title: The Fisher King

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "An odd but affecting mixture of drama, comedy and fantasy, "The Fisher King" manages to balance moving performances from Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges with director Terry Gilliam's typically askew universe." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F.


title: The Fisher King

text: The film was released on VHS and Laserdisc by Columbia TriStar Home Video in 1992. The first Laserdisc release was a full-screen, but showed more vertical information while cropping horizontally. The second release in 1997 presents the film in its theatrical ratio of 1.85:1. The Criterion Collection released their Laserdisc version in 1993 with several extras that have not surfaced on any other release, and a director-approved widescreen transfer in 1.66:1.


title: The Fisher King

text: The film was first released on DVD in 1998 by Columbia TriStar Home Video, using the same master as the 1997 Laserdisc release, with only theatrical trailer as a special feature. This release was one of the oldest DVD titles to still remain in print. In 2011, Image Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray utilizing a new HD master in the theatrical ratio of 1.85:1, with Dolby Digital Tru-HD 5.1 surround, with no special features.


title: The Fisher King

text: On June 23, 2015, The Criterion Collection re-released the film on Blu-ray and DVD featuring a brand new 2K transfer and DTS-HD 5.1 surround sound mix.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat or Asgabat (, ; , formerly named Poltoratsk () between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, near the Iran-Turkmenistan border.


title: Ashgabat

text: The city was founded in 1881 on the basis of an Ahal Teke tribal village, and made the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924. Much of the city was destroyed by the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake, but has since been extensively rebuilt under the rule of Saparmurat Niyazov's "White City" urban renewal project, resulting in monumental projects sheathed in costly white marble. The Soviet-era Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west. Since 2019, the city has been recognized as having one of the highest costs of living in the world largely due to Turkmenistan's inflation and import issues.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat is called "Aşgabat" in Turkmen, () in Russian from 1925 to 1991, and () in Persian. Before 1991, the city was usually spelled Ashkhabad in English, a transliteration of the Russian form. It has also been variously spelled Ashkhabat and Ashgabad. From 1919 until 1927, the city was renamed Poltoratsk after a local revolutionary, Pavel Gerasimovich Poltoratskiy.


title: Ashgabat

text: Although the name literally means "city of love" or "city of devotion" in modern Persian, the name might be modified through folk etymology. Turkmen historian Ovez Gundogdiyev believes that the name goes back to the Parthian era, 3rd century BC, deriving from the name of the founder of the Parthian Empire, Arsaces I of Parthia, in Persian Ashk-Abad (the city of "Ashk"/Arsaces).


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat is very close to the border with Iran. It occupies a highly seismically active oasis plain bounded on the south by the foothills of the Kopet Dag mountains () and on the north by the Karakum Desert. It is surrounded by, but not part of, Ahal Province (). The highest point in the city is the high sandhill upon which the Yyldyz Hotel was built, but most of the city lies between of elevation. The Karakum Canal runs through the city.


title: Ashgabat

text: Like the rest of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat's soil is primarily sediment that accumulated on the bottom of the Paratethys Ocean. The Kopet Dag mountains emerged toward the end of the Cretaceous Period.


title: Ashgabat

text: Prior to 1881 any buildings other than yurts were made solely from adobe and were limited to one story in height due to the seismic risk. As of 1900 only one building in the city was two stories tall, the municipal museum. City planning began following the Russian conquest, with "very simple planning schemes." The basic layout of downtown streets "has been preserved to this day and defined the unique character of the city structure combining linear and radial types of layout of blocks." The Russian writer Vasily Yan, who lived in Askhabad from 1901 to 1904, described the city as "a little tidy town consisting of numerous clay houses, surrounded by fruit gardens with straight streets, planted with slim cottonwood, chestnut, and white acacia planned by the hand of military engineers." Another description noted,


title: Ashgabat

text: In 1930, asphalt was used for the first time to pave Ashgabat's streets. The water supply was increased by piping water from springs in neighboring Gämi and Bagyr.


title: Ashgabat

text: The first master plan for Ashgabat, developed between 1935 and 1937 at the Moscow Institute of Geodesy, Aerial Imagery, and Cartography, envisioned expansion to the west, including irrigation and greening of the Bikrova canyon (today Bekrewe). The city architect's office was created in 1936 but was unable to implement the new master plan "as it implied significant demolition of the existing buildings." A description of Ashgabat published in 1948 just before the earthquake noted, "In Ashgabat there are nearly no tall buildings, thus every two-story building is visible from above...", i.e., from the foothills. The tallest structures were the clock tower of the textile mill, the "round smokestack of the glass factory", two "exceptionally thin minarets" of the "former mosque", and "two splendid towers over the long building of the main city hotel."


title: Ashgabat

text: During the 1948 earthquake, since the bulk of Ashgabat at that time was built of either adobe or fired brick, all but a very few buildings collapsed or were damaged beyond repair (the reinforced concrete grain elevator, Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, and Kärz Bank were among the structures that survived). According to Turkmenistan's official news agency,


title: Ashgabat

text: A new general plan was hastily developed by July 1949. The city was divided into four zones: central, northern, eastern, and southwestern. Reconstruction of the city began in that year. Thus from the early 1950s through 1991 Ashgabat's skyline was dominated by the Brutalist Style favored by post-Stalin Soviet architects. The city's central avenue, Magtymguly (former Kuropatkin, Freedom, and Stalin Prospect), featured "monotonous and primarily two-story construction of administrative and residential buildings." This reconstruction "preserved the existing network of city streets as it was economically unjustified to redesign them." The city was described as "...a Communist-era backwater, rebuilt into a typically drab provincial Soviet city..." The plan was updated in 1959.


title: Ashgabat

text: Among the buildings erected in the 1950s and 1960s were the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Turkmenistan Communist Party, the Council of Ministers Building, the Mollanepes Academic Drama Theater, the former Ashkhabad Hotel (now renamed Paytagt), the Academy of Sciences complex, and the downtown library building. On then-Karl Marx Square stood a monument to the Soviet "fighters for victory of Soviet power in Turkmenistan".


title: Ashgabat

text: The Turkmen State Project Institute undertook a feasibility study in the mid-1960s to forecast Ashgabat's development to the year 2000, and on that basis to develop a new master plan. Up until then the city had largely expanded to the east, but now the plan called for development to the south and west. This plan was used for about 20 years, and led to construction of the city's first four-story apartment buildings in the Howdan () microdistricts, formerly the site of the Ashgabat-South aerodrome, as well as annexation of three collective farms in the near suburbs and their conversion into residential neighborhoods, one of which, Leningrad kolkhoz, to this day is referred to informally by its former name. The plan was reworked in 1974, and this resulted in relocation of several industrial plants away from the city center, and thus creation of the industrial zones to the northwest, south, southeast, and northeast.


title: Ashgabat

text: Between 1961 and 1987 the city architect was Abdulla Ahmedov, who introduced Soviet modernism to Ashgabat. Ahmedov's greatest architectural accomplishment during this period is considered the Ashgabat Hotel (today renamed Paytagt Hotel), built between 1964 and 1970, "a harmonious synthesis of architecture and monumental art."


title: Ashgabat

text: In 1948 Ashgabat was described before the earthquake as lying "on a sloping plain of the Kopet-Dag foothills, stretching seven kilometers from west to east and five kilometers from the railroad right-of-way to the south, in the direction of the mountains." Through the mid-1970s, Ashgabat was a compact city, as shown by the 1974 Soviet military's General Staff map J-40-081. The village of Köşi, collective farm "Leningrad", airport, and suburbs to the north were outside the city limits.


title: Ashgabat

text: Beginning in the 1970s, Ashgabat's boundaries shifted outward, with the aforementioned municipalities annexed, the aerodrome at Howdan redeveloped, and creation of the Parahat () neighborhoods to the south and industrial parks to the east. In 2013, Ashgabat annexed a portion of the then-Ruhabat district of Ahal Province as well as the city of Abadan (previously named Büzmeýin, and renamed that as a neighborhood) plus all land and villages in between. The southern boundary of Ashgabat was extended southward to the foothills of the Kopet Dag mountains. Overall, Ashgabat's land area rose by 37,654 hectares. The following municipalities were abolished due to their incorporation into the city of Ashgabat: city of Abadan, towns of Jülge and Ruhabat, villages of Gökje, Gypjak, Birleşik, Magaryf, Herrikgala, Ýalkym, Gurtly, Hellewler, Ylmy-Tejribe bazasy, Ýasmansalyk, Köne Gurtly, Gulantäzekli, Serdar ýoly, Gaňtar, Gyzyljagala, Inerçýage, Tarhan, Topurly, and Ussagulla. A further expansion occurred January 5, 2018, when additional land to the north was annexed, incorporating the Gurtly Reservoir and two greenfield residential construction projects, known today as Täze Zaman. This statute also established the current four boroughs of Ashgabat.


title: Ashgabat

text: The Kopet Dag mountain range is about to the south, and Ashgabat's northern boundary touches the Kara-Kum desert. Because of this Ashgabat has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification: "BWk", bordering from "BWh") with very hot, dry summers and cool, short winters. The average high temperature in July is . Nighttimes in the summer are warm, with an average minimum temperature in July of . The average January high temperature is , and the average low temperature is . The highest temperature ever recorded in Ashgabat is , recorded in June 2015. A low temperature of was recorded in January 1969. Snow is infrequent in the area. Annual precipitation is only ; March and April are the wettest months, and June to September are the driest months. In May 2022, , 1,352% of the monthly normal, was reported.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat grew on the ruins of the Silk Road city of Konjikala, first mentioned as a wine-producing village in the 2nd century BC and leveled by an earthquake in the 1st century BC. Konjikala was rebuilt because of its advantageous location on the Silk Road and it flourished until its destruction by Mongols in the 13th century. After that it survived as a small village until Russians took over in the 19th century.


title: Ashgabat

text: The near suburb of Köşi, until 2013 a separate village but in that year annexed by Ashgabat, may have been site of a Parthian fortress constructed to protect the capital city, Nisa, based on discoveries of pottery and other artifacts in the 1970s and as recently as 2020. Other artifacts indicating settlement during the Parthian period were reportedly discovered during laying of telephone cables on the site of the Gülistan (Russian) Bazaar in downtown Ashgabat.


