title: The Ashes

text: The 2009 series began with a tense draw in the First Test at SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, with England's last-wicket batsmen James Anderson and Monty Panesar surviving 69 balls. England then achieved its first Ashes win at Lord's since 1934 to go 1–0 up. After a rain-affected draw at Edgbaston, the fourth match at Headingley was convincingly won by Australia by an innings and 80 runs to level the series. Finally, England won the Fifth Test at The Oval by a margin of 197 runs to regain the Ashes. Andrew Flintoff retired from Test cricket soon afterwards.


title: The Ashes

text: The 2010–11 series was played in Australia. The First Test at Brisbane ended in a draw, but England won the Second Test, at Adelaide, by an innings and 71 runs. Australia came back with a victory at Perth in the Third Test. In the Fourth Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground, England batting second scored 513 to defeat Australia (98 and 258) by an innings and 157 runs. This gave England an unbeatable 2–1 lead in the series and so it retained the Ashes. England went on to win the series 3–1, beating Australia by an innings and 83 runs at Sydney in the Fifth Test, including their highest innings total since 1938 (644). England's series victory was its first on Australian soil for 24 years. The 2010–11 Ashes series was the only one in which a team had won three Tests by innings margins and it was the first time England had scored 500 or more four times in a single series.


title: The Ashes

text: Australia's build-up to the 2013 Ashes series was far from ideal. Darren Lehmann took over as coach from Mickey Arthur following a string of poor results. A batting line-up weakened by the previous year's retirements of former captain Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey was also shorn of opener David Warner, who was suspended for the start of the series following an off-field incident. England won a closely fought First Test by 14 runs, despite 19-year-old debutant Ashton Agar making a world-record 98 for a number 11 in the first innings. England then won a very one-sided Second Test by 347 runs while the rain-affected Third Test, held at a newly refurbished Old Trafford, was drawn, ensuring that England retained the Ashes. England won the Fourth Test by 74 runs after Australia lost their last eight second-innings wickets for only 86 runs. The final Test was drawn, giving England a 3–0 series win.


title: The Ashes

text: In the second of two Ashes series held in 2013 (the series ended in 2014), this time hosted by Australia, the home team won the series five test matches to nil. This was the third time Australia has completed a clean sweep (or "whitewash") in Ashes history, a feat never matched by England. All six Australian specialist batsmen scored more runs than any Englishman with 10 centuries among them, with only debutant Ben Stokes scoring a century for England. Mitchell Johnson took 37 English wickets at 13.97 and Ryan Harris 22 wickets at 19.31 in the 5-Test series. Only Stuart Broad and all-rounder Stokes bowled effectively for England, with their spinner Graeme Swann retiring due to a chronic elbow injury after the decisive Third Test.


title: The Ashes

text: Australia came into the 2015 Ashes series in England as favourites to retain the Ashes. Although England won the first Test in Cardiff, Australia won comfortably in the second Test at Lords. In the next two Tests, the Australian batsmen struggled, being bowled out for 136 in the first innings at Edgbaston, with England proceeding to win by eight wickets. This was followed by Australia being bowled out for 60 as Stuart Broad took five wickets and finished the spell with 8 for 15 in the first innings at Trent Bridge, the quickest – in terms of balls faced – a team has been bowled out in the first innings of a Test match. With victory by an innings and 78 runs on the morning of the third day of the Fourth Test, England regained the Ashes.


title: The Ashes

text: During the buildup, the 2017–18 Ashes series was regarded as a turning point for both sides. Australia were criticised for being too reliant on captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner, while England was said to have a shoddy middle to lower order. Off the field, England all-rounder Ben Stokes was ruled out of the side indefinitely due to a police investigation.


title: The Ashes

text: Australia won the first Test match in Brisbane by 10 wickets and the second Test at Adelaide by 120 runs in the first ever day-night Ashes test match. Australia regained The Ashes with an innings and 41 run win in the third Test at Perth; the final Ashes Test at the WACA Ground.


title: The Ashes

text: Prior to the 2019 Ashes series, both teams were considered to have very strong bowling attacks but struggling batting orders. Australia had its top-order batsmen David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft available for international selection after being banned from international cricket for 9–12 months following the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, during which time India had won its first ever Test series in Australia. However, Australia recovered to win the Test series against Sri Lanka 2–0.


title: The Ashes

text: Despite winning the Cricket World Cup in July 2019 for the first time, England had also been criticised for its fragile top-order in Tests. The retirement of opener Alastair Cook in August 2018 ensured potential top-order batsmen Rory Burns, Joe Denly and Jason Roy were able to secure a place in the side. Despite losing a Test series 2–1 in their tour of the West Indies, England then improved to win the one-off Test against Ireland, by 143 runs. The 2019 series was eventually drawn 2–2, with Australia retaining the Ashes.


title: The Ashes

text: The 2021 Ashes series was played from December 2021 through January 2022, and featured the first Ashes test match to be played in Tasmania, at Hobart's Bellerive Oval. Australia retained the Ashes in the 2021-22 Ashes series, after Scott Boland achieved the third best bowling figures in the history of Australian cricket at 6-7 (4 overs).


title: The Ashes

text: In the 138 years since 1883, Australia have held the Ashes for approximately 82.5 years, and England for 55.5 years:


title: The Ashes

text: A team must win a series to gain the right to hold the Ashes. A drawn series results in the previous holders retaining the Ashes. Ashes series have generally been played over five Test matches, although there have been four-match series (1938 and 1975) and six-match series (1970–71, 1974–75, 1978–79, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993 and 1997). Australians have made 264 centuries in Ashes Tests, of which 23 have been scores over 200, while Englishmen have scored 212 centuries, of which 10 have been over 200. Australians have taken 10 wickets in a match on 41 occasions, Englishmen 38 times.


title: The Ashes

text: The series alternates between England (and Wales) and Australia, and each match of a series is held at a different ground.


title: The Ashes

text: In Australia, the grounds currently used are The Gabba in Brisbane (first staged an England–Australia Test in the 1932–33 season), Adelaide Oval (1884–85), the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) (1876–77), and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) (1881–82). A single Test was held at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground in 1928–29. Traditionally, Melbourne hosts the Boxing Day Test and Sydney hosts the New Year's Day Test. Additionally the WACA in Perth (1970–71) hosted its final Ashes Test in 2017–18 and was due to be replaced by Perth Stadium for the 2021–22 series. However, Western Australian border restrictions and quarantine requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a change in venue for the final Ashes Test to Bellerive Oval in Hobart. This was the first Ashes Test match to be held in Tasmania.


title: The Ashes

text: Cricket Australia proposed that the 2010–11 series consist of six Tests, with the additional game to be played at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The England and Wales Cricket Board declined and the series was played over five Tests.


title: The Ashes

text: In England and Wales, the grounds currently used are: Old Trafford in Manchester (1884), The Oval in Kennington, South London (1884); Lord's in St John's Wood, North London (1884); Headingley in Leeds (1899) and Edgbaston in Birmingham (1902). Additionally Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Wales (2009); the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, County Durham (2013) and Trent Bridge at West Bridgford (1899), have been used and one Test was also held at Bramall Lane in Sheffield in 1902. Traditionally the final Test of the series is played at the Oval. Sophia Gardens and the Riverside were excluded as Test grounds between the years of 2020 and 2024 and therefore will not host an Ashes Test until at least 2027. Trent Bridge is also not due to host an Ashes Test until 2027.


title: The Ashes

text: The popularity and reputation of the cricket series has led to other sports and games using the name "Ashes" for contests between England and Australia. The best-known and longest-running of these events is the rugby league rivalry between Great Britain and Australia (see rugby league "Ashes"). Use of the name "Ashes" was suggested by the Australian team when rugby league matches between the two countries commenced in 1908. Other examples included the television game shows "Gladiators" and "Sale of the Century", both of which broadcast special editions containing contestants from the Australian and English versions of the shows competing against each other.


title: The Ashes

text: The term became further genericised in Australia in the first half of the twentieth century, and was used to describe many sports rivalries or competitions outside the context of Australia vs England. The Australian rules football interstate carnival, and the small silver casket which served as its trophy, were symbolically known as "the Ashes" of Australian football, and was spoken of as such until at least the 1940s. The soccer rivalry between Australia and New Zealand was described as "the soccer ashes of Australasia" until as late as the 1950s; ashes from cigars smoked by the two countries' captains were put into a casket in 1923 to make the trophy literal. The interstate rugby league rivalry between Queensland and New South Wales was known for a time as Australia's rugby league ashes, and bowls competitions between the two states also regularly used the term. Even some local rivalries, such as southern Western Australia's annual Great Southern Football Carnival, were locally described as "the ashes". This genericised usage is no longer common, and "the Ashes" would today be assumed only to apply to a contest between Australia and England.


title: The Ashes

text: The Ashes featured in the film "The Final Test", released in 1953, based on a television play by Terence Rattigan. It stars Jack Warner as an England cricketer playing the last Test of his career, which is the last of an Ashes series; the film includes cameo appearances of English captain Len Hutton and other players who were part of England's 1953 triumph.


title: The Ashes

text: Douglas Adams's 1982 science fiction comedy novel "Life, the Universe and Everything" – the third part of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series – features the urn containing the Ashes as a significant element of its plot. The urn is stolen by alien robots, as the burnt stump inside is part of a key needed to unlock the "Wikkit Gate" and release an imprisoned world called Krikkit.


title: The Ashes

text: "Bodyline", a fictionalised television miniseries based on the "Bodyline" Ashes series of 1932–33, was screened in Australia in 1984. The cast included Gary Sweet as Donald Bradman and Hugo Weaving as England captain Douglas Jardine.


