title: Black July

text: Colombo was still calm on 29 July. Tamil residents visited friends and relatives who had taken refuge in the many refugee camps in the city. Around 10:30 a.m. two Sinhalese youths were shot on Gas Works Street. A large crowd gathered at the scene, and soon rumours started circling that the youths had been shot by Tamil Tigers from the Adam Ali building. The building was surrounded by the army, navy, and police who proceeded to fire at the building using submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles. A helicopter also fired at the building with a machine gun. The security forces stormed the building but found no Tamil Tigers, weapons, or ammunition inside. However, rumours began to spread around Colombo that the army was engaged in a battle with the Tamil Tigers. Panicking workers began to flee in any mode of transport they could find. Mobs started gathering in the streets—armed with axes, bricks, crowbars, iron rods, kitchen knives, and stones—ready to fight the Tigers. The Tigers never came, so the mobs turned their attention to the fleeing workers. Vehicles were stopped and searched for Tamils. Any Tamil they found was attacked and set on fire. A Tamil was burnt alive on Kirula Road. Eleven Tamils were burnt alive on Attidiya Road. The police found an abandoned van, on the same road, that contained the butchered bodies of two Tamils and three Muslims. Police shot dead 15 rioters. At 2 pm on 29 July, a curfew came into force which lasted until 5 am on Monday 1 August.


title: Black July

text: Badulla, Kandy, and Trincomalee were calm on 29 July; but there was violence in Nuwara Eliya, beginning around midday. The Tamil-owned Ganesan and Sivalingam stores were attacked and set on fire. The violence then spread to Bazaar Street and Lawson Road. Violence was also reported in Kegalle District and Matara District. In Kegalle District the violence spread from Dehiowita to Deraniyagala to Avissawella. In Matara District the worst affected areas were Deniyaya and Morawake. There was violence in Chilaw as well.


title: Black July

text: Indian External Affairs Minister Rao held discussions with President Jayewardene and Foreign Minister A. C. S. Hameed before visiting Kandy by helicopter.


title: Black July

text: Violence was reported in Nuwara Eliya, Kandapola, Hawa Eliya, and Matale on 30 July. The rest of the country was quiet. That night the government banned three left-wing political parties—the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, and the Nava Sama Samaja Party—blaming them for inciting the riots. A few leaders of other groups were arrested, as well.


title: Black July

text: There had been growing tension between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities of Sri Lanka before the actual riots began. With the formation of rebel Tamil groups, there rose an anti-Tamil sentiment among the Sinhalese majority. Although the violence was first started by Sinhalese mobs who had gathered at the Colombo cemetery where the bodies of the soldiers were to be buried, they were later joined by elements associated with Sinhalese political activists involved in the organisation of the riots. During the early stages of the riots, it is alleged that the local police and military stood by and did nothing, or even assisted the mobs. Numerous eyewitness accounts suggest that "in many places police and even military personnel joined the rioters". However, by 26 July the police and army were out in the streets taking some action against the mobs. The government extended the curfew to prevent violence from spreading to other parts of the country. A brief spate of rioting broke out on 29 July, when police shot and killed 15 Sinhalese looters.


title: Black July

text: The Sri Lankan government was accused from various corners of being complicit during the pogrom and of supporting and encouraging the Sinhalese mobs. President Jayewardene has been accused of failing to condemn the violence or to express sympathy to the survivors, blaming Tamils for bringing it upon themselves, failing to take any meaningful measures to punish the perpetrators of the violence, and praising the mobs as heroes of the Sinhalese people. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph on 11 July 1983, about two weeks prior to the riots, Jayewardene admitted to a reporter:


title: Black July

text: I am not worried about the opinion of the Jaffna (Tamil) people now. Now we cannot think of them. Not about their lives or of their opinion about us. The more you put pressure in the north, the happier the Sinhala people will be here... really, if I starve the Tamils, Sinhala people will be happy...


title: Black July

text: Even though some Tamil politicians accused the ruling UNP of not taking appropriate actions to prevent the riots, the government was adamant that it did take vital countermeasures from the very early stages to combat rioters and safeguard the Tamil community. Curfew was enforced immediately after the riots broke out. The attacks, according to the government, were carefully organised; and government properties such as trains, buildings, and buses were the initial targets. Prime Minister Premadasa formed a committee to organise shelter for, and feeding of, an estimated 20,000 homeless Tamils in Colombo. These temporary shelters were situated at five school buildings and an aircraft hangar. After the number of refugees increased to around 50,000, the government, with help from India, took measures to transport Tamils north on ships.


title: Black July

text: Mobs armed with petrol were seen stopping passing motorists at critical street junctions. After ascertaining the ethnic identity of the driver and passengers, they set alight the vehicles, with the drivers and passengers trapped inside. Mobs were also seen stopping buses to identify Tamil passengers, who were subsequently knifed, clubbed to death, or burned alive. One Norwegian tourist saw a mob set fire to a minibus with 20 people inside, killing them all. According to eyewitness testimony of a victim who survived the riots, Buddhist monks were among the rioters.


title: Black July

text: "The Times" of London reported on 5 August that "...Army personnel actively encouraged arson and the looting of Tamil business establishments and homes in Colombo", and that "absolutely no action was taken to apprehend or prevent the criminal elements involved in these activities. In many instances, army personnel participated in the looting of shops."


title: Black July

text: "The Economist" of 6 August wrote: "...But for days the soldiers and policemen were not overwhelmed; they were unengaged or, in some cases, apparently abetting the attackers. Numerous eyewitnesses attest that soldiers and policemen stood by while Colombo burned."


title: Black July

text: Paul Sieghart of the "International Commission of Jurists" stated in "Sri Lanka: A Mounting Tragedy of Errors", two months after the riots, that:


title: Black July

text: "Clearly this (July 1983 attack) was no spontaneous upsurge of communal hatred among the Sinhala people – nor was it as has been suggested in some quarters, a popular response to the killing of 13 soldiers in an ambush the previous day by Tamil Tigers, which was not even reported in the newspapers until the riots began. It was a series of deliberate acts, executed in accordance with a concerted plan, conceived and organized well in advance".


title: Black July

text: The estimates of casualties vary. While the government initially stated just 250 Tamils were killed, various NGOs and international agencies estimate that between 400 and 3,000 people, believed to be Sri Lankan Tamils or Hill Country Tamils, were killed in the riots. Fifty-three political prisoners alone were killed in the Welikade prison massacre. Eventually the Sri Lankan government put the death toll at about 300 dead.


title: Black July

text: More than 18,000 houses and numerous commercial establishments were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of Tamils fled the country to Europe, Australia and Canada. Many Tamil youths also joined the various Tamil groups, including the Tamil Tigers.


title: Black July

text: A presidential commission appointed during the subsequent People's Alliance government estimated that nearly 300 people were killed and 18,000 establishments, including houses, were destroyed. The commission recommended that restitution be paid. Thus far no restitution has been paid nor has any criminal proceedings begun against anyone involved.


title: Black July

text: July has become a time of mourning and remembrance amongst the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora around the world, which comes together to commemorate the loss of Tamils. This has happened in countries such as Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling organization during much of World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals of his ("New Order") movement. It evolved into a "statist" ruling political party which aimed at removing the sectionalism in the politics and economics in the Empire of Japan to create a totalitarian one-party state, in order to maximize the efficiency of Japan's total war effort in China. When the organization was launched officially, Konoe was hailed as a "political savior" of a nation in chaos; however, internal divisions soon appeared.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: Based on recommendations by the , Konoe originally conceived of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association as a reformist political party to overcome the deep-rooted differences and political cliques between bureaucrats, politicians and the military. During the summer of 1937, Konoe appointed 37 members chosen from a broad political spectrum to a preparatory committee which met in Karuizawa, Nagano. The committee included Konoe's political colleagues Fumio Gotō, Count Yoriyasu Arima and entrepreneur and right-wing spokesman Fusanosuke Kuhara. A radical wing of the military was represented by Kingoro Hashimoto, while the traditionalist military wings were represented by Senjūrō Hayashi, Heisuke Yanagawa and Nobuyuki Abe.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: Konoe proposed originally that the Imperial Rule Assistance Association be organized along national syndicalist lines, with new members assigned to branches based on occupation, which would then develop channels for mass participation of the common population to "assist with the Imperial Rule".


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: However, from the start, there was no consensus in a common cause, as the leadership council represented all ends of the political spectrum, and in the end, the party was organized along geographic lines, following the existing political sub-divisions. Therefore, all local government leaders at each level of village, town, city and prefectural government automatically received the equivalent position within their local Imperial Rule Assistance Association branch.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: Prior to creation of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, Konoe had already passed the National Mobilization Law, which effectively nationalized strategic industries, the news media, and labor unions, in preparation for total war with China.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: Labor unions were replaced by the Nation Service Draft Ordinance, which empowered the government to draft civilian workers into critical war industries. Society was mobilized and indoctrinated through the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement, which organized patriotic events and mass rallies, and promoted slogans such as and to support Japanese militarism. This was urged to "restore the spirit and virtues of old Japan".