title: Ashgabat

text: According to Muradov, the first mention of the settlement in modern times is found in Khiva chronicles of 1811.


title: Ashgabat

text: British Lieutenant Colonel H.C. Stuart reported in 1881 that the Ahal branch of the Teke tribe of the Turkmen ethnic group arrived in the area around 1830 and established several semi-nomadic villages ("auls") between what are now the city of Serdar and village of Gäwers, inclusive. One of these villages was named Askhabad. The first Russian reference to Ashgabat dates to 1850, in a document kept in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives listing 43 Ahal fortresses, "Ishkhabad" among them. It was described as a "typical Turkmen "aul"".


title: Ashgabat

text: It was formally part of Persia but "de facto" autonomous under Turkoman tribal control until Russian forces defeated the Teke army at the Battle of Geok Tepe in January 1881. Persia ceded Askhabad to the Russian Empire in September 1881 under the terms of the Akhal Treaty.


title: Ashgabat

text: The city was officially founded January 18, 1881, as a fortified garrison and was named after the Turkmen village on that site. Russian military engineers platted the garrison settlement "on the western edge of the "aul" (village) of Askhabad on the Gaudan (Howdan) road leading to Persia. The fortress stood on a hill 12 meters high, on which was constructed a citadel-redoubt, and below [it], the residential area, surrounded by walls and a moat." Sixty-seven Turkmen families were compensated for the land confiscated from them for this construction.


title: Ashgabat

text: Russia developed the area due to its proximity to the border of British-influenced Persia. In 1882 a wagon road was built through the mountains to Quchan, Iran, which led to increased trade as well as settlement of Persian and Armeno-Turkmen merchants in Askhabad. The Trans-Caspian railway reached Askhabad in 1885. The population grew from 2,500 in 1881 to 10,000 in 1886 and 19,428 (of whom one third were Persian) by 1897. The Transcaspian Public Library was established in 1885, boys and girls high schools were founded in 1886, and the Kuropatkin School of Horticulture and Viticulture appeared in 1890. The first telephone station was installed in 1900.


title: Ashgabat

text: The city was regarded as a pleasant municipality with European-style buildings, shops, and hotels. Several streets were named after Russian military figures, reflecting its status as a garrison town, including the main square, named in honor of General Mikhail Skobelev, commander of Russian forces during the 1880–1881 Trans-Caspian military campaign. These included as well the western boundary avenue, named in honor of General Nikolai Grodekov, and the city's central avenue, renamed in the 1890s to honor General and Trans-Caspian Governor-General Aleksey Kuropatkin, both of whom had served in the Trans-Caspian campaign under Skobolev's command.


title: Ashgabat

text: In 1908, the first Bahá'í House of Worship was built in Askhabad. It was badly damaged in the 1948 earthquake and finally demolished in 1963. The community of the Bahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan was largely based in Askhabad.


title: Ashgabat

text: By 1915 Askhabad featured branches of the Russian State Bank, Persian Accounting Loan Bank, Russian-Asian Bank, Société Générale, and Askhabat Mutual Credit Union.


title: Ashgabat

text: Soviet rule was established in Ashgabat in December 1917. However, in July 1918, a coalition of Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries, and Tsarist former officers of the Imperial Russian Army revolted against the Bolshevik rule emanating from Tashkent and established the Ashkhabad Executive Committee. After receiving some support (but even more promises) from General Malleson, the British withdrew in April 1919 and the Tashkent Soviet resumed control of the city.


title: Ashgabat

text: In 1919, the city was renamed Poltoratsk (), after Pavel Poltoratskiy, the Chairman of the Soviet of National Economy of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. When the Turkmen SSR was established in 1924, Poltoratsk became its capital. The original name but in the form of "Ashkhabad" rather than "Askhabad" was restored in 1927. In keeping with standard Soviet practice, Imperial Russian street names were changed to honor prominent Communists, Russians, or socialist ideals. For example, Skobolev Square became Karl Marx Square, Grodekov Street became Ostrovskiy Street, and Kuropatkin Prospect became Freedom Prospect (and from 1953 to 1961, following Joseph Stalin's death, Stalin Prospect). In 1927 a statue of Vladimir Lenin designed by A.A. Karelin and Ye.R. Tripolskaya was erected.


title: Ashgabat

text: During World War II Ashgabat became a refuge for both institutions, including Moscow State University and the Kiev film studio, and individuals. Roughly 8,000 refugees were quartered in private homes during the war. Among the outsiders who escaped to Ashgabat during the war were Andrei Sakharov and author Yury Olesha. In 1944 Ukrainian motion picture director Mark Donskoy filmed "Rainbow" ( , ) in Ashgabat, which was nominated for an Academy Award as best foreign film.


title: Ashgabat

text: From this period onward, the city experienced rapid growth and industrialisation, although severely disrupted by a major earthquake on October 6, 1948. An estimated 7.3 on the Richter scale, the earthquake killed 110–176,000 (⅔ of the population of the city), although the official number announced by Soviet news was only 40,000.


title: Ashgabat

text: In July 2003, street names in Ashgabat were replaced by serial numbers except for nine major highways, some named after Saparmurat Niyazov, his father, and his mother. The Presidential Palace Square was designated 2000 to symbolize the beginning of the 21st century. The rest of the streets were assigned larger or smaller four-digit numerical names. Following Niyazov's death in 2006, Soviet-era street names were restored, though in the years since, many of them have been replaced with names honoring Turkmen scholars, poets, military heroes, and figures from art and culture, as well as celebrating the nation's independence. For example, Karl Marx Square became Garaşsyzlyk (Independence) Square, Ostrovskiy Street became Abba Annaýew (in honor of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov's great-uncle), and Freedom Prospect became Magtymguly.


title: Ashgabat

text: In 2013, the city was included in the "Guinness Book of Records" as possessing the world's highest concentration of white marble buildings.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat's "11th Line" project was dedicated on June 29, 2012, including 17 high-rise apartment buildings along 10 ýyl Abadançylyk şaýoly, two secondary schools, two kindergartens, a fire station, and a health clinic. The "12th Line" project was completed October 1, 2014, consisting of a straightening and widening of Atamyrat Nyýazow şaýoly plus construction of 13 high-rise apartment buildings, two secondary schools, two kindergartens, a new headquarters building for the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Telekeçi shopping center, and the Development Bank. On that same date, the new Cabinet of Ministers building was also opened.


title: Ashgabat

text: In preparation for the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, the city spent $5 billion on residential construction. December 4, 2014, the president issued a decree calling for construction of 60 9-story apartment buildings in the Parahat-7 microdistrict, a greenfield project in the southeast quadrant of the city. On November 10, 2015, the "13th Line" was dedicated, a complete reconstruction of buildings along Oguzhan köçesi west of Garaşsyzlyk şaýoly. Projects included demolition and redevelopment of the Leningrad kolkhoz neighborhood as the "14th Line", and the Gazha and Vosmushka neighborhoods as the "15th Line".


title: Ashgabat

text: Subsequent to conclusion of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, the "16th Line" project, a redevelopment of the Köşi neighborhood and extension of Magtymguly Prospect to the west, was begun in 2018. The "16th Line" was dedicated on November 10, 2020; it includes 16 high-rise apartment buildings, the Gül zemin shopping center, and a monument to the Alabay sheepdog. In addition, the Gurtly and Choganly housing complexes, both greenfield projects, were constructed. In May 2021 the government announced plans for the "17th Line", consisting of a resort complex encircling Golden Lake (), the former Gurtly Reservoir, to include 268 vacation cottages plus buildings for public services and amenities.


title: Ashgabat

text: The largest current residential project is construction of "Ashgabat-City" "()" north of the Choganly residential neighborhood, which is planned to include over 200 buildings on 744 hectares, and for the first time in the city's history to feature some buildings as tall as 35 stories. These will include 180 12- to 35-story residential buildings containing 17,836 apartments intended to house over 107,000 occupants.


title: Ashgabat

text: As of January 5, 2018, Ashgabat includes four boroughs ("uly etraplar"), each with a presidentially appointed mayor ():


title: Ashgabat

text: This is a reduction from the previous number of boroughs. Arçabil and Çandybil boroughs were merged on February 4, 2015, and the new "etrap", named Arçabil, was in turn renamed Büzmeýin in January 2018. At that time the Abadan borough of Ashgabat, created in 2013 by annexing the town of Abadan and surrounding villages to Abadan's south, was abolished and its territory was merged into the newly renamed Büzmeýin borough. The former Ruhabat borough was abolished at the same time and its territory absorbed by Bagtyýarlyk borough.


title: Ashgabat

text: On 15 June 2020, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov announced intention to create a fifth borough of Ashgabat, to be called Altyn etraby, centered on the new resort zone created on the shores of the former Gurtly Water Reservoir, recently renamed "Golden Lake" (Altyn köl).