title: The Ashes

text: In the 1938 film "The Lady Vanishes", Charters and Caldicott, played by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne are two cricket fans who are desperate to get home from Europe in order to see the last day's play in the 3rd Test at Manchester. It is not until they see a newsboy's poster near the end of the film that they discover that the match had been abandoned, due to floods.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The Russian Provisional Government () was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II. The intention of the provisional government was the organization of elections to the Russian Constituent Assembly and its convention. The provisional government, led first by Prince Georgy Lvov and then by Alexander Kerensky, lasted approximately eight months, and ceased to exist when the Bolsheviks gained power in the October Revolution in October [November, N.S.] 1917.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: According to Harold Whitmore Williams, the history of the eight months during which Russia was ruled by the Provisional Government was the history of the steady and systematic disorganization of the army. For most of the life of the Provisional Government, the status of the monarchy was unresolved. This was finally clarified on 1 September [14 September, N.S.], when the Russian Republic was proclaimed, in a decree signed by Kerensky as Minister-President and Zarudny as Minister of Justice.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: On 12 March (27 February, Old Style) - after Prime Minister Nikolai Golitsyn was forced to resign - 24 commissars the Provisional Committee of the State Duma were appointed. The Committee was headed by Mikhail Rodzianko and suspended the activity of the Fourth State Duma. He temporarily took formal state power and announced the creation of a new government on 13 March. The Provisional Government was formed on 15 March 1917 (New Style) by the Provisional Committee in cooperation of the Petrograd Soviet, despite protests of the Bolsheviks. The government was led first by Prince Georgy Lvov and then by Alexander Kerensky. It replaced the Council of Ministers of Russia, which presided in the Mariinsky Palace.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The Provisional Government was unable to make decisive policy decisions due to political factionalism and a breakdown of state structures. This weakness left the government open to strong challenges from both the right and the left. The Provisional Government's chief adversary on the left was the Petrograd Soviet, a Communist committee then taking over and ruling Russia's most important port city, which tentatively cooperated with the government at first, but then gradually gained control of the Imperial Army, local factories, and the Russian Railway. The period of competition for authority ended in late October 1917, when Bolsheviks routed the ministers of the Provisional Government in the events known as the "October Revolution", and placed power in the hands of the soviets, or "workers' councils," which had given their support to the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The weakness of the Provisional Government is perhaps best reflected in the derisive nickname given to Kerensky: "persuader-in-chief."


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The authority of the Tsar's government began disintegrating on 1 November 1916, when Pavel Milyukov attacked the Boris Stürmer government in the Duma. Stürmer was succeeded by Alexander Trepov and Nikolai Golitsyn, both Prime Ministers for only a few weeks. During the February Revolution two rival institutions, the imperial State Duma and the Petrograd Soviet, both located in the Tauride Palace, competed for power. Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on 2 March [15 March, ], and Milyukov announced the committee's decision to offer the Regency to his brother, Grand Duke Michael, as the next tsar. Grand Duke Michael would accept after the decision of the Russian Constituent Assembly.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: He did not want to take the poisoned chalice and deferred acceptance of imperial power the next day. The Provisional Government was designed to set up elections to the Assembly while maintaining essential government services, but its power was effectively limited by the Petrograd Soviet's growing authority.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Public announcement of the formation of the Provisional Government was made. It was published in "Izvestia" the day after its formation. The announcement stated the declaration of government


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: It also said, "The provisional government feels obliged to add that it is not intended to take advantage of military circumstances for any delay in implementing the above reforms and measures."


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: During the April Crisis (1917) Ivan Ilyin agreed with the Kadet Milyukov who staunchly opposed Petrograd Soviet demands for peace at any cost. On 18 April [1 May, ] 1917 minister of Foreign Affairs Pavel Milyukov sent a note to the Allied governments, promising to continue the war to 'its glorious conclusion'. On 20–21 April 1917 massive demonstrations of workers and soldiers erupted against the continuation of war. Demonstrations demanded resignation of Milyukov. They were soon met by the counter-demonstrations organised in his support. General Lavr Kornilov, commander of the Petrograd military district, wished to suppress the disorders, but premier Georgy Lvov refused to resort to violence.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The Provisional Government accepted the resignation of Foreign Minister Milyukov and War Minister Guchkov and made a proposal to the Petrograd Soviet to form a coalition government. As a result of negotiations, on 22 April 1917 agreement was reached and 6 socialist ministers joined the cabinet.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: During this period the Provisional Government merely reflected the will of the Soviet, where left tendencies (Bolshevism) were gaining ground. The Government, however, influenced by the "bourgeois" ministers, tried to base itself on the right-wing of the Soviet. Socialist ministers, coming under fire from their left-wing Soviet associates, were compelled to pursue a double-faced policy. The Provisional Government was unable to make decisive policy decisions due to political factionalism and a breakdown of state structures.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: In the summer of 1917, within the government, the liberals persuaded the socialists that the Provisional Government needed to launch an offensive against Germany. This was as a consequence of several factors: a request from Britain and France to help take the pressure off their forces in the West, avoiding the national humiliation of a defeat, to help put the generals and officers back in control of the armed forces so they could control the revolution and to place them in a better bargaining position with the Germans when peace negotiations started.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The government agreed that a ‘successful military offensive’ was required to unite the people and restore morale to the Russian army. Alexander Kerensky, Minister for War, embarked on a ‘whirlwind tour’ of the Russian forces at the fronts, giving passionate, ‘near-hysterical’, speeches where he called on troops to act heroically, stating ‘we revolutionaries, have the right to death.’ This worked for a time until Kerensky left and the effect on the troops waned.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The June Offensive, which started on 16 June, lasted for just three days before falling apart.  During the offensive, the rate of desertion was high and soldiers began to mutiny, with some even killing their commanding officers instead of fighting.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The offensive resulted in the death of thousands of Russian soldiers and great loss of territory. This failed military offensive produced an immediate effect in Petrograd in the form of an armed uprising known as the ‘July Days’. The Provisional Government survived the initial uprising, but their pro-war position meant that moderate socialist government leaders lost their credibility among the soldiers and workers.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: On July 2 (July 15 N.S.), in response to the government's compromises with Ukrainian nationalists, the Kadet members of the cabinet resigned, leaving Prince Lvov's government in disarray. This prompted further urban demonstrations, as workers demanded "all power to the Soviets."