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: Some objections to it came on the grounds that , imperial polity, already required all imperial subjects to support imperial rule.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: In addition to drumming up support for the ongoing wars in China and in the Pacific, the Imperial Rule Assistance Association helped maintain public order and provided certain public services via the neighborhood association program. It also played a role in increasing productivity, monitoring rationing, and organizing civil defense.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: The Imperial Rule Assistance Association was also militarized, with its members donning khaki-colored uniforms. In the last period of the conflict, the membership received military training and was projected to integrate with the Volunteer Fighting Corps in case of the anticipated Allied invasion.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: As soon as October 1940, the Imperial Rule Assistance Association systemized and formalized the , a nationwide system of neighborhood associations. The 6 November 1940 issue of explained the purpose of this infrastructure:


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: The movement has already turned on the switch for rebuilding a new Japan and completing a new Great East Asian order which, writ large, is the construction of a new world order. The is, broadly speaking, the New Order movement which will, in a word, place One Hundred Million into one body under this new organisation that will conduct all of our energies and abilities for the sake of the nation. Aren't we all mentally prepared to be members of this new organization and, as one adult to another, without holding our superiors in awe or being preoccupied with the past, cast aside all private concerns in order to perform public service? Under the are regional town, village, and ; let's convene council meetings and advance the activities of this organization.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: In February 1942, all women's associations were merged into the "Greater Japan Women's Association" which joined the Imperial Rule Assistance Association in May. Every adult woman in Japan, excepting the under twenty and unmarried, was forced to join the Association.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: Likewise, in June, all youth organizations were merged into the , based on the model of the German (stormtroopers).


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: In March 1942, Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō attempted to eliminate the influence of elected politicians by establishing an officially sponsored election nomination commission, which restricted non-government-sanctioned candidates from the ballot. After the 1942 Japanese General Election, all members of Diet were required to join the , which effectively made Japan a one-party state.


title: Imperial Rule Assistance Association

text: The Imperial Rule Assistance Association was formally dissolved on 13 June 1945, around three months before the end of World War II in the Pacific Theater. During the Allied occupation of Japan, the American authorities purged thousands of government leaders from public life for having been members of the Association. Later, many of them returned to prominent roles in Japanese politics after the end of the occupation.


title: Shannon number

text: The Shannon number, named after the American mathematician Claude Shannon, is a conservative lower bound of the game-tree complexity of chess of 10, based on an average of about 10 possibilities for a pair of moves consisting of a move for White followed by a move for Black, and a typical game lasting about 40 such pairs of moves.


title: Shannon number

text: Shannon showed a calculation for the lower bound of the game-tree complexity of chess, resulting in about 10 possible games, to demonstrate the impracticality of solving chess by brute force, in his 1950 paper "Programming a Computer for Playing Chess". (This influential paper introduced the field of computer chess.)


title: Shannon number

text: Shannon also estimated the number of possible positions, "of the general order of formula_1, or roughly 10". This includes some illegal positions (e.g., pawns on the first rank, both kings in check) and excludes legal positions following captures and promotions.


title: Shannon number

text: After each player has moved a piece 5 times each (10 ply) there are 69,352,859,712,417 possible games that could have been played.


title: Shannon number

text: Taking Shannon's numbers into account, Victor Allis calculated an upper bound of 5×10 for the number of positions, and estimated the true number to be about 10. Recent results improve that estimate, by proving an upper bound of 8.7x10, and showing an upper bound 4×10 in the absence of promotions.


title: Shannon number

text: Allis also estimated the game-tree complexity to be at least 10, "based on an average branching factor of 35 and an average game length of 80". As a comparison, the number of atoms in the observable universe, to which it is often compared, is roughly estimated to be 10.


title: Shannon number

text: John Tromp and Peter Österlund estimated the number of legal chess positions with a 95% confidence level at formula_2, based on an efficiently computable bijection between integers and chess positions.


title: Shannon number

text: As a comparison to the Shannon number, if chess is analyzed for the number of "sensible" games that can be played (not counting ridiculous or obvious game-losing moves such as moving a queen to be immediately captured by a pawn without compensation), then the result is closer to around 10 games. This is based on having a choice of about three sensible moves at each ply (half-move), and a game length of 80 plies (or, equivalently, 40 moves).


title: Thekla Reuten

text: Reuten was born in Bussum, Netherlands, the daughter of a Dutch father, Joost Reuten, and an Italian mother, who was born in Benabbio near Bagni di Lucca. She studied acting at the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Amsterdam. During the last year of her studies, she assumed leading roles in Dutch film and theatre productions. Early in her career, she won the "Shooting Star Award" of the Berlinale (Berlin Film Festival) for her portrayal of Lotte in the film "Twin Sisters", which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Subsequent roles included "In Bruges" with Colin Farrell, "Hotel Lux" with Bully Herbig, and "The American" alongside George Clooney, as well as the political thriller "Waffenstillstand" ("Ceasefire"). Other films include "De Trip van Teetje" (Tate's Voyage), "Kruimeltje" (Little Crumb), "Rosenstraße", "Una Bellezza Che Non Lascia Scampo" ("An Inescapable Beauty"), and "Iedereen beroemd!" (Everybody's Famous!), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.


title: Thekla Reuten

text: Reuten's television work includes "Hidden" (BBC, United Kingdom), "Restless" (BBC, United Kingdom), and "Sleeper Cell" (Showtime, USA). She has performed in Johan Simons' production "Fall of the Gods" at the Salzburg Festival and the Ruhr Triennial, as well as in Rufus Norris’ "Blood Wedding" at the Almeida Theatre in London, alongside Gael Garcia Bernal.


title: Thekla Reuten

text: On 18 March 2019, it was announced that Reuten was cast as Jillian Salvius in the upcoming Netflix fantasy series, "Warrior Nun".


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: This is a record of Germany and West Germany's results at the FIFA World Cup. For Germany's World Cup history, FIFA considers only the teams managed by the Deutscher Fußball-Bund, comprising three periods: Germany (during Nazi era), West Germany and reunified Germany. The Germany national football team is one of the most successful national teams at the FIFA World Cup, winning four titles, earning second-place and third-place finishes four times each and one fourth-place finish. Germany's 12 podium finishes (3rd place or better) in 20 tournaments add up to at least three more than any other nation. In addition, Germany are the only team which has stood on the podium at least once during the completed decades in which at least one tournament was held (1930s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s). Along with Argentina, Brazil and Spain, they are one of the four national teams to win outside their continental confederation, with the title of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in South America. The team qualified for every FIFA World Cup tournament they have entered (20 out of the 22), the second most frequent, and only failed to reach the quarter-finals three times, in 1938, 2018, and 2022. With this, Germany's 8th place or better (quarter-finals) in 17 out of 20 tournaments (85%) ranks highest in FIFA World Cup finals history. It makes Germany the best team in the history of the tournament in terms of final positions, if points were awarded proportionally for a title, runner-up finish, third-place finish, semi-final and quarter-final appearances.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: Only 14 days before the final, West Germany played the favoured Hungarian Golden Team in the first round of the tournament and suffered a 3–8 loss, their highest World Cup defeat to this day. In the final, Hungary was up by two goals after only eight minutes, so it came as a surprise that the West German team not only quickly equalized but turned the game around in the 84th minute with a goal scored by Helmut Rahn.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: The strongly contested game between host nation England and West Germany went into extra time after a score of 2-2 after 90 minutes. Geoff Hurst's goal in the 101st minute is one of the most controversial in football history: His shot bounced off the cross-bar onto the ground and back away from the goal. After a brief discussion with the Soviet linesman Tofiq Bahramov, referee Gottfried Dienst awarded the goal. With the West Germans forced to press for the equalizer, Hurst converted a counterattack in the 120th minute and decided the match for England.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: West Germany reached the final as host nation in 1974 and were facing their neighbours and rivals from the Netherlands. After an early penalty scored by Johan Neeskens, West Germany turned the game around to win their second World Cup trophy.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: Paul Breitner became only the third player in World Cup history to have scored in two separate finals, but only after the Italians had already taken a 3–0 lead after 81 minutes.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: With the highest attendance ever at a FIFA World Cup final, West Germany faced Argentina in Mexico City. Although the Argentinian star player Diego Maradona was closely guarded by the West German team, he assisted the decisive 3-2 scored by Jorge Burruchaga, ensuring his country's second World Cup win. Late during the match, three yellow cards were given to Argentinians for time wasting.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: For this re-match of the 1986 Final, Argentina played extremely defensively. Defender Pedro Monzón became the first player ever to receive a red card in a World Cup final, only to be joined by teammate Gustavo Dezotti 22 minutes later. Although West Germany was the dominating side with 23:1 shots, it is fitting that the rough match was decided by a penalty kick taken by Andreas Brehme.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: Franz Beckenbauer achieved the feat to lose and then win a World Cup final each as player (1966, 1974) and manager (1986, 1990).


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: With only one goal against during the six matches leading up to the final, hopes were on the German defence to withstand Brazil's star quality strikers. Germany's playmaker Michael Ballack was suspended for the final after picking his second yellow card of the tournament in the semi-final against South Korea. Two goals from Ronaldo in the middle of the second half decided the match in favour of the South Americans and ensured their record fifth title.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: Despite defeating host country Brazil 7–1, Germany was supported by the home fans due to Brazil's rivalry with Argentina. This record third match-up of two teams in World Cup finals saw good chances for both sides in regular time, but stayed goalless until substitute striker Mario Götze scored during the second half of extra time, in the 113th minute. The fourth title was the first since Germany's reunification in October 1990.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: Lothar Matthäus is the FIFA World Cup's all-time record appearance maker. In addition, along with Antonio Carbajal and Rafael Márquez from Mexico, he is one of the few players to have been fielded in five FIFA World Cups.


