title: Pericles

text: In any case, seeing the pillage of their farms, the Athenians were outraged, and they soon began to indirectly express their discontent towards their leader, who many of them considered to have drawn them into the war. Even when in the face of mounting pressure, Pericles did not give in to the demands for immediate action against the enemy or revise his initial strategy. He also avoided convening the ecclesia, fearing that the populace, outraged by the unopposed ravaging of their farms, might rashly decide to challenge the vaunted Spartan army in the field. As meetings of the assembly were called at the discretion of its rotating presidents, the "prytanies", Pericles had no formal control over their scheduling; rather, the respect in which Pericles was held by the prytanies was apparently sufficient to persuade them to do as he wished. While the Spartan army remained in Attica, Pericles sent a fleet of 100 ships to loot the coasts of the Peloponnese and charged the cavalry to guard the ravaged farms close to the walls of the city. When the enemy retired and the pillaging came to an end, Pericles proposed a decree according to which the authorities of the city should put aside 1,000 talents and 100 ships, in case Athens was attacked by naval forces. According to the most stringent provision of the decree, even proposing a different use of the money or ships would entail the penalty of death. During the autumn of 431 BC, Pericles led the Athenian forces that invaded Megara and a few months later (winter of 431–430 BC) he delivered his monumental and emotional Funeral Oration, honoring the Athenians who died for their city.


title: Pericles

text: In 430 BC, the army of Sparta looted Attica for a second time, but Pericles was not daunted and refused to revise his initial strategy. Unwilling to engage the Spartan army in battle, he again led a naval expedition to plunder the coasts of the Peloponnese, this time taking 100 Athenian ships with him. According to Plutarch, just before the sailing of the ships an eclipse of the sun frightened the crews, but Pericles used the astronomical knowledge he had acquired from Anaxagoras to calm them. In the summer of the same year an epidemic broke out and devastated the Athenians. The exact identity of the disease is uncertain; typhus or typhoid fever are suspected, but this has been the source of much debate. In any case, the city's plight, caused by the epidemic, triggered a new wave of public uproar, and Pericles was forced to defend himself in an emotional final speech, a rendition of which is presented by Thucydides. This is considered to be a monumental oration, revealing Pericles' virtues but also his bitterness towards his compatriots' ingratitude. Temporarily, he managed to tame the people's resentment and to ride out the storm, but his internal enemies' final bid to undermine him came off; they managed to deprive him of the generalship and to fine him at an amount estimated between 15 and 50 talents. Ancient sources mention Cleon, a rising and dynamic protagonist of the Athenian political scene during the war, as the public prosecutor in Pericles' trial.


title: Pericles

text: Nevertheless, within just a year, in 429 BC, the Athenians not only forgave Pericles but also re-elected him as strategos. He was reinstated in command of the Athenian army and led all its military operations during 429 BC, having once again under his control the levers of power. In that year, however, Pericles witnessed in the epidemic the death of both Paralus and Xanthippus, his legitimate sons from his first wife. His morale undermined, overwhelmed with grief, Pericles wept copiously for his loss and not even the companionship of Aspasia could console him. He himself died of the plague later in the year.


title: Pericles

text: Just before his death, Pericles' friends were concentrated around his bed, enumerating his virtues during peace and underscoring his nine war trophies. Pericles, though moribund, heard them and interrupted them, pointing out that they forgot to mention his fairest and greatest title to their admiration; "for", said he, "no living Athenian ever put on mourning because of me". Pericles lived during the first two and a half years of the Peloponnesian War and, according to Thucydides, his death was a disaster for Athens, since his successors were inferior to him; they preferred to incite all the bad habits of the rabble and followed an unstable policy, endeavoring to be popular rather than useful. With these bitter comments, Thucydides not only laments the loss of a man he admired, but he also heralds the flickering of Athens' unique glory and grandeur.


title: Pericles

text: Pericles, following Athenian custom, was first married to one of his closest relatives, with whom he had two sons, Paralus and Xanthippus, but around 445 BC, Pericles divorced his wife. He offered her to another husband, with the agreement of her male relatives. The name of his first wife is not known; the only information about her is that she was the wife of Hipponicus, before being married to Pericles, and the mother of Callias from this first marriage.


title: Pericles

text: After Pericles divorced his wife, he had a long-term relationship with Aspasia of Miletus, with whom he had a son, Pericles the Younger. While Aspasia was held in high regard by many of Athens' socialites, her status as a non-Athenian led many to attack their relationship. Even Pericles' son, Xanthippus, who had political ambitions, did not hesitate to slander his father. Nonetheless, such objections did not greatly undermine the popularity of the couple and Pericles readily fought back against accusations that his relationship with Aspasia was corrupting of Athenian society.


title: Pericles

text: His sister and both his legitimate sons, Xanthippus and Paralus, died during the Plague of Athens. Just before his death, the Athenians allowed a change in the law of 451 BC that made his half-Athenian son with Aspasia, Pericles the Younger, a citizen, and legitimate heir, a striking decision considering that Pericles himself had proposed the law confining citizenship to those of Athenian parentage on both sides.


title: Pericles

text: Pericles marked a whole era and inspired conflicting judgments about his significant decisions. The fact that he was at the same time a vigorous statesman, general and orator only tends to make an objective assessment of his actions more difficult.


title: Pericles

text: Some contemporary scholars call Pericles a populist, a demagogue and a hawk, while other scholars admire his charismatic leadership. According to Plutarch, after assuming the leadership of Athens, "he was no longer the same man as before, nor alike submissive to the people and ready to yield and give in to the desires of the multitude as a steersman to the breezes". It is told that when his political opponent, Thucydides, was asked by Sparta's king, Archidamus, whether he or Pericles was the better fighter, Thucydides answered without any hesitation that Pericles was better, because even when he was defeated, he managed to convince the audience that he had won. In matters of character, Pericles was above reproach in the eyes of the ancient historians, since "he kept himself untainted by corruption, although he was not altogether indifferent to money-making".


title: Pericles

text: Thucydides (the historian), an admirer of Pericles, maintains that Athens was "in name a democracy but, in fact, governed by its first citizen". Through this comment, the historian illustrates what he perceives as Pericles' charisma to lead, convince and, sometimes, to manipulate. Although Thucydides mentions the fining of Pericles, he does not mention the accusations against Pericles but instead focuses on Pericles' integrity. On the other hand, in one of his dialogues, Plato rejects the glorification of Pericles and declares: "as I know, Pericles made the Athenians slothful, garrulous and avaricious, by starting the system of public fees".


title: Pericles

text: Plutarch mentions other criticism of Pericles' leadership: "many others say that the people were first led on by him into allotments of public lands, festival-grants, and distributions of fees for public services, thereby falling into bad habits, and becoming luxurious and wanton under the influence of his public measures, instead of frugal and self-sufficing".


title: Pericles

text: Thucydides argues that Pericles "was not carried away by the people, but he was the one guiding the people". His judgement is not unquestioned; some 20th-century critics, such as Malcolm F. McGregor and John S. Morrison, proposed that he may have been a charismatic public face acting as an advocate on the proposals of advisors, or the people themselves. According to King, by increasing the power of the people, the Athenians left themselves with no authoritative leader. During the Peloponnesian War, Pericles' dependence on popular support to govern was obvious.


title: Pericles

text: For more than 20 years Pericles led many expeditions, mainly naval ones. Being always cautious, he never undertook of his own accord a battle involving much uncertainty and peril and he did not accede to the "vain impulses of the citizens". He based his military policy on Themistocles' principle that Athens' predominance depends on its superior naval power and believed that the Peloponnesians were near-invincible on land. Pericles also tried to minimize the advantages of Sparta by rebuilding the walls of Athens, which, it has been suggested, radically altered the use of force in Greek international relations.


title: Pericles

text: During the Peloponnesian War, Pericles initiated a defensive "grand strategy" whose aim was the exhaustion of the enemy and the preservation of the "status quo". According to Platias and Koliopoulos, Athens as the strongest party did not have to beat Sparta in military terms and "chose to foil the Spartan plan for victory". The two basic principles of the "Periclean Grand Strategy" were the rejection of appeasement (in accordance with which he urged the Athenians not to revoke the Megarian Decree) and the avoidance of overextension. According to Kagan, Pericles' vehement insistence that there should be no diversionary expeditions may well have resulted from the bitter memory of the Egyptian campaign, which he had allegedly supported. His strategy is said to have been "inherently unpopular", but Pericles managed to persuade the Athenian public to follow it. It is for that reason that Hans Delbrück called him one of the greatest statesmen and military leaders in history. Although his countrymen engaged in several aggressive actions soon after his death, Platias and Koliopoulos argue that the Athenians remained true to the larger Periclean strategy of seeking to preserve, not expand, the empire, and did not depart from it until the Sicilian Expedition. For his part, Ben X. de Wet concludes his strategy would have succeeded had he lived longer.


title: Pericles

text: Critics of Pericles' strategy, however, have been just as numerous as its supporters. A common criticism is that Pericles was always a better politician and orator than strategist. Donald Kagan called the Periclean strategy "a form of wishful thinking that failed", Barry S. Strauss and Josiah Ober have stated that "as strategist he was a failure and deserves a share of the blame for Athens' great defeat", and Victor Davis Hanson believes that Pericles had not worked out a clear strategy for an effective offensive action that could possibly force Thebes or Sparta to stop the war. Kagan criticizes the Periclean strategy on four counts: first that by rejecting minor concessions it brought about war; second, that it was unforeseen by the enemy and hence lacked credibility; third, that it was too feeble to exploit any opportunities; and fourth, that it depended on Pericles for its execution and thus was bound to be abandoned after his death. Kagan estimates Pericles' expenditure on his military strategy in the Peloponnesian War to be about 2,000 talents annually, and based on this figure concludes that he would have only enough money to keep the war going for three years. He asserts that since Pericles must have known about these limitations he probably planned for a much shorter war. Others, such as Donald W. Knight, conclude that the strategy was too defensive and would not succeed.


