Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin skates in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Credit: © Andy Martin Jr, Alamy Images

GOAL! In December, professional hockey player Alex Ovechkin, who plays for the Washington Capitals, became the player with the second most goals in NHL history with 802 goals. He passed Gordie Howe’s record of 801 points. Hockey star Wayne Gretzky holds the number one record with 894 goals. However, Ovechkin isn’t retiring anytime soon!

He scored two goals in a game against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, December 23rd, 2022. His first goal of the game tied him with Howe in the first quarter. With one minute left in the third quarter, he gracefully shot the puck into the goal to beat Howe’s record. The Capitals defeated the Jets 4 to 1.

Alexander Ovechkin is a Russian-born hockey player. He is one of the stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ovechkin, a left wing for the Washington Capitals, led the NHL in scoring with 112 points (65 goals and 47 assists) in the 2007-2008 season. He has led the league in goals scored nine times (2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020).

Ovechkin won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player for the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2012-2013 seasons. He also won the Lester B. Pearson Award (now the Ted Lindsay Award) for the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010 seasons. The award is given to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by the league’s players. In 2018, Ovechkin led Washington to its first Stanley Cup championship. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the 2018 playoffs.

Ovechkin was born on September 17th, 1985, in Moscow, U.S.S.R. (now Russia). He began playing hockey with Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Super League in 2001 at the age of 16 and spent four seasons with the team. Ovechkin was chosen by Washington as the first player selected in the 2004 NHL draft. However, he did not play with the Capitals until 2005, because the 2004-2005 NHL season was canceled due to a labor dispute between the players and owners. Ovechkin won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2006 as the NHL Rookie of the Year. His 65 goals in 2007-2008 set an NHL record for left wingers.

Ovechkin helped the Russian national team win the men’s world championship in 2008. He played for Russia in the 2006 and 2010 Olympic Games.

August 7, 2019

To people with a cat in the family, every day may seem like “cat day.” But tomorrow, August 8, is officially International Cat Day, a holiday that celebrates felines of all forms and temperaments and encourages people to love, help, and protect the animals. Started by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in 2002, International Cat Day is celebrated in cat-obsessed cultures around the world. IFAW is one of the world’s largest animal welfare and conservation charities.

August 8 is International Cat Day. Credit: © Shutterstock

People celebrate International Cat Day in a wide variety of ways. Sometimes as particular as cats themselves, cat lovers may pamper their pets, donate to animal charities, or flood social media with cat images and videos (more than they do already). Cat parades and parties are organized, people visit cat cafés, and international names are bestowed upon cats for the day. Mister Whiskers and Fluffy become Señor Bigotes and Peluche in Spanish, Simba becomes Lion in the translation from Swahili, and little Lucy gains international flare as Lou-lou, Lucette, Lucia, or Lucinda. However you choose to celebrate the holiday, it is an excuse to take a cat nap with your pet and give the critter a little extra love and attention.

Benjamin Fink of the United States Navy holds President Calvin Coolidge’s cat, Tiger, at the White House on March 25, 1924. “Tige” had made a brief departure from the White House grounds, but was promptly returned by Fink. Credit: Library of Congress

No one knows exactly when the first cats were domesticated, but archaeologists discovered a cat buried alongside a human in a 9,500-year-old grave in Cyprus. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the earliest known recorded pet cat name was Nedjem (loosely translated as Sweetie or Precious) during the reign of Thutmose III (1479-1425 B.C.). Thutmose was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt, where cats were considered sacred.

A Maine Coon cat needs extra brushing on International Cat Day. Credit: © Linn Currie, Shutterstock

Throughout history, people have valued cats for their skill at hunting and killing mice, rats, and snakes. Cats help keep farms, homes, and businesses free of these animals. People in many societies believe cats bring good fortune. The grace and beauty of cats have made them favorite subjects of artists, and cats have been featured in almost every type of literature. They appear in the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome, and Asian writers have praised cats in their stories and poems for many centuries. Cats are also commonly mentioned in the fairy tales, folklore, and legends of many countries. In modern times, cats are commonly featured in books, comic strips, motion pictures, musicals, and television programs.