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: Miroslav Klose, who is only one match behind, also holds the record for most victories at FIFA World Cups (17).


title: Germany at the FIFA World Cup

text: Since 2014, Miroslav Klose is the all-time top goalscorer at FIFA World Cup final tournaments. Gerd Müller used to be the holder of that record from 1974 until it was broken by Ronaldo in 2006.


title: Willie Harper

text: Willie Miles Harper (born July 30, 1950) is a former American football linebacker who played for the San Francisco 49ers.


title: Willie Harper

text: Harper played high school football for Toledo Scott and college football at University of Nebraska where he was an All-American in 1972 and was drafted in the second round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the 49ers, who he stayed with for eleven years, from 1973 to 1983. He moved to the USFL in 1984 to play for the New Jersey Generals. He finished his career with the Houston Gamblers in 1985.


title: Willie Harper

text: His son, Josh Harper, played college football at Fresno State University. His granddaughter is rapper Saweetie.


title: Our Last Night

text: Our Last Night is an American post-hardcore band formed in 2004, consisting of brothers Trevor (vocals) and Matthew (guitar, vocals) Wentworth and Timothy Molloy (drums). The band is known for its post-hardcore and alternative metal renditions of popular pop songs.


title: Our Last Night

text: The band was formed in early 2004 by the brothers Trevor and Matthew Wentworth, Tim and Matthew Valich, and Alex "Woody" Woodrow. They released their first EP, "We've Been Holding Back".


title: Our Last Night

text: After a few lineup changes, the group was complete in 2006 with Trevor Wentworth (vocals), Matt Wentworth (guitar and vocals), Colin Perry (guitar), Alex "Woody" Woodrow (bass guitar) and Tim Molloy (drums). In early 2007, the group signed with Epitaph Records. The day before they embarked on their first tour, Trevor Wentworth was only 13 years old.


title: Our Last Night

text: In August 2007, after having spent some time on the local club scene, Our Last Night was signed to Epitaph Records, a label owned by Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz, and released their first album, "The Ghosts Among Us", on March 4, 2008. It peaked at No. 6 on "Billboard"'s Top Heatseekers (Northeast) on March 22, 2008. The group then toured the United States through late 2008, including a prolonged stop in Los Angeles to record new tracks.


title: Our Last Night

text: "We Will All Evolve" was produced by Andrew Wade who has worked with A Day to Remember, VersaEmerge, In Fear and Faith, and VEARA. The band toured with From First to Last, We Came as Romans, and A Bullet for a Pretty Boy on Asking Alexandria's headlining tour Welcome to the Circus starting in early May and ending in June. On March 23, the band changed their Myspace layout to reveal the album cover, and "Elephants", the first track on their upcoming album. On April 7, the band released "Across the Ocean" on their Myspace and Absolutepunk.net. On April 23, they released the music video for "Elephants" on Myspace and different sites. On April 30, they had their official CD release show in support of "We Will All Evolve" at the Adams Memorial Opera House in Derry, New Hampshire.


title: Our Last Night

text: On February 1, 2011 they traveled to Tokyo for a co-headlining tour of Japan. On March 19, 2011, they embarked on headlining the "Young & Restless Tour" with Attila, Vanna, Arsonists Get All the Girls, A Bullet for a Pretty Boy, Armor for the Broken, and Across the Sun.


title: Our Last Night

text: On June 7, 2011 the band uploaded an acoustic version of "Across the Ocean" on their YouTube channel. This marked the first time frontman Trevor Wentworth provided clean vocals instead of his usual unclean vocals on one of the band's tracks. He has provided clean vocals on every original song and cover the band has released ever since, with the exception of "Ivory Tower". On August 27, 2011 the band uploaded a 30-second clip of a new song they have been working on to their Facebook page.


title: Our Last Night

text: From January 6–27, 2012, the band joined I See Stars on their "Leave It 2 the Suits" tour alongside Stick to Your Guns, Memphis May Fire, and Make Me Famous.


title: Our Last Night

text: After parting ways with Epitaph Records, the band announced, on October 9, 2013, that they were recording two EPs. A bonus cover song was promised after the band was late in releasing a cover in August as a part of their A Summer of Cover series, the band then released their version of Miley Cyrus' song "Wrecking Ball".


title: Our Last Night

text: On January 7, 2014, the music video for "Sunrise", from the "Oak Island EP", was released. The band teamed up with anti-bullying organization The BULLY Project for the video. On January 27, 2014, they released a full-band cover of Katy Perry's, "Dark Horse" on YouTube and iTunes. On February 11, 2014, the band announced that they would record "Oak Island Acoustic" after their European tour with SECRETS and Empires Fade, have announced plans to record Oak Island Acoustic after returning to the states from the tour which ends on February 18 in Glasgow, Scotland. They confirmed it will feature all tracks from the Oak Island EP. On May 28, 2014, the band announced that they would unite with Set It Off for a co-headlining tour with support from Heartist and Stages & Stereos. The Come Alive began July 11 in Jacksonville, Florida through August 22 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band also stated that the Boston, Massachusetts show will be their 10-Year Anniversary Show. On June 3, 2014, an acoustic video was released for "Same Old War", taken from the acoustic version of their "Oak Island EP", which was released on June 24. On July 9, 2014 the band released their cover of the NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" featuring vocals from Cody Carson of Set It Off.


title: Our Last Night

text: On May 20, 2017, the band released a new single, "Broken Lives". On May 30, 2017, the band announced an EP, "Selective Hearing", which was released on June 9.


title: Our Last Night

text: The band's sound has been described as a mixture of post-hardcore and alternative rock with some elements of metalcore. The band's lyrical themes have been compared We Came as Romans and the Color Morale for their positive messages in their songs that deal with "hope and love in face of depression".


title: Tortilla chip

text: A tortilla chip is a snack food made from corn tortillas, which are cut into triangles and then fried or baked (alternatively they may be discs pressed out of corn masa then fried or baked). Corn tortillas are made of nixtamalized corn, vegetable oil, salt and water. Although first mass-produced commercially in the U.S. in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, tortilla chips grew out of Mexican cuisine, where similar items were well known, such as totopos and tostadas.


title: Tortilla chip

text: Though usually made of yellow corn, they can also be made of white, blue, or red corn. Tortilla chips intended to be dipped are typically only lightly salted, while others may be seasoned with a variety of flavors.


title: Tortilla chip

text: The triangle-shaped tortilla chip was popularized by Rebecca Webb Carranza in the 1940s as a way to make use of misshapen tortillas rejected from the automated tortilla manufacturing machine that she and her husband used at their Mexican delicatessen and tortilla factory in southwest Los Angeles. Carranza found that the discarded tortillas, cut into triangles and fried, were a popular snack, and she sold them for a dime a bag at the El Zarape Tortilla Factory. In 1994, Carranza received the Golden Tortilla award for her contribution to the Mexican food industry.


title: Tortilla chip

text: Tortilla chips are a popular appetizer in Tex-Mex and Mexican restaurants in the U.S. and elsewhere. Their popularity outside of California saw a steady rise in the late 1970s when they began to compete with corn chips, the dipping chip of choice during the first three quarters of the 20th century. They are typically served with a dip, such as salsa, chile con queso, or guacamole. When not served with a dip, the chips are often seasoned with herbs and spices. Although they are now available worldwide, the United States is one of the main markets for tortilla chips. Commercial brand names for tortilla chips include Phileas Fogg snacks, Tostitos, Doritos, and Don Tacos (in Japan).


title: Tortilla chip

text: A more elaborate dish utilizing tortilla chips is nachos. First created in 1943, nachos were invented in Mexico. "They originated in the small Mexican town of Piedras Negras in 1943 and were invented by restaurateur Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya." Nachos are tortilla chips served with melted or shredded cheese, although often other toppings are added or substituted, such as meat, salsa (such as pico de gallo), refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, diced onions, olives, and pickled jalapeños. More elaborate nachos are often baked for a short period of time to warm the tortillas and melt shredded cheese.


title: Tortilla chip

text: A similar fried corn snack is the corn chip, which is not made from a tortilla, but from corn meal which has been processed into a particular shape, typically a small scoop. Fritos are an example of this. The principal difference between the corn in tortilla and corn chips is that the corn in a tortilla chip has undergone a process known as nixtamalization, which involves processing the raw corn with quicklime.


title: Hensuki

text: A manga adaptation of "Hensuki" with illustration by CHuN was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's "shōnen" manga magazine "Monthly Dragon Age" from November 2017 to December 2020. It has been collected into six "tankōbon" volumes as of February 2021. A drama CD was released in May 2018, along with a RPG browser game released on the same date. A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Geek Toys aired from July to September 2019. The series is licensed in North America by Funimation, in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, and in Southeast Asia and South Asia by Muse Communication.


title: Hensuki

text: "Hensuki" revolves around Keiki Kiryū, an ordinary high school student who finds an anonymous love letter addressed to him. What makes things even more interesting is that attached to the letter, there's a pair of panties. To determine the identity of his secret admirer, referred to as "Cinderella", Keiki proceeds to investigate several possible candidates, including his senior and president of the Sayuki Tokihara; his underclasswoman and assistant librarian Yuika Koga; and his classmate and close friend Mao Nanjō. However, as Keiki seeks to uncover who this mysterious girl might be, he discovers that every girl he suspects is singularly perverted and desperately interested in getting him to participate in their perversion.


title: Hensuki

text: "Hensuki" is a light novel series written by Tomo Hanama and illustrated by sune. In addition to the five chapters composing the story of "Hensuki", all volumes contain a prologue, an epilogue and an afterword by Hanama, respectively. From the first to the ninth, each volume presents, as cover art, the image of a female character of the series undressing. Media Factory released the first volume in Japan on January 25, 2017, under their MF Bunko J imprint. The eighth volume of the series was launched on July 25, 2019, along with a special edition containing additional illustrations. As of June 25, 2021, a total of thirteen volumes have been released. The fourteenth and final volume was released on January 25, 2022.