title: Pericles

text: In contrast, Platias and Koliopoulos reject these criticisms and state that "the Athenians lost the war only when they dramatically reversed the Periclean grand strategy that explicitly disdained further conquests". Hanson stresses that the Periclean strategy was not innovative, but could lead to a stagnancy in favor of Athens. It is a popular conclusion that those succeeding him lacked his abilities and character.


title: Pericles

text: Modern commentators of Thucydides, with other modern historians and writers, take varying stances on the issue of how much of the speeches of Pericles, as given by this historian, do actually represent Pericles' own words and how much of them is free literary creation or paraphrase by Thucydides. Since Pericles never wrote down or distributed his orations, no historians are able to answer this with certainty; Thucydides recreated three of them from memory and, thereby, it cannot be ascertained that he did not add his own notions and thoughts.


title: Pericles

text: Although Pericles was a main source of his inspiration, some historians have noted that the passionate and idealistic literary style of the speeches Thucydides attributes to Pericles is completely at odds with Thucydides' own cold and analytical writing style. This might, however, be the result of the incorporation of the genre of rhetoric into the genre of historiography. That is to say, Thucydides could simply have used two different writing styles for two different purposes.


title: Pericles

text: Ioannis Kakridis and Arnold Gomme were two scholars who debated the originality of Pericles' oratory and last speech. Kakridis believes that Thucydides altered Pericles words. Some of his strongest arguments included in the Introduction of the speech, (Thuc.11.35). Kakridis proposes that it is impossible to imagine Pericles deviating away from the expected funeral orator addressing the mourning audience of 430 after the Peloponnesian war. The two groups addressed were the ones who were prepared to believe him when he praised the dead, and the ones who did not. Gomme rejects Kakridis's position, defending the fact that "Nobody of men has ever been so conscious of envy and its workings as the Greeks, and that the Greeks and Thucydides in particular had a passion for covering all ground in their generalizations, not always relevantly."


title: Pericles

text: Kagan states that Pericles adopted "an elevated mode of speech, free from the vulgar and knavish tricks of mob-orators" and, according to Diodorus Siculus, he "excelled all his fellow citizens in skill of oratory". According to Plutarch, he avoided using gimmicks in his speeches, unlike the passionate Demosthenes, and always spoke in a calm and tranquil manner. The biographer points out, however, that the poet Ion reported that Pericles' speaking style was "a presumptuous and somewhat arrogant manner of address, and that into his haughtiness there entered a good deal of disdain and contempt for others".


title: Pericles

text: Gorgias, in Plato's homonymous dialogue, uses Pericles as an example of powerful oratory. In Menexenus, however, Socrates (through Plato) casts aspersions on Pericles' rhetorical fame, claiming ironically that, since Pericles was educated by Aspasia, a trainer of many orators, he would be superior in rhetoric to someone educated by Antiphon. He also attributes authorship of the Funeral Oration to Aspasia and attacks his contemporaries' veneration of Pericles.


title: Pericles

text: Sir Richard C. Jebb concludes that "unique as an Athenian statesman, Pericles must have been in two respects unique also as an Athenian orator; first, because he occupied such a position of personal ascendancy as no man before or after him attained; secondly, because his thoughts and his moral force won him such renown for eloquence as no one else ever got from Athenians".


title: Pericles

text: Ancient Greek writers call Pericles "Olympian" and extol his talents; referring to him "thundering and lightning and exciting Greece" and carrying the weapons of Zeus when orating. According to Quintilian, Pericles would always prepare assiduously for his orations and, before going on the rostrum, he would always pray to the gods, so as not to utter any improper word.


title: Pericles

text: Nothing was more alien to the Greeks than the notion of a Separation between church and state. In Athens, the community provided a tight framework for religious manifestations while, symmetrically, religion was deeply embedded in civic life. Within this context, participation in the rituals was an action highly political in the broadest sense of the term.


title: Pericles

text: To analyze Pericles's relations with gods, one has to position oneself at the intersection of the general and the particular, where what was personal and what was shared by the whole community came together. On the one hand, the career of the "strategos" will illuminate the Athenians' collective relationship to all that was divine. As a reelected "strategos" and a persuasive orator, Pericles was the spokesman of a civic religion that was undergoing a mutation. He was implicated in a policy of making constant offerings and of launching huge architectural religious works not only on the Acropolis but also throughout Attica; and, furthermore, he was engaged in such activities at a time when city was introducing profound changes into its religious account of its origins—that is, autochthony—within a context of strained diplomatic relations.


title: Pericles

text: On the other hand, the ancient sources made it possible to glimpse the personal relations that Pericles had developed with gods. These were relations of proximity in the first place: he was sometimes depicted as a protégé of goddess Athena, but in Attic comedies he was also assimilated to god Zeus, in an analogy that was in no way flattering. But then, there were also relations that emphasized distance: some philosophical accounts presented him as a man close to the sophists or even as a freethinker. Finally, there were relations involving irreverence: some later and less trustworthy sources made much of several trials for impiety in which those close to him were involved, and this raises the question of religious tolerance in fifth-century Athens and, in particular, how far individuals enjoyed freedom of thought when faced with the civic community.


title: Pericles

text: Pericles' most visible legacy can be found in the literary and artistic works of the Golden Age, much of which survive to this day. The Acropolis, though in ruins, still stands and is a symbol of modern Athens. Paparrigopoulos wrote that these masterpieces are "sufficient to render the name of Greece immortal in our world".


title: Pericles

text: In politics, Victor L. Ehrenberg argues that a basic element of Pericles' legacy is Athenian imperialism, which denies true democracy and freedom to the people of all but the ruling state. The promotion of such an arrogant imperialism is said to have ruined Athens. Pericles and his "expansionary" policies have been at the center of arguments promoting democracy in oppressed countries.


title: Pericles

text: Other analysts maintain an Athenian humanism illustrated in the Golden Age. The freedom of expression is regarded as the lasting legacy deriving from this period. Pericles is lauded as "the ideal type of the perfect statesman in ancient Greece" and his Funeral Oration is nowadays synonymous with the struggle for participatory democracy and civic pride.


title: Pericles

text: In 1932, botanist Albert Charles Smith published "Periclesia", a monotypic genus of flowering plants from Ecuador belonging to the family Ericaceae and named after Pericles.


title: Pericles

text: The exterior of the ETH Zurich University Archives has a wall painting with the face of Pericles, together with Homer and Aristotle.


title: Pericles

text: In the 1968 "Star Trek" episode "Plato's Stepchildren", Captain Kirk is presented with the shield of Pericles by the leader of the Platonian race.


title: Pericles

text: In the 2016 video game "Civilization VI" Pericles is one of the two playable leaders for the Greek civilization, the other being Gorgo.


title: Pericles

text: In the 2018 video game "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" Pericles's life as a politician and his death are both presented, although his death being from injuries sustained during a violent attack is not historically accurate.


title: Mount Athos

text: Mount Athos (; , ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peninsula have been governed as the monastic community of Mount Athos, an autonomous region within the Hellenic Republic, ecclesiastically under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, while the remainder of the peninsula forms part of the Aristotelis municipality. Mount Athos has been inhabited since ancient times and is known for its long Christian presence and historical monastic traditions, which date back to at least AD 800 and the Byzantine era. Because of its long history of religious importance, the well-preserved agrarian architecture within the monasteries, and the preservation of the flora and fauna around the mountain, Mount Athos was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988.


title: Mount Athos

text: In modern Greek, Mount Athos is referred to as Oros Athos (), the peninsula as Hersonisos tou Atho (), while the designation "Agio Oros" () translating to 'Holy Mountain' is used to denote the autonomous region of Greece governed by the monastic community of Mount Athos. In the classical era, while the mountain was called "Athos", the peninsula was known as or (). Some languages of Orthodox tradition use names translating to 'Holy Mountain', these include Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian ("Света Гора, Sveta Gora"; ); and Georgian (, ). However, not all languages spoken in the Eastern Orthodox world use this name: in Russian it is simply called (, meaning "Athos"), while in Romanian it is called "Mount Athos" ( or ).


title: Mount Athos

text: The peninsula, the easternmost "leg" of the larger Chalkidiki peninsula in central Macedonia, protrudes into the Aegean Sea at a width of between and covers an area of . The actual Mount Athos has steep, densely forested slopes reaching up to . The Athos peninsula, unlike Sithonia and Kassandra, is a geological continuation of the Rhodope Mountains of northern Greece and Bulgaria.


title: Mount Athos

text: The surrounding seas, especially at the end of the peninsula, can be dangerous. In ancient Greek history two fleet disasters in the area are recorded: In 492 BC Darius, the king of Persia, lost 300 ships under general Mardonius. In 411 BC the Spartans lost a fleet of 50 ships under the admiral Epicleas.


title: Mount Athos

text: Mount Athos has an extensive network of footpaths, many of which date back to the Byzantine period. Many are typically not accessible to motor vehicle traffic.


title: Mount Athos

text: Much of Mount Athos is covered with mixed broadleaf deciduous and evergreen forests. Black pine ("Pinus nigra") forests are found at higher elevations. Sclerophyllous scrub vegetation is also found throughout Mount Athos. Typical forest trees are sweet chestnut ("Castanea sativa"), holm oak ("Quercus ilex"), kermes oak ("Quercus coccifera"), Hungarian oak ("Quercus frainetto"), oriental plane ("Platanus orientalis"), black pine ("Pinus nigra"), and cedar ("Calocedrus decurrens"). Other common plant species include the strawberry tree ("Arbutus unedo" and "Arbutus andrachne"), cypress ("Cupressus sempervirens"), laurel ("Laurus nobilis"), lentisk ("Pistacia lentiscus"), phillyrea ("Phillyrea latifolia"), wild olive ("Olea europea"), and heather ("Erica" spp.). Deciduous trees that are primarily found alongside streams include white willow, laurel, Oriental plane, and alder trees.


