Ryukyu Trench, deep ocean trench running north along the eastern edge of the Ryukyu Islands (Japan) in the Philippine Sea, between Taiwan and the Japanese archipelago. The Ryukyu Trench reaches a maximum depth of 24,629 feet (7,507 m) about 60 miles (90 km) south of Okinawa. It is 1,398 miles

Ryukyu Islands, archipelago, extending some 700 miles (1,100 km) southwestward from the southern Japanese island of Kyushu to northeastern Taiwan. The archipelago defines the boundary between the East China Sea (west) and the Philippine Sea (east). With a total land area of 1,193 square miles

Ryukyu Islands: The Ryukyuan language, which is classified with Japanese, consists of three dialect groups corresponding to the main island clusters. There is no mutual intelligibility between these dialects and Japanese nor among the dialect groups. Japanese is commonly spoken by the majority of the Ryukyuans, but local…

Naha: …also the seat of the University of the Ryukyus (1950). Pop. (2010) 315,954; (2015) 319,435.

Kip Keino: …metres Keino faced race favourite Jim Ryun of the United States. Despite his pain, Keino, with help from teammate Ben Jipcho, set a furious pace over the length of the race, negating Ryun’s powerful finishing kick. Keino won the race by 20 metres. At the 1972 Games in Munich, West…

Akutagawa Prize, Japanese literary prize awarded semiannually for the best work of fiction by a promising new Japanese writer. The prize is generally considered, along with the Naoki Prize (for the best work of popular fiction), Japan’s most prestigious and sought-after literary award. Novellas win

Rurik was the semilegendary founder of the Rurik dynasty of Kievan Rus. Rurik was a Viking, or Varangian, prince. His story is told in the The Russian Primary Chronicle (compiled at the beginning of the 12th century) but is not accepted at face value by modern historians. According to the

Nikolai Ryzhkov was the premier of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. During his tenure, the U.S.S.R. faced an economic crisis that contributed to the superpower’s collapse. Little is known with certainty of Ryzhkov’s early career. He seems to have begun his working career as a miner and then, by

Nikolai Ryzhkov was the premier of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. During his tenure, the U.S.S.R. faced an economic crisis that contributed to the superpower’s collapse. Little is known with certainty of Ryzhkov’s early career. He seems to have begun his working career as a miner and then, by

Wu-Tang Clan: Prelude: …Clan was the brainchild of Robert Diggs, who spent his early years hanging out with his cousins Gary Grice and Russell Jones in the housing projects on Staten Island, New York. They watched kung fu movies, participated in rap battles with other local MCs (a term for rappers) and studied…

Mieczysław Jastrun: … (1944; “A Curfew Hour”) and Rzecz ludzka (1946; “The Human Story”), reflect upon the national experience during the German occupation. Jastrun’s poems published after the mid-1950s, Gorácy popiół (1956; “Hot Ashes”) and Genezy (1959; “Genesis”), move from politics toward metaphysical and philosophical themes. He also wrote a number of biographical…

Poland, country of central Europe. Poland is located at a geographic crossroads that links the forested lands of northwestern Europe and the sea lanes of the Atlantic Ocean to the fertile plains of the Eurasian frontier. Now bounded by seven nations, Poland has waxed and waned over the centuries,

Poland, country of central Europe. Poland is located at a geographic crossroads that links the forested lands of northwestern Europe and the sea lanes of the Atlantic Ocean to the fertile plains of the Eurasian frontier. Now bounded by seven nations, Poland has waxed and waned over the centuries,

Rzeszów, city, capital of Podkarpackie województwo (province), southeastern Poland. It lies along the Wisłok River at the juncture of the Carpathian Mountains and the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów lies on the main Kraków-Lviv (Ukraine) road and rail line. The city’s economy has expanded greatly since

Rzhev, city, Tver oblast (region), northwestern Russia. It lies along the upper Volga River at the crossing of the Moscow-Riga and St. Petersburg–Bryansk trunk railways. First mentioned in 1216 as an independent princedom, Rzhev has always been a route centre on the western approaches to Moscow.

Polish literature: Romanticism: Henryk Rzewuski belonged spiritually to the 18th century: Pamiątki J. Pana Seweryna Soplicy (1839; “Memoirs of Mister Seweryn Soplica”) evoked the atmosphere of the Baroque tradition. As the century progressed, signs of a tendency toward Realism were discernible in Józef Korzeniowski’s novels Spekulant (1846; “The…

Rzhev, city, Tver oblast (region), northwestern Russia. It lies along the upper Volga River at the crossing of the Moscow-Riga and St. Petersburg–Bryansk trunk railways. First mentioned in 1216 as an independent princedom, Rzhev has always been a route centre on the western approaches to Moscow.