title: Hensuki

text: A manga adaptation written by Hanama and illustrated by CHuN was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's "shōnen" manga magazine "Monthly Dragon Age" from November 9, 2017, to December 9, 2020. Fujimi Shobo has collected its chapters into individual "tankōbon" volumes. The series was compiled into six volumes, with the last one being released on February 9, 2021.


title: Hensuki

text: A spin-off manga, titled was illustrated by kanbe and Hanamoto. It contains alternate, what-if scenarios between the protagonist Keiki Kiryū and the female characters of the series. Hakusensha released its first and only seven-chapter volume on April 24, 2020, under their Young Animal Comics imprint.


title: Hensuki

text: A drama CD for "Hensuki", produced by Mosaic.wav and Yksb and published by Seaside Communications, was released on May 25, 2018, featuring the same voice cast from the anime, along with character songs.


title: Hensuki

text: An anime television series adaptation was announced on February 20, 2019. The series was animated by Geek Toys and directed by Itsuki Imazaki, with Kenichi Yamashita handling series composition, and Yōsuke Itō designing the characters. Youichi Sakai composed the series' music. Seven was credited for animation production assistance. Ayaka Ōhashi performed the series' opening theme song which was also used as the ending theme for the twelfth episode. Mia Regina performed the series' ending theme song Mia Regina also performed the theme song which was inserted into the seventh episode. which is performed by TRUE, was used as the ending theme for the seventh episode.


title: Hensuki

text: The series aired from July 8 to September 23, 2019, on AT-X, Tokyo MX, MBS, and BS11. The series ran for 12 episodes. The series is licensed in North America by Funimation, in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, and in Southeast Asia and South Asia by Muse Communication. A short anime spin-off titled ran after episodes of the main anime on AT-X. The shorts were directed and written by Itsuki Imazaki.


title: Hensuki

text: A web radio show, titled hosted by Ayana Taketatsu and Rina Hidaka, who voiced Sayuki Tokihara and Yuika Koga in the anime adaptation of "Hensuki", respectively, was broadcast every Thursday from June 27 to October 3, 2019.


title: Hensuki

text: A RPG browser game adaptation of "Hensuki" was developed by Tatsutori in collaboration with Atsumaru. The game, titled was directed by Haruya Toma and produced by Junichi Yoshizawa and Asahiko Itada. It follows the plot of the series, with the player taking on the role of Keiki as he tries to discover the identity of the sender of a love letter addressed to him. In addition, the game also includes some of sune's illustrations from the light novel. "Hensuki: Are You Willing to Fall in Love with a Pervert, as Long as She's a Cutie? [Love × Sugoroku]" was released on May 25, 2018, with free post-launch updates being added at monthly intervals.


title: Hensuki

text: In Japan, the seventh volume of "Hensuki" has estimated the sales of over 8,792 copies, being one of top-selling light novels from February 18 to March 11, 2019. As of January 2020, the light novel has over 750,000 copies in circulation.


title: Hensuki

text: Reviewing for "SAE With a K", Dez Polycarpe said, "This is a fun anime to watch and one that I would recommend to a harem lover. [T]his one stuck to me because it is done to give your a laugh each episode. While also showing you that you should definitely not judge a book by its cover. As our main protagonist finds this out a multitude of times." Writing for "Anime Hajime", a reviewer (identified only as 'LofZOdyssey') stated, "Although this show had a strong main character and I would be lying if I said I didn’t have some fun with it, that wasn’t enough. The majority of this series was as generic as can be, from the animation to the story to the mystery to the supporting cast. For that reason, it would be wrong for me to recommend this. After all, I would basically be saying you should go ahead and waste your time. "Hensuki: Are You Willing to Fall in Love with a Pervert, as Long as She's a Cutie?" is one you can skip."


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: Dr. No is the nickname given to a suspected American serial killer thought to be responsible for the murders of at least nine women and girls in Ohio, between 1981 and 1990. As victims, he primarily chose prostitutes working in parking lots and truck stops located alongside Interstate 71. There are suspicions that he committed three similar killings in New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania, between 1986 and 1988.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: Some of the victims were prostitutes at the Union 76 truck stop in Austintown, east of Akron and west of Youngstown, which is the largest in Ohio, leading the investigators to suspect that the killer was a truck driver. Most victims were found without underwear and shoes.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: The killings began in 1981, when the body of a young woman was found in Miami County, Ohio on April 24. After a forensic examination, it was determined that the victim died from strangulation, having received a head injury beforehand. At the time of her discovery, no personal belongings or documents were found, making her identification difficult. She was well-groomed, and there was no evidence of sexual assault; investigators did not characterize her as a prostitute. She was nicknamed "Buckskin Girl", from a tasseled buckskin poncho she was wearing. In 2018, the victim was finally identified as Marcia King.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: The next victim was 25-year-old Marcia Matthews, who was found, beaten but barely alive, on June 16, 1985 by a trucker one mile away from the Union 76 truck stop. She died two and a half days later from a traumatic brain injury, sustained after a beating with a blunt object.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: On July 20, 1986, the body of 23-year-old prostitute Shirley Dean Taylor was discovered, who was also beaten and strangled to death. Before her disappearance, she was seen at the Union 76 truck stop, where, according to witness reports, she went to meet a regular client nicknamed "Dr. No", whose identity was never established. Her body was discovered a few miles from the place of her disappearance, with her underwear and shoes missing.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: In December 1986, 18-year-old prostitute April Barnett also went missing from the Union 76 truck stop, with her body found only a few days later 70 miles from Austintown. As with previous cases, the victim was beaten and strangled to death, with some of her clothes missing as well.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: A few days after, 28-year-old prostitute Jill Allen was found murdered in Illinois, near Interstate 70. Despite the fact that she had been found in another state, she was deemed a victim of the same killer due to the "modus operandi". Allen had also been beaten and asphyxiated, with strangulation marks found on her neck. Her shoes, bra, and underwear were never found.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: The next victim was 27-year-old Anne-Marie Patterson, who went missing on February 7, 1987 from the Union 76 Austintown. Her semi-decomposed body was found 40 days later, 250 miles away from Austintown, near Cincinnati. A week before the disappearance, Patterson had been arrested by police. At the police station, she gave information about a murder suspect and described his car. During the investigation, law enforcement agencies discovered that Patterson had made an appointment via CB radio with the client, nicknamed "Dr. No", whom she characterized extremely negatively, and then disappeared. From this, the police and later the media used the nickname for the unidentified criminal.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: On August 10 1987, another victim's body was found in Englewood. The victim's jeans and underwear were at her ankles, while the upper parts of the clothes were missing. According to the nature of grass depressions and tire tracks located at the scene, forensic experts determined that the killer threw the victim's corpse out of his car. An autopsy revealed that the victim was a young woman, aged 20-25, and had died from strangulation. Despite the abundance of tattoos on her body, as well as jewelry the offender had not stolen, she remained unidentified until 2010. The victim was identified as Paula Beverly Davis, 21, after relatives recognized her tattoos pictured from her listing in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Although she was included on the task force relating to the murders (formed in 1991), additional theories exist suggesting a drug dealer's retaliation, an unknown woman last seen in her company, or an unrelated serial killer.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: On November 22 1987, the body of 19-year-old Lamonica Cole was discovered at a truck stop in Breezewood, Pennsylvania. Despite the fact that the truck stop was located on another interstate, Cole was included as a potential victim because she had died from strangulation, was a native of Ohio and some of her things had been recovered, while others not. During the investigation, Lamonica's pimp, 24-year-old Derrick Mims, told police that the alleged killer with whom Cole left on the day of her disappearance was traveling in a blue Semi-trailer truck with white stripes.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: 31-year-old Terri Roark was murdered March 29, 1988 in New York, her body found on one of the bridges passing through the Mohawk River. The medical examiner found that the woman died from a traumatic brain injury that occurred during a beating with a blunt object several hours before the discovery of her body. Some of Roark's clothing, including underwear and shoes, were never found, leading investigators to include her in the list of potential victims of "Dr. No".