title: Mount Athos

text: Aleppo pine ("Pinus halepensis") is more commonly found in the northern part of the peninsula. Broadleaf maquis is found further south. Deciduous broadleaf forest dominated by sweet chestnut lies above the broadleaf maquis zone. There are also mixed forests consisting deciduous oak trees, as well as limes, aspen, hop hornbeam, and maple. Black pine and stinking juniper can be found at higher elevations. Some herbaceous plants with tubers and bulbs include crocus, anemone, cyclamen, and fritillary species.


title: Mount Athos

text: At least 35 plant species are endemic to Mount Athos, most of which are found in the area of the main summit in the south. "Isatis tinctoria" ssp. "athoa", a woad subspecies, and "Viola athois" are named after Mount Athos.


title: Mount Athos

text: Mammals include the grey wolf ("Canis lupus"), wild boar ("Sus scrofa"), red fox ("Vulpes vulpes"), jackal ("Canis aureus"), European badger ("Meles meles"), beech marten ("Martes foina"), stoat ("Mustela erminea"), weasel ("Mustela nivalis vulgaris"), European hedgehog ("Erinaceus concolor"), shrews ("Crocidura" spp.), and Mediterranean monk seal ("Monachus monachus"). Other mammal species include roe deer, hares, and red squirrels.


title: Mount Athos

text: Birds include the black stork ("Ciconia nigra"), short-toed snake-eagle ("Circaetus gallicus"), golden eagle ("Aquila chrysaetos"), lesser kestrel ("Falco naumanni"), capercaillie ("Tetrao urogallus"), eagle owl ("Bubo bubo"), yelkouan shearwater ("Puffinus yelkouan"), and Audouin's gull ("Larus audouinii"). Other bird species include swifts, swallows, martins, nightingales, and hoopoes.


title: Mount Athos

text: In Greek mythology, Athos is the name of one of the Gigantes that challenged the Greek gods during the Gigantomachia. Athos threw a massive rock at Poseidon which fell in the Aegean Sea and became Mount Athos. According to another version of the story, Poseidon used the mountain to bury the defeated giant.


title: Mount Athos

text: Homer mentions the mountain Athos in the Iliad. Herodotus writes that, during the Persian invasion of Thrace in 492 BC, the fleet of the Persian commander Mardonius was wrecked with losses of 300 ships and 20,000 men, by a strong North wind while attempting to round the coast near Mount Athos. Herodotus mentions the peninsula, then called "Akte," telling us that Pelasgians from the island of Lemnos populated it and naming five cities thereon, Sane, Kleonai (Cleonae), Thyssos (Thyssus), Olophyxos (Olophyxus), and Akrothoon (Acrothoum). Strabo also mentions the cities of Dion (Dium) and Akrothoon. Eretria also established colonies on Akte. At least one other city was established in the Classical period: Akanthos (Acanthus). Some of these cities minted their own coins.


title: Mount Athos

text: The peninsula was on the invasion route of Xerxes I, who spent three years excavating the Xerxes Canal across the isthmus to allow the passage of his invasion fleet in 483 BC. After the death of Alexander the Great, the architect Dinocrates (Deinokrates) proposed carving the entire mountain into a statue of Alexander.


title: Mount Athos

text: Pliny the Elder stated in 77 AD that the inhabitants of Mount Athos could "live to their four hundredth year" due to the fact that they eat the skin of vipers.


title: Mount Athos

text: The history of the peninsula during latter ages is shrouded by the lack of historical accounts. Archaeologists have not been able to determine the exact location of the cities reported by Strabo. It is believed that they must have been deserted when Athos' new inhabitants, the monks, started arriving some time before the ninth century AD.


title: Mount Athos

text: According to the Athonite tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was sailing accompanied by St John the Evangelist from Joppa to Cyprus to visit Lazarus. When the ship was blown off course to then-pagan Athos, it was forced to anchor near the port of Klement, close to the present monastery of Iviron. The Virgin walked ashore and, overwhelmed by the wonderful and wild natural beauty of the mountain, she blessed it and asked her Son for it to be her garden. A voice was heard saying, "" (Translation: "Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved"). From that moment the mountain was consecrated as the garden of the Mother of God and was out of bounds to all other women.


title: Mount Athos

text: Historical documents on ancient Mount Athos history are very few. It is certain that monks have been there since the fourth century, and possibly since the third. During Constantine I's reign (324–337) both Christians and followers of traditional Greek religion were living there. During the reign of Julian (361–363), the churches of Mount Athos were destroyed, and Christians hid in the woods and inaccessible places.


title: Mount Athos

text: Later, during Theodosius I's reign (379–395), the temples of the traditional Greek religion were destroyed. The lexicographer Hesychius of Alexandria states that in the fifth century there was still a temple and a statue of "Zeus Athonite". After the Islamic conquest of Egypt in the seventh century, many Orthodox monks from the Egyptian desert tried to find another calm place; some of them came to the Athos peninsula. An ancient document states that monks "built huts of wood with roofs of straw [...] and by collecting fruit from the wild trees were providing themselves improvised meals."


title: Record label

text: A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists, and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label", derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information.


title: Record label

text: Within the mainstream music industry, recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and promote their singles on streaming services, radio, and television. Record labels also provide publicists, who assist performers in gaining positive media coverage, and arrange for their merchandise to be available via stores and other media outlets.


title: Record label

text: Record labels may be small, localized and "independent" ("indie"), or they may be part of a large international media group, or somewhere in between. The Association of Independent Music (AIM) defines a 'major' as "a multinational company which (together with the companies in its group) has more than 5% of the world market(s) for the sale of records or music videos." As of 2012, there are only three labels that can be referred to as "major labels" (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group). In 2014, AIM estimated that the majors had a collective global market share of some 65–70%.


title: Record label

text: Record labels are often under the control of a corporate umbrella organization called a "music group". A music group is usually affiliated to an international conglomerate "holding company", which often has non-music divisions as well. A music group controls and consists of music-publishing companies, record (sound recording) manufacturers, record distributors, and record labels. Record companies (manufacturers, distributors, and labels) may also constitute a "record group" which is, in turn, controlled by a music group. The constituent companies in a music group or record group are sometimes marketed as being "divisions" of the group.


title: Record label

text: PolyGram was merged into Universal Music Group (UMG) in 1999, leaving the rest to be known as the Big Five.


title: Record label

text: In 2004, Sony and BMG agreed to a joint venture and merged their recorded music division to create the Sony BMG label (which would be renamed Sony Music Entertainment after a 2008 merger); BMG kept its music publishing division separate from Sony BMG and later sold BMG Music Publishing to UMG. In 2007, the four remaining companies—known as the Big Four—controlled about 70% of the world music market, and about 80% of the United States music market.


title: Record label

text: In 2012, the major divisions of EMI were sold off separately by owner Citigroup: most of EMI's recorded music division was absorbed into UMG; EMI Music Publishing was absorbed into Sony/ATV Music Publishing; finally, EMI's Parlophone and Virgin Classics labels were absorbed into Warner Music Group (WMG) in July 2013. This left the so-called Big Three labels.


title: Record label

text: In 2020 and 2021, both WMG and UMG had their IPO with WMG started trading at Nasdaq and UMG started trading at Euronext Amsterdam and leaving only Sony Music as wholly-owned subsidiary of an international conglomerate (Sony Entertainment which in turn owned by Sony Group Corporation).


title: Record label

text: Record labels and music publishers that are not under the control of the big three are generally considered to be "independent" ("indie"), even if they are large corporations with complex structures. The term "indie label" is sometimes used to refer to only those independent labels that adhere to independent criteria of corporate structure and size, and some consider an indie label to be almost any label that releases non-mainstream music, regardless of its corporate structure.


title: Record label

text: Independent labels are often considered more artist-friendly. Though they may have less financial clout, indie labels typically offer larger artist royalty with a 50% profit-share agreement, aka 50–50 deal, not uncommon. In addition, independent labels are often artist-owned (although not always), with a stated intent often being to control the quality of the artist's output. Independent labels usually do not enjoy the resources available to the "big three" and as such will often lag behind them in market shares. However, frequently independent artists manage a return by recording for a much smaller production cost of a typical big label release. Sometimes they are able to recoup their initial advance even with much lower sales numbers.


title: Record label

text: On occasion, established artists, once their record contract has finished, move to an independent label. This often gives the combined advantage of name recognition and more control over one's music along with a larger portion of royalty profits. Artists such as Dolly Parton, Aimee Mann, Prince, Public Enemy, among others, have done this. Historically, companies started in this manner have been re-absorbed into the major labels (two examples are American singer Frank Sinatra's Reprise Records, which has been owned by Warner Music Group for some time now, and musician Herb Alpert's A&M Records, now owned by Universal Music Group). Similarly, Madonna's Maverick Records (started by Madonna with her manager and another partner) was to come under control of Warner Music when Madonna divested herself of controlling shares in the company.


title: Record label

text: Some independent labels become successful enough that major record companies negotiate contracts to either distribute music for the label or in some cases, purchase the label completely, to the point where it functions as an imprint or sublabel.


title: Record label

text: A label used as a trademark or brand and not a company is called an imprint, a term used for the same concept in publishing. An imprint is sometimes marketed as being a "project", "unit", or "division" of a record label, even though there is no legal business structure associated with the imprint. A record company may use an imprint to market a particular genre of music, such as jazz, blues, country music, or indie rock.


