from St Petersburg State University. The following month, the domain name "vkontakte.ru" was registered. User registration was initially limited to within university circles exclusively by invitation, but the site still grew quickly.


title: VK (service)

text: In February 2007 the site reached a user base of over 100,000 and was recognized as the second largest company in Russia's nascent social network market. In the same month, the site was subjected to a severe DDoS attack, which briefly put it offline. The user base reached 1 million in July 2007, and 10 million in April 2008. In December 2008 VK overtook rival Odnoklassniki as Russia's most popular social networking service.


title: VK (service)

text: As with most social networks, the site's core functionality is based on private messaging and sharing photos, status updates, and links with friends. VK also has tools for managing online communities and celebrity pages. The site allows its users to upload, search and stream media content, such as videos and music. VK features an advanced search engine, that allows complex queries for finding friends, as well as a real-time news search. VK updated its features and design in April 2016.


title: VK (service)

text: As of May 2017, according to Alexa Internet ranking, VK is one of the most visited websites in some Eurasian countries. It is:


title: VK (service)

text: It was the fourth most viewed site in Ukraine until, in May 2017, the Ukrainian government banned the use of VK in Ukraine. According to a study for May 2018 conducted by Factum Group Ukraine VK remained the fourth most viewed site in Ukraine, but Facebook was twice as much visited. For 2019, VK appeared as the most visited social network in Ukraine according to Alexa. According to the Internet Association of Ukraine the share of Ukrainian Internet users who visit VK daily had fallen from 54% to 10% from September 2016 to September 2019. They also claimed in November 2019 that Facebook was the most popular social network.


title: VK (service)

text: VK was expected to gain most of the users lost by Facebook and Instagram after they were blocked in Russia in 2022, according to a Calltouch poll.


title: VK (service)

text: Initially, founder and CEO Pavel Durov owned 20% of shares (although he had majority voting power through proxy votes), and a trio of Russian-Israeli investors Yitzchak Mirilashvili, his father Mikhael Mirilashvili's and Lev Leviev owned 60%, 10%, and 10% respectively. The original founders then sold a stake of 39.99% to Mail.ru Group (formerly Digital Sky Technologies).


title: VK (service)

text: On 29 May 2012, Mail.ru Group announced its decision to yield control of the company to Durov by offering him the voting rights on its shares. Combined with Durov's personal 12% stake, this gave him 52% of the votes.


title: VK (service)

text: In April 2013, the Mirilashvili family sold its 40% share in VK to United Capital Partners for $1.12 billion, while Lev Leviev sold his 8% share in the same deal, giving United Capital Partners 48% ownership. In January 2014, VK's founder Pavel Durov sold his 12% stake in the company to Ivan Tavrin, the CEO of MegaFon, which is controlled by Alisher Usmanov. Following the deal, Usmanov and his allies controlled around 52% of the company. Shortly thereafter, the CEO of Megafon, sold his 12% stake to Mail.ru, thus allowing Mail.ru to consolidate its controlling stake of 52% in VK.


title: VK (service)

text: On 1 April 2014, Durov submitted his resignation to the board; at first, due to the fact the company confirmed he had resigned, it was believed to be related to the Russo-Ukrainian War which began in the previous February. However, Durov himself claimed it was an April Fool's Joke on 3 April 2014. On 21 April 2014, Durov was dismissed as CEO, claiming he failed to withdraw his letter of resignation a month earlier. Durov then claimed the company had been effectively taken over by Vladimir Putin's political faction, suggesting his dismissal was the result of both his refusal to hand over personal details of users to federal law enforcement and his refusal to hand over the personal details of people who were members of a VKontakte group dedicated to the Euromaidan protest movement. Durov then left Russia and stated that he had "no plans to go back" and that "the country is incompatible with Internet business at the moment".


title: VK (service)

text: On 16 September 2014, the Mail.ru group bought the remaining 48% stake of VK from United Capital Partners (UCP) for $1.5 billion, thus becoming the sole proprietor of the social network.


title: VK (service)

text: In December 2021, Russian state-owned bank Gazprombank and insurance company Sogaz bought out 57.3% of VK shares, thus becoming the holders of the company's controlling interest.


title: VK (service)

text: In 2008, the leading Russian television channel TV Russia (TV channel name RTR used in 1991–2002, then Russia 1) and television company VGTRK sued VKontakte (then VK) over unlicensed copies of two of its films which had been uploaded by VK users. In 2010, this dispute was settled by the Russian Supreme Arbitration Court in favour of the social network. The court ruled that VK is not responsible for its users’ copyright violations, taking into account that both parties agreed with the technical possibility to identify the user who posted illegal content and who, consequently, must incur the liability. Another ruling early in 2012 went partially in favor of Gala Records (now Warner Music Russia), a recording studio, when the same court ordered VK to pay $7000 for not being active enough in regard to copyrighted materials.