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat's boroughs are subdivided into microdistricts (, ). These are administrative units that possess no independent governance structures. They are used for management of utilities and publicly owned housing. Ashgabat includes the following microdistricts:


title: Ashgabat

text: In 1871 a Russian visitor named Strebnitskiy counted over four thousand "nomad tents" (yurts), implying a population of 16 to 20 thousand Ahal Teke Turkmen, many of whom were killed or dispersed in the 1881 Battle of Geok Tepe. The population was 2,500 in 1881, virtually all Russian. By 1886 Askhabad's population was about 10,000, mainly ethnic Russians. Construction of the Trans-Caspian Railway stimulated an influx of migrants seeking employment, particularly from the Caucasus, Volga Valley, and Iran, and Askhabad's subsequent population growth was as follows:


title: Ashgabat

text: Ethnic Russians dominated the population after 1881, with about 20 percent admixture of Caucasus-origin migrants (mainly Armeno-Turkmen). One source indicates that pre-revolutionary Askhabad had no Turkmen residents at all, and that they lived in nearby "auls". This began to change in the 1920s, following imposition of Soviet power, which brought with it forced collectivization. In 1926 Ashkhabad's population of 51,593 included 52.4% Russians, 13.53% Armeno-Turkmen, 4.3% Persians, , and 29.8% "other". By 1939, Ashkhabad counted 126,500 residents, including 11.7% Armeno-Turkmen. The 1959 census recorded a population of 169,900, which grew to 338,000 by 1983, including 105 nationalities, of which ethnic Armeno-Turkmen constituted 40 percent.


title: Ashgabat

text: According to estimates of the 2012 Turkmen census the Turkmens form 78.5% of the city's population. Russians form 10% of the population, followed by Turks (1.1%), Uzbeks (1.1%), and Azeris (1%).


title: Ashgabat

text: Following independence in 1991, President Saparmurat Niyazov began hiring foreign architectural and construction firms, most prominently Bouygues of France and the Turkish firms Polimeks and Gap Inşaat, the latter a subsidiary of Çalık Holding. These firms blended Persian-style domes, which Niyazov favored, with Greco-Roman architectural elements such as pillars.


title: Ashgabat

text: Following Niyazov's death, domes began to go out of fashion for buildings other than mosques, and public buildings began to take on more modernist characteristics, often with a motif reflecting the structure's intended occupant. For example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building is topped by a globe of the Earth, inside which is a conference center; the Development Bank building is topped by a giant coin; the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry building is shaped like a stylized caduceus, the dental hospital is shaped like a molar and the international terminal of Ashgabat International Airport is shaped like a falcon. The dominant characteristic of new construction since 1991 has been nearly universal facing with white marble. Another recurring motif is the eight-pointed star of Oguz Han, the largest of which is on the television tower and has entered the Guinness Book of World Records. The official Turkmen government guide book to Ashgabat refers to the star of Oguz Khan as "...the basic dominant of the whole architectural-art decor..."


title: Ashgabat

text: After independence, the city architect's office ordered construction of many high-rise (generally 12-story) residential buildings. Modern construction techniques allow high-rise development with good seismic safety. Primarily consisting of residential towers, the first floor is typically used as retail space and for building maintenance.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat features many sculptures honoring Turkmen, Turkic, and other Islamic poets and heroes. Four statues, of Lenin, Alexander Pushkin, Taras Shevchenko, and , date to the Soviet period, as do a statue and a bust of Turkmen composer Nury Halmammedov. Since then, however, much new sculpture has appeared. In Ylham (Inspiration) Park are found numerous busts and statues. Additional statues can be seen in the VDNH Park. A monumental statue of the current president was dedicated in May 2015 near Ashgabat Stadium. One also finds statues of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Alp Arslan. In addition to the statue of former President Niyazov atop the Neutrality Monument, a gilded statue of him stands before the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a gilded seated statue of him graces the entry to the Turkmen Agricultural University.


title: Ashgabat

text: Since independence in 1991, several monuments to features of Turkmenistan's governance have been erected: to neutrality, to the constitution, to the renaissance of Turkmenistan, to independence, as well as a special monument to former President Saparmurat Niyazov's magnum opus, "Ruhnama".


title: Ashgabat

text: The memorial complex in Bekrewe includes a statue of a bull with the Earth balanced on its horns, symbolizing the 1948 earthquake, and a statue of two traditionally dressed Turkmen warriors guarding a widow grieving the death of her husband in World War II. The exterior wall of the museum features bas reliefs depicting events in Turkmenistan's history.


title: Ashgabat

text: In advance of the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in September 2017, roughly one billion dollars was spent on widening and upgrading Ashgabat's major thoroughfares. Several traffic circles were created, in which were placed mainly abstract monuments. As of 2020 the most recent addition to these are the Bicycle Monument (), which President Berdimuhamedov dedicated on June 3, 2020, and the Turkmen Alabay monument, dedicated on November 10, 2020.


title: Ashgabat

text: Much of the urban renewal since 1991 has involved demolition of traditional single-family residential housing, commonly with allegedly forced eviction of residents, and often without compensation to the homeowners. In particular, private homes rebuilt in neighborhoods flattened by the 1948 earthquake, many of which were never formally registered with the government, were subject to confiscation and demolition without compensation, as were former dacha communities like Ruhabat, Berzengi, and Choganly, which in nearly all cases lacked formal ownership documents.


title: Ashgabat

text: When Ashgabat was under Russian rule, the number of Bahá'ís in the city rose to over 1,000, and a Bahá'í community was established, with its own schools, medical facilities and cemetery. The community elected one of the first Bahá'í local administrative institutions. In 1908 the Bahá'í community completed the construction of the first Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of "mašriqu-l-'aḏkār" (), where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions. The building was designed under the guidance of `Abdu'l-Bahá by Ustad' Ali-Akbar Banna Yazdi who also wrote a history of the Baha'is in Ashgabat.


title: Ashgabat

text: The House of Worship itself was surrounded by gardens, with four buildings at the four corners of the gardens: a school, a hostel where travelling Bahá'ís were entertained, a small hospital, and a building for groundskeepers.


title: Ashgabat

text: Under the Soviet policy towards religion, the Bahá'ís, strictly adhering to their principle of obedience to legal government, abandoned these properties in 1928. For the decade from 1938 to 1948, when it was seriously damaged by the earthquake, it was an art gallery. It was demolished in 1963.


title: Ashgabat

text: The Arch of Neutrality was dismantled and re-erected in its original form in the south of the capital.


title: Ashgabat

text: Turkmenistan Tower, the television and radio broadcasting tower, at a height of 211 meters is the tallest structure in the country. It was dedicated on October 17, 2011.


title: Ashgabat

text: The administrative center of Ashgabat as the national capital is on the Archabil highway, where several ministries and agencies, as well as educational, research, and cultural centers, are found. The former Novofiryuzenskoye shosse (New Firyuza Highway) was rebuilt by Gap Inşaat in 2004.


title: Ashgabat

text: The principal industries are cotton textiles and metal working. It is a major stop on the Trans-Caspian railway. A large percentage of the employment in Ashgabat is provided by the state institutions; such as the ministries, undersecretariats, and other administrative bodies of the Turkmenistan government. There are also many foreign citizens working as diplomats or clerks in the embassies of their respective countries. Ashgabat lends its name to the Ashgabat agreement, signed by India, Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, for creating an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.


title: Ashgabat

text: In 2019 and 2020, Ashgabat was the most expensive city in the world for foreign expatriates in ECA International's Cost of Living Survey. It was also listed as the second most expensive city in the world overall by the 2020 Mercer Cost of Living Survey. Its high cost of living for foreigners has been attributed to severe inflation and rising import costs.


title: Ashgabat

text: Between 1881 and 1921, little industry existed in Ashgabat. Muradov relates that in 1915 the city featured "68 enterprises, mainly semi-handicrafts, with a total of 200-300 workers." Another source relates that as of 1911 roughly half the workforce of somewhat more than 400 "workers" was employed at the railroad depot, engaged in locomotive and railcar maintenance and repair, with the rest occupied in cotton ginning, cottonseed oil extraction, flour milling, and leather-, brick-, glass-, and iron production. By 1915 the city boasted as well three printing houses, an electrical power station, three cotton gins, a creamery, a tannery, and 35 brickyards.


title: Ashgabat

text: In 1921 Soviet authorities built a new glass plant plus a wine and spirits factory. In the years following several more factories were added, including the "Red Metalworker" iron-working plant (1925), the silk spinning plant (1928), a cotton spinning plant and textile plant (1929), candy factory (1930), garment factory (1933), shoe factory (1934), and a meat cannery (1938). As of 1948, Ashgabat boasted "about twenty large factory-plant enterprises, which produce fabrics, glass, footwear, garments, meat products, dredges, agricultural implement parts and much else."


title: Ashgabat

text: Annexation of the former city of Buzmeyin (), which from 2002 to 2018 was known as Abadan, brought into Ashgabat's city limits its major industrial suburb. Today's Buzmeyin neighborhood features the Buzmeyin State Electrical Power Plant, and factories for production of reinforced concrete, cement, asbestos roofing, pipes, and concrete blocks, as well as a carpet-weaving factory and soft-drink bottling plant.


title: Ashgabat

text: Today more than 43 large and 128 medium-sized industrial enterprises along with over 1,700 small industrial facilities are located in Ashgabat and its suburbs. The most important are Ashneftemash, Turkmenkabel, and Turkmenbashy Textile Complex.


title: Ashgabat

text: The Abadan State Power Plant (now Büzmeýin State Power Plant), commissioned in 1957, was the first large power plant in Turkmenistan. Two gas turbine plants with a capacity of 123 MW each currently generate electricity in this plant. The Ashgabat State Power Plant, located in the southern part of city, began operating in 2006. It is equipped with gas turbine generators with a total capacity of 254.2 megawatts.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat also draws power from the Ahal State Power Plant, located outside the city in Ahal Province. It began operating in 2010 with two gas turbines producing 254.2 MW. Three small gas turbines were added in 2013 and two more gas turbines in 2014, bringing capacity to 648.1 MW.


title: Ashgabat

text: Altyn Asyr Bazaar in Choganly, also known as "Tolkuchka", features manufactured items including traditional fabrics and hand-woven carpets, as well as livestock and used automobiles. Modern shopping areas are found mostly in central streets, including the modern Berkarar Mall and the Paýtagt and Aşgabat shopping centres, as well as the 15 Years of Independence Shopping Centre (), colloquially known as the "Wholesale Market" ().


title: Ashgabat

text: Local residents tend to shop at traditional bazaars: Gülistan (Russian) Bazaar, Teke Bazaar, Daşoguz Bazaar, Paytagt (Mir) Bazaar, and Jennet Bazaar. The Turkish-owned Yimpaş department store closed as of December 2016.


title: Ashgabat

text: The city is served by the Ashgabat International Airport, expansion of which cost $2.3 billion and which has a design capacity of 14,000,000 passengers per year. Turkmenistan Airlines is headquartered at the airport. Ashgabat offers air service to and from all the major cities of the Turkmenistan. Since March 2020, in order to prevent the import and spread of coronavirus infection, all planes arriving in Turkmenistan from abroad are redirected to the Turkmenabat International Airport .


