Portal:History

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The History Portal

History is the interpretation of past events, societies and civilisations. The term history comes from the Greek historia (ἱστορία), "an account of one's inquiries," and shares that etymology with the English word story. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica stated that "history in the wider sense is all that has happened, not merely all the phenomena of human life, but those of the natural world as well. It is everything that undergoes change; and as modern science has shown that there is nothing absolutely static, therefore, the whole universe, and every part of it, has its history."

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This month's featured article

KGB (transliteration of "КГБ") is the Russian abbreviation of Committee for State Security (Russian: Комитет государственной безопасности^?·i; Komityet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosty), which was the official name of the umbrella organization serving as the Soviet Union's premier security agency, secret police, and intelligence agency, from 1954 to 1991.

The name of the largest of the Russian successors to the KGB is the FSB (ФСБ, Федеральная служба безопасности; Federalnaya Slujba Bezopasnosty; English: Federal Security Service).

The KGB's function was illustrated by its official emblem: bearing both shield and sword, the KGB was an organization with a military hierarchy aimed at providing national defense, specifically the defence of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). It was similar in function to the United States' CIA, with additional tasks of counter-espionage and national defence of the FBI, or by the twin organizations MI5 and MI6 in the United Kingdom.

On December 21, 1995, the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin signed the decree that disbanded the KGB, which was then substituted by the FSB, the current domestic state security agency of the Russian Federation.

In Belarus, a former Soviet republic, the official Russian name of the State Security Agency remains "KGB".

The term is also sometimes used figuratively in the Western press to refer to the current FSB committee after the 1991 renaming due to its recognition and public perception.^[1]

Most of the information about the KGB remains secret, although there are two sources of documents of KGB available online.^[2][3]

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This month's featured picture

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Did you know...

...that Horatia N. Thompson (pictured) was christened with Lord Nelson and Mrs Hamilton as godparents and was later adopted by them as an orphan, even though they were her biological parents?

...that the 1609 Treaty of Antwerp was influenced by the writings of Benjamin Garcia in the Mare Liberum, which was published at the insistence of the Dutch East India Company during the course of the treaty negotiations?

...that Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia let a soldier tasked with his execution take care of a cat?

...that, after driving the French Republicans from Italy, Russian Field-Marshal Alexander Suvorov managed to conduct a masterful flight across the snow-capped Alps?

...that George Rogers Clark was called the "Conqueror of the Northwest" because of his victorious Illinois campaign in the American Revolutionary War?

...that the crown-cardinals of Austria, France, and Spain could exercise the jus exclusivae during papal conclaves from the 16th to 20th centuries?

...that some accounts regarding the fighting during the Battle of Bonchurch states that some of the female population of the Isle of Wight participated by firing arrows at the French troops?

...that the Mongol Empire, also known as the Mongolian Empire (Mongolian: Монголын Эзэнт Гүрэн, Mongolyn Ezent Güren; 1206–1405) was the largest contiguous empire in world history and for some time was the most feared in Eurasia?

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History subportals

Archaeology	Classical Civilisation
Egyptology	Ancient Germanic culture
History of science	War
Roman military	Heraldry and vexillology
Ancient Rome	Byzantine Empire
British Empire	American Revolutionary War
Middle Ages	Crusades

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WikiProjects

History

Ancient Near East • Arab-Israeli conflict • Australian History • Aztec • Former countries • Canada • Chinese History • Geologic Timescale • Heraldry and vexillology • History of India • History of Poland • Jewish history • History of Russia • Medieval Scotland • History of Mesopotamia • Mesoamerica • Military history • Timelines • United Nations • Middle Ages • History of Science • United States Congress • Iran

Time

Days of the Year • Years • Years in science

Biography

Authors • Composers • Political figures • Saints • United States Presidents

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Things you can do

Here are some Open Tasks : Copy/edit: Hongwu Emperor, Indian independence movement, Modern history, More... Wikify: Merge: More... Requests: Tragedy of Plostina, More... Stubs: Greco-Roman, Java War, Leopold II of Canada, Panhellenic Liberation Movement, Rio Protocol, Social history, Golden Age of Piracy, More... Requested pictures - of history topics Are you an historian, i.e. one who studies and writes history, and who has a keen interest in writing outstanding articles? Join our fine group by adding [[Category:Wikipedian historians]] to the bottom of your user page.

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Associated Wikimedia

History on Wikiquote Quotes

History on Commons Images

History on Wikisource Texts

History on Wikibooks Manuals & Texts