title: VK (service)

text: VK offers a content removal tool for copyright holders. Large-scale copyright holders may gain access to bulk content removal tools.


title: VK (service)

text: Since 2010, VK has also entered several partnerships with legal content providers such as television networks. and streaming providers. Most notably, the Video on Demand provider Ivi.ru that has secured licensing rights with all Hollywood majors in 2012. These partnerships allow providers to remove user-uploaded content from VK and substitute it with legal embedded copies from the provider's site. This legal content can be either ad-sponsored, subscription-based, or free, depending on the provider's choices. VK does not display its own advertising in the site's music or video sections, nor in the videos themselves. In October 2013, VKontakte was cleared of copyright infringement charges by a court in Saint Petersburg. The judge ruled that the social network is not responsible for the content uploaded by its users.


title: VK (service)

text: In November 2014, the head of the Roskomnadzor, Maxim Ksenzov, said that VKontakte would complete the process of legalization of the content at the beginning of 2015. At that time (November 2014), negotiations between major label companies and the social network VKontakte were ongoing.


title: VK (service)

text: Because the social network is one of the most popular and visited sites in runet, its visits can be used to make DDoS attacks on smaller sites.


title: VK (service)

text: VK performed DDOS attacks on certain sites, making users' browsers send multiple requests to the target site without their consent. The targets were the Runet Prize voting page in 2008 and the CAPTCHA-solving service antigate.com in 2012. It was done by inserting an iframe and a piece of JavaScript code which periodically reloaded the iframe. As a countermeasure, antigate was detecting whether iframe was loaded from VK and if it were antigate had redirected request to xHamster, a pornography website. VK needed to cease the attack due to the site's use by children. VK tried to use XMLHttpRequest to solve this problem, but had forgotten about the same-origin policy. They succeeded in stopping the attack, though there were many ways to solve the problem with redirect.


title: VK (service)

text: Durov was dismissed as CEO in April 2014 after he had failed to retract a letter of resignation. Durov contended that the resignation letter was an April fools prank. Durov then claimed Vladimir Putin's allies had, in effect, taken over the company, and suggested his ousting was the result of his refusal to hand over personal details of users to the Russian Federal Security Service and his refusal to shut down a VK group dedicated to anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny.


title: VK (service)

text: On 24 May 2013, it was reported in the media that the site had been mistakenly put on a list of websites banned by the Russian government. Some critics have accused the blacklist as the latest in a series of suspicious incidents to have happened to the website in recent months as a way for the Russian government to increase their stake in, and control of the site.


title: VK (service)

text: On 18 November 2013, following an order from the Court of Rome, VK was blocked in Italy after a complaint from Medusa Film stating that it was hosting an illegal copy of one of its films. However, in April 2015, the site was reopened for Italian users and its mobile app is available on both the App Store and Google Play.


title: VK (service)

text: In January 2016, China banned VKontakte, claiming that it was manipulating web content and cooperating with the Kremlin. According to Russia's media watchdog, the network estimates around 300,000 users based in China. As of 14 February 2018, China authorities unblocked VKontakte and it was fully accessible in the country.


title: VK (service)

text: In May 2017, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree to impose a ban on Mail.ru and its widely used social networks including VKontakte and Odnoklassniki as part of its continued sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea and involvement in the War in Donbas. Reporters Without Borders condemned the ban, calling it a "disproportionate measure that seriously undermines the Ukrainian people's right to information and freedom of expression." VK closed its office in Ukraine's capital Kyiv in June 2017.


title: VK (service)

text: In December 2021, VKontakte's CEO, Boris Dobrodeev resigned from his post. Reuters linked Dobrodeev's resignation to the acquisition of VK's majority interest by two state-owned companies that happened the same month. According to one analyst, the state consolidation of VKontakte would cause greater censorship by the government.


title: VK (service)

text: After Russian military invasion of Ukraine, on September 26, 2022, the VK application (as well as other applications of the holding services) was removed from the Apple App Store due to international sanctions. On September 28, the Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor issued a statement demanding an explanation for the removal of the VK application from the App Store. CEO Vladimir Kiriyenko was sanctioned by the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, European Union, Japan, Australia and various countries.


title: VK (service)

text: In July 2022, VKontakte has been accused of close cooperation with the Centre for Combating Extremism (Centre E), a unit within the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs heavily criticized for repressing opposition activists. For publications, reposts, comments and likes posted on their VKontakte pages, dozens of Russian citizens were sentenced to fines, suspended sentences and imprisonment. Most of the cases against users are qualified as propaganda of extremism, xenophobia and Nazism. Statistically, among all the social networking services available in Russia, the users of VKontakte were targeted by police almost exclusively.


title: VK (service)

text: VK organized their first 24-hour Hackathon in 2015 from 31 October to 1 November. The participants were invited to develop projects united by a common idea: “Make it Simple!” (Russian: «Упрощайте!»). 34 teams took part in the competition. A prize pool of 300 thousand rubles was split among the winners.