title: Ashgabat

text: On 18 October 2006, the Ashgabat Cable Car opened, connecting the city with the foothills of the Kopetdag.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat Monorail commenced service in 2016, becoming the first monorail in the Central Asia region. It is a loop 5.2 kilometers long and circulates exclusively on the territory of the Olympic Village ().


title: Ashgabat

text: In January 2018, it was reported that black cars had been impounded for weeks in Ashgabat, a result of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov's conviction that black cars bring bad luck.


title: Ashgabat

text: The Ukrainian construction firm Interbudmontazh has proposed construction of a subway (metropolitan) line, to connect the Ashgabat-Siti residential area in the northern suburbs to downtown Ashgabat.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat has a single central railway station. In May 2009 the restoration of the Ashgabat railway station was completed. The railway station is made in Soviet-style architecture with its long point on the building roof.


title: Ashgabat

text: The Trans-Caspian Railway (Türkmenbaşy–Balkanabat–Bereket–Ashgabat–Mary–Türkmenabat) runs through Ashgabat from east to west. Since 2006 there is also a train line from Ashgabat to the north, the Trans-Karakum Railway.


title: Ashgabat

text: Public transport in the city consists mainly of buses. More than 100 bus lines cover a total range of more than with 700 buses running on urban routes. The city primarily uses Iran Khodro 0457 (Mercedes-Benz) and Hyundai New Super Aero City buses. Bus timetables and detailed schematic map of the route are at every stop. Distances between stops are about 300–500 meters.


title: Ashgabat

text: Travel in the Ashgabat city public transport for the majority of the country's population incurs a fee. Money is thrown into a box next to the driver. Large bills are given to the driver, he gives change. The fare for travel in city public transport is 50 Turkmen tenge (since 2017). Route taxi (marshrutka) is 1 manat.


title: Ashgabat

text: From November 1, 2017, the electronic system of payment for public transport came into full force in Ashgabat. Payment can be made using an electronic transport card. There are three types of electronic cards: school, for pensioners and general. When entering through the front door of the bus, the passenger must present the electronic card to the validator. The term of use of the transport electronic card is 4 years.


title: Ashgabat

text: The new International Passenger Bus Terminal of Ashgabat was inaugurated on September 5, 2014. It offers intercity service to Bäherden, Türkmenbaşy, Dashoguz, Turkmenabat, Archman, Konye-Urgench, and Mollagara, as well as points in between. The main intracity bus terminals serving Ashgabat are near the Teke Bazaar and at the domestic airport terminal. Intercity lines are operated by Hyundai Universe Luxury, Iran Khodro SC 0457, Sahab Renault and Yutong ZK6129H.


title: Ashgabat

text: Also, suburban communication has been established with Ýaşlyk, Geok Tepe, Gorjaw, Yzgant, Babarap, Bugdaýly, Annau, Gämi, Owadandepe, Watan, Khurmant, Onaldy, Gami Dacha, Kasamly Julge, Gäwers, Yashyldepe, Akdashayak, Niyazow, Suitchilik, Parahat. PAZ 32054 buses and Volkswagen minibuses operate on suburban routes.


title: Ashgabat

text: From 19 October 1964 to 31 December 2011 the city also had the Ashgabat trolleybus system. At the beginning of the twentieth century a narrow-gauge steam railway connected the city with the suburb of Firyuza. As of 2011, there were 7 routes in the city. As of 2011, the Ashgabat trolleybus fleet had 47 trolleybuses (Škoda 14TrM) on its balance sheet. In 2000, the last obsolete trolleybuses of the JuMZ-T2 model were written off.


title: Ashgabat

text: In Ashgabat taxis are available at any time of the day or night. Awtomobil Ulag Hyzmat OJSC is the monopoly taxicab operator in the city. The fleet uses only new Toyota Corolla (white) and Hyundai Elantra (yellow) automobiles. Taxi fare is from 5 to 30 manats, depending on the distance from the city center and the results of negotiations with the driver.


title: Ashgabat

text: Turkmenpochta is the official national postal operator of Turkmenistan. Based in Ashgabat, it currently operates through 38 postal offices in city.


title: Ashgabat

text: Notable newspapers published in Ashgabat include the daily newspapers "Türkmenistan" and "Neytralny Turkmenistan".


title: Ashgabat

text: The main offices of 7 television channels are located in Ashgabat: Altyn Asyr, Yashlyk, Miras, Turkmenistan Sport, Turkmen Owazy, Ashgabat and Turkmenistan TV.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat TV is main city channel. The channel tells about the events of social, cultural, economic life, the activities of scientific and educational institutions of the Ashgabat.


title: Ashgabat

text: Almost 136 international TV channels are available in the IPTV playlist for subscribers of the Ashgabat City Telephone Network. Most of them are thematic channels: news, sports, scientific and educational, TV channels for children, channels of various genres of cinema, music.


title: Ashgabat

text: As of 2008, Ashgabat has 4 FM stations: Owaz, Char Tarapdan, Miras and Watan. These stations can additionally be streamed through Turkmentelecom's website.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat is the most important educational center of Turkmenistan with several institutions of higher education. Magtymguly Turkmen State University was founded in 1950. The main university building is located on Beýik Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy şaýoly. Turkmen State Medical University is situated in Ashgabat as well. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Health and Pharmaceutical Industry of Turkmenistan. Other prominent institutions are the Turkmen State Institute of Economics and Management, a main business school founded in 1980, as well as the Turkmen State Institute of Architecture and Construction, Turkmen Agricultural University, and The National Institute of Sports and Tourism of Turkmenistan. In 2016, the English- and Japanese-medium Oguz Khan University of Engineering Technologies was opened with support of the Japanese government. The International University of Humanities and Development is another English-medium institution of higher education. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' training ground is the Institute of International Relations.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat is home to five military academies: the , the Naval Institute, the Border Guards Institute, the Institute of National Security, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs Institute. In 2020 the Military Institute began accepting applications from women.


title: Ashgabat

text: Four international secondary schools operate in Ashgabat. The Russian Embassy sponsors the Russian-medium A.S. Pushkin Russo-Turkmen School, the French construction company Bouygues sponsors a French school for children of its Francophone employees, the Turkish Embassy sponsors the Turkish-medium Turgut Ozal Turkmen-Turkish School, and the American Embassy sponsors the English-medium Ashgabat International School.


title: Ashgabat

text: Prior to establishment of Soviet authority in Turkmenistan, Ashgabat had only 11 schools and no scientific or research centers. By 1948 Ashgabat had three institutions of higher education, 20 technical schools, 60 libraries, "and approximately the same number of kindergartens."


title: Ashgabat

text: The Turkmen Academy of Sciences was founded June 29, 1951, and includes the unique Desert Institute among its 26 scientific research institutes, as well as the State Seismological Service, 17-degree-granting schools, two medical research centers, a library, and two print shops. The Academy of Sciences is the only institution in Turkmenistan accredited to award postgraduate degrees. In 2019, President Berdimuhamedov decreed that state funding of the Academy of Sciences would end within three years. Prior to founding of the Turkmen Academy of Sciences, local scientific-research institutes, all located in a single two-story building, were subordinate to the USSR Academy of Sciences.


title: Ashgabat

text: Museums include the Turkmen Fine Arts Museum and Turkmen Carpet Museum, noted for their impressive collection of woven carpets as well as a Turkmen history museum and the Ashgabat National Museum of History, which displays artifacts dating back to the Parthian and Persian civilizations. Ashgabat was also home to the Arch of Neutrality, a 75 m (250 ft) tall tripod crowned by a golden statue of late president Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as "Turkmenbashy", or head Turkmen). The 15 m (50 ft) high statue, which rotated in order to always face the sun during daylight hours, was removed on August 26, 2010, after Niyazov's successor, current President Berdimuhamedov, made clear earlier in the year that the statue was to be taken out of Ashgabat's Independence Square. In 2011 a Monument to the Constitution was built, its total height of 185 m (607 ft) makes it the second tallest structure in Turkmenistan.


title: Ashgabat

text: Alem Cultural and Entertainment Center was recognised by "Guinness World Records" as the world's tallest Ferris wheel in an enclosed space. The Ashgabat Flagpole is the fifth tallest free–standing flagpole in the world, standing at tall. The Ashgabat Fountain has the world's greatest number of fountain pools in a public place. Ashgabat also features Turkmenistan Tower which is the tallest tower in Turkmenistan, the decorative octagonal Star of Oguzkhan is recognized as the world's largest architectural image of the star and entered in the "Guinness World Records".