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: On April 19, 1990, another female's body was found near a truck stop on the I-70. Most of her clothes were missing, though her panties remained. An autopsy concluded that she had died from a traumatic brain injury resulting from a beating, and had had sexual intercourse 12-24 hours before her death. With these conclusions, the investigators suggested that the victim was a prostitute and had fallen victim to the serial killer. Despite multiple attempts to identify her, she remained unidentified (with the placeholder name "Jane Doe 2") until her identification as Patrice Anita Corley (29) in 2017.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: During the course of the investigation, the police interviewed hundreds of prostitutes, pimps, service station employees and truck drivers, in an attempt to find witnesses and identify the offender. According to the witnesses, the killer appeared to be a tall, large man with fair skin and dark hair, aged 25-40, wore glasses and talked with an accent matching that of somebody from the Northeastern states. The vehicle he was driving was described as a 1984 silver truck with a windblocker and a red hood. The Ohio State Police Department and volunteers from various civil society organizations posted over 4,000 photographs of the victims and an identikit of the offender at 130 truck stops and service stations across the state, and 1,350 truck stops in nine other states through which interstate motorways where the serial killer would ride through, offering $10,000 for information about him. As a result, five people were detained, who at different times were nicknamed "Dr. No", but subsequently no charges were filed against any of them and their names were never disclosed to the public. On most of the corpses, biological traces were discovered that, according to the investigators, came from the perpetrator. To establish if the sperm had the same affiliation, a forensic examination was carried out which gave mixed results, due to the fact that all of the victims had engaged in prostitution during life, and authorities started questioning whether the deaths were actually related. Since no other incriminating evidence was found at the crime scenes, such as fingerprints, hair samples and pieces of clothing, the investigation to this day hasn't established the killer's identity.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: In April 1991, a resident of Lake County, Ohio, 36-year-old Alvin Wilson, became a suspect. Wilson, who worked as a trucker and owned two tractors, was among those whose hair samples matched those found on some of the victims. Credit card receipts and other evidence indicated his possible responsibility for the Ohio murders. In 1990, he was arrested on charges of assault and attempted murder of a woman in October 1989. After his arrest, the girl contacted police, stating that in 1986, Wilson had picked her up in Akron after paying for her services, and had beat and attempted to strangle her afterward. Wilson was tested for any involvement, but the results were inconclusive.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: That same year, a long-haul trucker named John Fautenberry was arrested for several murders committed across four states. He was briefly considered a suspect in the killings, but was later ruled out, as his modus operandi and victim profile were too different.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: In June 1994, a 36-year-old trucker from Ohio, James Robert Cruz, Jr., was convicted in the March 1993 murder of 17-year-old Dawn Marie Birnbaum in Centre County, Pennsylvania, whose body was found along Interstate 80. The girl's body was discovered a few days after her death. Since most of her clothes were missing, Cruz was considered a possible suspect in the Ohio killings. He was tested, but subsequently, no charges were filed against him concerning the other murders.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: In 1995, 28-year-old Sean Patrick Goble, a trucker from North Carolina, who had admitted to killing two prostitutes in Tennessee in April of that year, was among the suspects for the murder of a North Carolina woman in early 1995. As a trucker, Goble traveled to several dozen states across the country, where cases of disappearances and murders of prostitutes along interstate highways were recorded. Following his arrest, Goble was investigated for murders in at least 10 states. Nevertheless, he was cleared of suspicion of being the elusive "Dr. No", since, at the time of the first murder in 1981, he was still in high school, and in the mid-1980s, when the majority of the killings took place, he was serving in the Army and was stationed outside Ohio.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: In November 2005, on the basis of DNA profiling, authorities arrested 46-year-old Dellmus Colvin, a truck driver who killed five prostitutes in Toledo. Colvin later admitted to killing at least two others in New Jersey, but vehemently denied any involvement in the "Dr. No" murders during the 1980s.


title: Dr. No (serial killer)