title: Record label

text: Music collectors often use the term "sublabel" to refer to either an imprint or a subordinate label company (such as those within a group). For example, in the 1980s and 1990s, 4th & B'way Records (pronounced as "Broadway") was a trademarked brand owned by Island Records Ltd. in the UK and by a subordinate branch, Island Records, Inc., in the United States. The center label on a 4th & Broadway record marketed in the United States would typically bear a 4th & B'way logo and would state in the fine print, "4th & B'way™, an Island Records, Inc. company". Collectors discussing labels as brands would say that 4th & B'way is a sublabel or imprint of just "Island" or "Island Records". Similarly, collectors who choose to treat corporations and trademarks as equivalent might say 4th & B'way is an imprint and/or sublabel of both Island Records, Ltd. and that company's sublabel, Island Records, Inc. However, such definitions are complicated by the corporate mergers that occurred in 1989 (when Island was sold to PolyGram) and 1998 (when PolyGram merged with Universal). PolyGram held sublabels including Mercury, Island and Motown. Island remained registered as corporations in both the United States and UK, but control of its brands changed hands multiple times as new companies were formed, diminishing the corporation's distinction as the "parent" of any sublabels.


title: Record label

text: Vanity labels are labels that bear an imprint that gives the impression of an artist's ownership or control, but in fact represent a standard artist/label relationship. In such an arrangement, the artist will control nothing more than the usage of the name on the label, but may enjoy a greater say in the packaging of their work. An example of such a label is the Neutron label owned by ABC while at Phonogram Inc. in the UK. At one point artist Lizzie Tear (under contract with ABC themselves) appeared on the imprint, but it was devoted almost entirely to ABC's offerings and is still used for their re-releases (though Phonogram owns the masters of all the work issued on the label).


title: Record label

text: However, not all labels dedicated to particular artists are completely superficial in origin. Many artists, early in their careers, create their own labels which are later bought out by a bigger company. If this is the case it can sometimes give the artist greater freedom than if they were signed directly to the big label. There are many examples of this kind of label, such as Nothing Records, owned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails; and Morning Records, owned by the Cooper Temple Clause, who were releasing EPs for years before the company was bought by RCA.


title: Record label

text: A label typically enters into an exclusive recording contract with an artist to market the artist's recordings in return for royalties on the selling price of the recordings. Contracts may extend over short or long durations, and may or may not refer to specific recordings. Established, successful artists tend to be able to renegotiate their contracts to get terms more favorable to them, but Prince's much-publicized 1994–1996 feud with Warner Bros. Records provides a strong counterexample, as does Roger McGuinn's claim, made in July 2000 before a US Senate committee, that the Byrds never received any of the royalties they had been promised for their biggest hits, "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn!, Turn!".


title: Record label

text: A contract either provides for the artist to deliver completed recordings to the label, or for the label to undertake the recording with the artist. For artists without a recording history, the label is often involved in selecting producers, recording studios, additional musicians, and songs to be recorded, and may supervise the output of recording sessions. For established artists, a label is usually less involved in the recording process.


title: Record label

text: The relationship between record labels and artists can be a difficult one. Many artists have had conflicts with their labels over the type of sound or songs they want to make, which can result in the artist's artwork or titles being changed before release. Other artists have had their music prevented from release, or shelved. Record labels generally do this because they believe that the album will sell better if the artist complies with the label's desired requests or changes. At times, the record label's decisions are prudent ones from a commercial perspective, but these decisions may frustrate artists who feel that their art is being diminished or misrepresented by such actions.


title: Record label

text: In other instances, record labels have shelved artists' albums with no intention of any promotion for the artist in question. Reasons for shelving can include the label deciding to focus its resources on other artists on its roster, or the label undergoing a restructure where the person that signed the artist and supports the artist's vision is no longer present to advocate for the artist. In extreme cases, record labels can prevent the release of an artist's music for years, while also declining to release the artist from their contract, leaving the artist in a state of limbo. Artists who have had disputes with their labels over ownership and control of their music have included Taylor Swift, Tinashe, Megan Thee Stallion, Kelly Clarkson, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Clipse, Ciara, JoJo, Michelle Branch, Kesha, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Paul McCartney, and Johnny Cash.


title: Record label

text: In the early days of the recording industry, recording labels were absolutely necessary for the success of any artist. The first goal of any new artist or band was to get signed to a contract as soon as possible. In the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, many artists were so desperate to sign a contract with a record company that they sometimes ended up signing agreements in which they sold the rights to their recordings to the record label in perpetuity. Entertainment lawyers are usually employed by artists to discuss contract terms.


title: Record label

text: Due to advancing technology such as the Internet, the role of labels is rapidly changing, as artists are able to freely distribute their own material through online radio, peer-to-peer file sharing such as BitTorrent, and other services, at little to no cost, but with correspondingly low financial returns. Established artists, such as Nine Inch Nails, whose career was developed with major label backing, announced an end to their major label contracts, citing that the uncooperative nature of the recording industry with these new trends is hurting musicians, fans and the industry as a whole. However, Nine Inch Nails later returned to working with a major label, admitting that they needed the international marketing and promotional reach that a major label can provide. Radiohead also cited similar motives with the end of their contract with EMI when their album "In Rainbows" was released as a "pay what you want" sales model as an online download, but they also returned to a label for a conventional release. Research shows that record labels still control most access to distribution.


title: Record label

text: Computers and internet technology led to an increase in file sharing and direct-to-fan digital distribution, causing music sales to plummet in recent years. Labels and organizations have had to change their strategies and the way they work with artists. New types of deals called "multiple rights" or "360" deals are being made with artists, where labels are given rights and percentages to artist's touring, merchandising, and endorsements. In exchange for these rights, labels usually give higher advance payments to artists, have more patience with artist development, and pay higher percentages of CD sales. These 360 deals are most effective when the artist is established and has a loyal fan base. For that reason, labels now have to be more relaxed with the development of artists because longevity is the key to these types of pact. Several artists such as Paramore, Maino, and even Madonna have signed such types of deals.


title: Record label

text: A look at an actual 360 deal offered by Atlantic Records to an artist shows a variation of the structure. Atlantic's document offers a conventional cash advance to sign the artist, who would receive a royalty for sales after expenses were recouped. With the release of the artist's first album, however, the label has an option to pay an additional $200,000 in exchange for 30 percent of the net income from all touring, merchandise, endorsements, and fan-club fees. Atlantic would also have the right to approve the act's tour schedule, and the salaries of certain tour and merchandise sales employees hired by the artist. In addition, the label also offers the artist a 30 percent cut of the label's album profits—if any—which represents an improvement from the typical industry royalty of 15 percent.


title: Record label

text: With the Internet now being a viable source for obtaining music, netlabels have emerged. Depending on the ideals of the net label, music files from the artists may be downloaded free of charge or for a fee that is paid via PayPal or other online payment system. Some of these labels also offer hard copy CDs in addition to direct download. Digital Labels are the latest version of a 'net' label. Whereas 'net' labels were started as a free site, digital labels represent more competition for the major record labels.


title: Record label

text: The new century brought the phenomenon of "open-source" or "open-content" record labels. These are inspired by the free software and open source movements and the success of Linux.


title: Record label

text: In the mid-2000s, some music publishing companies began undertaking the work traditionally done by labels. The publisher Sony/ATV Music, for example, leveraged its connections within the Sony family to produce, record, distribute, and promote Elliott Yamin's debut album under a dormant Sony-owned imprint, rather than waiting for a deal with a proper label.


title: Record label

text: In 2002, ArtistShare was founded as the Internet's first record label where the releases were directly funded by the artist's fans.


title: Audi R8

text: The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006.


title: Audi R8

text: The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufactured by Audi AG's private subsidiary company manufacturing high performance automotive parts, Audi Sport GmbH (formerly quattro GmbH), and is based on the Lamborghini Gallardo and presently the Huracán platform. The fundamental construction of the R8 is based on the "Audi Space Frame", and uses an aluminium monocoque which is built using space frame principles. The car is built by Audi Sport GmbH in a newly renovated factory at Audi's 'aluminium site' at Neckarsulm in Germany.


title: Audi R8

text: The Audi R8, based on the Audi Le Mans quattro concept car (designed by Frank Lamberty and Julian Hoenig) first appeared at the 2003 International Geneva Motor Show and the 2003 Frankfurt International Motor Show. The R8 road car was officially launched at the Paris Auto Show on 30 September 2006. There was some confusion with the name, which the car shares with the 24 Hours of Le Mans winning R8 Le Mans Prototype (LMP). Initial models included the R8 4.2 FSI coupé (with a V8 engine) and R8 5.2 FSI coupé (with a V10 engine). Convertible models, called the "Spyder" by the manufacturer, were introduced in 2008, followed by the high-performance GT model introduced in 2011. The Motorsport variants of the R8 were also subsequently introduced from 2008 onwards. An all-electric version called the e-Tron started development but would only reach production stage when the second generation model would be introduced.


title: Audi R8

text: The car received a facelift in 2012 and a new model called the V10 Plus was now added to the range. Production of the Type 42 ended in August 2015.


title: Audi R8

text: The second generation of the R8 (model code: Type 4S) was unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show and is based on the Modular Sports System platform shared with the Lamborghini Huracan. The development of the Type 4S commenced in late 2013 and was completed in late 2014. Initial models included the all-electric e-Tron and the V10 5.2 FSI along with the V10 plus. Unlike its predecessor, there was no manual transmission available and the entry-level V8 trim was also dropped. In 2016, the convertible (Spyder) variant was added to the line up which was initially available in the base V10 trim. In mid-2017, the high performance V10 plus Spyder was added to the range. A rear-wheel-drive model called the R8 RWS was introduced.


title: Audi R8

text: In 2018, the R8 received a mid-cycle refresh with mechanical and exterior changes. The newer and more aggressive design language carried over from famous Audi models of the past and its appearance is slightly more angular up front. Some of the aerodynamic features such as the front aeroblades are shared with the Lamborghini Huracán. The refreshed model had substantial performance improvements over its predecessor. The base R8 gets a power boost from 532 hp to 562 hp, while the V10 Plus was renamed V10 Performance Quattro and the engine saw a power increase by , now up to 612 hp.