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: On the morning of July 3 (July 16), the machine-gun regiment voted in favour of an armed demonstration, with it agreed that the demonstrators should march peacefully to the front of the Tauride palace and elect delegates to ‘present their demands to the Executive Committee of the Soviet’.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The following day, July 4 (July 17), around 20,000 armed sailors from the Kronstadt naval base arrived in Petrograd.2 The mass of soldiers and workers then went to the Bolshevik Headquarters to find Lenin, who addressed the crowd and promised them that, ultimately, all power would go to the Soviets. However, Lenin was rather reluctant about these developments, with his speech uncertain and barely lasting a minute.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: As violence escalated in the streets with the mob looting shops, houses, and attacking well-dressed civilians, Cossacks and Kadets stationed atop the buildings of Liteyny Avenue began to fire upon the crowds, causing the marchers to scatter in panic as dozens were killed.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: At around 7 pm, soldiers and a group of workers from the Putilov iron plant broke into the palace and, flourishing their rifles, demanded full power to the Soviets.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: When Socialist Revolutionary Minister Chernov attempted to calm them down, he was taken outside as a hostage until Trotsky appeared from the Soviet assembly and intervened with a speech praising the “Comrade Kronstadter’s, pride and glory of the Russian revolution”.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Furthermore, the Menshevik Chairman of the Soviet, Chkheidze, spoke to the demonstrators in an ‘imperious tone’, calmly handing their leader a Soviet manifesto, and ordered them to return home or be condemned as traitors to the revolution, to which the crowd quickly dispersed.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The Ministry of Justice released leaflets accusing the Bolsheviks of treason on the charge of inciting armed rebellion with German financial support, and published warrants for the arrest of the party's main leaders. Following this, troops cleared the party's Headquarters in the Kshesinskaya Mansion, and the capital quickly succumbed to anti-Bolshevik hysteria as hundreds of Bolsheviks were arrested and known or suspected Bolsheviks were attacked in the streets by Black Hundreds elements. The Petrograd Soviet was forced to move from Tauride Palace into the Smolny Institute.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Trotsky was captured a few days later and imprisoned, whilst Lenin and Zinoviev went into hiding. Lenin had refused to stand trial for ‘treason’ as he argued that the state was in the hands of a ‘counter-revolutionary military dictatorship’, which was already engaged in a ‘civil war’ against the proletariat. Lenin believed that these events were “an episode in the civil war” and described how “all hopes for a peaceful development of the Russian revolution have vanished for good” when writing a few days after his flight.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: These developments left a new crisis in the Provisional Government. Bourgeois ministers, belonging to the Constitutional Democratic Party resigned, and no cabinet could be formed until the end of the month.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The party's political fortunes were poor but were revived after an abortive ‘coup d’etat’ by right-wing elements led by General Kornilov.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Kerensky became the new Prime Minister of the Provisional Government on the 21st of July. Prince Lvov had resigned along with many Bourgeois ministers from the Provisional Government. He had been considered to be closely associated with the soviets, and in a strong leading position.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Finally, on the 24th of July (6 August) 1917, a new coalition cabinet, composed mostly of socialists, was formed with Kerensky at its head.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: With the 1917 February Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II's abdication, and the formation of a completely new Russian state, Russia's political spectrum was dramatically altered. The tsarist leadership represented an authoritarian, conservative form of governance. The Kadet Party (see Constitutional Democratic Party), composed mostly of liberal intellectuals, formed the greatest opposition to the tsarist regime leading up to the February Revolution. The Kadets transformed from an opposition force into a role of established leadership, as the former opposition party held most of the power in the new Provisional Government, which replaced the tsarist regime. The February Revolution was also accompanied by further politicization of the masses. Politicization of working people led to the leftward shift of the political spectrum.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Many urban workers originally supported the socialist Menshevik Party (see Menshevik), while some, though a small minority in February, favored the more radical Bolshevik Party (see Bolshevik). The Mensheviks often supported the actions of the Provisional Government and believed that the existence of such a government was a necessary step to achieve Communism. On the other hand, the Bolsheviks violently opposed the Provisional Government and desired a more rapid transition to Communism. In the countryside, political ideology also shifted leftward, with many peasants supporting the Socialist Revolutionary Party (see Socialist-Revolutionary Party). The SRs advocated a form of agrarian socialism and land policy that the peasantry overwhelmingly supported. For the most part, urban workers supported the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks (with greater numbers supporting the Bolsheviks as 1917 progressed), while the peasants supported the Socialist Revolutionaries. The rapid development and popularity of these leftist parties turned moderate-liberal parties, such as the Kadets, into "new conservatives." The Provisional Government was mostly composed of "new conservatives," and the new government faced tremendous opposition from the left.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Opposition was most obvious with the development and dominance of the Petrograd Soviet, which represented the socialist views of leftist parties. A dual power structure quickly arose consisting of the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet. While the Provisional Government retained the formal authority to rule over Russia, the Petrograd Soviet maintained actual power. With its control over the army and the railroads, the Petrograd Soviet had the means to enforce policies. The Provisional Government lacked the ability to administer its policies. In fact, local soviets, political organizations mostly of socialists, often maintained discretion when deciding whether or not to implement the Provisional Government's laws.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Despite its short reign of power and implementation shortcomings, the Provisional Government passed very progressive legislation. The policies enacted by this moderate government (by 1917 Russian standards) represented arguably the most liberal legislation in Europe at the time. The independence of Church from state, the emphasis on rural self-governance, and the affirmation of fundamental civil rights (such as freedom of speech, press, and assembly) that the tsarist government had periodically restricted shows the progressivism of the Provisional Government. Other policies included the abolition of capital punishment and economic redistribution in the countryside. The Provisional Government also granted more freedoms to previously suppressed regions of the Russian Empire. Poland was granted independence and Lithuania and Ukraine became more autonomous.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The main obstacle and problem of the Provisional Government was its inability to enforce and administer legislative policies. Foreign policy was the one area in which the Provisional Government was able to exercise its discretion to a great extent. However, the continuation of aggressive foreign policy (for example, the Kerensky Offensive) increased opposition to the government. Domestically, the Provisional Government's weaknesses were blatant. The dual power structure was in fact dominated by one side, the Petrograd Soviet. Minister of War Alexander Guchkov stated that "We (the Provisional Government) do not have authority, but only the appearance of authority; the real power lies with the Soviet". Severe limitations existed on the Provisional Government's ability to rule.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: While it was true that the Provisional Government lacked enforcement ability, prominent members within the Government encouraged bottom-up rule. Politicians such as Prime Minister Georgy Lvov favored devolution of power to decentralized organizations. The Provisional Government did not desire the complete decentralization of power, but certain members definitely advocated more political participation by the masses in the form of grassroots mobilization.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The rise of local organizations, such as trade unions and rural institutions, and the devolution of power within Russian government gave rise to democratization. It is difficult to say that the Provisional Government desired the rise of these powerful, local institutions. As stated in the previous section, some politicians within the Provisional Government advocated the rise of these institutions. Local government bodies had discretionary authority when deciding which Provisional Government laws to implement. For example, institutions that held power in rural areas were quick to implement national laws regarding the peasantry's use of idle land. Real enforcement power was in the hands of these local institutions and the soviets. Russian historian W.E. Mosse points out, this time period represented "the only time in modern Russian history when the Russian people were able to play a significant part in the shaping of their destinies". While this quote romanticizes Russian society under the Provisional Government, the quote nonetheless shows that important democratic institutions were prominent in 1917 Russia.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Special interest groups also developed throughout 1917. Special interest groups play a large role in every society deemed "democratic" today, and such was the case of Russia in 1917. Many on the far left would argue that the presence of special interest groups represent a form of bourgeois democracy, in which the interests of an elite few are represented to a greater extent than the working masses. The rise of special interest organizations gave people the means to mobilize and play a role in the democratic process. While groups such as trade unions formed to represent the needs of the working classes, professional organizations were also prominent. Professional organizations quickly developed a political side to represent member's interests. The political involvement of these groups represents a form of democratic participation as the government listened to such groups when formulating policy. Such interest groups played a negligible role in politics before February 1917 and after October 1917.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: While professional special interest groups were on the rise, so too were worker organizations, especially in the cities. Beyond the formation of trade unions, factory committees of workers rapidly developed on the plant level of industrial centers. The factory committees represented the most radical viewpoints of the time period. The Bolsheviks gained their popularity within these institutions. Nonetheless, these committees represented the most democratic element of 1917 Russia. However, this form of democracy differed from and went beyond the political democracy advocated by the liberal intellectual elites and moderate socialists of the Provisional Government. Workers established economic democracy, as employees gained managerial power and direct control over their workplace. Worker self-management became a common practice throughout industrial enterprises. As workers became more militant and gained more economic power, they supported the radical Bolshevik party and lifted the Bolsheviks into power in October 1917.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: In August 1917 Russian socialists assembled for a conference on defense, which resulted in a split between the Bolsheviks, who rejected the continuation of the war, and moderate socialists. The Kornilov affair was an attempted military coup d'état by the then commander-in-chief of the Russian army, General Lavr Kornilov, in September 1917 (August old style). Due to the extreme weakness of the government at this point, there was talk among the elites of bolstering its power by including Kornilov as a military dictator on the side of Kerensky. The extent to which this deal had indeed been accepted by all parties is still unclear. What is clear, however, is that when Kornilov's troops approached Petrograd, Kerensky branded them as counter-revolutionaries and demanded their arrest. This move can be seen as an attempt to bolster his own power by making him a defender of the revolution against a Napoleon-type figure. However, it had terrible consequences, as Kerensky's move was seen in the army as a betrayal of Kornilov, making them finally disloyal to the Provisional Government. Furthermore, as Kornilov's troops were arrested by the now armed Red Guard, it was the Soviet that was seen to have saved the country from military dictatorship. In order to defend himself and Petrograd, he provided the Bolsheviks with arms as he had little support from the army. When Kornilov did not attack Kerensky, the Bolsheviks did not return their weapons, making them a greater concern to Kerensky and the Provisional Government.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Thus far, the status of the monarchy had been unresolved. This was clarified on 1 September [14 September, N.S.], when the Russian Republic (, "") was proclaimed, in a decree signed by Kerensky as Minister-President and Zarudny as Minister of Justice.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: On 12 September [25, N.S] an All-Russian Democratic Conference was convened, and its presidium decided to create a Pre-Parliament and a Special Constituent Assembly, which was to elaborate the future Constitution of Russia. This Constitutional Assembly was to be chaired by Professor N. I. Lazarev and the historian V. M. Gessen. The Provisional Government was expected to continue to administer Russia until the Constituent Assembly had determined the future form of government. On 16 September 1917, the Duma was dissolved by the newly created Directorate.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: On October 24, Kerensky accused the Bolsheviks of treason... After the Bolshevik walkout, some of the remaining delegates continued to stress that ending the war as soon as possible was beneficial to the nation.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: On 24–26 October Red Guard forces under the leadership of Bolshevik commanders launched their final attack on the ineffectual Provisional Government. Most government offices were occupied and controlled by Bolshevik soldiers on the 25th; the last holdout of the Provisional Ministers, the Tsar's Winter Palace on the Neva River bank, was captured on the 26th. Kerensky escaped the Winter Palace raid and fled to Pskov, where he rallied some loyal troops for an attempt to retake the capital. His troops managed to capture Tsarskoe Selo but were beaten the next day at Pulkovo. Kerensky spent the next few weeks in hiding before fleeing the country. He went into exile in France and eventually emigrated to the United States.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: The Bolsheviks then replaced the government with their own. The "Little Council" (or "Underground Provisional Government") met at the house of Sofia Panina briefly in an attempt to resist the Bolsheviks. However, this initiative ended on 28 November with the arrest of Panina, Fyodor Kokoshkin, Andrei Ivanovich Shingarev and Prince Pavel Dolgorukov, then Panina being the subject of a political trial.


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Some academics, such as Pavel Osinsky, argue that the October Revolution was as much a function of the failures of the Provisional Government as it was of the strength of the Bolsheviks. Osinsky described this as "socialism by default" as opposed to "socialism by design."


title: Russian Provisional Government

text: Riasanovsky argued that the Provisional Government made perhaps its "worst mistake" by not holding elections to the Constituent Assembly soon enough. They wasted time fine-tuning details of the election law, while Russia slipped further into anarchy and economic chaos. By the time the Assembly finally met, Riasanovsky noted, "the Bolsheviks had already gained control of Russia."