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat has many parks and open spaces, mainly established in the early years of the Independence and well maintained and expanded thereafter. The most important of these parks are: the Botanical Garden, Güneş, Turkmen-Turkish friendship, Independence. The oldest city park, Ashgabat, was founded in 1887 and is colloquially known as First Park. In the center of Ashgabat is the Inspiration Alley, an art-park complex which is a favorite place for many locals. The amusement park World of Turkmenbashi Tales is a local equivalent to Disneyland. Squares: 10 Years of Turkmenistan Independence, Magtymguly, Eternal Flame, Zelili, Chyrchyk, Garashsyzlyk, March 8, Gerogly, Dolphin, 15 years of Independence, Ruhyýet, 10 ýyl Abadançylyk, Ylham and Tashkent.


title: Ashgabat

text: The Ashgabat Botanical Garden was founded on 1 October 1929, and is the oldest botanical garden in Central Asia. It covers a territory of approximately 18 hectares, and contains a live exhibition of more than 500 different species of plants coming from various parts of the world.


title: Ashgabat

text: Halk Hakydasy Memorial Complex was opened in 2014 in remembrance of those killed in the Battle of Geok Tepe in 1881, during World War II, and to commemorate of the victims of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake. It is located in the southwestern part of the city on Bekreve street.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat has five cinemas. In 2011, Aşgabat Cinema, the first 3-D cinema in Turkmenistan, opened in Ashgabat. The Watan and Turkmenistan theaters were reconstructed. Additional cinemas are located in the Berkarar Mall and the Gül zemin Mall.


title: Ashgabat

text: There are also several mosques in former towns and villages annexed by Ashgabat and thus now neighborhoods within the city limits.


title: Ashgabat

text: The Roman Catholic Chapel of the Transfiguration operates on the grounds of the Apostolic nunciature.


title: Ashgabat

text: Other Christian denominations exist but as of 2019 only two were registered with the government and thus able to operate legally. The U.S. Department of State reported that Turkmen authorities "scrutinize or obstruct religious


title: Ashgabat

text: The main sporting venues in Ashgabat are the Olympic Stadium, Ashgabat Stadium, the National Olympic ice rink, Sports complex for winter sports and the Olympic water sports complex.


title: Ashgabat

text: Ashgabat was chosen as the host city of the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and was also the first city in Central Asia to host the Asian Indoor Games. Between 2010 and 2017 an Olympic Village was built by the Turkish firm Polimeks south of the city center, at a cost of $5 billion.


title: Ashgabat

text: In October 2017 a Jack Nicklaus Designs Signature 18-hole golf course opened in Ashgabat. It features 82 sand traps and covers 70 hectares.


title: Ashgabat

text: The city's professional football clubs Altyn Asyr FK, FC Aşgabat and FK Köpetdag Aşgabat play in the Ýokary Liga, the top league of Turkmenistan.


title: Ashgabat

text: Weightlifter Polina Guryeva captured Turkmenistan's first Olympic medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, taking silver in the women's 59 kg.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Svalbard Global Seed Vault () is a secure backup facility for the world's crop diversity on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago. The Seed Vault provides long-term storage of duplicates of seeds conserved in genebanks around the world. This provides security of the world's food supply against the loss of seeds in genebanks due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts, war, sabotage, disease and natural disasters. The Seed Vault is managed under terms spelled out in a tripartite agreement among the Norwegian government, the Crop Trust, and the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen).


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Norwegian government entirely funded the Seed Vault's approximately ( in 2008) construction cost. Norway and the Crop Trust pay for operational costs. Storing seeds in the vault is free to depositors. The vault has been depicted in several films and other art forms, including Marcus Paus’ children's opera "Children of Ginko".


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: In 1984, the Nordic Gene Bank (now NordGen) began storing backup Nordic plant germplasm via frozen seeds in an abandoned coal mine outside of Longyearbyen.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: In 2001, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) was adopted and national governments began to ratify the Treaty soon after. The Treaty establishes a multilateral system for plant genetic resources that includes providing access to the materials and providing mechanisms so that those who use the resources can share any derived benefits.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: A team led by conservationist Cary Fowler, in association with CGIAR, actively campaigned for the development of the Seed Vault and approached the Norwegian Government. They conducted a feasibility study in 2004 and concurred that Svalbard was an appropriate location for long-term storage.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Also in 2004, the ITPGRFA entered into force and created the legal framework for having one international security facility. The FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture endorsed the initiative and in October 2004 the Norwegian Government committed to fund the Seed Vault and begin the construction.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Seed Vault officially opened on 26 February 2008, although the first seeds arrived in January 2008.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: As part of the Seed Vault's first anniversary, more than 90,000 food crop seed samples were placed into storage, bringing the total number of seed samples to 400,000. Among the new seeds included were 32 varieties of potatoes from Ireland's national genebanks and 20,000 new samples from the U.S. Agricultural Research Service. Other seed samples came from genebanks in Canada and Switzerland as well as international genebanks in Colombia, Mexico and Syria. This shipment brought the total number of seeds stored in the Seed Vault to over 20 million. As of this anniversary, the Seed Vault contained samples from approximately one-third of the world's most important food crop varieties. Also as part of the anniversary, experts on food production and climate change met for a three-day conference in Longyearbyen.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Japanese sculptor presented a work to the Seed Vault named "The Seed 2009 / Momi In-Situ Conservation".


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: In 2010, a delegation of seven U.S. congressmen handed over a number of different varieties of chili pepper.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: By 2013, approximately one-third of the genera diversity stored in genebanks globally was represented at the Seed Vault.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: In October 2016, the Seed Vault experienced an unusually large degree of water intrusion due to higher than average temperatures and heavy rainfall. While it is common for some water to seep into the Seed Vault's entrance tunnel during the warmer spring months, in this case the water encroached into the tunnel before freezing. The Seed Vault was designed for water intrusion and as such the seeds were not at risk. As a result, however, the Norwegian public works agency Statsbygg completed improvements to the tunnel in 2019 to prevent any such intrusion in the future, including waterproofing the tunnel walls, removing heat sources from the tunnel, and digging exterior drainage ditches.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: For the Seed Vault's 10th anniversary on 26 February 2018, a shipment of 70,000 samples was delivered to the facility, bringing the number of samples received to more than one million (not counting withdrawals).


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: According to "The Independent", as of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic does not pose a risk to the vault "as there are no permanent staff at the Svalbard facility."


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: As of June 2021, the Seed Vault conserves 1,081,026 distinct crop samples, representing more than 13,000 years of agricultural history.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland's prime ministers ceremonially laid "the first stone" on 19 June 2006.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The seed bank is inside a sandstone mountain on Spitsbergen Island, and employs robust security systems. The facility is managed by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, though there are no permanent staff on-site.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Spitsbergen was considered ideal because it lacked tectonic activity and had permafrost, which aids preservation. It being above sea level will keep the site dry even if the ice caps melt. Locally mined coal provides power for refrigeration units that further cool the seeds to the internationally recommended standard of . If the equipment fails, at least several weeks will elapse before the facility rises to the surrounding sandstone bedrock's temperature of , and is estimated to take two centuries to warm to .


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: A feasibility study prior to construction determined that the Seed Vault could preserve most major food crops' seeds for hundreds of years. Some, including those of important grains, could potentially remain viable for thousands of years.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Running the length of the facility's roof and down the front face to the entryway is an illuminated artwork named "Perpetual Repercussion" by Norwegian artist Dyveke Sanne that marks the location of the vault from a distance. In Norway, government-funded construction projects exceeding a certain cost must include artwork. , the Norwegian State agency overseeing art in public spaces, engaged the artist to propose an artwork for the Seed Vault. The roof and vault entrance are filled with highly reflective stainless steel, mirrors, and prisms. The installation reflects polar light in the summer months, while in the winter, a network of 200 fibre-optic cables gives the piece a muted greenish-turquoise and white light.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Seed Vault's mission is to provide a backup against accidental loss of diversity in traditional genebanks. While the popular press has emphasized its possible utility in the event of a major regional or global catastrophe, the Seed Vault will be more frequently accessed when genebanks lose samples due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts, and natural disasters. These events occur with some regularity. War and civil strife have a history of destroying some genebanks. The national genebank of the Philippines was damaged by flooding and later destroyed by a fire, the genebanks of Afghanistan and Iraq have been lost completely, while an international genebank in Syria became unavailable. According to "The Economist", "the Svalbard vault is a backup for the world's 1,750 seed banks, storehouses of agricultural biodiversity."


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The adjacent Arctic World Archive provides a similar service for data, which is etched as code into reels of film. Project lead Piql of Norway states that the film, when properly preserved, should last for 1,000 years.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Seed Vault is managed under terms spelled out in a tripartite agreement among the Norwegian Government, the Crop Trust, and the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen). The Kingdom of Norway owns the Seed Vault. The Crop Trust provides funding for ongoing operations and provides financial assistance to depositors in their preparation of shipments. NordGen operates the Seed Vault and maintains the public database of the deposits.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: An International Advisory Council provides guidance and advice. It includes representatives from the FAO, CGIAR, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources and other institutions.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Vault seed samples are copies of samples stored in the depositing genebanks. Researchers, plant breeders, and other groups wishing to access seed samples cannot do so through the Seed Vault; they must instead request samples from the depositing genebanks. The samples stored in the genebanks will, in most cases, be accessible in accordance with the terms and conditions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, approved by 148 countries or parties.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Seed Vault functions like a safe deposit box in a bank. The bank owns the building and the depositor owns the contents of their box. The Government of Norway owns the facility and the depositing genebanks own the seeds they send. The deposit of samples in Svalbard does not constitute a legal transfer of genetic resources. In genebank terminology this is called a "black box" arrangement. Each depositor signs a Deposit Agreement with NordGen, acting on behalf of Norway. The Agreement makes clear that Norway does not claim ownership over the deposited samples and that ownership remains with the depositor, who has the sole right of access to those materials in the seed vault. No one has access to anyone else's seeds from the seed vault. The database of samples and depositors is maintained by NordGen.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Syrian civil war created a situation where the black box arrangement was demonstrated. As a result of the conflict, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) was unable to maintain its genebank located at Tel Hadya, Syria and therefore unable to distribute samples. In 2015, ICARDA withdrew some of the backup samples it had stored at the Seed Vault so that it could regenerate those seeds. ICARDA made a second and larger withdrawal in 2017. These seeds were planted in fields in Lebanon and Morocco and multiplied. Some were then returned to the Seed Vault while others were added to ICARDA's genebanks in Lebanon and Morocco so they could be conserved and distributed. These are the only withdrawals from the Seed Vault as of June 2021.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The seeds are stored in sealed three-ply foil packages and then placed into plastic tote containers on metal shelving racks. The storage rooms are kept at . The low temperature and limited access to oxygen will ensure low metabolic activity and delay seed ageing. The permafrost surrounding the facility will help maintain the low temperature of the seeds if the electricity supply fails.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Initially the Seed Vault would have some minor water intrusion at its entrance during the annual spring permafrost thawing. Warmer temperatures and heavy rainfall in October 2016 caused significantly greater amounts of water to seep into the entrance, but the facility's design ensured that the water froze after several meters and the seeds were not endangered. Work completed in 2019 eliminated this water seepage.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Attached to the seed boxes are a type of nanofilm that hold information on seed identity and other valuable information.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Crop Trust, officially known as the Global Crop Diversity Trust, plays a key role in the planning of the Seed Vault and coordinating shipments of seed samples to the Seed Vault in conjunction with the Nordic Genetic Resource Center. The Crop Trust provides most of the annual operating costs for the facility and has set aside an endowment fund to do so, while the Norwegian government finances upkeep of the structure itself. With support of its donors, the Crop Trust assists selected genebanks in developing countries as well as the international agricultural research centres in packaging and shipping seeds to the Seed Vault.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Svalbard Global Seed Vault ranked at No. 6 on "Time"s Best Inventions of 2008. It was awarded the Norwegian Lighting Prize for 2009. It was ranked the 10th most influential project of the past 50 years by the Project Management Institute.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Seeds are stored in airtight aluminium bags. The number of seeds in each bag will vary depending on the size of the seed, but on average each bag will contain approximately 500 seeds. The facility has a storage capacity of 4.5 million seed samples.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: As of June 2021, 87 depositors safeguard their crop samples in the Seed Vault. The below table lists the top international genebanks followed by the top regional and national genebank in terms of the number of samples currently deposited in the Seed Vault.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Depositors to the Seed Vault are not limited to international, regional and national genebanks. Some indigenous communities have deposited seeds for safety duplication in the Seed Vault. In 2015, representatives of the Parque de la Papa in Peru deposited 750 samples of potatoes. In 2020, the Cherokee Nation became the first US tribe to deposit when it safeguarded nine samples of heirloom food crops which predate European colonization.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Seed Vault was the inspiration for Ibsen International's art project "The Seed", supported by the Norwegian government. The children's opera "Children of Ginko" () by Marcus Paus, which aimed to raise ecological awareness, "reveal the power of nature and celebrate children's courage in growing up", was created as part of this project.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The Seed Vault is featured in the second season of the Belgian Netflix TV series "Into the Night" and in the first season of its Turkish spin-off, the Netflix series "Yakamoz S-245", both of which are based on the novel "The Old Axolotl" by Jacek Dukaj.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: In Season 4 of "The Last Ship", seeds taken from the seed vault are contested over by multiple factions as they hold the key to stopping a global famine.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: In Season 3 of 2016 MacGyver "Seeds + Permafrost + Feather" the team head to Greenland, where a man working in a highly secure international seed vault has vanished without a trace. Upon arrival, the team finds a dead body and one packet of seeds missing from a North Korean crate, the seeds being for a pea pod whose plant can be synthesized into a deadly poison.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: In Season 3 of the TV series "Scorpion", titled "Dirty Seeds, Done Dirt Cheap," the protagonists travel to Greenland for a simple job, repairing a malfunctioning system at the Granse World Seed Vault.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: The vault is depicted in the second season of "DuckTales "in the episode "Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!".