title: Audi R8

text: The Audi R8 e-tron (2015) was an all-electric version of the second-generation R8. Unlike the earlier 2010 prototype based on the first-generation R8, it actually entered production, but only on a small scale, with less than 100 units sold. It featured a 92-kWh battery.


title: Audi R8

text: To produce the R8 at Audi Sport GmbH, 70 workers fit 5,000 different parts by hand. The factory at Neckarsulm, redeveloped at a cost of €28 million, usually produces between eight and fifteen cars a day, up to a maximum daily output of 29 cars. Ninety-five lasers inspect the entire car in five seconds to ensure that over 220 measurements are within 0.1 millimetres of the programmed plans.


title: Audi R8

text: In Asia, the R8 is available in India, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Bahrain, Kuwait, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, Hong Kong and Vietnam, and has been available in China, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia since 2008.


title: Audi R8

text: European statistics include sales from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.


title: Audi R8

text: The R8 became the personal vehicle for Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) throughout six films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Type 42 models were used in the "Iron Man" Trilogy with a V8 in "Iron Man", a V10 Spyder in "Iron Man 2", and an e-tron prototype in "Iron Man 3". Type 4S models appeared in later Marvel Studios movies with 2016 V10 Plus models in "" and "" and a Spyder model in "".


title: The Expendables 2

text: The Expendables 2 is a 2012 American action film directed by Simon West, written by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone and based on a story by Ken Kaufman, David Agosto and Wenk. Brian Tyler returned to score the film. It is the sequel to the 2010 action film "The Expendables", and stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The story follows the mercenary group known as "the Expendables" as they undertake a seemingly simple mission which evolves into a quest for revenge against rival mercenary Jean Vilain, who murdered one of their own and threatens the world with a deadly weapon. It is the second installment in "The Expendables" film series.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Principal photography took place over 14 weeks (beginning in September 2011) on an estimated $100 million budget. Film locations included Bulgaria, Hong Kong and New Orleans. Controversy arose over the accidental death of a stuntman and environmental damage caused during filming in Bulgaria.


title: The Expendables 2

text: The film was released in Europe on August 16, 2012, and in North America the following day. "The Expendables 2" grossed over $310 million worldwide, with its greatest success outside North America. Critics generally considered the film an improvement over its predecessor (citing an increased use of humor and action scenes), but its plot and dialogue received criticism. A tie-in downloadable video game was released on July 31, 2012, as a prequel to the events of the film. A sequel, "The Expendables 3", was released on August 15, 2014.


title: The Expendables 2

text: The Expendables—leader Barney Ross, knife specialist Lee Christmas, hand-to-hand combat specialist Yin Yang, heavy-weapons specialist Hale Caesar, demolitions expert Toll Road, the unstable Gunner Jensen, and sniper Billy the Kid, the team's newest recruit and Ross' protégé—are deployed to Nepal to rescue Dr. Zhou, a hostage. They also rescue the captured mercenary Trench, Ross's rival. Yang leaves the group to escort Zhou back to China.


title: The Expendables 2

text: After returning to New Orleans, Billy tells Ross that he intends to retire at the end of the month and live with his girlfriend Sophia. Later, Ross is forced to accept a mission from CIA operative Mr. Church to retrieve an item from a downed airplane in Albania. Church sends technical expert Maggie Chan with the team. In Albania the Expendables retrieve the item, but are then ambushed by international criminal and arms dealer Jean Vilain, his right-hand man Hector and his mercenary group (the Sangs), who have captured Billy. Vilain demands the item in exchange for Billy's life. The team gives up the item, but Vilain roundhouse kicks a knife through Billy's heart and flees with the Sangs by helicopter. Ross recovers a note for Sophia from Billy's body; the team buries their fallen comrade, swearing vengeance on Vilain.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Maggie tells them that the item is a computer, with the location of five tons of refined plutonium abandoned in a mine by the Soviet Union after the Cold War. Vilain intends to retrieve the plutonium and sell it. The Expendables are able to weakly track the computer's signal and follow Vilain, which leads them to Bulgaria where they stay overnight at an abandoned Russian military base. The next morning, the team is ambushed by the Sangs and a tank. After the Expendables run out of ammunition, they are saved by Ross's old friend, Booker, who quickly eliminates both the Sangs and the tank. Before he departs, Booker informs the group of a nearby village whose residents oppose Vilain. Meanwhile, Hector and Vilain dig up the plutonium and begin collecting it.


title: The Expendables 2

text: In the village, the Expendables find several armed female villagers guarding their children from Vilain's forces. The local inhabitants are taken and put to work as slaves in the mine, never returning, and the women ask for the Expendables' help. The Sangs arrive for more villagers, but are ambushed by the Expendables and killed. After locating Vilain and the mine, the team assaults the area with their plane before deliberately crashing into the mine. The team saves the enslaved miners from execution, but Vilain and Hector escape with the plutonium. Vilain remotely detonates explosive charges in the mine; it collapses, trapping the miners and the Expendables.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Church and Trench arrive, freeing the miners and the team, and join the Expendables to pursue Vilain. The group intercepts Vilain and his men at an airport as he prepares to leave by plane. Joined again by Booker, the Expendables, Trench and Church engage the Sangs in battle. Christmas decapitates Hector, while Ross and Vilain fight hand-to-hand. Ross defeats Vilain, stabbing him and avenging Billy.


title: The Expendables 2

text: In the aftermath, Ross is given an old Antonov An-2 biplane by Church; Church, Maggie, Booker and Trench then leave the team. In France, Sophia discovers a box on her doorstep with a large sum of money and Billy's letter. As the Expendables depart in the plane, they propose a final toast to Billy.


title: The Expendables 2

text: The cast is rounded out by Charisma Carpenter (reprising her role as Christmas's girlfriend, Lacy), Swedish actress Amanda Ooms as Pilar, opposition leader in the enslaved village, and Nikolette Noel as Billy's wife. Bulgarian mixed martial artist Lyubomir Simeonov has a cameo as one of the Sangs. Tennis pro Novak Djokovic filmed a cameo as himself (after being invited to participate by producer Avi Lerner), but his scenes were cut from the film.


title: The Expendables 2

text: At several stages of development, other actors were pursued for the film. In October 2010, Willis said that Steve Austin would reprise his role as villain Dan Paine. In November 2010, Charlie Sheen was reported to be in consideration for the role of a CIA agent hunting down Willis' Mr. Church. In August 2011, "Variety" reported that actor and martial artist Donnie Yen was offered a role in the film; however, Yen declined the role because he did not find it intriguing.


title: The Expendables 2

text: In September 2011, Stallone confirmed that he was in talks with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, and scheduling would be the only obstacle to their involvement. In July 2011, Mickey Rourke was stated to be reprising his role as Tool; by late September it was reported that he had dropped out of the film, and on October 18 this was confirmed. Antonio Banderas was reportedly offered a role, but was unable to participate due to other commitments. Jackie Chan said he had been offered a role, but was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts with "CZ12".


title: The Expendables 2

text: On his approach to casting, Stallone said that he was looking for actors who had not experienced recent success in film: "I like using people that had a moment and then maybe have fallen on some hard times and give them another shot. So we're always looking for actors like Michael Biehn and Michael Paré. I like those kinds of guys. Someone did it for me and I like to see if I can do it for them."


title: The Expendables 2

text: Plans for a sequel to "The Expendables" were in place before the film's release in August 2010; Stallone said, "I have an idea ready to go...I'm going to try to do something that's quite radical". In an interview in August 2010 he noted that he did not have a new script yet, but "It's plotted out in my mind's eye." On April 18, 2011, Stallone confirmed that he would not be repeating his directing duties in "The Expendables", making a list of directors to serve as his replacement. In April 2011, the film was given a scheduled release date of August 17, 2012 and a teaser poster for the film was released at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. In June 2011, Simon West was confirmed as director.


title: The Expendables 2

text: In August 2011, it was reported that Nu Image/Millennium Films was in negotiations with an unnamed Chinese distributor. The distributor would produce the film, in exchange for a Chinese actor (Donnie Yen) being cast and filming in China. The partnership was considered to make a Chinese release of the film easier, and would have granted Millennium Films a larger share of its Chinese revenue. However, the partnership fell apart before production began. However, another Chinese studio, Le Vision Pictures, invested in the film. Lionsgate Films purchased the North American and United Kingdom distribution rights to the film for $35 million.


title: The Expendables 2

text: On January 19, 2012, Stallone stated that the film was being aimed at a PG-13 audience. Unlike the first film (which was restricted to viewers over age 17), this would have made the sequel available to all viewers over 13 years of age (and younger children, with parental consent). The reported change received a negative reception. Speaking to Ain't It Cool News about the change, Stallone said "The PG-13 rumor is true, but before your readers pass judgement, trust me when I say this film is large in every way and delivers on every level." It was reported that the change was requested by Norris before he would take part in the film, because he did not appreciate the swearing in the script. However, these plans for a more family-friendly rating did not succeed and the finished film was rated R. When the adult-oriented rating was confirmed shortly before release, West stated that "the shooting style and the dialogue, from day one, it was R-rated." However, the visual effects supervisor said that "The Expendables 2" was shot as a PG-13 film, with all bullet wounds being dust-hits. Once it was decided that the film would be R-rated, blood, decapitations, eviscerations and severed limbs were digitally added in post-production.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Van Damme redesigned his final fight with Stallone, with the latter's approval. Van Damme was unhappy with the scripted fight, which had his character running away and only a brief confrontation between the pair. He felt that the audience wanted a longer fight scene between the two actors.


