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Gujranwala

Gujranwala (Punjabi/; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi respectively. Founded in the 18th century, Gujranwala is a relatively modern town compared to the many nearby millennia-old cities of northern Punjab. The city served as the capital of the Sukerchakia Misl state between 1763 and 1799, and is the birthplace of the founder of the Sikh Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Gujranwala is now Pakistan's third largest industrial centre after Karachi and Faisalabad, and contributes 5% to 9% of Pakistan's national GDP. The city is part of a network of large urban centres in north-east Punjab province that forms one of Pakistan's mostly highly industrialized regions. Along with the nearby cities of Sialkot and Gujrat, Gujranwala forms part of the so-called "Golden Triangle" of industrial cities with export-oriented economies.

Etymology
Gujranwala's name means "Abode of the Gujjars" in Punjabi, and was named after the Gujjar tribe that live in northern Punjab. One local narrative suggests that the town was named after a Gujjar, Choudhry Gujjar, owner of the town's Persian wheel that supplied water to the town. Evidence suggests, however, that the city derives its name from Serai Gujran (meaning "inn of Gujjars"), a village once located near what is now Gujranwala's Khiyali Gate.

Founding
Gujranwala was founded by Gurjars in the eighteenth century however the exact origins of Gujranwala are unclear. Unlike the ancient nearby cities of Sialkot and Lahore, Gujranwala is a relatively modern city. It may have been established as a village in the middle of the 16th century. Locals traditionally believe that Gujranwala's original name was Khanpur Sansi, though recent scholarship suggests that the village was possibly Serai Gujran instead - a village once located near what is now Gujranwala's Khiyali Gate that was mentioned by several sources during the 18th-century invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Sikh
In 1707, with the death of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Mughal power began to rapidly weaken especially following Nader Shah's invasion in 1739 and then completely dissipated from the Punjab region due to the invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali who raided Punjab many times between 1747 and 1772 causing much devastation and chaos.

Abdali's control over the region began to weaken in the latter part of the 18th century with the rise of the Sikh Misls (independent chieftainships usually consisting of the chief's kinsmen) who overran Punjab. Charat Singh, ruler of the Sukerchakia Misl, established himself in a fort which he had built in the area of Gujranwala between 1756 and 1758.

Nuruddin, a Jammu-based Afghan (Pashtun) general, was ordered by Abdali to subdue the Sikhs but was driven back at Sialkot by Sikh soldiers led by Charat Singh. In 1761, Khwaja Abed Khan, Abdali's governor in Lahore, tried to besiege Charat Singh's base in Gujranwala but the bid misfired. The Sikh misls rallied to his support by attacking Afghan officers wherever they were found. A fleeing Abed Khan was pursued by Sikh contingents led by the Ahluwalia misl into Lahore, where he was killed. Charat Singh made Gujranwala the capital of his misl in 1763.

In a 1774 battle waged in Jammu, Charat Singh of the Sukerchakia misl and Jhanda Singh of the powerful Bhangi misl, fighting on opposite sides, were both killed. Before his death, Charat Singh had become master of large and contiguous territories in the three doabs between the Indus and the Ravi. He was succeeded by his son Maha Singh who added to the lands that Charat Singh had not only captured but also capably administered.

In the Gujranwala area in the 1770s, the Jat Chathas of Wazirabad and Rajput Bhattis of Hafizabad (Muslims in both cases) offered ‘fierce resistance’ to the Sukerchakias, whose attack was aided by Sahib Singh of the Bhangi misl. Describing the conflict, the (British) writer of the Gujranwala Gazetteer wrote that besieged for weeks in his fortress, Ghulam Muhammad Chatha eventually surrendered after Maha Singh assured him safe passage to Mecca, but the promise was ‘basely broken’ when Ghulam Muhammad was shot and his fortress razed to the ground. Rasoolnagar (Prophet's city) which belonged to the Chathas was renamed Ramnagar (Ram's city) to humiliate the Muslims. The Gazetteer noted that the treacherous killing of Chatha and his resistance was remembered ‘in many a local ballad’ in Gujranwala. The Bhattis of Hafizabad tehsil, who were Muslim Rajputs, did not cease their resistance to the Sukerchakias until 1801 when their leaders were killed and their possessions captured. Some Bhattis fled to Jhang.