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: In the Bobiverse books by Dennis E Taylor the Seed Vault has been improved to the Svalbard Global Trust, which also has genetic material from most Earth animals, and is critical to the attempts to move humans into colonies on other planets.


title: Svalbard Global Seed Vault

text: Science fiction author Stephen Baxter has used the Seed Vault, described as the "Svalbard vault", in his novels "Flood" and "Ark". The vault is first purchased by a millionaire as the world floods, and then cached aboard a starship to take Earth life to new worlds.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Waylon Albright "Shooter" Jennings (born May 19, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He is the only son of country singers Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. In a career spanning over two decades, Shooter Jennings has explored a variety of genres as part of his eclectic sound, including southern rock, country, hard rock, blues rock, electronica and rock and roll.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings made his debut with the single "4th of July" of his 2005 album "“Put the "O" Back in Country”" on Universal South, which peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard country charts. Jennings has since followed with six more full-length studio albums: "Electric Rodeo" (2006), "The Wolf" (2007), "Black Ribbons" (2009), "Family Man" (2012), "The Other Life" (2013) and "Countach (For Giorgio)" (2016), in addition to a live album, a compilation, and numerous EPs. In 2018, Jennings released his eighth album, called "Shooter", under Dave Cobb’s Low Country Sound imprint label.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Shooter Jennings's influences include David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hank Williams Jr., Nine Inch Nails, Guns N' Roses, Rage Against the Machine and Marilyn Manson. Jennings's musical style encompasses southern rock, country, hard rock or heavy rock, outlaw country, country rock, electronica, blues rock, rock and roll, industrial rock, psychedelic metal, alternative country, alternative rock, arena rock, avant-pop, blues, Eurodisco, heavy metal, neotraditional country, progressive metal, progressive rock, rhythm and blues, roots rock, stoner rock, swamp rock and Texas blues. Marilyn Manson argued against Jennings's work being classified as country music, saying "southern" was a more appropriate classification, noting the latter "also drags in a bit of the Stones, in a way".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 19, 1979. There are two different accounts regarding how he got his nickname "Shooter." His mother cited her, and husband Waylon Jennings', love of western culture and cowboy art for inspiring the gun-derived moniker. But his father said he came up with the name when, moments after the newborn emerged from his mother's womb, the boy sprayed a nurse before anyone could put on his first diaper. "I love my mom," says Jennings, "but I like Dad's version better. And I believe it's true. He didn't make [stuff] like that up."


title: Shooter Jennings

text: He lived the first few years of his life in a crib on his parents' tour bus surrounded by the likes of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. By age 5, he was playing drums. At 8 years old, he began taking piano lessons. He started playing guitar at 14 and on occasion he'd play percussion in his father's band.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In high school Jennings fronted an industrial rock band called KilRaven for his high school's talent show. In 2011, he released the KilRaven track "Only You" on the album "Missed The Boat".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In 1996, Jennings and his father recorded an album together. They called it "Fenixon" (a play on the words "phoenix" and "son") but could not find a label to distribute it. Some of the material was remastered and used for the album "Waylon Forever". The full "Fenixon" recording was finally released by Jennings' label Black Country Rock in 2014. Shooter Jennings is the uncle of William Harness, Professionally known as Struggle Jennings. Struggle Jennings grandmother, Jessi Colter, is the mother of Shooter Jennings.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In 2001, Jennings left Nashville, Tennessee, to seek his fortunes in Los Angeles. He assembled and performed with Stargunn, a rock band. The band featured Jennings on piano and lead vocals, Carter Falco, and Jonathan Boddie, (later succeeded by Kevin Sciou )on guitar and background vocals, Curtis Roach on bass, and Lex Lipsitz on drums. Towards the end of 2001, Stargunn released their first album "The Only Way Up Is Down" and toured with Saliva, Tesla, Mark Ford and others in support of the album. That same year "Music Connection" magazine listed Stargunn as one of the Hot 100 Unsigned Artists of 2001.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In 2002 Stargunn was featured on "I've Always Been Crazy: A Tribute to Waylon Jennings", and the soundtrack to the Vince Vaughn film "Made". Shortly after, Touchstone Pictures licensed the song "White Lines N Black Ties" for the film "The Crew" starring Burt Reynolds. Stargunn performed together for three years, built an avid following, and earned praise from the local music press. On March 30, 2003, Jennings dissolved Stargunn and began working on his solo career.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: After the band's breakup, Jennings was twice presented with the opportunity to front the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver, but chose instead to pursue a solo career.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In 2015, Jennings' label Black Country Rock released Stargunn's debut album "The Only Way Up Is Down" on vinyl as part of Record Store Day.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: He returned to Los Angeles in 2004 to begin working on new material. In 2005 Jennings signed his first recording contract, with Universal South Records, releasing his debut album "Put the "O" Back in Country" that same year.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: "Put the "O" Back in Country" produced his only entry on the "Billboard" Hot Country Songs charts in its lead-off single "Fourth of July", which peaked at No. 22. The album version of this song features a cameo appearance by George Jones, who sings the chorus to his signature song "He Stopped Loving Her Today" at the end; this guest appearance was removed from the song's radio edit. Despite the edit, Jones was credited on the Billboard charts. The album featured his new band The .357's, which consisted of Leroy Powell on guitar, Bryan Keeling on drums, Ted Kamp on bass with Robby Turner on steel, and backing vocals by Bonnie Bramlett.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Later that year his song "Busted In Baylor County" was then featured in the 2005 film version of "The Dukes of Hazzard", furthermore Jennings portrayed his father in the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line" alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. His rendition of his father's song "Long Way From Home" was featured on the film's soundtrack.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Though recorded before "Put the "O" Back in Country", released on April 4, 2006, "Electric Rodeo" was released as Jennings's second solo album. Sonically, "Electric Rodeo" is louder, rawer, more upfront rock and roll than its predecessor.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: "Electric Rodeo" was followed by "The Wolf" on October 23, 2007. The album varied from his previous records in that the .357s had opted for a decidedly 1970s feel to the instrumentals. It featured collaborations with Doug Kershaw and The Oak Ridge Boys, as well as a cover of the Dire Straits song "Walk of Life".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: That same year Jennings was featured on a duet of "Good Hearted Woman" on Deana Carter's sixth studio album, "The Chain".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In 2009, Jennings, having issues with his label and wanting out of his four-album contract released his first compilation album, "". The album featured four new tracks; live versions of "Lonesome Blues", and "Daddy's Farm", as well as covers of his father's "Lonesome, Onry and Mean", and the Hank Williams, Jr. song "Living Proof".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: After the release of "Bad Magick: The Best of Shooter Jennings and the .357's", having fulfilled his four-album contract; Jennings parted ways with Universal records.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: On March 23, 2009 Jennings took part in "CMT Crossroads", a television show in which two musicians are paired with one another and perform a small concert together for an intimate crowd. The episode paired Jennings with close friend and fellow musician Jamey Johnson. The evening's set list consisted entirely of duets, including a cover of "Outlaw Shit" from the "Waylon Forever" album, two songs from Jennings' discography; "God Bless Alabama", "It Ain't Easy". As well as four songs from Johnson's album "That Lonesome Song"; "High Cost Of Living", "Mowing Down The Roses", "Between Jennings and Jones" and "In Color".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Having left Universal, Jennings changed the name of his backing band from The .357's to Hierophant. With the news that he and his band would be joining the likes of Paramore, Bad Religion, Fall Out Boy, Jefree Star, and various other popular rock bands on the 2009 Warped Tour it became apparent that Jennings next album would differ drastically from his previous efforts.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In February 2009, it was announced that the album would be titled "Black Ribbons". It was also announced that it would be a dystopian concept rock opera and that writer Stephen King would play a major role in the album as Will O' The Wisp.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: It was released independently on March 2, 2010 through Black Country Rock Records, and although it was seen as a complete departure from his country sound, the album showed off the diversity as an artist and gained him much critical acclaim, as well as a brand new underground following.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: On May 1, 2010, Jennings announced "Black Ribbons: The Living Album" on his Twitter account. The "Living Album" includes the full studio record and live shows with Hierophant on a USB flash drive shaped like a tarot card.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Towards the end of 2010, Jennings with the help of various other artists launched the "XXX" movement to help musicians who struggle to receive mainstream recognition.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In 2016, Jennings created and released a podcast series title "Beyond the Black" dealing with the topics and recording of Black Ribbons. The series is available on all music streaming formats as well as YouTube and the podcast's own website: www.beyondthe.black