title: The Expendables 2

text: On a budget of $100 million, principal photography of "The Expendables 2" began on September 29, 2011, and lasted 14 weeks. Filming took place largely in Bulgaria: at the Nu Boyana Film studio in Sofia, the city of Plovdiv and the town of Bansko. One of the film's larger set pieces took place at Bulgaria's second-largest airport (in Plovdiv), including gunfights, explosions and car chases throughout the terminal. On October 27, 2011, while the second-unit stunt team was filming at the Ognyanovo Reservoir from Sofia, stuntman Kun Liu was killed and another (Nuo Sun), was critically injured in a staged explosion on a rubber boat. Sun underwent a five-hour operation, which left him in stable condition.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Filming also took place at Devetashka Cave in Lovech Province. As part of the cave shoot, BGN600,000 ($408,762) was spent rebuilding a bridge from the cave over the Osam River; only the concrete bridge columns remained from the original structure. Nu Boyana Film Studios announced that the bridge would remain after filming, as a gift to Bulgaria.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Other filming locations included Hong Kong and New Orleans, and filming was completed by December 25, 2011. On February 9, 2012, it was reported that "The Expendables 2" was in post-production.


title: The Expendables 2

text: "The Expendables 2" contains approximately 1,547 digital effect shots. The main effects studio was Worldwide FX (WWFX), which produced 1,186 of the shots, and a further 800 shots which were discarded in response to changes to the film's story. Several other studios, including El Ranchito, Malditochrome, Tata Elxsi, Reliance Mediaworks, and , also produced effects shots for the film through WWFX. Digital effect pre-production began in July 2011 and was completed one year later. WWFX's primary facility is situated in Sofia, allowing them to have constant access to the production, and model assets of the sets before their practical versions were built; this enabled WWFX to raise issues relating to the designs early and develop an optimised construction plan. Anything that was considered to potentially need a computer generated double was photographed and digitally modeled even if it was not scheduled to appear in the film, which later served useful as the film's story was adjusted, requiring WWFX to rebuild entire scenes.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Several sets were rendered digitally, and almost all of the sets had some form of digital enhancement. The largest digital environment was the Devetashka cave, which had to be digitally recreated because of the environmental concerns of filming explosions in the real cave. Using over 5,000 photographs taken at different times of day, the cave was accurately illuminated and rendered down to crevices and moss. The cave's interior containing a concealed nuclear vault was subjected to several changes up to two months before the effects' delivery date based on editorial input, including modifications to its scale. The railcar used within the cave was also digitally built alongside a practical version, but the digital versions versatility saw it largely replace its practical counterpart. The scene featuring the Expendables and prisoners trapped in the cave were shot entirely on Chroma key with the cave background inserted later.


title: The Expendables 2

text: The entire opening sequence of the film was shot in Bulgaria during the winter, but was meant to take place in tropical South Asia. Digital effects were used to remove the snow and deciduous trees present and replace them with tropical flora. The alterations required over 340 shots alone. The scene was further complicated by Jet Li's scheduling conflict, which meant the interior sets had to be shipped to Hong Kong, reassembled and shot with him there, and the exterior sets had to be digitally built and then merged with footage of Li shot on Chroma key. A fish tank in the opening was filled with digital eels based on South Asian river eels, but increased in size by three times, after the real fish died and sank to the bottom. The finale in the airport was another complex digital environment, shot in three entirely differently locations in two seasons, which were then merged to create one seamless location. When the trucks break through glass to exit the airport, the scene is entirely digital and was filmed on Chroma screens in the middle of Sofia. Numerous digital matte paintings were used to modify the winter Bulgarian terrain in different scenes to represent its intended location.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Vehicles also received digital enhancement. For the scene in which the Expendables crash their Canadair CL-215 amphibious plane into a cave, the effects team intended to use Miniature effects, filming using a 1/3 scale model of the 90-feet wing span plane. Production constraints and the limited shooting schedule meant the miniature shoot was abandoned and the entire sequence was rendered digitally. The plane itself was also digitally modified, adding a nose-mounted gun which in practice could have stalled the engine with its recoil. A rear hatch door was required for jet skis to drive into the plane, but the craft's design made such a door impractical; visual trickery was used to obscure this fact and make the door fit into the existing plane design. A helicopter used in the opening sequence was required to perform more dynamic moves, and so it was digitally removed entirely and replaced with a digital recreation that better fit the scene's requirements. The helicopter which decapitates Hector during his fight with Christmas had no rotors, and they were digitally added. WWFX later enhanced it more, modifying lighting and stabilizing the helicopter's body which shook unnaturally when struck during the fight. The Sangs Mi-8 helicopter was a civilian variant, but it was digitally replaced with the gunship variant, the Hip-E, to make it look meaner and more fitting for Van Damme's villainous mercenary, with a black reflective coating and armaments. The T-72 tank used to assault the Expendables would have devastated the set with the resulting concussive wave if it had fired a single shot, so it was replaced in most shots with a digital version that performed the shooting.


title: The Expendables 2

text: On November 16, 2011, the production received a fine (between $343–$3,440) from the Bulgarian environmental protection agency for unlawfully removing shrubs and small trees from the entrance of Devetashka Cave. Although permits had been obtained allowing sets to be built in the area (including a bridge to the cave), environmentalists complained that filming could damage the cave (home to about 40 endangered species). To avoid further problems, the producers agreed not to film explosions, car chases and fires near the cave.


title: The Expendables 2

text: However, later that month Bulgarian environmentalists stated that the bat population in the cave had been reduced by up to 75% (from about 30,000 in 2010 to 8,000 in 2011). Nikolay Simov of the Center for Bat Studies and Protection at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences blamed "The Expendables 2"s production for the reduction. On January 16, 2012, the Veliko Tarnovo Appellate Prosecutor's Office overturned a ruling by its Lovech equivalent to prevent an investigation of what environmentalists stated to be an "excessive" number of dead bats found in the cave after filming (including several endangered species). The European Commission became involved, contacting the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters for information about the dead bats; the Bulgarian Ministry and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences conducted their own probe, stating that the bat kill was within normal parameters. The Veliko Tarnovo Appellate stated that the Lovech Environmental Ministry failed to investigate violations made by "The Expendables 2"s crew. On February 23, 2012, a Bulgarian court ruled that the crew had violated its filming license.


title: The Expendables 2

text: In July 2012 the family of Kun Liu (the stuntman killed during filming) filed a wrongful death suit against the producers of the film, Nu Image and Millennium Films, and stunt coordinator Chad Stahelski. The suit alleged that conditions for the stunt were unsafe. "The Expendables 2" credits contain a dedication to Liu's memory.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Brian Tyler composed the score for "The Expendables 2", who scored the original film. His score combined percussion and electronic elements with orchestral music, and was released as the 14-track album "The Expendables 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Lionsgate Records on iTunes on August 14, 2012. Several popular songs also appear in the film, including "The Wanderer" by Dion DiMucci, "Mustang Sally" by Mack Rice, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James & the Shondells, "Groovin'" and "Beautiful Morning" by The Young Rascals, "Rip It Up" by Little Richard, "I Just Want to Celebrate" by Rare Earth, and "You Don't Want to Fight with Me" by Stallone's younger brother Frank Stallone. "Empire"s Danny Graydon awarded the soundtrack a score of 4 out of 5, and said "Tyler's action fare is, as ever, superbly judged, mixing real thrills with some dramatic weight... resulting in a score that is affectionately nostalgic and not riddled with cliché." Graydon singled out the pieces "Party Crashers" and "Track 'Em Find 'Em Kill 'Em" for praise.


title: The Expendables 2

text: The film premiered on August 8, 2012, in Madrid, Spain, followed by premieres in Paris on August 9, London on August 13 and Hollywood on August 15. The film was first released on August 16, 2012, with its North American release the following day.


title: The Expendables 2

text: "The Expendables 2 Videogame" is a downloadable four-player cooperative shoot 'em up video game. It was published by Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation Network (PSN) and Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) and released on July 31, 2012, for PSN and August 20 for PC (via Steam) and XBLA. The game's plot is a prequel to "The Expendables 2", with Barney Ross, Gunner Jensen, Yin Yang and Hale Caesar appearing as playable characters. Lundgren and Crews voiced their respective characters. According to review aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings, the game received generally negative reviews. "The Expendables 2: Deploy & Destroy" is a single-player tower defense, real-time strategy online game. Published by Roadshow Films and Soap Creative, the game was released on July 13, 2012. Its plot was derived from village scenes in the film, where players can choose their squad from the cast, set up defences and battle the enemy.


title: The Expendables 2

text: "The Expendables 2" was released on DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and digital download on November 20, 2012. The Blu-ray disc edition contains the theatrical cut of "The Expendables 2", a DVD and digital copy of the film and supplemental material including a director's commentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and four featurettes about the film: "Gods of War: Assembling Earth's Mightiest Anti-Heroes"; "Big Guns, Bigger Heroes: The 1980s and the Rise of the Action Film"; "On the Assault: The Real-Life Weaponry of The Expendables" and "Guns for Hire: The Real Expendables". The Blu-ray disc version is the first film release to support the 11.1-channel sound format.


title: The Expendables 2

text: "The Expendables 2" earned $85,028,192 (27%) in North America and $229,947,763 (73%) in markets elsewhere, for a worldwide total of $314,975,955. This made it the 25th-highest-grossing film of 2012.


title: The Expendables 2

text: In the week before its release, North American pre-release tracking estimated that the film would gross between $30–$38 million, making it the number-one film during its opening weekend. Other tracking showed that up to 17% of North American audiences were reluctant to visit cinemas following the mass shooting in a Colorado cinema in late July 2012, which might affect ticket sales. "The Expendables 2" earned $10.5 million on its opening day; during its opening weekend, the film earned $28.59 million in 3,316 theaters (an average of $8,622 per theater) finishing as the weekend's number-one film. The gross was 18% lower than "The Expendables" $34.8 million opening in 2010. The largest demographic for its opening weekend was male (63%) over age 25 (65%). During its second weekend, the movie held the number-one spot with $13.4 million. By its third weekend, analysis showed that the film's gross had fallen behind the original at the same time in its release by $16 million.