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ; Hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍; RR: "Daehanminguk Yuk-gun"), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 420,000 members . This size is maintained through conscription; South Korean men must complete military service (18 months for army, auxiliary police and marine, 20 months for navy and conscripted firefighter, 21 months for air force and social service, 36 months for alternative service) between the age of 18 and 35.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The modern South Korean army traces its lineage back to the Gwangmu Reform, when the Byeolgigun was established by Emperor Gojong in 1881.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The 1st of every October is celebrated in South Korea as Armed Forces Day. It commemorates the day during the Korean War when units of the ROK Army first crossed the 38th Parallel, thus leading the UN Coalition north into North Korean territory for the first time.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The National Security Guard Of South Korea was originally formed out of the Republic Of Korea Army. This organization was created during the United States-lead occupation period from 1945 to 1948. The National Security Guard Of South Korea was initially a reserve unit of the . In addition, some of ethnic Koreans were Nationalist Chinese and post-Manchurian soldiers remnants of the Imperial Japanese Army also contributed to the force. The National Defense Force was established on January 15, 1946, replacing the United States lead constabulary from 1945.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The outbreak of the Korean War caught the South Korean forces unprepared, requiring the United Nations to intervene with U.S.-led forces. The South Korean military rapidly developed during the Korean War, suffering enormous casualties and loss of equipment. As the Soviets had armed North Korea, the United States armed and trained the South Korean military throughout the Korean War.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The South Korean army is structured to operate in both the mountainous terrain native to the Korean Peninsula (70% mountainous) and in North Korea with its 950,000 strong Korean People's Army Ground Force, two-thirds of which is permanently garrisoned in the frontline near the DMZ. The current administration has initiated a program over the next two decades to design a purely domestic means of self-defense, whereby South Korea would be able to fully counter a North Korean attack.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The ROK Army was formerly organized into 3 armies: the First Army (FROKA), Third Army (TROKA) and Second Operational Command; each with its own headquarters, corps, and divisions. The Third Army was responsible for the defense of the capital as well as the western section of the DMZ. The First Army was responsible for the defense of the eastern section of the DMZ whereas the 2nd OC formed the rearguard.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: Under a restructuring plan aimed at reducing redundancy, the Second ROK Army was converted as the Second Operations Command in 2007, and the First and Third ROK Armies were merged as the Ground Operations Command in 2019.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The army consists of 420,000 troops, approximately 2,130 tanks, 3,000 armored fighting vehicles, 6,200 artillery pieces, 60 guided missile systems, and 560 helicopters as of 2020. Main battle tank types include: 400 M48 Patton series and its upgrades such as M48A3K, M48A5, and M48A5K, 33 Soviet T-80U and 2 T-80UK (given by Russia to pay off debt), as well as 1,511 K1A1 and K1 tanks, which bear a 120 mm smoothbore gun and are of local manufacture. The future replacement for the K1 and K1A1 MBTs has been named the K2 Black Panther (흑표;黑豹 Heukpyo), which will be fitted with a 1500 hp MTU-based engine, 55-caliber 120 mm main gun with autoloader. The new tank will also feature radar equipment as well as all-bearing laser detection and defense systems, anti-missile active protection, and heavy reactive armor and sensor package comparable to the American M1A2 Abrams and German Leopard 2A6. The ROK Army is planning to field approximately 443 Black Panthers.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: In addition Republic of Korea manufactures the K-9 howitzer which have been exported to Turkey as the T-155 howitzer as well as the ZMA series TIFV's which saw action in UN peacekeeping operations (PKO) as part of the Malaysian peacekeeping forces. A variation of the K200, the KAFVs can be retrofitted to bear a 90 mm cannon, 40 mm grenade turret, M230-1 Chain gun Turret, or MK-30 Chaingun Turret. A replacement for K200 series IFVs are currently being tested, designated as K21 KNIFV (Korea Next generation Infantry Fighting Vehicle), which will have various capabilities for both land and naval warfare. The initial production is set for 2008, with the ROKA planning to field approximately 600 units.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The K21 KNIFV's chassis will be constructed entirely out of fiberglass, reducing the vehicle's load and enabling it to travel at higher speeds without bulky and powerful engines. When constructed, the NIFV will be lighter than other IFVs, including the American Bradley series and Russian BMP series, increasing both speed and payload.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: The ROK Army also fields the mobile K-SAM "Pegasus"(천마/天馬; Cheonma), fitted with 8 missiles that fly at maximum speeds of Mach 2.6, and the K-30 "Biho" series, which features a 30 mm twin gun system for anti-aerial fire support.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: Besides having vehicles and equipment of their own design as well as American models, the ROK Army also possesses inventories of Russian-built AFVs, including BMP-3 IFVs and T-80U MBTs, given by the Russian government to pay off the financial debt owed to South Korea. Other notable foreign equipment in service with the ROK Army includes the Mistral MANPADS.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: In 2015, it was reported by South Korean lawmakers that more than 58,000 out of 100,549 South Korean soldiers at the Korean Demilitarized Zone lacked body armor capable of protection from North Korean infantry firearms. The possession of only 42,030 body armor sets leaves 58,519 soldiers without body armor, and only 3,147 of the 42,030 sets are capable of protection from the AK-74, the standard assault rifle of the Korean People's Army.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: A new infantry rifle, the Daewoo K11, entered service in 2010. The overall concept of this weapon is more advanced to the American OICW, however its production has been halted and weapon discontinued in 2020 due to excessive issues involving its targeting component and the quality of ammunition, to focus on fixing the issues which have been quickly resolved. Inspection of military equipment June 2021 found that 26% of components involving the Warrior Platform program for modernization of South Korean infantry is defective.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: In officer ranks, "So" (少) equals small; "Jung" (中) equals medium; "Dae" (大) equals large. "Jun" (准) equals equivalent, used for Warrant Officer and 1 star general to ensure that they are regarded as officer/general, although these ranks are lower than the same grade with "So" rank. "Won" (元) equals principal, only used for Won-Su, General of the Army. Each of these is coupled with one of the following: "wi" (尉) equals company grade, "ryung" (領) equals field grade, and "jang" (將) equals general.


title: Republic of Korea Army

text: NCO rank is similar to officer. "Ha" (下) equals lower; "Jung" (中) equals medium; "Sang" (上) equals high; "Won" (元) equals principal, because this title is named after Won-Su, to ensure that this rank is higher than Sang-sa. Each of these is coupled with "Sa" (士) equals sergeant, although actual 'sergeant' rank is "Byeong-jang".


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy (born 9 February 1955) is a British actor. He is known for his roles on American television, including Shane Donovan on the soap opera "Days of Our Lives", and Maxwell Sheffield on the sitcom "The Nanny", and as the voice of Dennis the Goldfish on "Stanley" for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award. He is also more recently known for his recurring roles as Christopher Plover on "The Magicians" and St. John Powell on "Mad Men". Shaughnessy is currently a series regular on ABC daytime soap opera "General Hospital" in the role of villain Victor Cassadine; he signed a long-term contract to remain part of the show indefinitely.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Along with his brother, David Shaughnessy, and Ophelia Soumekh, he is a partner in 3S Media Solutions Inc.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Shaughnessy was born on 9 February 1955 in London, the son of Alfred Shaughnessy, a television writer who was the scriptwriter for "Upstairs, Downstairs", and actress Jean Lodge. His brother, David Shaughnessy, is also an actor and a television producer and director. His great-grandfather Thomas Shaughnessy, the 1st Baron Shaughnessy, was an American-Canadian railway administrator of Irish descent. Charles inherited the title when his second cousin Michael (1946–2007), the 4th Baron Shaughnessy, died without issue.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Having been born into a show-business family, Shaughnessy started appearing in plays during primary school. After attending Eton College, he read for a law degree at Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge where he wrote a thesis on the House of Lords.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: While at Cambridge, he joined the Footlights club. After graduating, he decided to return to acting and enrolled in a London drama school, which led to his touring in a repertory company. He moved to the United States and married the actress Susan Fallender in 1983, with whom he had two daughters, Jenny (born 1990) and Maddy (born 1995).


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Shaughnessy first became widely known for playing Shane Donovan on the soap opera "Days of Our Lives" from 1984 to 1992. His character's romance with Patsy Pease's character, Kimberly Brady, made the duo into a soap supercouple and revived interest in "Days" among teenage viewers in the 1980s. In 1986, he appeared with Betty White and Bert Convy on "Super Password", and in January 1993, Shaughnessy appeared in an episode of "Murphy Brown" as the title character's date to the inaugural ball.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Shaughnessy is also well known for his portrayal of Maxwell Sheffield opposite Fran Drescher on CBS's "The Nanny" from 1993 to 1999. He and Drescher resumed acting together in Drescher's next sitcom, "Living with Fran", wherein Shaughnessy appeared fairly frequently as her philandering but needy ex-husband, Ted. "Living with Fran" was cancelled on 17 May 2006, after two seasons.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: In 1996, Shaughnessy reunited with another "Days of Our Lives" co-star—Charlotte Ross, who portrayed Shane's daughter, Eve Donovan—in the TV movie "A Kiss So Deadly". Ross played the roommate of Shaughnessy's daughter (Dedee Pfeiffer); Shaughnessy's character, although married, forms an obsessive, "Lolita"-esque relationship with Ross. When she tries to break it off, Shaughnessy's character murders Ross's character; gradually, his daughter uncovers the truth.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Shaughnessy appeared (in a dual role) in the Disney Channel 2002 made-for-TV movie "Get a Clue". He was also seen in the 2000 made-for-TV Halloween movie "Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire" starring Caroline Rhea; she guest-starred on "The Nanny" in 1998 as part of a cross-over with "Hollywood Squares". That same year, Shaughnessy made two appearances on The WB's "Sabrina" (starring Rhea, Melissa Joan Hart, and Beth Broderick), playing two different characters. He played Alec Colson in the 8th-season episode "Covenant" of "Stargate SG-1". He also voiced Dr. Quintaine in the PC game "Freelancer".


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Shaughnessy appeared on an episode of NBC's "" and is also the voice of Dennis the Goldfish on the Disney Channel cartoon series "Stanley". On 11 May 2002, Shaughnessy won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his portrayal of Dennis.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: On 8 August 2008, Shaughnessy portrayed the murder victim (Samuel, Guru) in "Murder 101: The Locked Room Mystery". As of September 2008, his voice was heard in television commercials for Range Rover cars. In December 2008, he provided the voice of Pietro in "The Tale of Despereaux". He also portrayed the Cockney English accent for "The Boss" in the game "Saints Row 2".


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: On 5 May 2009, Shaughnessy made a guest appearance in the series "The Mentalist" episode "Miss Red" as the manager of a private club. He also appeared on the popular TV show "Hannah Montana" as a talent show judge modeled after Simon Cowell in the episode "Judge Me Tender".