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In 2011, along with childhood friend and master pianist Erik Deutsch, Jennings formed The Triple Crown, a new backing band featuring Erik Deutsch on piano, Tony Leone on drums, Jeff Hill on bass, Jon Graboff on pedal steel, Eleanor Whitmore on fiddle and Chris Masterson on lead guitar.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: On March 13, 2012, having signed a record deal with E1 Music, and with The Triple Crown along for the ride, Jennings returned to his country roots with the release of the album "Family Man", his first self-produced outing. The album was originally meant to contain eighteen tracks, but was instead split into two albums: "Family Man" and 2013's "The Other Life".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: On July 31, 2012 Jennings was featured in Bucky Covington's debut single "The Drinking Side of Country" from the album "Good Guys".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings took part in the February 25 Johnny Cash 80th Birthday Bash, in which he sang Cocaine Blues With Willie Nelson and Amy Nelson. The performance was released in a DVD/CD combo.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In October 2012 Jennings was one of six commentators for the Ovation mini-series "Song By Song: Johnny Cash".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: While recording "Family Man", Jennings decided to cut the darker tracks from the album, and instead use them for the album's follow-up, "The Other Life".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: "Five of these songs were recorded when we were doing "Family Man", and when we were deciding what to do with it we broke it up into two records. "The Other Life" is representative of the other side of the coin from "Family Man" and the way my life has been going in a lot of ways, At first we were going to call it "The Outsider", but once we got into the film we thought, 'Well, it's like a mirror, a dark mirror of what "Family Man" was.' " - Jennings told TheBoot.com.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings premiered the track "Wild & Lonesome" (featuring Patti Griffin) on the 4th season of the FX original series "Sons of Anarchy". Followed by the release of first official single from the album "The White Trash Song" (featuring Scott H. Biram) which premiered on RollingStones.com along with the announcement that the album would be accompanied by a film.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: The album featured seven new songs, as well as two cover songs (Harry Nilsson's "Flying Saucer song" and Steve Young's "The White Trash song") and "Outlaw You", which was put out in early 2012 as a digital release.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings along with filmmaker Blake Judd released "The Other Life" film. Running at 32 minutes long, it utilizes six of the songs from the album as a sort of narration. The film is about a musician leaving his family to tour, but when he does so he finds the road is not the same, and becomes haunted by a mysterious woman. Throughout the film, the musician is forced to face his darker urges and deal with self-discovery, temptation, isolation and rebirth. The film closes with a short adaptation of Stephen King's "The Dark Tower".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: The album was also heavily featured in the 2nd season of "The Punisher", of which Shooter also appears, as himself.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In October 2013, Jennings announced the formation of his new label and multi-format recording company, Black Country Rock. Their initial releases included: a remastered release of the Waylon Jennings album "Right for the Time", two live albums (one from Jessi Colter titled "Live from Cain's Ballroom", and one from Jennings titled "The Other Live"), as well as a recording of "You Are My Sunshine" featuring vocals from both Jamey Johnson and Jennings. All four were released on vinyl, cassette, CD, as well as digitally.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: On February 27, 2014, Jennings revealed he would be releasing a spoken word follow-up to Hierophant's 2010 album, "Black Ribbons", titled "The Magic", inspired by first story in the controversially interactive horror series thirteen.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In addition to "The Magic" Jennings also announced, that after nearly a decade of waiting, he would be releasing the 1995 collaborative album, "Fenixon".


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Towards the end of May 2014, Jennings announced his intention to release two EP's later in the year. "Don't Wait Up (for George)" is a tribute to his close friend and mentor George Jones, which was released in August 2014. Jennings' seventh studio album, "Countach (For Giorgio)", was originally scheduled to be released in November 2014, but its release was delayed due to the sudden death of Jon Hensley, Jennings' longtime manager and friend and Black Country Rock co-founder. A tribute to 1970s electronic-music pioneer and producer, Giorgio Moroder, the album was released on February 26, 2016 and features guest vocals from Steve Young, Brandi Carlile, Marilyn Manson and Richard Garriott de Cayeux. The album became his first to enter the Dance Albums chart, peaking at number seven there.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Following Countach, Brandi Carlile insisted that Jennings be involved in her next project. Together with Dave Cobb, Jennings produced her 2018 album By the Way, I Forgive You, which landed six Grammy nominations, including the all-genre Album and Song of the Year categories. It won in three categories: Americana album and both best American roots song and best American roots performance (for "The Joke")


title: Shooter Jennings

text: After reuniting with Dave Cobb, with whom Jennings made his first four records, Jennings, inspired by the 1984 country album Major Moves decided to shelve the album he had already been working on and instead go in a completely different direction with Cobb and make a fun, straight-ahead drinking, rockin' record. That album, titled "Shooter," was released in August 2018.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: The following year Jennings teamed up with Brandi Carlile to produce Tanya Tucker’s 25th album, "While I'm Livin'". The record—Tucker's first in 17 years earned Grammys for Best Country Album and Best Country Song as well as Americana Award nominations for Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Artist of the Year.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: In late 2021 Jennings released "Leave Those Memories Alone", a tribute to his late friend and manager, Col. John Hensley. the track serves as the first single from the album "Over A Cocaine Rainbow" The record was initially slated for a 2017 release, but Jennings felt it was too "dark and experimental" to release at the time, given its subject matter and tone. Earlier that same year, Jennings released a remix of his “From Here to Eternity,” track, The new version is dubbed the "Goof the Floof Remix", a reference to something Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard once said in an interview.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Since 2005, Jennings has hosted "Shooter Jennings' Electric Rodeo" on Sirius XM Outlaw Country channel. The show airs on Saturday night at 6–8 pm EST, with a replay on Sunday at 10–12 pm.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings collaborated as producer with Duff McKagan for his 2019 solo album, "Tenderness". The album was recorded with Jennings band, The Waters and The Suicide Horn Section, amongst others. In March 2019, a tour was announced in support of the album, featuring Jennings band playing both the support slot as well as the headline slot as the backing band for Duff.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings has produced albums and tracks for numerous bands including Brandi Carlile, Marilyn Manson, Tanya Tucker and American Aquarium, as well as Jessi Colter, Jamey Johnson, Jaime Wyatt, The White Buffalo, Hellbound Glory, The Mastersons, Julie Roberts, Yelawolf, Jason Boland, Billy Don Burns, Avi Kaplan, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Angry Grandpa.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings hosts a radio show on SiriusXM's Outlaw Country station entitled "Electric Rodeo." The show's format primarily consists of country, rock, and outlaw music. The show airs Thursdays from midnight to 2:00 AM, Saturdays from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and Sundays from 10:00 PM to midnight Eastern.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: On February 13, 2002, Shooter's father died in his sleep of diabetic complications in Chandler, Arizona. He was buried in the Mesa City Cemetery, in Mesa, Arizona. At the life tribute ceremony, on February 15, Shooter sang "I've Always Been Crazy" for the attendees, who included Waylon's close friends, family, and fellow musicians.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings began dating actress Drea de Matteo in 2001. They have two children together, a daughter born in 2007 and a son born in 2011. Jennings and de Matteo eventually ended their relationship without marrying.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: Jennings married long-time friend Misty Brooke Swain on June 4, 2013 in Joshua Tree, California. Swain and Jennings had met while he was in his rock band, Stargunn, and Swain was bartending at the Rainbow Bar & Grill. Shooter and Misty live in Hollywood, CA.


title: Shooter Jennings

text: The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Jennings has won 2 awards from 5 nominations.


title: Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles

text: Haruto Amakawa is a young man who died before he could reunite with his childhood friend who disappeared five years ago. Rio is a boy living in the slums of the Bertram Kingdom who wants revenge on behalf of his mother, who was murdered in front of him when he was five years old. Earth and another world. Two people with completely different backgrounds and values. For some reason, Haruto, who should have died, is resurrected in Rio's body. As the two are confused over their memories and personalities fusing together, Rio (Haruto) decides to live in this new world. Along with Haruto's memories, Rio awakens a "special power," and it seems that if he uses it well, he can live a better life. Complicating matters, Rio suddenly encounters a kidnapping involving the two princesses of the Bertram Kingdom.


title: Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles

text: The light novel is written by Yuri Kitayama and illustrated by Riv. Hobby Japan has published twenty-two volumes since October 2015 under its HJ Bunko imprint. The light novels are licensed in North America by J-Novel Club.


title: Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles

text: A manga adaptation by tenkla was serialized online via Hobby Japan's Comic Fire website from October 2016 to February 2017, being discontinued because of the artist's poor health. A second manga adaptation by Futago Minaduki has been serialized online via the same website since July 2017 and collected in eight "tankōbon" volumes. The second manga adaptation is also licensed in North America by J-Novel Club.