text: In early 2019, 49-year-old Samuel Legg was arrested in Arizona. Using DNA profiling, law enforcement agencies were able to prove his guilt in four murders in Ohio and Illinois, the first of which he committed at age 20 in 1989. His initial arrest was due to a match for an unsolved 1997 rape of a minor in Medina County, Ohio, where he was extradited to stand trial. In the fall of 1990, Legg was a suspect in the murder of his stepdaughter, 14-year-old Angela Hicks, in Elyria, but as there was not enough evidence, he was not charged.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The Russian Mennonites ( [lit. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire], occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who settled for about 250 years in the Vistula delta in Poland and established colonies in the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine and Russia's Volga region, Orenburg Governorate, and Western Siberia) beginning in 1789. Since the late 19th century, many of them have come to countries throughout the Western Hemisphere. The rest were forcibly relocated, so that very few of their descendants now live at the location of the original colonies. Russian Mennonites are traditionally multilingual with Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German) as their first language and lingua franca. In 2014 there are several hundred thousand Russian Mennonites: about 200,000 in Germany, 100,000 in Mexico, 70,000 in Bolivia, 40,000 in Paraguay, 10,000 in Belize, tens of thousands in Canada and the US, and a few thousand in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The term "Russian Mennonite" refers to the country where they resided before their immigration to the Americas and not to their ethnic heritage. The term "Low-German Mennonites" is also used in order to avoid this conflation.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: In the early-to-mid 16th century, Mennonites began to flee to the Vistula Delta region in the Kingdom of Poland in order to avoid persecution in the Low Countries—especially Friesland and Flanders—seeking religious freedom and exemption from military service. They gradually replaced their Dutch and Frisian languages with the Low German language spoken in the area, blending into it elements of their native tongues to create a distinct dialect known as Plautdietsch. Today Plautdietsch is the distinct Mennonite language that developed over a period of 300 years in the Vistula delta region and south Russia. The Mennonites of Dutch origin were joined by Mennonites from other parts of Europe, including the German-speaking parts of the Swiss Confederacy. Some Poles also became Mennonites and were assimilated into the Vistula delta Mennonites.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: In 1772, most of the Vistula delta was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the First Partition of Poland. Frederick William II of Prussia ascended the throne in 1786 and imposed heavy fees on the Mennonites in exchange for continued military exemption. The remainder of the Vistula delta was annexed by Prussia in the Second Partition of Poland in 1793.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Catherine the Great of Russia issued a manifesto in 1763 inviting all Europeans to come and settle various pieces of land within New Russia (today Southern Ukraine) and especially in the Volga region. For a variety of reasons, Germans responded to this in large numbers. Mennonites from the Vistula delta region later sent delegates to negotiate an extension of this manifesto and, in 1789, Crown Prince Paul signed a new agreement with them. The Mennonite migration to Russia from the Prussian-annexed Vistula delta was led by Jacob Hoeppner and Johann Bartsch. Their settlement territory was northwest of the Sea of Azov, and had just been acquired from the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, 1768–1774. Many of the Mennonites in Prussia accepted this invitation, establishing Chortitza on the Dnieper River as their first colony in 1789. A second larger colony, Molotschna, was founded in 1803.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Mennonites lived alongside Nogais—semi-nomadic pastoralists—in the Molotschna region of southern Ukraine starting from 1803, when Mennonites first arrived, until 1860, when the Nogai Tatars departed. Mennonites provided agricultural jobs to Nogais and rented pasture from them. Nogai raids on Mennonite herds were a constant problem in the first two decades of settlement.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Two Mennonite settlements on the Vistula near Warsaw, Kazuń Nowy and Nowe Wymyśle, came under Russian control after Mazovia was annexed by Russia at the Congress of Vienna (1815). Some of these families emigrated to the Molotschna settlement after it was established. Deutsch-Michalin near Machnovka was founded in 1787. Many families from this settlement moved to nearby Volhynia in 1802. Swiss Mennonites of Amish descent from Galicia settled near Dubno, Volhynia province in 1815. Other Galician Mennonites lived near Lviv.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: When the Prussian government eliminated exemption from military service on religious grounds, the remaining Mennonites were eager to emigrate to Russia. They were offered land along the Volga River in Samara Governorate and exemption from military service for twenty years, after which they could pay a special exemption tax. Two settlements, Trakt and Alt-Samara (to distinguish it from Neu Samara Colony), were founded in 1853 and 1861 respectively.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: By 1870 about 9000 individuals had immigrated to Russia, mostly to the Chortitza and Molotschna settlements which, with population increase, numbered about 45,000. Forty daughter colonies were established by 1914, occupying nearly , with a total population of 100,000.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The colonists formed villages of fifteen to thirty families, each with 70 ha (175 acres) of land. The settlements retained some communal land and a common granary for use by the poor in lean years. Income from communal property provided funding for large projects, such as forming daughter colonies for the growing population. Insurance was also organized separately and outside of the control of the Russian government.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Initially the settlers raised cattle, sheep and general crops to provide for their household. The barren steppes were much drier than their Vistula delta homeland and it took years to work out the proper dry-land farming practices. They grew mulberries for the silk industry, produced honey, flax and tobacco, and marketed fruits and vegetables for city markets. By the 1830s wheat became the dominant crop.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Expanding population and the associated pressure for more farmland became a problem by 1860. The terms of the settlement agreement prevented farms from being divided; they were required to pass intact from one generation to the next. Since agriculture was the main economic activity, an expanding class of discontented, landless poor arose. Their problems tended to be ignored by the village assembly, which consisted of voting landowners. By the early 1860s the problem became so acute that the landless organized a party that petitioned the Russian government for relief. A combination of factors relieved their plight. The Russian government permitted farms to be divided in half or quarters and ordered release of the village's communal land. The colonies themselves purchased land and formed daughter colonies on the eastern frontier extending into Siberia and Turkestan. These new colonies included Bergtal, Neu Samara Colony and the Mennonite settlements of Altai.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: As wheat farming expanded, the demand for mills and farm equipment grew. The first large foundry was established in Chortitza in 1860 and other firms followed. By 1911 the eight largest Mennonite-owned factories produced 6% of the total Russian output (over 3 million rubles), shipped machinery to all parts of the empire and employed 1744 workers. The annual output of "Lepp and Wallman" of Schönwiese was 50,000 mowers, 3000 threshing machines, thousands of gangplows in addition to other farm equipment. Flour and feed mills were originally wind-powered, a skill transplanted from Prussia. These were eventually replaced with motor- and steam-driven mills. Milling and its supporting industries grew to dominate the industrial economy of the colonies and nearby communities.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Mennonite colonies were self-governing with little intervention from the Russian authorities. The village, the basic unit of government, was headed by an elected magistrate who oversaw village affairs. Each village controlled its own school and roads, and cared for the poor. Male landowners decided local matters at village assemblies.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Villages were grouped into districts. All of the Chortitza villages formed one district; Molotschna was divided into two districts: Halbstadt and Gnadenfeld. A district superintendent headed a regional bureau that could administer corporal punishment and handle other matters affecting the villages in common. Insurance and fire protection were handled at the regional level, as well as dealing with delinquents and other social problems. The Mennonite colonies functioned as a democratic state, enjoying freedoms beyond those of ordinary Russian peasants.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: In addition to village schools, the Mennonite colonies established their own hospitals, a mental hospital and a school for the deaf. They cared for orphans and elderly and provided an insurance program. By being largely self-sufficient in these local matters, they were able to minimize their burden on and contact with the Russian government.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Mennonites stayed out of Russian politics and social movements that preceded the Russian revolution. After the Russian Revolution of 1905 they did exercise their right to vote. Most aligned themselves with the Octobrist Party because of its guarantee of religious freedoms and freedom of the press for minority groups. Hermann Bergmann was an Octobrist member of the Third and Fourth State Dumas; Peter Schröder, a Constitutional Democratic party member from Crimea, was a member of the fourth Duma.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: At a time when compulsory education was unknown in Europe, the Mennonite colonies formed an elementary school in each village. Students learned practical skills such as reading and writing German and arithmetic. Religion was included as was singing in many schools. The teacher was typically a craftsperson or herder, untrained in teaching, who fit class time around his occupation.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: In 1820 the Molotschna colony started a secondary school at Ohrloff, bringing a trained teacher from Prussia. The Central School was started in Chortitza in 1842. Over three thousand pupils attended the Central School with up to 8% of the colonists receiving a secondary education. A school of commerce was started in Halbstadt employing a faculty with full graduate education. Those who wanted to pursue post-secondary education attended universities in Switzerland, Germany as well as Russia.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Typically each village or group of villages organized an independent congregation. Cultural and traditional differences between Frisian and Flemish Mennonites were also reflected in those of their churches. They all agreed on fundamental Mennonite beliefs such as believer's baptism, nonresistance and avoidance of oaths. Pastors of Flemish congregations read sermons from a book while seated at a table. Frisian pastors stood while delivering the sermon.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Pastors were untrained and chosen from within the congregation. Unpaid pastors were selected from among the wealthier members—large landowners, sometimes teachers—allowing them to make a living while serving the congregation. The combined effect of respect for their position and material wealth gave them substantial influence over the community.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Church discipline was exercised in the form of excommunication against those who had committed sins and refused to repent and ask for forgiveness. The most conservative congregations practiced "avoidance", which entailed cutting all business and most social ties with an unrepentant member, but members still had the obligation to help the shunned person if he was in grave need. Because being part of a Mennonite congregation was required to enjoy the special benefits the Russian government provided to colonists, excommunication had broader implications. This was softened by the various internal factions, which allowed a person banned from one congregation to join another.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: As nationalism grew in central Europe, the Russian government could no longer justify the special status of its German colonists. In 1870 they announced a Russification plan that would end all special privileges by 1880. Mennonites were particularly alarmed at the possibility of losing their exemption from military service and their right for schools to use the German language, which they believed was necessary to maintain their cultural and religious life.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Delegates were sent to Petersburg in 1871 to meet with the czar and appeal for relief on religious grounds. They met with high officials, but failed to present the czar with their petition. A similar attempt the next year was also unsuccessful, but were assured by the Tsar's brother Grand Duke Konstantin that the new law would provide a way to address the concerns of the Mennonites in the form of noncombatant military service.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The most conscientious Mennonites could not accept any form of service that supported making war, prompting their community leaders to seek immigration options. In 1873 a delegation of twelve explored North America, seeking large tracts of fertile farmland. This group consisted of Leonhard Sudermann and Jacob Buller of the Alexanderwohl congregation representing the Molotschna settlement; Tobias Unruh from Volhynia settlements; Andreas Schrag of the Swiss Volhynia congregations; Heinrich Wiebe, Jacob Peters and Cornelius Buhr from the Bergthal Colony; William Ewert from West Prussia; Cornelius Toews and David Klassen of the "Kleine Gemeinde" and Paul and Lorenz Tschetter representing the Hutterites. This group returned with positive reports of good land available in Manitoba, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The more conservative groups—those from "Kleine Gemeinde", Bergthal and Chortitza—chose Canada, which promised privileges equal to those previously held in Russia and a large tract of land to reestablish colonies in Manitoba (East Reserve and West Reserve). The more liberal groups—those from Molotschna—and the Hutterites chose the United States. Entire communities such as Alexanderwohl and Bergtal prepared to move as a unit as well as many individual families from among the other Mennonite villages. They sold their property, often at reduced prices and worked through the red tape and high fees of procuring passports.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Realizing that 40,000 of Russia's most industrious farmers were preparing to leave for North America, the Russian government sent Eduard Totleben to the colonies in May 1874. Meeting with community leaders, he exaggerated the difficulties that would be encountered in North America and offered an alternative national service that would not be connected in any way to the military. His intervention convinced the more liberal Mennonites to stay.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Between 1874 and 1880, of the approximately 45,000 Mennonites in South Russia, ten thousand departed for the United States and eight thousand for Manitoba. The settlement of Mennonites, primarily in the central United States, where available cropland had similarity to that in the Crimean Peninsula, coincided with the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Others looked east, and in one of the strangest chapters of Mennonite history, Claas Epp, Jr., Abraham Peters and other leaders led hundreds of Mennonites to Central Asia in the 1880s, where they expected Christ's imminent return. They settled in the Talas Valley of Turkestan and in the Khanate of Khiva. For those who remained in Russia, the military service question was resolved by 1880 with a substitute four-year forestry service program for men of military age.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: During the period of the 'Great War', the Mennonites in Russia were well advanced socially and economically. Many large agricultural estates and business entities were controlled by Mennonite interests. They had a reputation for outstanding efficiency and quality and were noted across Russia for their agricultural and organizational abilities. The precedent of non-resistant national service had been established years before and the Mennonites therefore had a system to handle military service requests at the outbreak of war. During World War I, 5000 Mennonite men served in both forestry and hospital units and transported wounded from the battlefield to Moscow and Ekaterinoslav hospitals. The Mennonite congregations were responsible for funding these forms of alternative service, as well as supporting the men's families during their absence, a burden of 3.5 million rubles annually. During this time there was a progressive breakdown in the autonomy of the Mennonite colonies and social and financial pressure began to take their effect on the Mennonite people and their institutions. Property and possessions began to be confiscated for the war effort and certain industrial complexes turned to military production (some voluntarily). Much of the Mennonite hope at that time was based on the preservation of the existing Russian Provisional Government. However, as the war progressed, the social tide turned against the existing power structure and Russia began a march toward structural discord.