title: VK (service)

text: The second VK Hackathon took place from 26 to 27 November 2016. The participants developed projects for the community app platform. The “Search for Lost Cats” (Russian: «Поиск пропавших котиков») app won the “Developers’ Choice” category. The prize pool for the event was 300 thousand rubles.


title: VK (service)

text: The third VK Hackathon took place from 20 to 22 October 2017 with 320 participants competing in the event. The prize pool was one million rubles. An application designed to help users navigate the State Hermitage Museum won the “Culture” category.


title: VK (service)

text: In 2011, Pavel Durov and Yuri Milner created Start Fellows, a grant program founded to support projects in the field of technology. In 2014, VK took over the Start Fellows program and made it more systematic. The grant was provided to 3 companies each month and included project consultation from VK along with 25 thousand rubles a month for advertisement on the VK platform. Winners of the grant include “University Schedules” (Russian: «Расписание вузов»), a scheduling app, LiveCamDroid, a mobile streaming service, HTML Academy, an educational project, and others.


title: VK (service)

text: VK re-launched the project in 2017. Only active projects with an earnings model could submit applications. 327 grant applications were received but only 67 of them passed the initial screening. The total prize pool was 2.5 million rubles.


title: VK (service)

text: The first VK Cup, a programming championship for young programmers aged 13–23, was held on 16 July 2012 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.


title: VK (service)

text: VK and Codeforces co-organized the second VK Cup programming championship, which took place from 24 to 27 July 2015. The winners received a total of 1,048,576 rubles (an amount related to round binary numbers).


title: VK (service)

text: VK and Codeforces co-organized the fourth VK Cup which took place from 8 to 9 July 2017. Teams from 52 countries applied to take part in the competition. The prize pool for the competition was 2.5 million rubles.


title: VK (service)

text: The first VK Music Awards ceremony took place on 25 December 2017. The VK Music Awards were produced by Timur Bekmambetov and the Bazelevs Company with Pavel Volya hosting the event. The awards ceremony was held in the form of an online live stream. Any VK user could watch the broadcast live. After the ceremony, a private concert was held in the Vegas City Hall in Moscow. Tickets to the event could be won through a contest held in the VK Music community. VK Music Awards winners were determined by the number of plays an artist's song got on VK and the BOOM app. The names of the 30 award winners were published on the official VK Music Awards community page and on the BOOM app website. “Rosé Wine” (Allj and ), “Lambada” ( and Scriptonite), and “My Half” () topped the list of most listened to songs. The official pages of all award winners have been marked with a special symbol.


title: VK (service)

text: Since 2015, VK has held a yearly 2-day open-air music and entertainment festival. This festival traditionally takes place on a weekend in July at the (Russian: Парк имени 300-летия Санкт-Петербурга) in St. Petersburg, Russia. According to data from the organizer, 70 thousand people attended the festival in 2016, with the number rising to 85 thousand attendees in 2017. In 2017, around 40 artists and groups performed on 3 stages, including Little Big, The Hatters, and others. Bloggers and other famous individuals, such as Dmitry Grishin, Timur Bekmambetov, and Mikhail Piotrovsky (speakers at the 2017 festival), are also an important part of the festival. More than 1.5 million people watched the festival's official live stream.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films and television series produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. Phase Five features all of the Marvel Studios productions set to be released starting from 2023 to mid-2024, with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributing the films, while the series release on Disney+. The first film in the phase will be "", scheduled for release in February 2023, with the first series in the phase being the second season of the animated "What If...?", set for release in early 2023. Kevin Feige produces every film and serves as executive producer of every series in this phase, alongside producers Stephen Broussard for "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania", Nate Moore for "", and Eric Carroll for "Blade".