Cat holidays are not limited to August 8. October 29 is National Cat Day in the United States, and March 1 is World Cat Day in Russia. In Japan, February 22 was chosen as Cat Day because in Japanese, the number 2 (二) is pronounced ni, so the date 2/22 reads as ni ni ni, similar to the way cats “talk” (nyan nyan nyan, or meow meow meow) in that country.

November 16, 2018

On Sunday, November 18, the northeastern European country of Latvia celebrates the centennial of its declaration of independence on Nov. 18, 1918. Latvia lies on the Baltic Sea, north of Lithuania, south of Estonia, and east of Belarus and Russia. The country was independent from 1918 to 1940, when Latvia and other nearby nations were forced to become part of the Soviet Union. Latvia regained its independence in 1991.

Latvia celebrates its 100th birthday on Nov. 18, 2018. Credit: © Office Latvia 100

Centenary events center on Riga, the capital, under the theme, “I am Latvia.” Throughout November, there are celebrations of Latvian art, cinema, clothing, dance, music, photography, and sports, as well as historical presentations detailing the years prior to independence, the first Latvian provisional government, and the nation’s struggles with the Soviet Union. The Staro (Old) Riga festival of lights brightens parts of the capital’s old town, and a charity ball benefits the Riga Latvian Society, a public cultural organization founded in 1868. The Latvia in Mittens campaign reduces the chill of late autumn with the exchange of warm, colorful mittens knitted in traditional patterns.

Latvian independence celebrations will take place throughout the country as well as among Latvian populations in neighboring countries. Across the Atlantic Ocean in North America, Niagara Falls on the New York-Ontario border will be illuminated in the carmine and white of the Latvian flag on the night of November 17.

Latvia’s flag dates back to the 1200′s, when early Latvian peoples used it as a banner in battle. Credit: © Loveshop/Shutterstock

Before independence, Latvia was ruled at times by Germans, Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, and Swedes. Vikings once ruled the area too, as did the Teutonic Knights (an organization of German crusaders). Despite centuries of foreign dominance, Latvian people developed their own culture and traditions. The Latvian language is one of the oldest in Europe. It is related to Sanskrit, a language of ancient India.

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Latvia. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

During the late 1800′s, while under Russian rule, the Latvians organized an independence movement that gained momentum in the early 1900′s. On Nov. 18, 1918, just after the Russian Revolution and the end of World War I, Latvia proclaimed itself independent.

During World War II (1939-1945), Soviet and German troops occupied Latvia in turns, and after the war the country was a Soviet republic. Many Latvians suffered under the Soviets, who suppressed the Latvian language, flag, national anthem, and other cultural traditions. Many Latvians still expressed their national spirit, however, and opposed Soviet rule.

On May 4, 1990, the Latvian parliament declared the restoration of independence and called for a gradual separation from the Soviet Union. In September 1991, the Soviet Union recognized Latvian independence. A few months later, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

August 13, 2018

Russian is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is the official language of the Russian Federation, the world’s largest country in area. Russian is also spoken in countries of the former Soviet Union, which existed from 1922 to 1991. These countries include Armenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine. Russian is one of the five official languages of the United Nations. It is also an important language in countries with large Russian immigrant populations, such as Canada, Israel, and the United States.

The Russian flag flies over more than 140 million Russian speakers. Credit: © Maximumvector/Shutterstock

Russian is one of the world’s great literary languages. The country has produced many famous poets, novelists, and playwrights, including Anna Akhmatova, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, and Yevgeny Yevtushenko. The Nobel Prize for literature has been awarded to the Russian writers Ivan Bunin (1933), Boris Pasternak (1958), Mikhail Sholokhov (1965), and Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1970). In 1987, the prize was awarded to the Russian-born poet Joseph Brodsky, who came to the United States in 1972 and was appointed poet laureate of the United States for 1991-1992.