title: The Expendables 2

text: Outside North America the film grossed $24.7 million during its opening weekend (August 17–19) in 18 markets, including Italy ($1.9 million), Mexico, Russia ($8 million) and the United Kingdom ($3 million). The following weekend (August 24–26) it expanded to a total of 36 markets—including France ($6.1 million), Spain ($2.3 million) and India ($1.8 million)—and grossed approximately $25.9 million to remain the number-one film. The film also had successful September opening weekends in Germany ($4.2 million), Brazil ($3.7 million) and Australia ($3.1 million). Over the September 14–16 weekend, the film's total gross increased to $186 million, outperforming the original film's $171 million. The film was also successful in China, where it grossed approximately $54 million in its first 35 days—making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2012 in the country and outperforming "The Dark Knight Rises" ($52.5 million) and "The Amazing Spider-Man" ($48.5 million).


title: The Expendables 2

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film garnered an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "Taut, violent, and suitably self-deprecating, "The Expendables 2" gives classic action fans everything they can reasonably expect from a star-studded shoot-'em-up — for better and for worse." Metacritic gave it a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". CinemaScore polls reported that moviegoers gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, an improvement over the first film's "B+".


title: The Expendables 2

text: "Boxoffice"s Amy Nicholson compared the film to "Fast Five" as an "over-the-top sequel [that] caters to the lowest common denominator in the best possible way", appreciating the characters' unique facets and the use of references from the actors' other films. Of the action scenes, Nicholson said "they're glorious nonsense, a guns-blazing bullet barrage". "The Hollywood Reporter"s Justin Lowe called the film "taut, humorous and attractively packaged". Lowe considered Schwarzenegger's brief role to have the most memorable dialogue, noting that he stole any scene in which he was present. On West's direction and cinematographer Shelly Johnson, he said "the action choreography never disappoints". "Variety"s Justin Chang appreciated the self-referential humor in each actor's film history and the violent action scenes; however, he felt the scenes were undermined by poor editing and a "grimy" visual scheme throughout the film. Chang commented that the "thrill" of seeing all the actors on screen mitigated plot issues.


title: The Expendables 2

text: "Entertainment Weekly"s Lisa Schwarzbaum said West's action direction improved upon the previous film's direction by Stallone. Schwarzbaum considered that the film is "excellent crap, fine junk, an exercise in campy movie nostalgia", commenting that while she did not consider the film artistic, she found it enjoyable. "USA Today"s Claudia Puig considered the shift from the serious tone of the original to an emphasis on humor to be entertaining. Puig said the film was "corny, barbaric and sometimes visually murky. But humor and self-deprecating macho charm make this male pattern badness crowd-pleasing fun." "The New York Times" Neil Genzlinger judged the film "pleasantly-dumb fun if you watch with the right mindset", but considered its dialog "embarrassing" (if intended seriously) and the plot formulaic. "Rolling Stone"s Peter Travers gave the film two (out of four) stars, saying that the film was not even "big, dumb fun" and criticizing the script; it did not "so much defy credulity as bludgeon it to death."


title: The Expendables 2

text: "The Daily Telegraph"s Robbie Collin gave the film three (out of five) stars. He appreciated the use of stunts and special effects over computerized effects, stating that it "gives proceedings a flame-grilled authenticity". Collin added, "I was thoroughly appalled, mainly at myself for enjoying it." "Empire"s Nick de Semlyen was more critical, labeling it a "huge, bulging disappointment". Semlyen criticized the plot and what he judged an overuse of references, set pieces and dialogue from the cast's filmography without creating memorable moments of its own. Semlyen praised Van Damme's "grandstanding, plutonium-crazed baddie" and Lundgren's "action-troll" as high points. "The Village Voice"s Nick Pinkerton found the violence creative, but said that the film was negatively impacted by self-referencing, "joyless one-line nods" and "outright cash-in cynicism" (referring to cameo appearances by some of the actors).


title: The Expendables 2

text: A sequel titled "The Expendables 3" began filming in August 2013. The film sees the return of several cast members and the addition of new ones including Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford, and Mel Gibson. "The Expendables 3" was released theatrically in the United States on August 15, 2014.


title: Sally Phillips

text: Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show "Smack the Pony". She is also known for her roles in "Miranda" as Tilly, "I'm Alan Partridge" as Sophie, "Parents" as Jenny Pope, "Set the Thames on Fire" as Colette in 2015, and her guest appearances as the fictional Prime Minister of Finland Minna Häkkinen in the US TV series "Veep". Phillips also co-starred in "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" as Mrs Bennet and in the role of Shazza in all three films of the "Bridget Jones" franchise.


title: Sally Phillips

text: From 2004 to 2019, Phillips played the title role in the BBC Radio 4 comedy show "Clare in the Community". In 2018 she was curator for series 12 of "The Museum of Curiosity" on BBC Radio 4.


title: Sally Phillips

text: Phillips was born in Hong Kong, which at the time was under British rule; her father Tim, later chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, was an executive with British Airways. In following her father's job, she grew up in the Far East, the Middle East, Italy and Australia. At the age of 13 she was sent to board at Wycombe Abbey School, where she studied for both O-Levels and A-Levels.


title: Sally Phillips

text: She then studied Italian and linguistics at New College, Oxford. Whilst there she joined the Oxford Revue, playing mostly male parts, alongside contemporaries including Stewart Lee and Richard Herring (who went on to have their own television show, "Fist of Fun", in which Phillips appeared as "the girl who smells of Spam"). She then co-wrote and performed the one-woman show "Benadetta, the Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy", based on a true story. She appeared in the 1990 Oxford Revue "THRASH", which also starred Ed Smith.


title: Sally Phillips

text: After graduating with a first class degree, Phillips applied to write a PhD on the Spaghetti Western, but changed her mind and ended up studying drama with the Théâtre de Complicité.


title: Sally Phillips

text: Phillips performed at nine consecutive Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, appearing in shows including "Ra-Ra-Rasputin", Arthur Smith's version of "Hamlet" (as Ophelia) and "Cluub Zarathustra" with Simon Munnery, Stewart Lee, Richard Thomas, Julian Barratt and Lori Lixenburg. Her first television role was in Lee and Herring's "Fist of Fun" in 1994, followed shortly after by a cameo in "Alas Smith and Jones" with Mel Smith. In 1995, Phillips played the role of a reporter in the unbroadcast pilot of Chris Morris's spoof series "Brass Eye", which at that point was called "Torque TV", but she did not appear in the series itself. In "Six Pairs Of Pants", six actors produced a number of regular sketches, which developed as the series progressed. As well as Phillips, the show featured Jessica Hynes, Simon Pegg, Neil Mullarkey, Katy Carmichael and Simon Schatzberger, and was written in part by Pegg, Hynes, Mullarkey and Phillips. Regular sketches included two New Zealand characters who had moved to the UK and worked behind various bars, the whole group as "Flatmates" and various spoof horror trailers. Phillips had a role as a "Travel Tavern" receptionist in "I'm Alan Partridge" (1997), and as Laura in "Holding the Baby". She played radio DJ Gemma White in the TV series "In the Red".


title: Sally Phillips

text: Phillips had a starring role in the short-lived 1999 British comedy series "Hippies" with Simon Pegg and Julian Rhind-Tutt, and also co-created and wrote "Smack the Pony", a double Emmy Award-winning comedy show, for which she was nominated for best female newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards. Phillips also featured in Eddie Izzard's sitcom "Cows".


title: Sally Phillips

text: In 2001, she took the starring role in the David Nicholls series "Rescue Me" for BBC1. She also played cameo roles in "Mean Machine", "Birthday Girl" and "Born Romantic" and wrote episodes for the animation "Bob and Margaret".


title: Sally Phillips

text: In 2003, she was listed in "The Observer" as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. She appeared in "Bridget Jones's Diary" as Shazza, having previously auditioned for Bridget; the character was based upon the film's director, Sharon Maguire.


title: Sally Phillips

text: In 2004, she took the title role in the BBC radio sitcom "Clare in the Community" which ended after 74 episodes in 2019. In August 2005, she returned to the stage after a long absence, in Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" at the Oxford Playhouse. In 2006, she appeared in the Australian comedy feature "BoyTown"; on television, she appeared as Clare Winchester in the BBC2 science fiction comedy "Hyperdrive".


title: Sally Phillips

text: In the second series of "Green Wing", Phillips played the character of Holly, whose appearance threatens the blossoming relationship between Mac (Julian Rhind-Tutt) and Caroline (Tamsin Greig). Between 2006 and 2009, she had a recurring role in the BBC's comedy "Jam & Jerusalem" as Natasha "Tash" Vine, a scatterbrained New Ager.


title: Sally Phillips

text: In 2009, Phillips took the role of Tilly in "Miranda" as Miranda Hart's character's irritating upper-class friend. The series found critical success and Phillips remained a part of the show throughout its duration, from 2009 to 2015.


title: Sally Phillips

text: In 2009, Phillips won a British Film Council screenwriting competition for her film "Fag Mountain". Her first feature film script, "The Decoy Bride", started production in spring 2010. Phillips appeared in a supporting role in the film, playing Emma, a Hollywood assistant. The film was released in February 2012, premièring first on cable television and as a digital download, and then had a limited theatrical release.


title: Sally Phillips

text: In 2012, she played the lead role in the Sky 1 comedy "Parents" and also appeared in the "CBeebies" television series "Justin's House". The same year she also appeared with Justin Fletcher in the role of Mr Tumble in "Something Special".