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: The films of the phase include "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, the ensemble "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", "The Marvels" starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani, "Captain America: New World Order" starring Anthony Mackie, the ensemble "Thunderbolts", and "Blade" starring Mahershala Ali.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: The Disney+ television series of the phase include the second season of "What If...?" narrated by Jeffrey Wright, "Secret Invasion" starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn, the second season of "Loki" starring Tom Hiddleston, "Ironheart" starring Dominique Thorne, "Echo" starring Alaqua Cox, "" starring Kathryn Hahn, and "" starring Charlie Cox. Phase Five, along with and , constitutes The Multiverse Saga.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: By April 2014, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said that additional storylines for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were planned through 2028. During Marvel Studios' panel at the July 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Feige announced several films and Disney+ television series in development for of the MCU, before revealing the film "Blade" was also in development. After the panel, Feige confirmed that "Blade" was not part of the Phase Four slate at the time, and that what was announced was the full Phase Four slate at that point, despite Marvel already developing further projects at that time, such as the long-in-development "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", and a sequel to "Captain Marvel" (2019). An "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018) sequel entered development by November 2019, having a potential 2022 release. Development work on a second season of "What If...?" had begun by December 2019.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: In April 2020, Disney scheduled "Captain Marvel 2" for release on July 8, 2022, before moving it back to November 11, 2022, in December 2020. Also in December, they dated "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" for 2023, and announced "" and "Fantastic Four" were in development, along with the Disney+ series "Secret Invasion", "Ironheart", and "Armor Wars" (later changed to a film). Feige indicated "Secret Invasion" and "Ironheart" would tie-in with future MCU films. These Disney+ series, plus "Captain Marvel 2", "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania", "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", and "Fantastic Four" were believed to be a part of Phase Four at that time. By November 2020, development had begun on a second season of the television series "Loki", which was formally confirmed in July 2021. Development on a series centered on Echo as a spin-off from "Hawkeye" began by March 2021. By the end of April 2021, a fourth "Captain America" film was revealed to be in development as a continuation of the series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021). In May 2021, Marvel Studios announced the title for "Captain Marvel 2" as "The Marvels", as well as the respective February 17 and May 5, 2023, releases dates for "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3". In October 2021, Marvel Studios further adjusted "The Marvels" to February 17, 2023, and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" to July 28, 2023, only to swap their release dates in April 2022, given "Quantumania" was further along in production than "The Marvels". Development on a series centered on Agatha Harkness as a spin-off from "WandaVision" began by October 2021. During the Disney+ Day event the following month, Marvel Studios officially announced "Echo" and "".


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: By March 2022, a reboot project of Marvel Television's Netflix series "Daredevil" (2015–2018) was revealed to be in development, and was confirmed to be in development for Disney+ in May. By June 2022, Marvel Studios was developing the film "Thunderbolts". Later that month, Feige said information on the next saga of the MCU would be provided in the following months, with Marvel Studios being a "little more direct" on their future plans to provide audiences with "the bigger picture [so they] can see a tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap" following the clues included during Phase Four. At Marvel Studios' San Diego Comic-Con panel in July 2022, Feige announced that "" would conclude Phase Four, with the following films and series becoming part of Phase Five: "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania", "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", "The Marvels", "Secret Invasion", and "Ironheart". "Blade", the second season of "Loki", "Echo", and "Agatha: Coven of Chaos" were also confirmed for Phase Five, with Feige announcing the series "" and the films "" and "Thunderbolts". He also announced that Phase Five, along with Phase Four and , would be part of The Multiverse Saga. By then, the second season of "What If...?" was also announced to release during this phase. Feige stated that many of the projects in Phase Four and Five, and their post-credit teases, would connect and lead towards the conclusion of The Multiverse Saga, while some would remain standalone. Feige described "Quantumania" as "a direct line" into the phase and Phase Six's "" (2025). In October, "Blade" had its release date pushed back to September 6, 2024, due to production-related issues. In December 2022, "Echo" head writer Marion Dayre stated that the series would be delayed to late 2023, around that December.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, along with Hope's parents Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne and Lang's daughter Cassie, go on a new adventure exploring the Quantum Realm that pushes their limits and pits them against Kang the Conqueror.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Ahead of the release of "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018), Peyton Reed and Marvel Studios expected a third "Ant-Man" film would be made and had discussed potential story points, with Reed returning as director by November 2019, alongside Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne / Wasp. Jeff Loveness was writing the script by April 2020, with the title and new cast members revealed that December. Filming in Turkey began in early February 2021, while principal photography began at the end of July at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, and ended in November. Shooting was also scheduled to occur in Atlanta, Georgia and San Francisco, to last until 2022. "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" is scheduled to be released on February 17, 2023.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Jonathan Majors appears as Kang the Conqueror, after first appearing as a variant of that character called He Who Remains in the first season of "Loki" (2021).


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: After purchasing Knowhere from the Collector, the Guardians of the Galaxy attempt to make it a safe haven for alien refugees. But after a brutal attack, Peter Quill must lead the Guardians on a dangerous mission to protect one of their members that could lead to the team dissolving.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: A third "Guardians of the Galaxy" film was planned by Marvel Studios in April 2016, with James Gunn returning to write and direct a year later. Disney fired him in July 2018 after the resurfacing of controversial tweets, but reversed course that October and reinstated Gunn as director. Gunn's return was revealed in early 2019 along with the five main stars' involvement, with production beginning after Gunn completed his film "The Suicide Squad" (2021) and its spin-off series "Peacemaker" (2022). Kevin Feige confirmed the film was in development at the July 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. Filming began in November 2021, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, and concluded in early May 2022. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is scheduled to be released on May 5, 2023.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is set after the events of "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" (2022).