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Russia. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

The Russian alphabet has 33 characters. Russian grammar has many prefixes, suffixes, endings, and vowel forms. Most words change with their function, gender, and number. The stress can be placed on any syllable. Because there are no set rules for stress, the accent of each word has to be learned separately. Russian verbs possess a characteristic called aspect. The imperfect aspect indicates a continuing action. The perfect aspect indicates an action already completed or to be completed in the future.

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The Russian alphabet has 33 letters. The alphabet is also called Cyrillic and is based on the Greek alphabet. Credit: WORLD BOOK illustration

Russian is a member of the Slavic group of languages. All Slavic languages probably developed from the ancient Common Slavic language. In the 800’s, the Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius translated the Bible into the language later known as Old Church Slavonic. In their translation, they invented the Cyrillic alphabet based on Greek characters. In its final form, the Cyrillic alphabet is an important part of the alphabet of modern Russian.

The earliest formal Russian literature was written chiefly in Old Church Slavonic, the language of the Russian Orthodox Church. By the 900’s, three Slavic dialects had emerged—northern, central, and western. By the 1000’s, a distinct Russian language existed, used primarily for legal and business documents. Until the mid-1700’s, Old Church Slavonic was the written language of Russia. In the mid-1800’s, Standard Russian, based on the central dialect used in Moscow, became the official national language.

Several Russian words have found their way into English, including balaclava (similar to a ski mask), beluga (whale), blini (a small pancake), commissar, cosmonaut (Russian astronaut), czar, gulag, sable, samovar (a type of teapot), troika, and vodka.

July 17, 2018

On Sunday, July 15, at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, the French national men’s soccer team defeated Croatia 4-2 to win the FIFA World Cup championship. It was the second world title for France, which first won the tournament in 1998. It was Croatia’s first trip to the World Cup final. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football or association football in much of the world. FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. Held every four years, the World Cup is the world’s most important and prestigious soccer tournament.

The French national men’s soccer team celebrates its World Cup championship at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, on July 15, 2018. Credit: © Franck Fife, AFP/Getty Images

Winning the global soccer championship is the dream of every nation’s team, and fans on every continent—yes, Antarctica too—follow the tournament closely, even rabidly, devouring every minute of every match. Many fans travel great distances and pay exorbitant amounts of money to watch their teams compete in the tournament, which was played this year in 12 stadiums in mostly western Russian cities. The World Cup is the end of a two-year elimination tournament process that narrows the global field of more than 200 teams to just 32. The host country (in this case, Russia) and the previous champion (Germany) receive automatic berths.

The year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974 is engraved on the underside of the trophy. Credit: © Alfredo Lopez, Jam Media/LatinContent/Getty Images

The opening group stage of the World Cup divides the 32 teams into 8 groups of 4. The top two teams of each group advance after playing the other three teams in their group. This year, Russia romped its way through the opening stage in front of delirious fans. Germany, however, became the fourth defending champion in the last five tournaments to be eliminated in the group phase. Superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal shone in the opening round, while fellow star Lionel Messi helped prevent early ejection for Argentina.

In the so-called “knockout” phase (because one loss means elimination) of 16 teams, both Ronaldo and Messi packed their bags for home, as did the Mexico team that looked so impressive in the group stage. A talented Belgium squad mounted a furious comeback to eliminate Japan, which was the first World Cup team to advance from the group stage on “fair play” points. Japan had tied Senegal in every category on the field but one: the Japanese had fewer fouls. In the intense quarterfinals, Belgium, England, and France advanced over Brazil, Sweden, and Uruguay, respectively, and feisty Croatia scraped by in a penalty kick shootout win over Russia. In the semifinals, France downed Belgium 1-0, and England lost to Croatia and its superior midfield, 2-1.

From the opening kick of the World Cup final, France’s superb athletes dominated the pitch, outrunning and eventually out-shooting their Croatian opponents. A French free kick in the 18th minute (each match has two 45-minute halves) ricocheted off a Croatian defender and into the net, giving France a 1-0 lead on the first “own goal” in World Cup final history. The lead was short-lived, however, as Croatia’s Ivan Perišić knocked in the equalizer 10 minutes later. Before the half, French star Antoine Griezmann drilled a penalty kick for a 2-1 advantage.