Ranjit Singh, Maha Singh's son and successor who would later go on to establish the Sikh Empire, was born in 1780 in Gujranwala's Purani Mandi market. Ranjit Singh maintained Gujranwala as his capital initially after rising to power in 1792. His most famous military commander Hari Singh Nalwa, who was also from Gujranwala, built a high mud wall around Gujranwala during this era and established the city's new grid street-plan that exists until the present day. Gujranwala remained Ranjit Singh's capital until he captured Lahore from the Durrani Afghans in 1799, at which point the capital was moved there, leading to the relative decline of Gujranwala in favour of Lahore. Jind Kaur, the last queen of Ranjit Singh and mother of Duleep Singh, was born in Gujranwala in 1817.

By 1839, the city's bazaars were home to an estimated 500 shops, while the city had been surrounded by a number of pleasure gardens, including one established by Hari Nalwa Singh that was famous for its vast array of exotic plants.

British
The area was captured by the British Empire in 1848, and rapidly developed thereafter. Gujranwala was incorporated as a municipality in 1867, and the city's Brandreth, Khiyali, and Lahori Gates built atop the site of Sikh-era gates were completed in 1869. A new clocktower was built in central Gujranwala to mark the city's centre in 1906.

Christian missionaries were brought to the region during British colonial rule, and Gujranwala became home to numerous churches and schools. The city's first Presbyterian Church was established in 1875 in the Civil Lines area - a settlement built one mile north of the old city to house Gujranwala's European population. A theological seminary was established in 1877, and a Christian technical school in 1900.

The North-Western Railway connected Gujranwala with other cities in British India by rail in 1881. The major Sikh higher learning institution, Gujranwala Guru Nanak Khalsa College, was founded in Gujranwala in 1889, though it later shifted to Ludhiana. The nearby Khanki Headworks were completed in 1892 under British rule, and helped irrigate 3 million acres in the province. Gujranwala's population, according to the 1901 census of British India, was 29,224. The city continued to grow rapidly for the remainder of British rule.

Riots erupted in Gujranwala following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in April 1919. These were some of most violent riots in response to the massacre in all of British India. Riots lead to the damage of the city's railway station and burning of the city's Tehsil Office, Clock Tower, Dak Bangla and city courts. Much of the city's historical record was burnt in the attacked offices. Protestors in the city, nearby villages, and a procession from Dhullay were fired upon with machine-guns mounted to low-flying planes, and subjected to aerial bombardment from the Royal Air Force under the control of Reginald Edward Harry Dyer.

According to the 1941 census, 269,528 out of the Gujranwala District's 912,234 residents were non-Muslim. 54.30% of Gujranwala city residents were Muslims prior to Partition, though non-Muslims controlled much of the city's economy. Hindus and Sikhs together owned two-thirds of Gujranwala's properties. Sikhs were concentrated in the localities of Guru Nanak Pura, Guru Gobind Garh, and Dhullay Mohallah, while Hindus were dominant in Hakim Rai, Sheikhupura Gate area and Hari Singh Nalwa Bazaar. Muslims were concentrated in Rasul Pura, Islam Pura and Rehman Pura.

Partition
Following the Independence of Pakistan and the aftermath of the Partition of British India in 1947, Gujranwala was the site of some of the worst rioting in Punjab. Large swathes of Hindu and Sikh localities were attacked or destroyed. Rioters in the city gained notoriety for attacks, with the city's Muslim Lohar (blacksmiths) particularly carrying out brutal attacks. In retaliation for attacks against a trainload of refugees by Sikh rioters at Amritsar railway station on 22 September that resulted in the deaths of 3,000 Muslims over the course of three hours, rioters from Gujranwala attacked a trainload of Hindus and Sikhs fleeing towards India on 23 September, killing 340 refugees in the nearby town of Kamoke. Partition riots in Gujranwala resulted in systematic violence against the city's minorities, and may constitute an act of ethnic cleansing by modern standards. Gujranwala became home to Muslim refugees who were fleeing from the widespread anti-Muslim pogroms that depopulated eastern Punjab in India of almost its entire Muslim population. Refugees in Gujranwala were mainly those who had fled from the cities of Amritsar, Patiala, and Ludhiana in what had become the Indian state of East Punjab.