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Shaughnessy returned to "Days of Our Lives" in May 2010, in a storyline associated with the funeral of Alice Horton (played by Frances Reid), briefly reuniting him with his former co-star Patsy Pease (Kimberly). This plot development was necessitated by the real-world death of the actress who had long portrayed Mrs. Horton, as the producers were aware that the audience would not accept the portrayal of the character by anyone else.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: In August–September 2010, Shaughnessy appeared as King Arthur in "Monty Python's Spamalot!" at The Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine. In January 2011, he won the Broadway World Boston Theater Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Large Theater). Since 2010, Shaughnessy has starred on the soap opera web series "The Bay" as Elliot Sanders. On 6 December 2010, he reunited with Fran Drescher as a guest on her limited-run daytime show, "The Fran Drescher Show."


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: In June 2011, Shaughnessy appeared as Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady" at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts, and returned there to play Georges in "La Cage aux Folles" in fall 2013 . He made a guest appearance on the first-season finale of Fran Drescher's TV Land sitcom, "Happily Divorced", first airing on 17 August 2011.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: Shaughnessy returned to "Days of Our Lives" for a limited run in May 2012 as Shane Donovan, in a storyline involving his return to the ISA and interacting with Hope and Bo Brady and Stefano DiMera. His co-star Patsy Pease did not appear as Shane's wife, Kimberly, in this story arc; nor did Charlotte Ross, who had played Shane's daughter, Eve. He also returned in November 2013 for a three-episode arc, in which Shane and Kimberly deal with their daughter's drug use.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: On 23 January 2014, it was announced that Shaughnessy would assume the lead role in the play "Harvey" at the New Theatre in Overland Park, Kansas, after original star Judge Reinhold was offered the opportunity to leave the production.


title: Charles Shaughnessy

text: In August 2014, Shaughnessy made a guest appearance on the Disney Channel show "Dog with a Blog" as business tycoon Tom Fairbanks, a man who wanted to buy Stan, the title character, and use him as the spokes-dog for his animal rescue campaign.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series "Blackadder" and has presented several historical documentaries including the Channel 4 programmes "Time Team" and "The Worst Jobs in History". He has published 16 children's books.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson, a member of the Labour Party, was knighted in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours for his public and political service.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson was born on 15 August 1946 in Homerton, London, to Phyllis and Leslie Robinson. He attended Woodford Green Preparatory School and Wanstead County High grammar school. He passed four O-levels (English language, English literature, history, and geography) and went on to study for A-levels, but did not complete them and decided to study at a drama school instead. Too young to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Robinson enrolled at the Central School of Speech and Drama in 1963, graduating in 1966.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson had his first acting role at the age of 13, as a member of Fagin's gang in the original production of the musical "Oliver!", including a stint as the Artful Dodger when the boy playing the role failed to turn up. Over the next five years, he appeared in a number of West End theatre shows, and in film, and television.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Through genealogical research, Robinson found that one of his great-great-great grandmothers, Julia Levy, was Jewish; his father, unaware of this ancestry, had been beaten by Fascists in the East End of London in the 1930s who assumed he was a Jew.


title: Tony Robinson

text: After drama school, he spent four years in repertory theatre most notably at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Robinson won an Arts Council bursary to work as a director at the Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, and founded the Avon Touring Company, a Bristol-based community theatre company, with writer David Illingworth. He played a small role as student doctor Grace in the 1972–73 series of "Doctor In Charge".


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson appeared in the 1974–75 season at Chichester Festival Theatre, as Angel Chicago in the nativity musical "Follow The Star". In the 1975 season, he appeared as Hovstad in Henrik Ibsen's "Enemy of the People". In 1976, he appeared as Feste in "Twelfth Night", and as Majorin in "Monsieur Perrichon's Travels".


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 1972, Robinson starred in the children's educational programme "Sam on Boffs' Island" and was later a presenter on "Play Away". He also appeared in the award-winning "Horizon" documentary "Joey", and in the title role in the BBC production of "The Miracle of Brother Humphrey". He also appeared in the film "Brannigan" starring John Wayne. where he shared two speaking part scenes with Wayne, playing a motorcycle courier who is pushed off a quay into the Thames by Wayne. He was also one of the team in the Channel 4 comedy/satirical series "Who Dares Wins" in the early/mid-1980s.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson came to prominence in 1983 for his role in the British historical sitcom "Blackadder", as Edmund Blackadder's dogsbody Baldrick. In the first series, broadcast as "The Black Adder", he was quite astute, while his master was an idiot. Later series ("Blackadder II", "Blackadder the Third", "Blackadder Goes Forth") moved the duo through history and switched the relationship: the Edmund Blackadder of "Blackadder II" was a brilliant schemer, whereas Baldrick had devolved into a buffoon whose catchphrase was "I have a cunning plan".


title: Tony Robinson

text: In addition to his acting on "Blackadder", Robinson also wrote and narrated several "Jackanory"-style children's programmes, encouraged by Richard Curtis. Programmes in this style included "Tales From Fat Tulip's Garden" (continued in "Fat Tulip Too"), "Odysseus: The Greatest Hero of Them All" (a retelling of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey") and "Blood and Honey" (tales from the Old Testament, filmed on location).


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson also performed within the BBC Radio 4 comedy "Delve Special" (1984–1987), written by Tony Sarchet.


title: Tony Robinson

text: After "Blackadder", Robinson became the narrator and one of the lead actors for the British animated series "Nellie the Elephant", based on the song of the same name. The series ran from 1989 until 1991 and was screened on Children's ITV.


title: Tony Robinson

text: He also provided voice-over for the cartoon short "Free-Ranger", an English child-scripted arts-funded production in 1989. Robinson also presented the early-Saturday evening series "Stay Tooned" for BBC 1, which featured a selection of classic Warner Bros. and MGM cartoons. In 1989, after attending a pantomime at Tyndale Baptist Church, Bristol, which was based on the Robin Hood story but featuring Maid Marian as the lead role, he created the children's comedy series "Maid Marian and her Merry Men", a loose retelling of the legend of Robin Hood in which he appeared as the Sheriff of Nottingham. Four series were broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1994. In 1990 he appeared as "Shlomo Denkoviz" in an episode of "Bergerac", entitled "My Name’s Sergeant Bergerac" (Series 8, Episode 2).


title: Tony Robinson

text: Also in 1994, Robinson played a minor part in an episode of the television series "Minder", called "One Flew Over the Parents' Nest" and in which he played a character called "Willie the Weed".


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 1999, Robinson returned to star as Baldrick in a one-off short film in the "Blackadder" series, made to celebrate the new millennium. Entitled "", it was screened in the Millennium Dome throughout 2000 and was later aired on BBC One in 2002.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson also contributed the voiceover for the television series "Airline" screened from 1999 and focusing on the daily routine of EasyJet staff at a selection of airports. The series was made for ITV and is often repeated today on Sky Real Lives, Sky One, Sky Two, Sky Three (now Pick TV) and ITV2. Robinson worked as the narrator for six of the remaining nine series until 2006 when it ended.


title: Tony Robinson

text: "Tony Robinson's Cunning Night Out", a largely improvised one-man stage show, followed in early 2005 and included a mix of the many themes from his career for which Robinson is famous. The show was later released on DVD.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In addition to telling his own stories, Robinson narrated the abridged audiobook versions of Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" novels. Nigel Planer, Celia Imrie and Stephen Briggs narrated the unabridged versions. He also provided the voicing for several characters in the videogame "Discworld". He followed on this "Discworld" work by playing a role in the live action television dramatisation of "Hogfather", broadcast on Sky over the Christmas season in 2006.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson also presented Classic FM's "Friendly Guide to Classical Music" which aired on a Sunday at 4pm. The whole 16-episode series was repeated on 26 December 2006. He revealed on the BBC Radio 2 feature "Tracks of My Years" that his favourite songs are: "I Can Help" by Billy Swan, "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera, "Unfinished Sympathy" by Massive Attack, "Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan, "Shoulda Woulda Coulda" by Beverley Knight, "This Woman's Work" by Maxwell, "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons and "Falling Slowly" by the Frames.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 2007, Robinson narrated television advertisements for Honda, in the humorous style of "Tales From Fat Tulip's Garden". The advertisements feature plastic cars with expressive faces (similar to "Thomas the Tank Engine"). He also did voiceovers for cleaning products Domestos and Vanish from 2007 until 2009. Also in 2007, Robinson visited 30 towns in Britain and Ireland with "A Cunning Night Out".


title: Tony Robinson

text: In July 2009, he appeared in the light-hearted BBC1 series "Hotel Babylon" as a sly hit-man named Arthur Barnes. The character is knocked unconscious by a flying bottle expertly lobbed by the hotel manager during a showdown in the lobby.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In September 2013, Sir Jonathan Miller directed the Gala Performance of William Shakespeare's "King Lear" at the Old Vic in London, in which Robinson played the Fool.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 2014, he played the title role in a touring production of "The Hypochondriac", Richard Bean's new translation of Molière's "Le malade imaginaire", directed by Lindsay Posner.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 2016 and 2017 he played the antagonist 'Daddy' in Man Down alongside Greg Davies and Roisin Conaty.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 1994, Robinson began presenting "Time Team", a TV programme devoted to archaeological investigations limited to three days. The series spanned 20 years, and included 59 one-off specials, which paved the way for his later history presenting career.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 2005 Exeter University conferred an honorary doctorate on Robinson, and honorary professorships on principal presenter Mick Aston and producer Tim Taylor, to reflect its great appreciation for what "Time Team" has done for the public understanding of archaeology in the UK. In the 2011 episode "Hitler's Island Fortress", Robinson described himself as an amateur archaeologist.