France hit the accelerator in the second half as stars Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé each hit dazzling goals for a seemingly insurmountable 4-1 lead. As the champagne was chilling, however, a few ice cubes clinked to the floor as Mario Mandžukić retaliated with a Croatian goal in the 69th minute. The final 20 minutes then evaporated as France played keep away and thwarted every Croatian attack. A few minutes of stoppage time passed uneventfully, and the final whistle gave all of France—the team, the fans, and the nation—the feu vert (green light) to pop the corks.

French manager Didier Deschamps, who was team captain on the 1998 world championship squad, embraced his players as they lined up in a sudden drenching rain to receive their World Cup gold medals. For France, the date of its 2018 title (July 15) can now be celebrated every year after the country’s great national holiday, Bastille Day (July 14.) Croatian disappointment was quickly replaced by pride in the achievement of reaching the final, and midfielder Luka Modrić added to Croatia’s consolation by winning the Golden Ball Award as the tournament’s best player.

On the day before the World Cup final, Belgium defeated England 2-0 in the highly anticlimactic contest for third place in the tournament. England’s Harry Kane won the Golden Boot by leading all scorers with six goals. Thibaut Courtois of Belgium won the Golden Glove Award as the tournament’s best goalkeeper. Since the World Cup began in 1930, Brazil has the most championships (5); followed by Germany and Italy (4 each); Argentina, France, and Uruguay (2); and England and Spain (1).

February 16, 2018

Today, the northeastern European country of Lithuania celebrates the centennial of its declaration of independence on Feb. 16, 1918. Lithuania lies on the Baltic Sea, south of Latvia and Estonia. Lithuania shares parts of its borders with Poland and Russia—neighbors who have dominated much of Lithuania’s history. Centuries ago (from the late 1100′s until 1386), Lithuania was an independent nation, so the 1918 event was actually a restoration of Lithuanian independence. The restoration was brief and precarious, however, and the independent nation disappeared from world maps in 1940. Lithuania regained its independence in 1991.

Credit: Office of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania

Today at 12:30 p.m. Lithuanian time, the nationwide ringing of bells officially begins centennial events that include art and food festivals, history-themed marches, a special Mass at Vilnius Cathedral, and grand concerts at Vilnius’s Cathedral Square and the National Opera and Ballet Theatre. In the evening, 100 bonfires will light the way along the city’s main street, Gediminas Avenue. Vilnius is Lithuania’s capital and largest city, and many buildings and streets are decorated to appear as they did 100 years ago in 1918.

Lithuanian flag Credit: © Photo Roman/Shutterstock

Centennial celebrations will take place throughout the country, and other events will take place throughout the year. This summer’s highlight is a centenary edition of Lithuania’s famous Song Festival, a cultural and musical celebration recognized by UNESCO on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List. UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). Its full name is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

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Lithuania. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

The Lithuanian peoples first united into a single nation in the late 1100′s. From the late 1300′s until the 1700′s, Lithuania was united with Poland. Russia ruled the country from the late 1700′s until 1918, when Lithuania declared independence. Immediately, the fledgling republic had to fight Russians and then Poles (who were also fighting each other) for control of the country. Lithuania remained independent, but Poland controlled Vilnius from 1920 until 1939. That year, Nazi Germany seized part of Lithuania. Later in 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a secret pact that divided parts of Europe between them. In 1940, the Soviet Union forced Lithuania to become a Soviet republic. Lithuania was fought over again during World War II (1939-1945), after which it remained a part of the Soviet Union for nearly 50 years. Many Lithuanians resisted Soviet rule, however, and on March 11, 1990, the small nation declared independence once again. That act was part of a series of events that resulted in the Soviet Union’s dissolution—and a free Lithuania—in 1991.

Since then, Lithuania has grown culturally and economically while forging close ties with western Europe. In 2004, Lithuania joined both the European Union (EU), which promotes economic and political cooperation, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a defense alliance.

