Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 August 19

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The Rus' Khaganate was a polity that flourished during a poorly documented period in the history of Eastern Europe (roughly the late 8th and early to mid-9th centuries AD). A predecessor to the Rurik Dynasty and the Kievan Rus', the Rus' Khaganate was a state (or a cluster of city-states) set up by a people called Rus', who might have been Norsemen (Vikings, Varangians), in what is today northern Russia. The region's population at that time was composed of Baltic, Slavic, Finnic, Turkic and Norse peoples. The region was also a place of operations for Varangians, eastern Scandinavian adventurers, merchants and pirates. According to contemporaneous sources, the population centers of the region, which may have included the proto-towns of Holmgard (Novgorod), Aldeigja (Ladoga), Lyubsha, Alaborg, Sarskoye Gorodishche, and Timerevo, were under the rule of a monarch or monarchs using the Old Turkic title Khagan. The Rus' Khaganate period marked the genesis of a distinct Rus' ethnos, and its successor states would include Kievan Rus' and later states from which modern Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine evolved. (more...) Recently featured: Stanley Holloway – In Rainbows – José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that of the 54 cricketers who have appeared in Twenty20 cricket for the Delhi Daredevils, Virender Sehwag (pictured) has played the most matches? ... that the documentary The Rubber Room claimed that troubled teachers were being held in reassignment centers by the NYC Department of Education? ... that P. C. Sreeram is an alumnus of the Madras Film Institute? ... that 1960s decor employed a "psychedelic intensity" with colors and styles which were influenced by India, Spain, and the Mediterranean? ... that most of Margaret Bernadine Hall's works have disappeared, but her painting Fantine hangs in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool? ... that a gutter predated the Cape Cod Canal by almost two hundred years? ... that Chinese Olympic gold medalist and flagbearer Xu Lijia nearly died at age 12 and missed the Athens Olympics because of a tumor? ... that Danny Gatton's 1991 album 88 Elmira St. featured a version of "The Simpsons Theme", with the added sound effect of a fart? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Three members of Pussy Riot (Nadezhda Tolokonnikova pictured), a Russian feminist punk band, are found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. South African police fatally shoot 34 miners and wound 78 more during an industrial dispute near Rustenburg. Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab is sentenced to three years for instigating and participating in unauthorised protests during the Bahraini uprising. The government of Ecuador grants political asylum to Julian Assange, founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks. British bank Standard Chartered agrees to pay the US state of New York a $340 million fine to settle money laundering charges. Syrian Civil War – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
August 19: Eid ul-Fitr (Islam, 2012); Feast of the Transfiguration (Julian calendar); Independence Day in Afghanistan (1919) 1612 – The "Samlesbury witches", three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, were accused of practising witchcraft in one of the most famous witch trials in English history. 1812 – War of 1812: American Navy frigate USS Constitution defeated British Royal Navy frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, earning her nickname "Old Ironsides". 1929 – The highly influential American radio comedy show Amos 'n' Andy (stars Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll pictured) made its debut. 1942 – Second World War: Allied forces suffered over 3,000 casualties when they unsuccessfully raided the German-occupied port of Dieppe, France. 2003 – A Hamas suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded over 130 others on a crowded public bus in the Shmuel HaNavi quarter in Jerusalem. More anniversaries: August 18 – August 19 – August 20 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now August 19, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Richea scoparia is a species of flowering plant endemic to Tasmania, Australia. It is a compact, often rounded shrub branching mostly from the base and which can grow to 2 metres (6.6 ft) high. The plant is spiny to touch and can make impenetrable thickets where it is common. Branches are clothed with stiff, curved, sharp pointed, awl shaped leaves, and the flowers are eaten by wallabies.

Photo: JJ Harrison

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