title: Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles

text: An anime television series adaptation was announced by Hobby Japan on November 27, 2020. The series is animated by TMS Entertainment and directed by Osamu Yamasaki, with Yamasaki, Mitsutaka Hirota, Megumu Sasano and Yoshiko Nakamura writing the scripts, Kyoko Yufu designing the characters, and Yasuyuki Yamazaki composing the series' music. Wao World is credited with animation cooperation. The series aired from July 6 to September 21, 2021, on TV Tokyo, BS Fuji, and AT-X. Marika Kouno performed the opening theme song "New story", while Aguri Ōnishi performed the ending theme song "Elder flower". Crunchyroll licensed the series outside of Asia. On October 28, 2021, Crunchyroll announced an English dub, which premiered on December 27 of the same year.


title: Brian Lara

text: Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing records, including the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, with 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994, which is the only quintuple-hundred in first-class cricket history.


title: Brian Lara

text: Lara also holds the record for the highest individual score in a Test innings after scoring 400 not out at Antigua during the 4th test against England in 2004. Lara also held the record of scoring the highest number of runs in a single over in a Test match for 18 years when he scored 28 runs off an over by Robin Peterson of South Africa in 2003 (overtaken by Jasprit Bumrah in 2022).


title: Brian Lara

text: Lara's match-winning performance of 153 not out against Australia in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1999 has been rated by Wisden as the second-best batting performance in the history of Test cricket, next only to the 270 runs scored by Sir Donald Bradman in The Ashes Test match of 1937. Muttiah Muralitharan has hailed Lara as his toughest opponent among all batsmen in the world. Lara was awarded the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World awards in 1994 and 1995 and is also one of only three cricketers to receive the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, the other two being Sir Garfield Sobers and Shane Warne.


title: Brian Lara

text: Brian Lara was appointed honorary member of the Order of Australia on 27 November 2009. In September 2012 he was inducted to the ICC's Hall of Fame as a 2012–13 season inductee. In 2013, Lara received Honorary Life Membership of the MCC becoming the 31st West Indian to receive the honor.


title: Brian Lara

text: Brian Lara is popularly nicknamed as "The Prince of Port of Spain" or simply "The Prince". He has the dubious distinction of playing in the second-highest number of test matches (63) in which his team was on the losing side, just behind Shivnarine Chanderpaul (68).


title: Brian Lara

text: Brian is one of eleven siblings. His father Bunty and one of his older sisters Agnes Cyrus enrolled him in the local Harvard Coaching Clinic at the age of six for weekly coaching sessions on Sundays. As a result, Lara had a very early education in correct batting technique. Lara's first school was St. Joseph's Roman Catholic primary. He then went to San Juan Secondary School, which is located on Moreau Road, Lower Santa Cruz. A year later, at fourteen years old, he moved on to Fatima College where he started his development as a promising young player under cricket coach Harry Ramdass. Aged 14, he amassed 745 runs in the schoolboys' league, with an average of 126.16 per innings, which earned him selection for the Trinidad national under-16 team. When he was 15 years old, he played in his first West Indian under-19 youth tournament and that same year, Lara represented West Indies in Under-19 cricket.


title: Brian Lara

text: 1987 was a breakthrough year for Lara, when in the West Indies Youth Championships he scored 498 runs breaking the record of 480 by Carl Hooper set the previous year. He captained the tournament-winning Trinidad and Tobago, who profited from a match-winning 116 from Lara.


title: Brian Lara

text: In January 1988, Lara made his first-class debut for Trinidad and Tobago in the Red Stripe Cup against Leeward Islands. In his second first-class match he made 92 against a Barbados attack containing Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall, two greats of West Indies teams. Later in the same year, he captained the West Indies team in Australia for the Bicentennial Youth World Cup where the West Indies reached the semi-finals. Later that year, his innings of 182 as captain of the West Indies Under-23s against the touring Indian team further elevated his reputation.


title: Brian Lara

text: His first selection for the full West Indies team followed in due course, but unfortunately coincided with the death of his father and Lara withdrew from the team. In 1989, he captained a West Indies B Team in Zimbabwe and scored 145.


title: Brian Lara

text: In 1990, at the age of 20, Lara became Trinidad and Tobago's youngest-ever captain, leading them that season to victory in the one-day Geddes Grant Shield. It was also in 1990 that he made his belated Test debut for West Indies against Pakistan, scoring 44 and 5. He had made his ODI debut a month earlier against Pakistan, scoring 11.


title: Brian Lara

text: In January 1993, Lara scored 277 versus Australia in Sydney. This, his maiden Test century in his fifth Test, was the turning point of the series as West Indies won the final two Tests to win the series 2–1. Lara went on to name his daughter Sydney after scoring 277 at SCG.


title: Brian Lara

text: Lara holds several world records for high scoring. He has the highest individual score in both first-class cricket (501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994) and Test cricket (400 not out for the West Indies against England in 2004). Lara amassed his world record 501 in 474 minutes off only 427 balls. He hit 308 in boundaries (10 sixes and 62 fours). His partners were Roger Twose (115 partnership – 2nd wicket), Trevor Penney (314 – 3rd), Paul Smith (51 – 4th) and Keith Piper (322 unbroken – 5th). Earlier in that season Lara scored six centuries in seven innings while playing for Warwickshire.


title: Brian Lara

text: He is the only man to have reclaimed the Test record score, having scored 375 against England in 1994, a record that stood until Matthew Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003. His 400 not out also made him the second player (after Donald Bradman) to score two Test triple-centuries, and the second (after Bill Ponsford) to score two first-class quadruple-centuries. He has scored nine double-centuries in Test cricket, third after Bradman's twelve and Kumar Sangakkara's eleven. As a captain, he scored five double-centuries, which is the highest by any one who is in charge. In 1995 Lara in the Test match away series against England, scored 3 hundreds in three consecutive Matches which earned him the Man of the Series award. The Test Series was eventually drawn 2–2. He also held the record for the highest total number of runs in a Test career, after overtaking Allan Border in an innings of 226 played at Adelaide Oval, Australia in November 2005. This was later broken by Sachin Tendulkar of India on 17 October 2008 whilst playing against Australia at Mohali in the 2nd Test of the Border–Gavaskar Trophy 2008.


title: Brian Lara

text: Lara captained the West Indies from 1998 to 1999, when West Indies suffered their first whitewash at the hands of South Africa. Following this they played Australia in a four-Test series which was drawn 2–2, with Lara scoring 546 runs including three centuries and one double hundred. In the second Test at Kingston he scored 213 while in the third Test he scored 153* in the second innings as West Indies chased down 311 with one wicket left. He won the Man of the Match award for both matches and was also named Man of the Series.


title: Brian Lara

text: The Wisden 100 rates Lara's 153 not out against Australia in Bridgetown in 1998–99 as the second-best innings ever after Sir Donald Bradman's 270 against England in Melbourne in 1936–37.


title: Brian Lara

text: In 2001 Lara was named the Man of the Carlton Series in Australia with an average of 46.50, the highest average by a West Indian in that series, scoring two half centuries and one century, 116 against Australia. That same year Lara amassed 688 runs in the three match away Test series against Sri Lanka making three centuries, and one fifty—including the double-century and a century in the first and second innings of the 3rd Test match at the Sinhalese Sports Ground, equating to 42% of the team's runs in that series. These extraordinary performances led Muttiah Muralitharan to state that Lara was the most dangerous batsman he had ever bowled to.


title: Brian Lara

text: Lara was reappointed as captain against the touring Australians in 2003, and struck 110 in his first Test match back in charge, showing a return to stellar performance. Later that season, under his captaincy, West Indies won the two match Test series against Sri Lanka 1–0 with Lara making a double-century in the First Test. In September 2004, West Indies won the ICC Champions Trophy in England under his captaincy. For his performances in 2004, he was named both in the World Test XI and ODI XI by ICC.


title: Brian Lara

text: In March 2005, Lara declined selection for the West Indies team because of a dispute over his personal Cable & Wireless sponsorship deal, which clashed with the Cricket Board's main sponsor, Digicel. Six other players were involved in this dispute, including stars Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo. Lara said he declined selection in a stand of solidarity, when these players were dropped because of their sponsorship deals. The issue was resolved after the first Test of the series against the touring South African team.


title: Brian Lara

text: Lara returned to the team for the second Test (and scored a huge first innings score of 196), but in the process lost his captaincy indefinitely to the newly appointed Shivnarine Chanderpaul. In the next Test, against the same opponents, he scored a 176 in the first innings. After a one-day series against South Africa, he scored his first Test century against the visiting Pakistanis in the first Test at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados which the West Indies eventually won.


title: Brian Lara

text: On 26 April 2006 Lara was reappointed the captain of the West Indies cricket team for the third time. This followed the resignation of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had been captain for thirteen months—in which the West Indies won just one of the 14 Test matches they had competed. In May 2006, Lara led the West Indies to successful One-Day series victories against Zimbabwe and India. Lara's team played Australia in the finals of the DLF Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy where they finished runners up in both finals.


title: Brian Lara

text: On 16 December 2006 he became the first player for the West Indies to pass 10,000 One Day International runs, and, along with Sachin Tendulkar, one of only two players, at the time, to do so in both forms of the game. On 10 April 2007 Lara confirmed his retirement from one-day cricket post the 2007 Cricket World Cup. A few days later he announced that he would in fact be retiring from all international cricket after the tournament.


title: Brian Lara

text: Lara played his final international game on 21 April 2007 in a dead rubber World Cup game against England. He was run out for 18 after a mix-up with Marlon Samuels; England won the game by 1 wicket. Before the end of this World Cup Glenn McGrath stated that Lara is the greatest batsman that he has ever bowled to.


title: Brian Lara

text: On 19 April 2007 Lara announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket, indicating that the West Indies vs England match on 21 April 2007 would be his last international appearance. He was run out after a bad mixup with Marlon Samuels for 18, as England went on to win the match by one wicket.


title: Brian Lara

text: He announced before the 2007 Cricket World Cup that this would be his last appearance in One Day Internationals. After his last match, in the post-game presentation interview, he asked the fans, "Did I entertain?", to which he received a resounding cheer from the crowd, after which he went out and took his 'lap of honour' where he met and shook hands with many of the fans. Lara stated this would be his last appearance in international cricket, he has also indicated his interest in retaining some involvement in the sport.