Modern
The influx of Muslim refugees into Gujranwala drastically altered the city's form. By March 1948, over 300,000 refugees had been resettled in Gujranwala District. Many refugees found post-Partition Gujranwala lacking in opportunities, causing some to move south to Karachi. The refugee population mostly settled in localities that were mostly non-Muslim, like Gobindgarh, Baghbanpura and Nanakpura.

Suburban districts were rapidly laid, including Satellite Town in 1950, which was designed mostly to house wealthy and upper-middle-class refugees. D-Colony was built in 1956 for poorer Kashmiri refugees, and Model Town in the 1960s. The city experienced strong industrial growth during this period. In 1947, there were only 39 registered factories - a number which rose to 225 by 1961. The city's colonial-era metal-working industry continued to grow, while the city became a centre of hosiery manufacturing that was run by refugees from Ludhiana. The city's jewellery-trade had been run by Hindus but came under the control of refugees from Patiala.

Gujranwala's economy continued to grow into the 1970s and 1980s. New development continues, such as the opening of a 5,774-foot long flyover that functions as an elevated urban expressway, as well as the nearby Sialkot International Airport which serves the entire Golden Triangle region, and is Pakistan's first privately owned commercial airport. Institutions of higher learning have also been established in the city since independence. The Sialkot-Lahore Motorway, opened in 2020, passes near Gujranwala.

Geography
Gujranwala sits at the heart of the Rechna Doab, a strip of land between the Chenab in the north, and Ravi River in the south. Gujranwala is also part of the Majha, a historical region of northern Punjab. The city was built upon the plains of Punjab, and the surrounding region is an unbroken plain devoid of topographical diversity.

Gujranwala is 226 metres (744 ft) above sea level, sharing borders with Ghakhar Mandi and several towns and villages. About 80 km south is the provincial capital, Lahore. Sialkot and Gujrat lie to its north. Gujrat connects Gujranwala with Bhimber, Azad Kashmir, and Sialkot connects it with Jammu. About 160 km southwest is Faisalabad. To its west are Hafizabad and Pindi Bhattian, which connect Gujranwala to Jhang, Chiniot and Sargodha.

Climate
Gujranwala has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh), according to the Köppen-Geiger system, and changes throughout the year. During summer (June to September), the temperature reaches 36 –. The coolest months are usually November to February when the temperature can drop to an average of 7 °C. The highest precipitation months are usually July and August when the monsoon reaches Punjab. During the other months, the average rainfall is about 25 mm. October to May have little rainfall.

Urban form
Gujranwala's oldest precincts were laid according to the new city plan devised by Hari Singh Nalwa, following Ranjit Singh's establishment of Gujranwala as his capital in 1792. A street plan based mostly on a grid plan was implemented, with bazaars intersecting one another at 90-degree angles. Some of the blocks are rectangular in shape, resulting in a polygonal shaped old city. This old city was then enclosed by a high mud wall with gates and a fort that was built immediately north of the old city. The city's Sheranwala Bagh was also expanded under Hari Singh Nalwa's direction.

Gujranwala's old city is centred on the Shahi (Royal) Bazaar. The old city is home to many of the city's pre-Partition houses of worship for Hindus and Sikhs. The Hindu Devi Talab temple was once famous for its large water-tank, and remains in good condition despite being used as a residence for a family who fled Patiala. The Sikh Gurdwara Damdama Sahib is located near the Devi Talab Temple, is important in Sikhism for its association with Baba Sahib Singh Bedi, a Sikh saint. An old gurdwara is also located near the Chashma Chowk intersection near Shahi Bazaar.

Gujranwala was also home to a Jain community, called Bhabra in Punjab. In the heart of the town, Lala Mubdas Jain Mandir is present. The samadhi of Jain Acharya Atmaramji (also known as Acharya Vijayanandsuri, who died on 20 May 1896. The samadhi, now being restored, was visited by Jain Acharya Dharmadhurandar Suri in on May 28, 2023, along with other Jain munis and lay Jains after a gap to more than 75 years.

Gujranwala grew rapidly following British rule, and connection of the city to the railways of British India. The city grew outside of the city's walls, requiring new bazaars to be laid, which were done in a radial plan centred on the old city. Some historic structures like the Haveli of Sardar Mahan Singh were torn down by the British and replaced with other structures. The city's Brandreth, Lahori, and Khiyali Gates were built atop the city's demolished original gates, while Mahan Singh's haveli was transformed into a public square named Ranjit Ganj. The city's boundaries remained mostly west of the railways' line prior to 1947.