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau begin swapping places with each other every time they use their powers and must team-up to figure out why.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Feige confirmed a sequel to "Captain Marvel" (2019) was in development at the July 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, with Megan McDonnell writing the script and Brie Larson returning as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel by January 2020. The studio wanted a female director for the film rather than have Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck return from the first, with Nia DaCosta hired to direct by that August. The film was announced with the title "Captain Marvel 2" in December 2020, with the official title, "The Marvels", revealed in May 2021. Second unit filming began in mid-April 2021 in New Jersey, while principal photography had begun by August at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, Longcross Studios in Surrey, and in Tropea. Shooting also occurred in Los Angeles. Filming wrapped by May 2022. "The Marvels" is scheduled to be released on July 28, 2023.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: "The Marvels" is set after the events of the Disney+ series "Ms. Marvel" (2022), with Iman Vellani, Saagar Shaikh, Zenobia Shroff, and Mohan Kapur reprising their respective roles as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, Aamir Khan, Muneeba Khan, and Yusuf Khan. Teyonah Parris returns as the adult Monica Rambeau from the series "WandaVision" (2021), after the character was previously portrayed as a child by Akira Akbar in "Captain Marvel".


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: In April 2021, a fourth "Captain America" film was revealed to be in development, with a script co-written by Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson. The duo previously served as head writer and a staff writer, respectively, on the Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021). Anthony Mackie joined by August the same year, to headline the film reprising his role as Sam Wilson / Captain America. Julius Onah was chosen to direct in July 2022. The film will explore the effects of becoming Captain America on Wilson. Filming is scheduled to begin in March 2023, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, to last until that June. "Captain America: New World Order" is scheduled to be released on May 3, 2024.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Danny Ramirez and Carl Lumbly reprise their respective roles of Joaquin Torres / Falcon and Isaiah Bradley from "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", alongside Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns / Leader from "The Incredible Hulk" (2008). Harrison Ford portrays Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, replacing the late William Hurt from previous MCU films.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: By June 2022, a "Thunderbolts" film was in development, with Jake Schreier attached to direct, and Eric Pearson writing the screenplay. In September, the Thunderbolts team was announced to include Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier / White Wolf, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost, Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster, all reprising their roles from previous MCU projects. Filming is expected to begin in early 2023, in Atlanta. "Thunderbolts" is scheduled to be released on July 26, 2024.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Harrison Ford will reprise his role as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross from "Captain America: New World Order".


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: By May 2013, Marvel Studios had a working script for a new Blade film after regaining the rights following New Line Cinema's prior film series. In February 2019, Mahershala Ali approached Marvel Studios about starring in a new film after previously portraying Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes in Marvel Television's "Luke Cage". Feige officially announced the film with Ali in the title role that July at San Diego Comic-Con; Ali first had an uncredited voice cameo as Blade in "Eternals" (2021). In February 2021, Stacy Osei-Kuffour was hired to write the film, with Bassam Tariq hired to direct by that September. Tariq left a year later due to the film's production shifts. Yann Demange was set to direct in November, when Michael Starrbury was rewriting the script. Filming is expected to begin in early 2023, at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, and will also occur in Cleveland, New Orleans, and Morocco. "Blade" is scheduled to be released on September 6, 2024.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Following the formation of the Guardians of the Multiverse, the Watcher continues to meet new heroes and strange worlds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe multiverse.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: The first season of "What If...?" premiered in August 2021. In December 2019, work had already begun on the second season. A. C. Bradley and Bryan Andrews return as head writer and director, respectively. The season will debut in early 2023, and will consist of nine episodes.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: By September 2020, Marvel Studios was developing a series centered on Nick Fury, with Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role and Kyle Bradstreet serving as head writer. That December, Marvel Studios revealed the series to be an adaptation of the "Secret Invasion" comic book storyline, and confirmed Jackson, with Ben Mendelsohn co-starring as Talos. Filming had begun by September 2021 in London, with Thomas Bezucha and Ali Selim directing episodes of the series. Filming concluded in late April 2022. Additional filming occurred across West Yorkshire and in Liverpool, England. "Secret Invasion" is scheduled to be released in early 2023, and will consist of six episodes.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: "Secret Invasion" is set after the events of "" (2019). Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, and Don Cheadle will reprise their respective MCU roles of Maria Hill, Everett K. Ross, and James "Rhodey" Rhodes.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: The first season of "Loki" premiered in June 2021. Development on a second season had begun by November 2020, with season one head writer Michael Waldron expected to once again be involved "in some capacity" by January 2021. The season was officially confirmed in July 2021, along with Tom Hiddleston returning to star as Loki. By February 2022, Eric Martin was set to write the season, with Waldron as an executive producer. Filming began in mid-June 2022, at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom, with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead directing the majority of episodes, and concluded that October. The second season of "Loki" is scheduled to be released in mid-2023, and will consist of six episodes.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced a series centered on Riri Williams / Ironheart was in development starring Dominique Thorne, reprising her role from the film "" (2022). Chinaka Hodge was hired as head writer in April 2021. Ryan Coogler, writer and director of "Black Panther" (2018) and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever", co-develops the series through his company Proximity Media, as does 20th Television. Filming had begun by early June 2022, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, with Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes directing episodes of the series. Filming also occurred in Chicago by late October, and concluded in early November. "Ironheart" is scheduled to be released in late 2023, and will consist of six episodes.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Maya Lopez returns to her hometown after the events in New York City, where she must come to terms with her past, while reconnecting with her Native American roots, and embrace her family and community.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Development on a spin-off from the series "Hawkeye" (2021) starring Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez / Echo began by March 2021, with Etan Cohen and Emily Cohen set to write and executive produce. "Echo" was officially announced that November, when Marion Dayre was revealed to be serving as head writer. 20th Television co-produces the series. Filming began in late April 2022, and concluded in late August, occurring throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area in Atlanta, Peachtree City, Social Circle, and Grantville, Georgia, with Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie directing episodes of the series. "Echo" is expected to be released in late 2023, around that December.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: "Echo" is set after the events of "Hawkeye" and leads into the events of "". Zahn McClarnon reprises his role as William Lopez from "Hawkeye", along with Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin and Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil from previous MCU media.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: Development on a spin-off from the series "WandaVision" starring Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness began by October 2021, with Jac Schaeffer set to write and executive produce. The series was initially announced in November 2021 as "Agatha: House of Harkness", until it was retitled in July 2022. 20th Television co-produces the series. Filming is scheduled to begin in mid-January 2023, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, with Schaeffer and Gandja Monteiro directing episodes of the series. Filming is expected to last until late April 2023. "Agatha: Coven of Chaos" is scheduled to be released in late 2023.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: In March 2022, a new "Daredevil" project was revealed to be in development with Feige as a producer, after Disney regained the rights to the series from Netflix and it began streaming on Disney+. The series was confirmed to be in development for Disney+ in May, with Matt Corman and Chris Ord attached as head writers and executive producers, and was officially announced in July with Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio returning as Matt Murdock / Daredevil and Wilson Fisk / Kingpin, respectively. 20th Television co-produces the series. Filming is expected to begin in February 2023 in New York to last until that December. "Daredevil: Born Again" is scheduled to be released in early 2024, and will consist of 18 episodes.