title: Tony Robinson

text: From 2001, Robinson branched out into other history documentary series, including the series "Fact or Fiction" (which debunked historical myths and gave the true story), followed by "Romans" in 2003 and the highly successful "The Worst Jobs in History" in 2006, researching and re-enacting some of the more horrible jobs of the past millennium. He also took this show on tour around the country along with an autobiographical question and answer session. This first series was followed by "The Worst Christmas Jobs in History" in December 2005 and then a second series of "The Worst Jobs in History" on Channel 4 in April 2006.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Following this, he presented one-off specials such as "Britain's Real Monarch" (2004) and "The Real Da Vinci Code" (2005).


title: Tony Robinson

text: With Channel 4 in 2005, he presented a special called "Tony Robinson's Titanic Adventure" where he joined director James Cameron on his final dive to the wreck of the RMS Titanic. Also with Channel 4, he presented "Tony Robinson's Crime and Punishment", "Catastrophe" and "Man on Earth" focusing on humanity's struggle with climate change in the past 200,000 years. "Unexplained with Tony Robinson" was first broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2008. In this series, Robinson investigates paranormal phenomena combining the fields of archaeology, parapsychology, history and spiritualism to investigate paranormal evidence. He also presented "The Doomsday Code" in 2006.


title: Tony Robinson

text: From 1 September 2010, Robinson hosted a series on the National Geographic Channel called "Birth of Britain" which was repeated on Channel 4 beginning in January 2011. In 2011 he also presented "Gods and Monsters".


title: Tony Robinson

text: "Tony Robinson Explores Australia" was first broadcast in the first half of 2012. Filmed in High Definition, the series roughly follows a chronology from the earliest sightings of "Terra Australis Incognita" through to the present with each era defined by a theme rather than equal blocks of time.


title: Tony Robinson

text: From 10 September 2012, Robinson hosted a series on History Channel called "Tony Robinson's Time Walks". The series uncovers stories that shaped the character of various cities and suburbs around Australia, including Fremantle, Melbourne, Hobart, Woolloomooloo, Bendigo, Newcastle, Carlton, Brisbane, St Kilda, Adelaide, Canberra, Kalgoorlie, Townsville and Launceston. He also went to Christchurch, New Zealand. In 2015, Robinson continued his history presenting in Australia with "Tour of Duty", again on History Channel.


title: Tony Robinson

text: During October 2012, it was announced that "Time Team" would be cancelled after nearly 20 years on television. Tara Conlan from "The Guardian" called the show "television history". When talking about the successful run of the show, Robinson said "Not many performers are given the privilege of featuring in two iconic TV series—but I've been lucky." The show's ratings were falling, causing Channel 4 to pursue an alternative "innovative" approach to historical documentary programming.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Between 2012 and 2014, Robinson presented a series of programmes for Channel 4 called "Walking Through History". It featured Robinson hiking through iconic British landscapes, including the Cairngorms, the Jurassic Coast and Stonehenge. At least 16 hour-long episodes were aired, in four series. A further three-part series called "Britain's Ancient Tracks with Tony Robinson" was shown on Channel 4 in 2016. A second four-part series of "Britain's Ancient Tracks" was aired in 2017.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 2014, Robinson presented a history of The Great War titled "Tony Robinson’s World War 1". He also presented "The Real Mill", revealing the true history to the Channel 4 series, The Mill.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 2015, Robinson presented a three-hour-long programmes for Discovery TV, "Tony Robinson's Wild West" (also known as "Tony Robinson's Wild West in 3D"), in which he attempted to uncover the reality of America's Wild West in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Featuring such key figures as Wyatt Earp, Geronimo and Buffalo Bill, it included artefacts and stereographic images. Also in 2015 he hosted a short-lived programme "Time Crashers."


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 2016 he hosted "Hidden Britain By Drone", exploring parts of Britain only accessible by drone. A second series ran in 2018.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 2018 Robinson continued his work with Channel Five presenting "Britain’s Great Cathedrals" where he uncovers the history behind six of Britain's best cathedrals. He also presented a two-part series on Ancient Egypt called "Egyptian Tomb Hunting".


title: Tony Robinson

text: In March 2019 he premiered "Around the World by Train with Tony Robinson" on Channel 5 where he travelled to Asia, Australia and South America by rail. Series two of the programme premiered in March 2020.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In June 2019, Robinson presented a four-part series on Channel 5 titled "The Thames: Britain’s Great River with Tony Robinson" where he walks the River Thames from source to the mouth.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In January 2020 Robinson premiered a new programme on Channel 5, "Tony Robinson’s History of Britain". A second series was broadcast in 2021.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In January 2021 Robinson returned to present the third series of his shows about the River Thames on Channel 5, now retitled "The Secret Life of the Thames with Tony Robinson".


title: Tony Robinson

text: From 1996 to 2000, Robinson was vice-president of the actors' union Equity, helping with a restructuring programme which turned a £500,000 deficit into a small surplus. He continues to work within Equity. In 2000 he was elected to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee, a position he held until 2004.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson was also active in the "Make Poverty History" campaign in 2005, and is the patron for UK-based charity Street Child Africa.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In March 2011, Robinson participated in the "March for the Alternative" protests in Central London, which opposed the Conservative led Coalition UK Government's spending cuts programme.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson is honorary president of the Young Archaeologists' Club of the Council for British Archaeology. Robinson has shown his support for the Burma Campaign UK, an NGO that aims to highlight human rights violations in Myanmar under the State Peace and Development Council.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson is a patron of older people's charity Alive, saying that the organisation is "at the forefront of promoting stimulating activities which help improve the quality of life of people in care". Alive work to transform the residential care sector, so that older people's mental, social and emotional wellbeing is prioritised alongside their physical care.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson is a patron of the RSPCA Abbey street rehoming centre in Derby, after adopting a dog from the centre.


title: Tony Robinson

text: On 23 June 2018, Robinson appeared at the People's Vote march in London to mark the second anniversary of the referendum to leave the European Union. People's Vote is a campaign group calling for a referendum on the final Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union.


title: Tony Robinson

text: On 3 May 2019, Robinson announced that he had left the Labour Party after more than 40 years of membership, citing his dissatisfaction with the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and the party's handling of Brexit and antisemitism. He subsequently rejoined on 4 April 2020 after Corbyn's resignation and Keir Starmer's election as Labour leader.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson was first married in 1969 to Barbara ("Bardy") Henshall, and divorced four years later. He was married from the late 1970s until 1992 to Mary Shepherd, with whom he had two children. He married Louise Hobbs in 2011.


title: Tony Robinson

text: In 2006, he appeared in "Tony Robinson: Me and My Mum", a documentary surrounding his decision to find a nursing home for his mother, and the difficulty he had doing so. The documentary showed his mother's death in the home. It also featured stories from other families in similar situations. It appeared as part of Channel 4's short series of programmes titled "The Trouble with Old People".


title: Tony Robinson

text: In late 2009, he was invited to be guest speaker at the Pride of Craegmoor Awards, where he gave a speech about his time with his mother and finding a care home. He then went on to give the prizes to Craegmoor's Shining Star and Leading Light. In January 2016, he described Alzheimer's as "one of the last great medical terrors" and announced he would be leaving money to the Alzheimer's Society in his will.