March 30, 2017

Today, March 30, marks 150 years since the United States purchased Alaska from Russia. On March 30, 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signed the Treaty of Cession of Russian America to the United States. The $7.2-million deal (equal to about $112 million today) turned out to be an incredible bargain, but at the time, many Americans opposed the purchase. People ridiculed spending millions of dollars on a largely unknown and frozen wilderness. Critics of the deal called Alaska Seward’s Icebox—or Seward’s Folly, Icebergia, or [then-President] Andrew Johnson’s polar bear garden.

Alaska’s vast wilderness and natural resources went unappreciated in 1867, when skeptical Americans dubbed it Seward’s Icebox. Credit: © David Muench/Stone from Getty Images

Russia had been involved in the Alaska region since the 1600’s. By the late 1700’s, Russian traders and hunters had established settlements in the area, and by the 1820’s, Alaska was recognized as Russian territory. Russian development stalled, however, and after the Crimean War (1853-1856), a weakened Russia was eager to sell Alaska. Russia asked the United States to buy the territory in 1859, but negotiations failed with the threat and then onset of the American Civil War (1861-1865).

U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward died in 1872, long before his “folly” of the Alaska purchase proved to be a very profitable and worthwhile investment. Credit: © Everett Historical/Shutterstock

Negotiations for the purchase of Alaska resumed after the war, and Russia and the United States reached an agreement in 1867. With money badly needed for Reconstruction, however, few people saw the wisdom in the Alaska purchase. The vast acreage acquired—Alaska increased the size of the United States by nearly 20 percent—failed to impress some people, but Congress approved the purchase in July 1867. Alaska formally came under American control on Oct. 18, 1867.

A United States Treasury warrant for $7,200,000, shown here, was used to purchase Alaska from Russia in 1867. The price came to about 2 cents per acre (5 cents per hectare). Credit: National Archives

With much of the western United States still unexplored or undeveloped, Alaska was not an immediate priority. But the area’s rich natural resources—including fish, gold, and timber—brought people steadily north to Alaska. In 1884, Alaska finally got its first formal laws and government, and in the 1890’s, rich gold strikes quickly increased the territory’s population—and its prestige. Alaska finally shed its image of a frozen wasteland and instead became a new land of opportunity.

In the 1900’s, the discovery of petroleum deposits brought still more people and development to Alaska. During World War II (1939-1945), Alaska proved its value still further as a strategic base of operations. In 1946, Alaskans voted for statehood and began crafting a state constitution. On Jan. 3, 1959, Seward’s Icebox entered the Union as the 49^th state. In 1967, on the 100^th anniversary of the Alaska purchase, the state adopted the motto, “The Last Frontier.”

November 3, 2016

Last month, on October 19, Mars claimed another victim. A landing module named Schiaparelli, designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, accidentally smashed into the Martian surface at more than 180 miles (300 kilometers) per hour. Schiaparelli (named for the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, who studied Mars in the late 1800′s) was destroyed, but the mission was not a total failure. The Mars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), launched with Schiaparelli, successfully entered into orbit around the Red Planet.

This artist’s impression shows the Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli (the small circular knob facing toward Mars) during the seven-month ExoMars voyage to the Red Planet. Credit: ESA/David Ducros

Despite is relatively inviting appearance, Mars is extremely difficult to explore. Of all the missions sent there, nearly two-thirds have failed before completing their planned experiments and observations. Landing on Mars is particularly difficult. The planet’s atmosphere is extremely thin, which means that parachutes and similar braking devices don’t work as well as they do in the much denser atmosphere of Earth. Mars is also a relatively large planet, and its significant gravitational pull forces a lander to carry large amounts of fuel for its rockets to slow the descent. On the surface, craggy rocks, enormous sandstorms, and frigid temperatures conspire to damage a lander as it settles into a safe resting place.