title: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Five

text: "Secret Invasion" is set after the events of "Spider-Man: Far From Home". "The Marvels" is set after the events of "Ms. Marvel". "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is set after the events of "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special". "Echo" is set after the events of "Hawkeye". "Ironheart" is set after the events of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever".


title: American History X

text: American History X is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. The film stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as two brothers from Los Angeles who are involved in the white power skinhead and neo-Nazi movements. The older brother (Norton) serves three years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, is rehabilitated during this time, and then tries to prevent his brother (Furlong) from being indoctrinated further. The supporting cast includes Fairuza Balk, Stacy Keach, Elliott Gould, Avery Brooks, Ethan Suplee and Beverly D'Angelo.


title: American History X

text: McKenna wrote the script based on his own childhood and experiences of growing up in San Diego. He sold the script to New Line Cinema, which was impressed by the writing. "American History X" was Kaye's first directorial role in a feature film. Budgeted at $20 million, filming took place in 1997. Before the film's release, Kaye and the film studio were in disagreements about the final cut of the film. The final version was longer than Kaye intended, which resulted in him publicly disowning the film; thus negatively affecting his directing career.


title: American History X

text: Distributed by New Line Cinema, the film was released in the United States on October 30, 1998, grossing $23.9 million, against a $20 million budget. "American History X" was critically praised, with Norton and Furlong's performances and the film's message drawing acclaim. Norton received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film has also been used for educational purposes in the United States and in other countries. A follow-up, "African History Y", with Kaye returning as director and starring Djimon Hounsou, was in active development as of 2020.


title: American History X

text: High school student Danny Vinyard antagonizes his Jewish history teacher Murray by choosing to write a civil rights essay on "Mein Kampf". African-American principal and outreach worker Dr. Bob Sweeney tells Danny that he will study history through current events or be expelled, calling their class "American History X". Danny's first assignment is a paper on his older brother Derek, a past student of Sweeney's and former neo-Nazi leader released from prison that day.


title: American History X

text: Years earlier, Danny and Derek's father, a fireman, was shot and killed by a black narcotics dealer while putting out a fire at their home. Immediately after his death, Derek erupts in a racially motivated tirade in a televised interview. High-profile neo nazi Cameron Alexander becomes Derek's mentor and they form their own violent white supremacist gang called the Disciples of Christ (D.O.C.) in Venice Beach. A skilled basketball player, Derek is dragged into a game against several Crips, winning control of the local ball courts. Derek organizes an attack on a supermarket employing illegal Mexican immigrants.


title: American History X

text: Derek's mother Doris invites Murray, her boyfriend, for dinner where an argument about Rodney King and the 1992 Los Angeles riots occurs. Derek assaults his sister Davina and openly berates Murray, and Doris tells Derek to leave home. That night, the same group of Crips that Derek had beaten in the basketball game earlier attempt to rob his truck. When Danny alerts Derek to the crime, Derek shoots two of the men, killing one and wounding another, before curb stomping the wounded man, much to Danny's horror. He is arrested and sentenced to three years in the California Institution for Men for voluntary manslaughter.