title: Tony Robinson

text: Robinson is a fan of EFL Championship club Bristol City F.C. He is also a fan of the rock band Genesis and provided sleeve notes for the reissue of the album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" as part of the "Genesis 1970–1975" box set.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: Yashoda is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film written and directed by Hari–Harish. It stars Samantha in the titular role alongside Unni Mukundan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and Murali Sharma.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: Principal photography commenced in December 2021 and ended in July 2022. The film score was composed by Mani Sharma, while the cinematography and editing were handled by M. Sukumar and Marthand K. Venkatesh, respectively. The film was released on 11 November 2022. "Yashoda" received mixed reviews from critics.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: Yashoda, who works in Zomato, becomes a surrogate mother, as she needs to fund her sister's surgery. She is taken to "Eva", a state-of-the-art surrogacy center owned by Dr. Madhubala. Yashoda befriends some of the surrogate mothers and spends time with them. All of them find out that each of them are poor, in need of money.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: Meanwhile, the local police investigate the accident of business tycoon, Shiva Reddy, and his girlfriend, Aarushi. They deduce that it was a pre-planned murder, and the police appoint Vasudeva IPS to lead the investigation. He comes to know that Aarushi was a model and checks her e-mails, mail, and text messages. He learns that Aarushi was advised by her friend to not promote a specific cosmetic brand, as it contains harmful chemicals that are unknown to scientists. Vasudeva and his team head to meet Aarushi's friend, but find that he was murdered two days ago. Vasudeva retrieves a cosmetic sample from his house, and finds a connection with the death of Olivia, a deceased Hollywood actress, who was killed when she drank a drugged juice. When he checks into the owner of the cosmetic brand, he finds that the Central Minister, Giridhar, owns the patent.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: After an attack by unknown men, Vasudeva comes to know that 122 models will be arriving in India, in 6 months. He learns that one model, Elena , has already arrived. Vasudev along with his team, and Police commissioner Balram, follow her to a forest, but they are caught by the local tribals. Yashoda becomes suspicious of "Eva", as she finds that her friends, Kajal and Leela, went missing after suffering from labor pains and undergoing a surgery. To her shock, she learns that "Eva" is not situated in the city, but was actually shown to the surrogate mothers using a live-projector. Yashoda later sneaks into Zone-2, where she fights with Jenny, a fellow surrogate, who is faking her pregnancy and is a member of "Eva" facility. She tries to kill Yashoda, but Yashoda manages to kill her. Afterwards, Yashoda finds many boxes containing dead children and surrogate mothers in the assets room, in which she finds Kajal and Leela's bodies.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: Yashoda is then caught by the security under the commands of Madhubala. When the security tries to rape her she fights against him and kills him too. She then tries to enter Madhubala’s cabin using Dr. Gautham’s badge to find more about Eva but is caught by Madhubala. Madhubala reveals that she was suffering from a disease, which resulted in her losing her beauty and causes aging, but Gautham helped her by developing a drug which cured her illness. However, the drug is only a temporary solution, with its effects lasting only 6 months. Giridhar, who turns out to be Madhubala's husband, tells her to invent a new drug, by funding her research. Cut to the present, Madhubala and Gautham hold a meeting with their investors, while showing the live-footage of the meeting, to Yashoda, who is being held captive in a separate room. The duo reveals that the plasma in the fetus is the secret ingredient used for the invention of the drug, and they hire poor women to become surrogate mothers, by paying them. After inducing fake labor pains and performing C-Section they remove the fetus, discreetly kill the women, and retrieve the plasma.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: They finally created the drug and sold it to rich women, mostly models, CEOs and actresses. They also reveal that Olivia had died due to a drug–drug interaction. They had Aarushi and Shiva Reddy killed in the accident, as she learnt that the cosmetic brand also contained the same drug, and threatened them of leaking it. In the forest, Vasudeva and his team learn that Balram is in cahoots with Madhubala and Gautham. Vasudeva and his team are brought to a den, to have them killed. At "Eva", Yashoda finds that the facility is situated in a forest, and manages to escape through the emergency exit, but is knocked by Gautham, who brings her back. Gautham makes a video call to Balram, who is holding Vasudeva and his team, at gunpoint. However, Gautham, in-turn, is held at gunpoint by Yashoda. It is revealed that Yashoda is actually a skilled IPS trainee, undercover at "Eva". Despite being the academy topper, she was forced to arrange money, to join the police force.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: One day, Yashoda learns about her sister, Brinda's disappearance, and finds that she had become a surrogate mother to arrange the money for her and was taken to "Eva". In order to find her, Yashoda became a surrogate mother, and planned everything from the start. A fight ensues, where Yashoda defeats the goons and Gautham, but gets hit in the stomach, resulting in the death of the fetus. Meanwhile, Vasudeva and his team defeat the tribals and kill Balram. Yashoda meets up with her fellow surrogates and asks about Brinda but does not get any information about her.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: Madhubala tries to escape in a chopper, but Yashoda manages to stop her. Madhubala reveals that she was also pregnant, but sacrificed her fetus by aborting it to improve and develop her beauty and research. The women get enraged upon learning about Madhubala's true face and her activities, and push her off the cliff, killing her. Gautham tries to escape, but gets caught by Vasudeva and his team. Yashoda finds Brinda, who is in labor pain. The women come together and help Yashoda in delivering Brinda's child. Afterwards, Giridhar's involvement too in the scandal gets exposed, and is arrested.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: Actress Samantha signed a Telugu-Tamil bilingual film in October 2021, directed by the duo Hari Shankar and Harish Narayan under the production of Sridevi Movies. The film's title was announced as "Yashoda" in December 2021. After discussing with executive producer Senthil, the film was made only in Telugu.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: With cinematography and editing by M. Sukumar and Marthand K. Venkatesh, respectively, principal photography began in December 2021. Hollywood stuntman Yannick Ben was brought in to train and choreograph stunts for Samantha.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: After shooting for 100 days, filming was completed by July 2022, except for one song. CGI work and post-production works began subsequently.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: "Yashoda" was initially scheduled to release on 12 August 2022, coinciding with Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan. It was postponed due to delay in filming. On 17 October 2022, the new release date was announced as 11 November 2022 where the film will be released in Telugu in addition to dubbed versions of Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam languages.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: The film made a pre-release business of ₹55 crore, including theatrical and digital streaming rights, which were sold at a cost of ₹18.5 crore and ₹20 crore respectively.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: The film was digitally streamed on Amazon Prime Video from 9 December 2022 in Telugu and dubbed versions of Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam languages.


title: Yashoda (film)

text: "Yashoda" received mixed reviews from critics and audience. Neeshitha Nyayapathi of "The Times of India" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Yashoda is the film to catch this weekend if you're looking for something beyond the usual masala fare or love stories." Priyanka Sundar of "Firstpost" rated the film 2.75 out of 5 stars and wrote "Samantha is brilliant in Yashoda that falters in effectively landing its shocking twists and turns". Manoj Kumar R of "The Indian Express" rated the film 2 out of 5 and wrote "Film's grindhouse treatment negates the impact of Samantha's performance which has a lot of conviction". Sowmya Rajendran of "The News Minute" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote ""Yashoda" has quite a few loose ends as it draws to a close, leaving the viewer dissatisfied".


title: Yashoda (film)

text: Sudhir Srinivasan of "Cinema Express" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Fascinating ideas don't translate into exciting storytelling in this Samantha-led actioner". Sangeetha Dundoo of "The Hindu" wrote "But despite the missteps, it manages to be engaging." Arvind V of "Pinkvilla" rated the film


title: Yashoda (film)

text: 2.5 out of 5 and wrote "Mollywood actor Unni Mukundan is likely to become a sought-after name in Telugu cinema after this." Haricharan Pudipeddi of "Hindustan Times" wrote "The production design deserves a special mention since most of the story unfolds inside a large facility and the setwork is commendable." Janani K of "India Today" wrote "Yashoda could have been much better had the director duo concentrated on not stating the obvious."


title: Yashoda (film)

text: Shrishti Negi of "News18" gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Yashoda requires patience and attention. Once you get through the first half, the film holds your complete attention, making it worthy of your time." A critic for "India Herald" wrote "Overall, the movie is at most mediocre. Samantha distinguishes out because she effortlessly handled a dual-shaded character. Excellent production values. The other casting is also excellent."


title: Saruman

text: Saruman, also called Saruman the White, is a fictional character of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel "The Lord of the Rings". He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the novel, but eventually he desires Sauron's power for himself and tries to take over Middle-earth by force from his base at Isengard. His schemes feature prominently in the second volume, "The Two Towers"; he appears briefly at the end of the third volume, "The Return of the King". His earlier history is summarized in the posthumously published "The Silmarillion" and "Unfinished Tales".


title: Saruman

text: Saruman is one of several characters in the book illustrating the corruption of power; his desire for knowledge and order leads to his fall, and he rejects the chance of redemption when it is offered. The name "Saruman" () means "man of skill or cunning" in the Mercian dialect of Anglo-Saxon; he serves as an example of technology and modernity being overthrown by forces more in tune with nature.


title: Saruman

text: The "Lord of the Rings" describes a quest to destroy the One Ring, a powerful and evil talisman created by the Dark Lord Sauron to control Middle-earth. Sauron lost the Ring in battle thousands of years before the beginning of the story, and it is now held in secret in the Shire by the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, who passes it on to Frodo Baggins, one of the story's main protagonists. Early in the first volume, "The Fellowship of the Ring", the wizard Gandalf describes Saruman as "the chief of my order" and head of the White Council that forced Sauron from Mirkwood at the end of Tolkien's earlier book "The Hobbit". He notes Saruman's great knowledge of the Rings of Power created by Sauron and by the Elven-smiths. Shortly afterwards, Gandalf breaks an arrangement to meet Frodo and guide him out of the Shire to Rivendell to keep the Ring safe from Sauron's agents.


title: Saruman

text: Frodo and Gandalf are reunited at Rivendell midway through "The Fellowship of the Ring". The wizard explains why he failed to join Frodo: he had been summoned to consult with Saruman but had been held captive. Saruman initially had proposed that the wizards ally themselves with the rising power of Sauron in order to eventually control him for their own ends. Saruman went on to suggest that they could take the Ring for themselves and challenge Sauron. When Gandalf refused both options, Saruman imprisoned him in the tower of Orthanc at Isengard, hoping to learn from him the location of the Ring. Whilst on the summit of Orthanc, Gandalf observed that Saruman had industrialised the formerly green valley of Isengard and was creating his own army of Half-Orc/Half-Man fighters and Wargs to rival Sauron. Gandalf's escape from the roof on the back of a Great Eagle left Saruman in a desperate position, as he knew he would now be known as traitor to his former allies, but was unable to procure the Ring directly for himself and therefore could not hope to truly rival Sauron.


title: Saruman

text: In "The Two Towers" (1954), the second volume of the story, Orcs from Saruman's army attack Frodo and his companions, and carry off two of Frodo's closest friends, Merry and Pippin. The two escape into Fangorn Forest, where they meet the Ents, protectors of the trees, who are outraged at the widespread felling of trees by Saruman's Orcs. Meanwhile, Saruman prepares to invade the kingdom of Rohan, which has lain exposed ever since he had his servant Gríma Wormtongue render Théoden, Rohan's king, weak and defenceless with "subtle poisons". Gandalf frees Théoden from Wormtongue's control just as Saruman's army is about to invade.


title: Saruman

text: Saruman is ruined when the Riders of Rohan defeat his army and Merry and Pippin prompt the Ents to destroy Isengard. Saruman himself is not directly involved, and only appears again in chapter 10, "The Voice of Saruman", by which time he is trapped in Orthanc. He fails in his attempt to negotiate with the Rohirrim and with Gandalf, and rejects Gandalf's conditional offer to let him go free. Gandalf casts him out of the White Council and the order of the wizards, and breaks Saruman's staff.


title: Saruman

text: Saruman makes his final appearance at the end of the last volume, "The Return of the King" (1955), after Sauron's defeat. After persuading the Ents to release him from Orthanc, he travels north on foot, apparently reduced to begging. He is accompanied by Wormtongue, whom he beats and curses. When they reach the Shire, Saruman's agents—both Hobbits and Men—have already taken it over and started a destructive process of industrialization. Saruman governs the Shire in secret under the name of Sharkey until the events of chapter 18 ("The Scouring of the Shire") in which Frodo and his companions return and lead a rebellion, defeating the intruders and exposing Saruman's role. Even after Saruman attempts to stab Frodo, Frodo lets him go. When Saruman blames Wormtongue for the damage done to the Shire and curses him, Wormtongue finally snaps and slits his throat.