The ESA and Roscosmos launched ExoMars 2016, which consisted of Schiaparelli and the TGO, in March of this year. The lander was equipped with a parachute and rockets to slow its entry through the Martian atmosphere. The parachute deployed, but it ejected far too soon. To make matters worse, the rockets, which were supposed to fire for about 30 seconds, fired for only a few seconds before shutting off. Project engineers think these malfunctions stemmed from a software glitch that led the lander to act as though it was already on the Martian surface. Instead, it was actually plummeting through the Martian atmosphere. With nothing to slow it, Schiaparelli crashed into the Red Planet’s surface and exploded.

ExoMars 2016 did not function as the European scientists had hoped, but it could still be a successful mission. Schiaparelli was not intended to add much to the science output of the mission. It had enough power to survive only a few Martian days. Its primary objective was to demonstrate landing technology for the ambitious ExoMars 2020, which will attempt to land a rover on Mars. Mission leaders can take heart in the fact that the lander seems to have been doomed by a software failure, a problem much easier to fix than a hardware failure. But it will be small consolation to an ExoMars program that is already behind schedule and over budget.

The Trace Gas Orbiter, however–a crucial part of the future ExoMars mission–entered into orbit around Mars and appears to be functioning normally. The TGO will examine methane and other gases in the Martian atmosphere. It will help determine if this methane is the result of geological or biological processes. Scientists have not found direct evidence of life on Mars, but some think tiny organisms could exist below its surface. The TGO will also serve as a data relay center for the ExoMars 2020 rover, receiving commands from Earth for the rover and data from the rover to be sent back to Earth. Let’s just hope ESA and Roscosmos can stick the landing on the next try!

October 1, 2015

Russian airstrike in Syria. (Credit: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)

Today, for the second day in a row, Russian warplanes launched airstrikes in Syria against terrorists and rebel opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia had openly built up troops and military equipment in Syria over the last few weeks, intending to help Assad—a staunch Russian ally—end the 4-year-old civil war in Syria. More than 200,000 people have died in the conflict, and millions have been displaced.

Russia’s entry into the mix only complicated matters, adding yet another factor into an already confused tangle of alliances and interests. Civil war erupted in Syria in 2011 following the failure of pro-democracy protests to change the autocratic regime of President Assad. Rebel groups rose up against Assad, but also against each other. The chaos created a void exploited by such terrorist groups as the Islamic State, which itself had risen from the chaos of war in neighboring Iraq.

The Syrian conflict is also sectarian, pitting rival Shī’ite and Sunni Muslims against each other. Iran and Lebanon, both predominantly Shī’ah, have aided Assad, a Shī`ite Alawite. Most of the rebels are Sunni, the dominant Islamic division in Syria. There are also Kurdish rebels fighting in Syria (Kurds are the area’s largest ethnic minority), as well as rebels with solely political aims to remove Assad from power.

In 2014, the scene became even more muddled as the spread of the Islamic State led the United States and its allies—including many Sunni Middle Eastern states—to take action in Syria as well. U.S. and allied airstrikes have since been hitting Islamic State-controlled areas in both Syria and Iraq. France, Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia are among the U.S.-led coalition, which, aside from squashing the Islamic State, wants Assad removed from power.

So, not wanting to be the only nation left out, Russian entered the fray as Assad’s only non-Shī’ah ally. No one minds Russian warplanes hitting terrorist positions, but they have also been hitting anti-Assad rebels regardless of who they are or who is behind them. This includes groups that been trained and supported by the United States. There is a common goal: rid the world of the scourge of the Islamic State. But beyond that, there is little in common.

This was highlighted on Monday, September 28, by the vastly different speeches on the Syrian quagmire given by both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama at the United Nations (UN) general assembly. Putin pushed for Assad, and Obama pushed against the Syrian dictator. Russia has more in mind, however, than simply propping up Assad. The ties between Syria and Russia are long standing, and Russia has sold weapons and military equipment to Syria for decades. In addition, a Russian naval base in Syria gives the Russians access to the Mediterranean Sea.

Other World Book article

• Syria: The Roots of a Rebellion (a Special report)
• Syria (2012-a Back in time report)
• Syria (2013-a Back in time report)