title: American History X

text: In prison, Derek joins the Aryan Brotherhood and befriends a black inmate named Lamont. Derek becomes disgusted and disillusioned by prison gang politics; he believes in the ideology, but disapproves of the gang's dealings with non-white gangs and involvement in narcotics dealing, thinking that the members are only using the philosophy of white supremacy out of convenience. He loses his belief further when his friends in the D.O.C. never visit him in prison. He ultimately abandons the Aryan Brotherhood, who beat and rape him in the shower in retaliation. Derek is visited in the hospital wing by Sweeney, with whom he pleads for help to get out of prison; promising to leave town and never come back. Sweeney rebukes Derek and reveals his own racist past, much to Derek's shock, and warns that Danny has become involved with the D.O.C. to follow in his footsteps which upsets Derek further. After recovering and leaving the hospital wing, Derek ignores the Aryan Brotherhood while Lamont warns that he may be targeted by African-American gangs now that he is no longer under the Aryan Brotherhood's protection. An attack never comes, and Derek spends the remainder of his sentence alone. When he is released, Derek thanks Lamont, whom he realizes intervened on his behalf.


title: American History X

text: Returning home, Derek finds Danny emulating him, sporting a D.O.C. tattoo and becoming a skinhead. Derek tries to persuade him to leave the gang, but Danny feels betrayed. Derek's best friend Seth, also a D.O.C. member, frequently disrespects Derek's mother and sister while grooming Danny for the group; Seth and Danny are closely controlled by Cameron. During a party at the D.O.C’s compound, Derek confronts Cameron and calls him out for using him only to abandon him for three years; declaring his departure from the group and refusal to allow them to use Danny the same way, he brutally beats Cameron when the man mocks him. Seth and the others, including Derek's ex-girlfriend Stacey, turn against Derek. Seth holds Derek at gunpoint, but Derek easily disarms him and holds everyone at gunpoint before fleeing with his brother.


title: American History X

text: Afterwards, Derek tells Danny about his experience in prison, which seems to prompt a change in Danny. The pair return home and remove racist posters from their shared bedroom. The next morning, Danny completes his paper, reflecting on his reasons for adopting neo nazi values, and their flaws. Derek walks Danny to school, stopping at a diner for breakfast. Sweeney and a police officer inform Derek that Seth and Cameron were attacked the night before and are in an intensive care unit. Derek denies having any knowledge or involvement and reluctantly agrees to inspect the people he denounced. In the boys' bathroom, Danny is killed by a black student that he had confronted the day before. Derek runs to the school, and finding Danny's body, mournfully cradles him while blaming himself for influencing Danny's views and actions which led to it. In a voiceover, Danny reads the final lines of his paper for Dr. Sweeney, quoting the final stanza of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address.


title: American History X

text: Screenwriter David McKenna wrote the screenplay for "American History X" and sold the rights to New Line Cinema when he was 26. The inspiration for the story came from the punk-rock scene of McKenna's childhood, where he often witnessed violent behavior. "I saw a lot of bigotry growing up, and it made me think about writing something about the world of hate-mongers. The point I tried to make in the script is that a person is not born a racist. It is learned through [the] environment and the people that surround you. The question that intrigued me is: why do people hate and how does one go about changing that? My premise was that hate starts in the family". In order to make the characters as realistic as possible, McKenna interviewed and observed the behavior of skinheads during the writing process. He said "I had seen documentaries that just didn't ring true to me, and I wanted to write an accurate portrayal of how good kids from good families can get so terribly lost".


title: American History X

text: Producer John Morrissey, who read the script three years prior, was impressed by the script's intense characters and dialogue. Michael De Luca, then-production president of New Line Cinema, said "I was intrigued by its intensity, conviction and brutal honesty. There was a brilliant character study woven into the screenplay, and I knew we had something special if we did it correctly". In 1996, the producers first approached Dennis Hopper to direct the film. Hopper turned down the offer and Tony Kaye was then approached to direct. Kaye, who had been De Luca's preferred choice from the beginning, accepted and made his directorial debut in a feature film on "American History X". He took the contract to a synagogue, "I signed it in front of the rabbi. I thought it would make it good", Kaye said. After the film was released, De Luca stated "It's everything I had hoped for. The performances are explosive and frightening, and the film dramatically demonstrates both the subtle and overt roots of racism while also showing the possibility for redemption".