title: Saruman

text: Consistent accounts of Saruman's earlier history appear in Appendix B to "The Lord of the Rings", first published in "The Return of the King", and in the posthumously published "The Silmarillion" (1977) and "Unfinished Tales" (1980). All were written in the mid-1950s. Saruman, like Gandalf and Radagast the Brown, is one of five 'wizards', known as the Istari, who begin to arrive in Middle-earth some two thousand years before the beginning of "The Lord of the Rings". They are Maiar, envoys of the godlike Valar sent to challenge Sauron by inspiring the people of Middle-earth rather than by direct conflict. Tolkien regarded them as being somewhat like incarnate angels. Saruman initially travels in the east; he is later appointed head of the White Council and eventually settles at Gondor's outpost of Isengard. Fifty years before "The Lord of the Rings", after his studies reveal that the One Ring might be found in the river Anduin near Sauron's stronghold at Dol Guldur, he helps the White Council drive out Sauron in order to facilitate his search.


title: Saruman

text: "Unfinished Tales" contains drafts not included in "The Lord of the Rings" that describe Saruman's attempts to frustrate Sauron's chief servants, the Nazgûl, in their search for the Ring during the early part of "The Fellowship of the Ring"; in one version he considers throwing himself on Gandalf's mercy. There is also a description of how Saruman becomes involved with the Shire and of how he gradually becomes jealous of Gandalf. Another brief account describes how the five Istari were chosen by the Valar for their mission.


title: Saruman

text: Tolkien had been writing "The Lord of the Rings" for several years when Saruman came into existence as the solution to a long-unresolved plot development, and his role and characteristics continued to emerge in the course of writing. Tolkien started work on the book in late 1937, but was initially unsure of how the story would develop. Unlike some of the other characters in the book, Saruman had not appeared in Tolkien's 1937 novel, "The Hobbit", or in his then-unpublished "Quenta Silmarillion" and related mythology, which date back to 1917. When he wrote of Gandalf's failure to meet Frodo, Tolkien did not know what had caused it and later said: "Most disquieting of all, Saruman had never been revealed to me, and I was as concerned as Frodo at Gandalf's failure to appear." Tolkien's son, Christopher, has said that the early stages of the creation of "The Lord of the Rings" proceeded in a series of waves, and that having produced the first half of "The Fellowship of the Ring", Tolkien rewrote the tale from the start three times. Saruman first appeared during a fourth phase of writing in a rough narrative outline dated August 1940. Intended to account for Gandalf's absence, it describes how a wizard titled "Saramond the White" or "Saramund the Grey", who has fallen under the influence of Sauron, lures Gandalf to his stronghold and traps him. The full story of Saruman's betrayal was later added to the existing chapters.


title: Saruman

text: Several of Saruman's other appearances in the book emerged in the process of writing. Christopher Tolkien believes that the old man seen by Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli at the edge of Fangorn forest near the beginning of "The Two Towers" is in the original drafts intended to be Gandalf. In the finished version he is Saruman. Similarly, in the first drafts of the chapter "The Scouring of the Shire", Sharkey is successively a ruffian met by the hobbits and then that man's unseen boss. It is only in the second draft of the chapter that, as Christopher Tolkien puts it, his father "perceive[d]" that Sharkey was in fact Saruman. The name used by Saruman's henchmen for their diminished leader is said in a footnote to the final text to be derived from an Orkish term meaning "old man". Saruman's death scene, in which his body shrivels away to skin and bones revealing "long years of death" and "a pale shrouded figure" rises over the corpse, was not added until Tolkien reviewed the page proofs of the completed book. John D. Rateliff and Jared Lobdell are among those to write that the scene shows similarities to the death of the 2000-year-old sorceress Ayesha in H. Rider Haggard's 1887 novel "".


title: Saruman

text: Tolkien described Saruman at the time of "The Lord of the Rings" as having a long face and a high forehead, "...he had deep darkling eyes ... His hair and beard were white, but strands of black still showed around his lips and ears." His hair is elsewhere described as having been black when he first arrived in Middle-earth. He is referred to as 'Saruman the White' and is said to have originally worn white robes, but on his first entry in "The Fellowship of the Ring" they instead appear to be "woven from all colours [, they] shimmered and changed hue so that the eye was bewildered" and he names himself 'Saruman of Many Colours'.


title: Saruman

text: The power of Saruman's voice is noted throughout the book. Jonathan Evans calls the characterization of Saruman in the chapter "The Voice of Saruman" a "tour de force". Roger Sale says of the same chapter that "Tolkien valiantly tried to do something worth doing which he simply cannot bring off." Tom Shippey writes that "Saruman talks like a politician ... No other character in Middle-earth has Saruman's trick of balancing phrases against each other so that incompatibles are resolved, and none comes out with words as empty as 'deploring', 'ultimate', worst of all, 'real'. What is 'real change'?" Shippey contrasts this modern speech pattern with the archaic stoicism and directness that Tolkien employs for other characters such as the Dwarven King Dáin, which Shippey believes represent Tolkien's view of heroism in the mould of "Beowulf".


title: Saruman

text: After the defeat of his armies, having been caught in the betrayal of Sauron, Saruman is offered refuge by Gandalf, in return for his aid, but having chosen his path, is unable to turn from it. Evans has compared the character of Saruman to that of Satan in John Milton's "Paradise Lost" in his use of rhetoric and in this final refusal of redemption, "conquered by pride and hatred".


title: Saruman

text: Saruman has been identified by critics as demonstrating the fall of an originally good character, and has distinctively modern connections with technology. John R. Holmes writes that there is a philological link between "a perverted will to power with the love of machines we see in Isengard". The etymologies of English "magic", Latinised Greek "magia", "the power of causing physical change in the real world", and English "machine", Greek "mekhane" or "makhana" "device", are both from Old Persian "maghush" "sorcerer", from Proto-Indo-European "*magh", "to have power". Thus, Holmes writes, Tolkien was following an ancient cultural connection in making Saruman think in this way, using magic.


title: Saruman

text: Tolkien writes that "The Lord of the Rings" was often criticised for portraying all characters as either good or bad, with no shades of grey, a point to which he responds by proposing Saruman, along with Denethor and Boromir, as examples of characters with more nuanced loyalties. Marjorie Burns writes that while Saruman is an "imitative and lesser" double of Sauron, reinforcing the Dark Lord's character type, he is also a contrasting double of Gandalf, who becomes Saruman as he "should have been", after Saruman fails in his original purpose.


title: Saruman

text: Saruman "was great once, of a noble kind that we should not dare raise our hands against" but decays as the book goes on. Patricia Meyer Spacks calls him "one of the main case histories [in the book] of the gradual destructive effect of willing submission to evil wills". Paul Kocher identifies Saruman's use of a "palantír", a seeing-stone, as the immediate cause of his downfall, but also suggests that through his study of "the arts of the enemy", Saruman was drawn into imitation of Sauron. According to Jonathan Evans and Spacks, Saruman succumbs to the lust for power, while Shippey identifies Saruman's devotion to goals of knowledge, organization and control as his weakness. Tolkien writes that the Istari's chief temptation (and that to which Saruman fell) is impatience, leading to a desire to force others to do good, and then to a simple desire for power.


title: Saruman

text: Treebeard describes Saruman as having "a mind of metal and wheels". Evil in "The Lord of the Rings" tends to be associated with machinery, whereas good is usually associated with nature. Both Saruman's stronghold of Isengard and his altered Shire demonstrate the negative effects of industrialization and Isengard is overthrown when the forests, in the shape of the Ents, literally rise against it. Patrick Curry says Tolkien is hostile to industrialism, linking this to the widespread urban development that took place in the West Midlands where Tolkien grew up in the first decades of the 20th century. He identifies Saruman as one of the key examples given in the book of the evil effects of industrialization, and by extension of imperialism. Shippey notes that Saruman's name repeats this view of technology: in the Mercian dialect of Old English used by Tolkien to represent the Language of Rohan in the book, the word "saru" means "clever", "skilful" or "ingenious". This has associations with both technology and treachery that are fitting for Tolkien's portrayal of Saruman, the "cunning man". He also writes of Saruman's distinctively modern association with Communism in the way the Shire is run under his control in "The Scouring of the Shire": goods are taken "for fair distribution" which, since they are mainly never seen again, Shippey terms an unusually modern piece of hypocrisy in the way evil presents itself in Middle-earth.


title: Saruman

text: Saruman is in part the architect of his own downfall. Kocher, Randel Helms and Shippey write that Saruman's actions in the first half of "The Two Towers", although intended to further his own interests, in fact lead to his defeat and that of Sauron: his orcs help split the Fellowship at Parth Galen, and in carrying off two of the hobbits initiate a series of incidents that lead to his ruin. In turn this frees the Rohirrim to intervene at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and then together with the men of Gondor to assault Sauron's stronghold of Mordor and distract him from Frodo's final effort to destroy the Ring. Shippey says that this demonstrates the value of persistence in the face of despair, even if a way out cannot be seen; Kocher and Helms write that it is part of a pattern of providential events and of the reversed effects of evil intentions throughout the book.


title: Saruman

text: In the end, the diminished Saruman is murdered, his throat cut, and Shippey notes that when he dies his spirit "dissolved into nothing". He identifies Saruman as the best example in the book of "wraithing", a distinctive 20th-century view of evil that he attributes to Tolkien in which individuals are "'eaten up inside' by devotion to some abstraction". Referring to Saruman's demise, Kocher says that he is one example of the consistent theme of nothingness as the fate of evil throughout "The Lord of the Rings".


title: Saruman

text: Saruman has appeared in film, radio, stage and video game adaptations of "The Lord of the Rings". BBC Radio produced the first adaptation in 1955, in which Saruman was played by Robert Farquharson, and which has not survived. Tolkien was disappointed by it.