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The chaos that followed the collapse of the Russian Provisional Government was devastating to much of Ukraine, including the Mennonite colonies. The Red and White armies moved through the region, confiscating food and livestock. Nestor Makhno's anarchist army generally targeted Mennonites because they were thought of as "Kulaks" and an entity generally more advanced and wealthy than the surrounding Ukrainian peasants. The Mennonites' Germanic background also served to inflame negative sentiment during the period of revolution. It is also rumored that Makhno himself had served on a Mennonite estate in childhood and harbored negative feelings based on treatment he received while employed there. Hundreds of Mennonites were murdered, robbed, imprisoned and raped during this period, and villages including (and around) Chortitza, Zagradovka and Nikolaipol were damaged and destroyed. Many more people died from typhus, cholera and sexually transmitted diseases, spread by the anarchist army warring throughout the colonies.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Based on the tragedy unfolding around them, some of the avowed pacifist Mennonites turned to self-defense and established militia units (Selbstschutz) to ward off raiding forces with the help of the German Army. While generally regarded as a failure of spiritual commitment by many within the community (currently and at the time), the forces initially achieved some military success in defending Mennonite colonies and families while the communities tried to escape and/or relocate. Ultimately the self-defence militia was overwhelmed once Makhno's anarchists aligned themselves with the Red Army early in 1919. While the resistance certainly helped defend Mennonite communities against initial attacks, it may also have served to inflame some of the atrocities that followed. After this period, many Mennonites were dispossessed and ultimately their remaining properties and possessions were nationalized (collectivization) by the Soviet authorities.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The impacts of the trauma experienced during World War I and the Russian Revolution had lasting impacts on Russian Mennonites. Even though Mennonites who emigrated to North America experienced drastically less violence and the privilege of land ownership, many still showed very high levels of psychological distress. First through third generation Mennonites in North America were found to have high levels of depression, hysteria, psychasthenia, post traumatic stress disorder, ego strength, anxiety, repression, and over-controlled hostility.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Mennonites of Molotschna sent a commission to North America in the summer of 1920 to alert American Mennonites of the dire conditions of war-torn Ukraine. Their plight succeeded in uniting various branches of Mennonites to form Mennonite Central Committee in an effort to coordinate aid.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The new organization planned to provide aid to Ukraine via existing Mennonite relief work in Istanbul. The Istanbul group, mainly Goshen College graduates, produced three volunteers, who at great risk entered Ukraine during the ongoing Russian Civil War. They arrived in the Mennonite village of Halbstadt in the Molotschna settlement just as General Wrangel of the White Army was retreating. Two of the volunteers withdrew with the Wrangel army, while Clayton Kratz, who remained in Halbstadt as it was overrun by the Red Army, was never heard from again.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: A year passed before official permission was received from the Soviet government to do relief work among the villages of Ukraine (see Russian famine of 1921). Kitchens provided 25,000 people a day with rations over a period of three years beginning in 1922, with a peak of 40,000 servings during August of that year. Fifty Fordson tractor and plow combinations were sent to Mennonite villages to replace horses that had been stolen and confiscated during the war. The cost of this relief effort was $1.2 million.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: As conditions improved, Mennonites turned their attention from survival to emigration. Though the New Economic Policy appeared to be less radical than previous Soviet reforms, thousands of Mennonites saw no future under the communists. After years of negotiation with foreign governments and Moscow, arrangements were made for emigration to Canada, Paraguay and Argentina. Because Canada had not recognized the Soviet government, Moscow would not deal with them directly. Emigrants bound for Canada were processed through Riga. Those who could not pass the medical exam—usually because of trachoma—were allowed to stay in Germany and Southampton in England until they were healthy. By 1930, 21,000 Mennonites had arrived in Canada, most on credit provided by the Canadian Pacific Railway.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: A group of Mennonites from western Siberia who subsequently settled along the Amur in unrealized hopes of better living conditions, escaped over the frozen river to Harbin, China. A few hundred were allowed entry into California and Washington. The majority remained as refugees until the Nansen International Office for Refugees of the League of Nations intervened and arranged resettlement in Paraguay and Brazil in 1932.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Those that remained in their home villages were subject to exile to Siberia and other remote regions east of the Urals. From 1929 to 1940, one in eight men were removed, usually under the pretext of political accusations, to labor camps from which few ever returned or were heard from again.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: With the onset of economic and agricultural reforms, large estates and the communal land of the Mennonite colonies were confiscated. The next step was to reduce the model farms by 60% and then another 50% percent—an insufficient size to support a family. The confiscated land was given to peasants from outside the Mennonite communities, often communist party members. These new villagers soon controlled the local government, further confiscating land and rights from the Mennonite majority by labeling landowners and leaders kulaks and sending them into exile. The government taxed the remaining landowners so heavily that they could not possibly produce enough to meet the obligation and their land was confiscated as payment. As collectivization proceeded, there was some hope that Mennonites could run their own collective farms, but with the introduction of Stalin's first five-year plan there was no hope that such a scheme would be allowed.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Starting in 1918 religious freedoms were restricted. Churches and congregations had to be registered with the government. Ministers were disenfranchised and lost their rights as citizens. Ministers could not be teachers, which was the livelihood of many Mennonite pastors. They and their family members could not join cooperatives or craft guilds. Because of these restrictions, ministers had a strong incentive to emigrate, and few were willing to replace them. Congregations could no longer do charitable work of any kind, which destroyed the well developed social institutions with the Mennonite colonies. Villages lost control of their schools; all religious content was prohibited. Sunday was abolished as a holiday.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: During World War I the Russians had permitted Mennonites to serve in non-combat capacities in the military. This practice was not continued.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Following the Russian withdrawal from World War I, the Russian Civil War ensued, with an ultimate Red victory. The Russian Mennonites, many of whom were also known as being part of the one million or so Volga Germans living in their own established communities, were approached by the Soviet authorities and issued new standards and expectations. Education was to be controlled according to these new directives by the State, and families were eventually to be separated, with children sent to various live-in schools, while parents were to be assigned according to State needs.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: These directives were described by a Volga German teacher, Henry Wieler, who attended these State meetings and related the events in his detailed Journal, Tagabook, which today is partially translated but available in the published book, The Quiet in the Land, by Henry Wieler.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: In 1937 and 1938 the NKVD carried out ethnically motivated purges of German descendants and German language speakers, including Mennonites. As Stalin fomented cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church in World War II, Mennonites and Protestants were seen as more dangerous. During the Holodomor in Ukraine, there was active persecution of German-speaking people as a potential threat to the state, and a ban on organized religion. The hostilities of World War I had increased tensions with ethnic Ukrainians, and Mennonites with family members living abroad were targeted during the Great Purge.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Having suffered persecution by the Stalinist regime, many Mennonites came to identify with Adolf Hitler, who opposed Stalin and saw the Jews as being mainly responsible for the Communist crimes. This view has gained support over recent years as the Jews occupied a disproportionately large percentage of the upper echelons of the Soviet political hierarchy in comparison to the percentage of the Soviet population they comprised at the time. As pacifists within an increasingly military regime under Stalin and then (after invasion of Ukraine and parts of Russia by Hitler) the Nazis, and as "Volga Germans" whose abuse Hitler had used as a pretext to invade, Mennonites were subject to special pressure to join military units. Mennonites played a central role in managing the labor force at Stutthof concentration camp, and some, recruited into SS units, served as guards at concentration camps or carried out shootings of prisoners. Other Mennonites were conscripted by force into German units as support and shock troops and some participated in anti-partisan operations. Most history of this period is anecdotal and based on family memoirs and letters from the Gulags.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Peter Letkemann of University of Winnipeg characterizes the casualties and abuses of this period as "victims of terror and repression in the Soviet Union during the 40-year period from 1917-1956." This would overlap somewhat with the "Siberian Germans" deported to that region who have lost touch entirely with the Mennonite mainstream worldwide.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Between 1987 and 1993 about 100,000 persons of Mennonite origin emigrated from the USSR to Germany. Today in Ukraine there are three Mennonite communities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Kherson Oblast and a Mennonite community in Ternopol Oblast.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: After 1870 about 18,000 Russian Mennonites, fearing conscription into military service and state influence on their education systems, emigrated to the Plains States of the US and the Western Provinces of Canada. The more liberal went in general to the US where the majority over a period of several decades assimilated more or less into the mainstream society.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Russian Mennonites settled much of South Central Kansas, which owes its reputation as a wheat-producing state in large measure to its early Mennonite settlers. Winter wheat was introduced to Kansas in 1873. The following year the Mennonites, who had experience with dry land farming in Russia, quickly took advantage of its characteristics, resulting in rapid expansion of the milling industry in the state. It is planted in the fall and harvested in June and July of the following summer, and is therefore ideally suited to cold winters and the hot, dry Kansas summers. Kansas remains a top producer of wheat in America to this day.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The more conservative Old Colony, Bergthal Mennonites and Kleine Gemeinde went to Canada which promised privileges equal to those previously held in Russia (no conscription into military service and German language private schools) and a large tract of land divided into two "Reserves". The Mennonites settled mostly in Manitoba in areas east and west of the Red River, called East Reserve and West Reserve.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: They brought with them many of their institutions and practices, especially their traditional settling pattern which meant that they settled in vast exclusively Mennonite areas where they formed villages with German names such as Blumenort, Steinbach and Grünthal.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The more conservative faction of the Manitoba Mennonites decided to leave Canada after World War I and moved to Mexico mostly in the years 1922-1927 and to Paraguay in 1927. The main reasons were compulsory attendance at public schools and anti-German sentiments because of the war. Some latercomers went to Mexico in 1948. After the more conservative fraction had left for Mexico, most of the remaining Mennonites quickly assimilated into the mainstream society.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Descendants of Manitoba Mennonites today form the majority of Conservative Mennonites in Latin America, counting more than 200,000. Because many of these Mennonites from Canada still hold Canadian passports-there was and still is a steady flow back to Canada fed by the high birth rates of conservative Mennonites. These emigrants strengthen the Russian Mennonite element in the Canadian Mennonite churches.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: With the Russian Mennonites came separate denominations previously unseen in North America, such as the Mennonite Brethren.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: A second wave of Russian Mennonites came out of Russia after the bloody strife following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and a third wave in the aftermath of World War I. These people, having lost everything they had known, found their way to settlements in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario and in many regions of the United States. Some joined with previous Mennonite groups, while others formed their own. A key figure negotiating with the government on behalf of 20,000 of the Mennonite immigrants at this time, and mediating among the Mennonites themselves, was David Toews, founding chairman of the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The emigration from Canada to Mexico and Paraguay in the 1920s was a reaction to the introduction of universal, secular compulsory education in 1917 requiring the use of the English language, which the more conservative Mennonites saw as a threat to the religious basis of their community.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The first colony in a Latin American country was established by Mennonites from Canada between 1922 and 1925 in Mexico in the state of Chihuahua near the city of Cuauhtémoc. The next country was Paraguay, where Menno Colony was formed 1927 by Mennonites from Canada, whereas Fernheim and Friesland Colonies were formed in the 1930s by Mennonites from the Soviet Union who were fleeing starvation (Holodomor), persecution of religion and Collectivization under Stalin. Neuland and Volendam Colonies were founded 1947 by Mennonites who fled the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. All other Mennonite colonies in Latin America were formed by Mennonites who settled in North America since 1870, partly via Mexico and Belize.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Beginning in 1954 conservative Mennonites settled in East-Bolivia, in the Santa Cruz Department. Bolivia soon became the refuge for Mennonites who wanted to flee the influences of modern society. In 2006 there were 41 Mennonite colonies in Bolivia. Old Colony Mennonites went from Mexico to Belize in 1959 and to Argentina in 1986.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: As of 2017, the population of Mennonites living in Mexico has declined sharply, according to some estimates. Worsening poverty, water shortages and drug-related violence across northern Mexico have provoked large numbers of Mennonites living in the Mexican states of Durango and Chihuahua to relocate abroad in recent years, especially to Canada and other regions of Latin America. Between 2012 and 2017 alone, it is estimated that at least 30,000 Mexican Mennonites emigrated to Canada.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: A distinguished writer and historian about the Russian Mennonites in Latin America, especially in Paraguay, was Peter P. Klassen.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, commonly referred to as Holdeman Mennonites after the founder of the church, is a theologically conservative plain dress denomination founded in the United States but made up primarily of descendants of Russian Mennonites, including many former members of the Kleine Gemeinde. In 2013 the church had 24,400 baptized members.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The main body of Mennonites continued to be congregational in organization until 1882 when the "General Conference of Mennonite Congregations in Russia" was formed. Cooperation among Mennonite congregations throughout the empire became necessary for dealing with common interests such as publishing a hymnal, adopting a confession of faith, preserving the German language, education and running the forestry service, an alternative to military service. The conference adopted the motto "Unity in essentials, tolerance in non-essentials, moderation in all things".