title: American History X

text: Joaquin Phoenix was offered the role of Derek Vinyard but he refused the part. After holding casting calls, Kaye was unable to find a suitable actor for the lead role, but casting director Valerie McCaffrey suggested Edward Norton. Kaye initially objected, feeling that Norton lacked the "weight or presence", but he eventually conceded. According to executive producer Steve Tisch, Norton's passion for the project was "contagious", and he even agreed to a pay cut of more than $500,000 from his usual $1 million fee, to be cast in the lead. McCaffrey also cast Edward Furlong for the role of Danny Vinyard. To prepare for the role, Norton increased his calorie intake and spent hours in the gym to gain 25 pounds (11 kg) of muscle.


title: American History X

text: Principal photography took place in Los Angeles and Venice Beach, lasting for several months and finishing in May 1997. Kaye served as cinematographer and camera operator, and would often silently walk around the set, scouting for camera angles or visuals. During filming, Kaye established a casual environment for the cast and crew. He welcomed visitors on set, including singer Courtney Love, Norton's girlfriend at the time, and British historian John Richardson. Kaye would arrive for work in a Lincoln Town Car with a chauffeur, and a license plate that read "JEWISH". He carried four cell phones and a fax machine, and during the Passover holidays, Kaye had boxes of matzo delivered to the set. He also discovered at the time a newsletter published by a British political group, the National Front, which said he was a prominent Jew who supposedly controlled Britain's media.


title: American History X

text: Both Furlong and Ethan Suplee found taking on their roles with hateful views to be uncomfortable. Furlong said "It's pretty intense, having to say this incredibly hateful stuff". The actors had "white power" tattoos painted on their arms, which Suplee forgot to remove one day after filming, and was confronted by a man in a convenience store. Norton recalls "Doing that film created the strangest distortion of perception on me ... the degree to which that film and the magic of camera and art and black and white photography ... made a lot of people think that I was a larger and tougher person than I am". The flashback scenes were edited to be in black-and-white, whereas the present-day scenes were edited to be in color.


title: American History X

text: Kaye hired British composer Anne Dudley to score the film, and wanted the music to be "big and elegiac". She employed a full orchestra and a boys' choir, and decided against using hip-hop sounds. She said, "The neo-Nazi faction is personified in the music by a boys choir – what could be a more Aryan sound? ... A calming string orchestra instead provides a much more expressive and timeless palette".


title: American History X

text: Kaye's original cut of the finished film had a run time of 95 minutes, which was delivered on time and within budget. Although it generated a positive response from test screenings, New Line Cinema insisted on further edits to the film. Kaye was mortified, saying "I'm fully aware that I'm a first-time director, but I need the same autonomy and respect that Stanley Kubrick gets". Soon afterwards, Norton was involved with editing alongside Kaye, which was a difficult experience for the pair. At one point, Kaye punched a wall which resulted in stitches to his hand.


title: American History X

text: In June 1998, the film studio test-screened a second cut of the film which included changes made by Norton. The studio tried to persuade Kaye to release Norton's cut, but he objected. Although the differences between the two cuts are disputed, Kaye objected to an additional 18 minutes of footage, and they disagreed with the length of certain scenes such as a family argument, Norton's anti-immigration speech, and a flashback where Norton's father is criticizing a teacher. Subsequently, the studio compromised and gave Kaye an extra eight weeks to edit and submit a new cut of the film.


title: American History X

text: During this period, Kaye took a number of combative actions, spending $100,000 on advertisements in the Hollywood press and condemning the behavior of Norton and the studio. "American History X" was due to premiere at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival, however, Kaye demanded that organizer Piers Handling withdraw the film. On July 28, 1998, after the eight week deadline, Kaye had nothing new to show and the studio announced that it would release Norton's cut. Kaye attempted to remove his name from the film credits, applying for various pseudonyms, including "Humpty Dumpty", a request that the Directors Guild of America (DGA) refused. Kaye subsequently filed a $200 million lawsuit against DGA and New Line Cinema, although the case was dismissed in 2000. Kaye disowned the film, describing the released version, which was 24 minutes longer than his own cut, as a "total abuse of creativity" and "crammed with shots of everyone crying in each other's arms". Kaye's behavior caused Hollywood to view him as unemployable, and he did not watch the film until June 2007. He later admitted that "My ego got in the way. That was entirely my fault. [...] Whenever I can, I take the opportunity to apologize". He also did not direct another film until 2006's "Lake of Fire".


title: American History X

text: The film was released by New Line Home Video on DVD on April 6, 1999, and on VHS on August 24 of the same year. The film was later released on Blu-ray on April 7, 2009, including seven minutes of deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer.


title: American History X

text: "American History X" premiered in Los Angeles on October 28, 1998, and on the same week in New York. It received a wider release in the United States on October 30. The film grossed $156,076 in 17 theaters during its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $6,719,864 from 513 theaters in the United States, for a worldwide total of $23,875,127.


title: American History X

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, "American History X" has an approval rating of 83% based on 87 reviews, with an average rating of 7.30/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""American History X" doesn't contend with its subject matter as fully as it could, but Edward Norton's performance gives this hard-hitting drama crucial weight." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted score of 62 out of 100 based on 32 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A" on scale of A to F.