title: Sally Phillips

text: She made two episodes of series 3 of the Dave maths and comedy series "" in 2014, in which she was set various maths-based physical challenges. In America, Phillips has made five appearances in the HBO comedy series "Veep" as Minna Häkkinen, a fictional Finnish prime minister.


title: Sally Phillips

text: During 2015, Phillips appeared in several TV shows, notably "House of Fools" and "Death in Paradise". She has also appeared in the comedy "Burn Burn Burn" as Ingrid, a main character, and also the TV movie "Distinguished Ladies" in which she plays the lead role of Bianca.


title: Sally Phillips

text: Phillips appeared in "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (2016) as Mrs Bennet, and as Shazza in "Bridget Jones's Baby".


title: Sally Phillips

text: In 2016, she presented the one-off BBC documentary "A World Without Down's Syndrome?", which examined the potential impact of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).


title: Sally Phillips

text: In 2017, she competed in series 5 of "Taskmaster" against Bob Mortimer, Aisling Bea, Nish Kumar and Mark Watson, finishing as runner-up to the eventual winner Mortimer. She appeared in "All Star Musicals" and "Tim Vine Travels in Time" in December 2017.


title: Sally Phillips

text: She was the winner of the four competitors who appeared in the special Christmas edition of " The Great British Sewing Bee" that was transmitted on New Year's Eve 2020 on BBC 1. Her fellow competitors in the programme were Sabrina Grant, Lesley Joseph and The Vivienne.


title: Sally Phillips

text: When appearing on the panel show "QI" in 2020, Phillips told the story of being hospitalised from salmonella in 2002 on a charity trip to Mexico. She said the illness led to a brain infection which made her body become a "micro-brewery", causing neurological symptoms. Her recovery took months. In March 2022 she appeared on Mel Giedroyc's "Unforgivable" TV show and discussed a two-year relationship with Richard Herring in her early 20s.


title: Sally Phillips

text: Phillips is a Christian. She was married to Andrew Bermejo for 14 years and has three sons from their marriage, one with Down's syndrome. In 2017, the couple split.


title: Sally Phillips

text: Phillips is a patron of Blue Apple Theatre (Hampshire, UK) which specialises in creating performance work with adults with a learning disability.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), renamed the Republic of Afghanistan in 1987, was the Afghan state during the one-party rule of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) from 1978 to 1992.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: The PDPA came to power through the Saur Revolution, which ousted the regime of the unelected autocrat Mohammed Daoud Khan; he was succeeded by Nur Muhammad Taraki as the head of state and government on 30 April 1978. Taraki and Hafizullah Amin, the organizer of the Saur Revolution, introduced several contentious reforms during their rule, such as land and marriage reforms and an enforced policy of de-Islamization alongside the promotion of socialism. Amin also added on the reforms introduced by Khan, such as universal education and equal rights for women. Soon after taking power, a power struggle began between the hardline "Khalq" faction led by Taraki and Amin, and the moderate "Parcham" faction led by Babrak Karmal. The Khalqists emerged victorious and the bulk of the Parchamites were subsequently purged from the PDPA, while the most prominent Parcham leaders were exiled to the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: After the Khalq–Parcham struggle, another power struggle arose between Taraki and Amin within the Khalq faction, in which Amin gained the upper hand and later had Taraki killed on his orders. Due to earlier reforms, Amin's rule proved unpopular within both Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. A Soviet intervention supported by the Afghan government had begun in December 1979, and on 27 December, Amin was assassinated by Soviet military forces; Karmal became the leader of Afghanistan in his place. The Karmal era, which lasted from 1979 to 1986, was marked by the height of the Soviet–Afghan War, in which Soviet and Afghan government forces fought against the Afghan mujahideen in order to consolidate control over Afghanistan. The war resulted in a large number of civilian casualties as well as the creation of millions of refugees who fled into Pakistan and Iran. The Fundamental Principles, a constitution, was introduced by the government in April 1980, and several non-PDPA members were allowed into government as part of its policy of broadening its support base. However, Karmal's policies failed to bring peace to the war-ravaged country, and in 1986, he was succeeded as PDPA General Secretary by Mohammad Najibullah.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: Najibullah pursued a policy of National Reconciliation with the opposition: a new Afghan constitution was introduced in 1987 and democratic elections were held in 1988 (which were boycotted by the mujahideen). After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988–1989, the government faced increasing resistance. 1990 proved to be a year of change in Afghan politics as another constitution was introduced that stated Afghanistan's nature as an Islamic republic, and the PDPA was transformed into the Watan Party, which continues to exist. On the military front, the government proved capable of defeating the armed opposition in open battle, as demonstrated in the Battle of Jalalabad. However, with an aggressive armed opposition and internal difficulties such as a failed coup attempt by the Khalq faction in 1990 coupled with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Najibullah government collapsed in April 1992. The collapse of Najibullah's government triggered another civil war that led to the rise of the Taliban and their eventual takeover of most of Afghanistan by 1996.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: Geographically, the DRA was bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; the Soviet Union (via the Turkmen, Uzbek, and Tajik SSRs) in the north; and China in the far northeast covering of its territory.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: Mohammad Daoud Khan, the President of the Republic of Afghanistan from 1973 to 1978, was ousted during the Saur Revolution (April Revolution) following the death of Mir Akbar Khyber, a Parchamite politician from the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), who died under mysterious circumstances. Hafizullah Amin, a Khalqist, was the coup's chief architect. Nur Muhammad Taraki, the leader of the Khalqists, was elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council, Chairman of the Council of Ministers and retained his post as General Secretary of the PDPA Central Committee. Under him was Babrak Karmal, the leader of the Parcham faction, as Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Amin as Council of Ministers deputy chairman and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mohammad Aslam Watanjar as Council of Ministers deputy chairman. The appointment of Karmal, Amin and Watanjar as Council of Ministers deputy chairmen proved unstable, and it led to three different governments being established within the government; the Khalq faction was answerable to Amin, the Parchamites were answerable to Karmal and the military officers (who were Parchamites) were answerable to Watanjar.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: The first conflict between the Khalqists and Parchamites arose when the Khalqists wanted to give PDPA Central Committee membership to military officers who participated in the Saur Revolution. Amin, who previously opposed the appointment of military officers to the PDPA leadership, altered his position; he now supported their elevation. The PDPA Politburo voted in favour of giving membership to the military officers; the victors (the Khalqists) portrayed the Parchamites as opportunists (they implied that the Parchamites had ridden the revolutionary wave, but not actually participated in the revolution). To make matters worse for the Parchamites, the term Parcham was, according to Taraki, a word synonymous with factionalism. On 27 June, three months after the revolution, Amin managed to outmaneuver the Parchamites at a Central Committee meeting. The meeting decided that the Khalqists had the exclusive right to formulate and decide policy, which left the Parchamites impotent. Karmal was exiled. Later, a coup planned by the Parchamites and led by Karmal was discovered by the Khalqist leadership, prompting a swift reaction; a purge of Parchamites began. Parchamite ambassadors were recalled, but few returned; for instance, Karmal and Mohammad Najibullah stayed in their respective countries.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: During Taraki's rule, an unpopular land reform was introduced, leading to the requisitioning of land by the government without compensation; it disrupted lines of credit and led to some crop buyers boycotting beneficiaries of the reform, causing agricultural harvests to plummet and rising discontent amongst Afghans. When Taraki realized the degree of popular dissatisfaction with the reform he began to curtail the policy. Afghanistan's long history of resistance to any type of strong centralized governmental control further undermined his authority. Consequently, much of the land reform did not get implemented nationwide. In the months following the coup, Taraki and other party leaders initiated other policies that challenged both traditional Afghan values and well-established traditional power structures in rural areas. Taraki introduced women to political life and legislated an end to forced marriage. The strength of the anti-reform backlash would ultimately lead to the Afghan Civil War.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: While Amin and Taraki had a very close relationship at the beginning, the relationship soon deteriorated. Amin, who had helped to create a personality cult centered on Taraki, soon became disgusted with the shape it took and with Taraki, who had begun to believe in his own brilliance. Taraki began dismissing Amin's suggestions, fostering in Amin a deep sense of resentment. As their relationship turned increasingly sour, a power struggle developed between them for control of the Afghan Army. Following the 1979 Herat uprising, the Revolutionary Council and the PDPA Politburo established the Homeland Higher Defence Council. Taraki was elected its chairman, while Amin became its deputy. Amin's appointment, and the acquisition of the premiership (as Chairman of the Council of Ministers), was not a step further up the ladder as one might assume; due to constitutional reforms, Amin's new offices were more or less powerless. There was a failed assassination attempt led by the Gang of Four, which consisted of Watanjar, Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy, Sherjan Mazdoryar and Assadullah Sarwari. This assassination attempt prompted Amin to conspire against Taraki, and when Taraki returned from a trip to Havana, he was ousted, and later suffocated on Amin's orders.


title: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

text: During his 104 days in power, Amin became committed to establishing a collective leadership. When Taraki was ousted, Amin promised "from now on there will be no one-man government...". Prior to the Soviet intervention, the PDPA executed between 1,000 and 27,000 people, mostly at Pul-e-Charkhi prison. Between 17,000 and 25,000 people were arrested during Taraki's and Amin's rules combined. Amin was not liked by the Afghan people. During his rule, opposition to the communist regime increased, and the government lost control of the countryside. The state of the Afghan military deteriorated under Amin; due to desertions the number of military personnel in the Afghan army decreased from 100,000, in the immediate aftermath of the Saur Revolution, to somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000. Another problem was that the KGB had penetrated the PDPA, the military and the government bureaucracy. While his position in Afghanistan was becoming more perilous by the day, his enemies who were exiled in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc were agitating for his removal. Babrak Karmal, the Parchamite leader, met several leading Eastern Bloc figures during this period, and Mohammad Aslam Watanjar, Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy and Assadullah Sarwari wanted to exact revenge on Amin.