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The Russianization program of Stolypin required the conference to publish its proceedings in Russian, certify all delegates with the imperial government and allow a government representative to attend all sessions. The conference found itself devoting more time to dealing with changing government policies and protecting the special privileges of Mennonites. An important task was to convince the government that Mennonitism was an established religion and not a "sect", a label applied to small religious groups who were regularly mistreated within the Russian empire.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The group that immigrated to North America called itself the General Conference Mennonite Church. Today, the main branches of the former General Conference Mennonite Church has split into the Mennonite Church Canada (since 2000) and the Mennonite Church USA (since 2002).


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Klaas Reimer and a group of eighteen followers broke from the main group and formed the (small congregation). Reimer's main complaint was that Mennonite leaders were straying from their traditional nonresistant stance when they turned lawbreakers over to the government for punishment while at the same time church leaders were lax in enforcing spiritual discipline. In 1860 a portion of this group moved to Crimea, adopted baptism by immersion and became known as the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren. Today, the largest group of Kleine Gemeinde are located in Mexico. The majority of the Canadian congregations became theologically evangelical in the mid-20th century and are now called the Evangelical Mennonite Conference.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Pietistic influences, introduced earlier among the West Prussian Mennonites, were transplanted to the Molotschna colony. The pastor of a neighboring congregation, Eduard Wüst, reinforced this pietism. Wüst was a revivalist who stressed repentance and Christ as a personal savior, influencing Catholics, Lutherans and Mennonites in the area. He associated with many Mennonite leaders, including Leonhard Sudermann.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: In 1859, Joseph Höttmann, a former associate of Wüst met with a group of Mennonites to discuss problems within the main Mennonite body. Their discussion centered on participating in closed communion with church members who were unholy or not converted and baptism of adults by immersion.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: The Mennonite Brethren Church formally broke with the main church on January 6, 1860 when this growing group of dissenters presented a document to the elders of the Molotschna Mennonite Churches which indicated "that the total Mennonite brotherhood has decayed to the extent that we can no more be part of it" and fear the "approach of an unavoidable judgment of God." The Mennonite Brethren movement spread throughout the Mennonite colonies and produced many distinguished leaders, particularly in Molotschna. By breaking religious and cultural patterns that had become a hindrance to Mennonite society, the contribution of the Mennonite Brethren allowed all Mennonites groups to pursue a more wholesome Christian life.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Not to be confused with Old Order Mennonites, who are primarily of Swiss-German origin, the name Old Colony Mennonites (German: Altkolonier-Mennoniten) refers to part of the Russian Mennonite movement that is descended from colonists who migrated from the Chortitza Colony, as opposed to the slightly newer Molotschna colony, in Russia and are theologically conservative. Old Colony Mennonites consist of a number of groups that are still quite conservative, including Sommerfelder, Reinlander, and Old Colony, as well as groups that are no longer as conservative such as the Christian Mennonite Conference (formerly the Chortitzer Mennonite conference), which is evangelical in doctrine.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Most ethnic Russian Mennonites no longer reside in Russia, with the majority being spread across the Americas. Russian Mennonites are diverse in terms of theology and dress, while many have assimilated into larger American, Canadian, or Mexican culture. Still shared by many Russian Mennonites, assimilated or not, is the Plautdietsch language, certain dishes Mennonite cuisine such as vereniki, zwieback, and farmer sausage and certain common surnames such as Reimer, Friesen, Penner and dozens of others. Russian Mennonites, particularly in Canada, have also written many well known works of literature.


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Many Mennonites, particularly in Western Canada, use the term "Russian Mennonite" as term of culture or ethnicity referring to their Dutch and Prussian ancestry and heritage, even if they never lived in Russia themselves. The term, does not, however, mean that they are ethnically Russian, but refers to the country they lived in before immigrating to the Americas. "Low-German Mennonites" is also used in order to avoid this conflation.<br>


title: Russian Mennonite

text: Russian Mennonites can be further divided into several groups and labels based on immigration history. The term "Kanadier" refers to Russian Mennonites who came to Canada in the 1870s, some of whom later moved to Mexico. The label "Russlander" refers to Russian Mennonites who came to the Americas in the 1920s. The term "Aussiedler" refers to Russian Mennonites who stayed in the Soviet Union throughout the 20th century before leaving for Germany or the Americas following the collapse of the Soviet Union.


title: Jain (singer)

text: Jeanne Louise Galice (; born 7 February 1992), better known by her stage name Jain (), is a French singer-songwriter and musician. Jain began her career in 2013 when she met Mr. Flash, who introduced her to musical programming. She then published her demo tracks on MySpace, where she was noticed by Dready, who remained her longtime manager. Yodelice was interested in her so he invited her to Paris. Her debut album, "Zanaka", was released on 6 November 2015. Her second album, titled "Souldier", was released on 24 August 2018.


title: Jain (singer)

text: Jain was born on 7 February 1992 in Toulouse, France. The Occitan singer moved around the world due to her father's moves working for a French oil company. She left France at age 9 for Dubai, where she spent three years; then lived for four years in Congo-Brazzaville, which she credits for her taste for danceable melodies; and then spent a year in Abu Dhabi, before moving to Paris where she started a pre-art-school foundation course. These trips influenced her musical style. She also learned how to play drums in Pau, Arabic percussion in the Middle East, and musical programming in Congo.


title: Jain (singer)

text: Jain began composing demo tracks in Pointe-Noire, Congo-Brazzaville. There she met Mr. Flash, who introduced her to musical programming. She then published her demo tracks on MySpace, where she was noticed by Dready, who became her manager and remains so today. Yodelice also discovered these tracks and invited Jain to meet him in Paris. They began to work together, and Yodelice helped to launch her career.


title: Jain (singer)

text: Jain was a supporting artist for Yodelice's tour. They appeared together on the television show "Taratata" in 2013 and performed a duet cover of "Redemption Song".


title: Jain (singer)

text: Yodelice became her producer and worked on her first EP, "Hope." It was released on 22 June 2015 and included four songs including the single "Come" which met with considerable success in France and Spain. A music video for "Come" was released on 2 June 2015 to Jain's official YouTube channel. In November 2016, "Come" was certified Diamond in France. The song has also been used as a jingle by the Polish television channel Polsat and in 2017 it was featured in the American horror comedy web television series "Santa Clarita Diet". It also was featured in the second episode of the first season of the Amazon series "Hanna".


title: Jain (singer)

text: Jain performed at the 2015 Solidays Festival, the BIG Festival (Biarritz International Groove) in Biarritz and Bebop Festival.


title: Jain (singer)

text: On 21 September 2015, Jain revealed the cover of her debut album "Zanaka". "Zanaka" means "child" in Malagasy, and the title is a tribute to her mother who is of Franco-Malagasy origin. The album's release date was announced as 6 November 2015 along with the track listing on 8 October 2015. It included 10 songs including the singles "Come" and "Makeba". Makeba was used on a Levi's commercial which showed dancers (wearing the jeans) in an ethnic beat setting. On 9 October 2015, the album's second track "Heads Up" was released as a pre-order bonus. It was followed by "Hob" on 19 October 2015. "Zanaka" was certified gold in February 2016 for sales exceeding 50,000 copies in France. In December 2018, it was certified diamond in France for sales exceeding 500,000 copies. "Zanaka" was later released in the United Kingdom and the United States on 21 October 2016. It was preceded by the release of "Heads Up" and "Mr Johnson" as pre-order bonuses on 8 October 2016 and 14 October 2016 respectively. In 2016, she was one of the nominees at the Victoires de la Musique Awards in the category "Album Révélation" for "Zanaka". On 25 November 2016, a deluxe version of "Zanaka" was released. It added the songs "City" (originally from the "Hope EP)", "Son of a Sun" and "Dynabeat" as well as an extended version of "Come" and two remixes.


title: Jain (singer)

text: A music video for the single "Makeba" was released to Jain's official YouTube channel on 30 November 2016. The music video was nominated for Best Music Video at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018.


title: Jain (singer)

text: On 1 February 2017, she performed "Come" on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". On 25 April 2017, she performed "Makeba" on "Later... with Jools Holland".


title: Jain (singer)

text: On 10 July 2017, a music video for the song "Dynabeat" was released to Jain's official YouTube channel.


title: Jain (singer)

text: On 25 May 2018, "Alright" was released as the lead single from her second studio album "Souldier", which was released on 24 August 2018. A music video for "Alright" was released on 25 June 2018. "Alright" peaked at number 6 in France, spending three weeks in the top 10. In 2018, "Alright" was the 51st biggest selling single of the year in France.


title: Jain (singer)

text: The album's title, cover and tracklist were announced on 29 June 2018 and it was made available for pre-order along with "Star" as a pre-order bonus and promotional single. The album's title is a play on words between 'soldier' and 'soul'. The song "Star" is about the position of young women in the music industry. On 17 August 2018 "Souldier" was released as the album's second promotional single. The song was inspired by the Orlando nightclub shooting and describes a soldier who seeks redemption. The album was a commercial success, particularly in Jain's native France, where it debuted atop the charts and sold over 150,000 copies. Furthermore, "Souldier" was the 45th best selling album of 2018 in France.


title: Jain (singer)

text: On 8 October 2018, "Oh Man" was released as the album's second single. A music video for the song was released on 21 December 2018. It was filmed at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.