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Ignatyev
Russian politician and diplomat under Alexander II. A career diplomat, he concluded a treaty with China in 1860 that allowed Russia to construct the city of Vladivostok and become a major power in the N Pacific. Appointed head of the foreign ministry's Asian department, he gained jurisdiction over Russia's relations with the Ottoman empire as well, and in 1864 he became ambassador to Constantinople. An advocate of Pan-Slavism, he encouraged Serbia and Bulgaria in a revolt that proved unsuccessful. In 1878, after Russia's victory in the Russo-Turkish War, he negotiated the favorable Treaty of San Stefano. The Western European powers replaced it with the Treaty of Berlin, far less favorable to Russia, and he was forced to resign.


lignite
Brown to black coal that has been formed from peat under moderate pressure; it is one of the first products of coalification and is intermediate between peat and subbituminous coal. Dry lignite contains about 60-75% carbon. About 45% of the world's total coal reserves are lignitic, but these reserves have not been exploited to any great extent because lignite is inferior to higher-rank coals (e.g., bituminous coal) in heating value, storage stability, and other properties. In some areas, however, the scarcity of fuel has led to extensive developments.


Senate
In ancient Rome, the governing and advisory council that was the most permanent element in the Roman constitution. Under the monarchy, it served as an advisory council, with undefined powers. During the republic, it advised the consuls and supposedly stood second to them in power. Senators were appointed by the consuls, but since they served for life, by the late republic the Senate became independent of the consuls, with extensive powers. About 312 BC the selection of senators was transferred from the consuls to the censors. In 81 BC Sulla made selection automatic, routinely admitting all former quaestors. It became the chief governing body, and controlled the republic's finances. Julius Caesar increased the number of senators to 900. Augustus dropped the number to 300 and reduced the Senate's power, while giving it new judicial and legislative functions. The number later increased to about 2,000; many were provincials, the most important being the great landowners. The Senate's power faded until it disappeared in the 6th cent. AD.


Signac
French painter. At 18 he gave up architecture to pursue painting in the Impressionist manner. In 1884 he became a founder of the Salon des Indé pendants. With G. Seurat he developed an exact mathematical system of applying dots of color, which they called pointillism (see Neo-Impressionism). He traveled extensively along the European coast painting landscapes and seascapes; in his later years he painted street scenes of Paris and other cities. He was a master of watercolor, in which he achieved great brilliance of color and a free, ...

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