The Civil Lines neighbourhood was built for European residents approximately one mile north of the old city. The area was characterized by bungalows, large and verdant lawns, and shady tree-lined avenues. Civil Lines is where the city's Presbyterian Church was built in 1875, while the city's Theological Seminary was established here in 1877. The Christian Technical Training Center followed suit in 1900. The city's elite Hindus and Sikhs eventually also settled in small numbers in Civil Lines. Several of their mansions still remain in the area including those of Charan Singh, Banarsi Shah, as well as other buildings such as Islamia College and Khurshid Manzil.

Growth occurred mostly in areas northwest and southeast of the city immediately after independence until 1965 along routes emanating from old Gujranwala. Satellite Town was established on the southwest side in 1950. Areas northeast and southwest of the city were the sites of most growth between 1965 and 1985. The growth grows outwards mostly evenly after 1985 until the present time. Much of the growth has been unplanned due to poor enforcement of development guidelines and lax enforcement of property laws.

Demography
Gujranwala is the 5th largest city in Pakistan by population. Since the 2000s the population growth rate of Gujranwala has averaged at 3.0%. The population growth rate is projected to slow down to 2.51% by 2035.

Economy
Gujranwala is the Pakistan's third largest centre of industrial production, after Karachi and Faisalabad. Gujranwala, along with the nearby industrial cities of Sialkot and Gujrat City, form what is sometimes referred to as the Golden Triangle in reference to their relative prosperity and export-oriented industrial base. The city's industries employ up to 500,000 people, while the city's GDP makes up 5% of Pakistan's overall economy.

An estimated 6,500 small and medium enterprises, 25,000 cottage units, and some large factories, are located in and around the city as of 2002 -and are engaged in the manufacture of a wide variety of goods. The city is the centre for manufacture and export of sanitary fittings and wares in Pakistan, with over 200 producers based in Gujranwala. More than 60 producers of auto parts are found in the city. The city is well known as a centre for manufacturing electric fans - with 150 small and medium enterprises in Gujranwala tied to the electric fan industry. The city is Pakistan's third largest centre for iron and steel manufacturing - reflecting Gujranwala's historic association with metalworking since the migration of the Lohar clan of blacksmiths to the city during the colonial era. The city has been a centre of hosiery-manfuacture since the migration of refugees primarily from Ludhiana in 1947.

Textiles, apparel, yarn, and other textile goods are also produced in Gujranwala. Other manufacturing based in the city include rice, plastic, cutlery, coolers and heaters, agricultural tools and equipment, carpets, glass goods, surgical equipment, leather products, and machinery for military uses, domestic appliances, motorcycles, and food products. The rural regions surrounding Gujranwala are heavily engaged in the production of wheat and are yield more wheat per acre than the national average. Gujranwala District is also the most productive region for rice-growing in Punjab.

In 2010, Gujranwala was rated number 6 out of Pakistan's top 13 cities in order of ease of doing business by the World Bank, and was ranked the second-best in Pakistan for construction permits. Pakistan's electric shortages of the 2010s severely stymied the city's growth. Industrial units in the city suffered an average of 2872 hours per year in Gujranwala in 2012. By the end of 2017, the supply of electricity had drastically improved with augmented electric generation as a result of new power-stations coming online. Improved supplies of electricity contributed to the country's double-digit rise in exports in the second half of 2017.

Road
Gujranwala is situated along the historic Grand Trunk Road that connects Peshawar to Islamabad and Lahore. The Grand Trunk Road also provides access to the Afghan border via the Khyber Pass, with onward connections to Kabul and Central Asia via the Salang Pass. The Karakoram Highway provides access between Islamabad and western China, and an alternate route to Central Asia via Kashgar, China.

Gujranwala is connected to Lahore by Sialkot-Lahore Motorway. The motorway passes east of the Grand Trunk Road, and terminates near the Sialkot International Airport. Plans for the motorway's extension farther north to Kharian near Gujrat City were announced in late 2017.

Rail
Gujranwala railway station serves as a stop along Pakistan's 1687 km-long Main Line-1 railway that connects the city to the port city of Karachi to Peshawar.

The entire Main Line-1 railway track between Karachi and Peshawar is to be overhauled at a cost of $3.65 billion for the first phase of the project, with completion by 2021. Upgrading of the railway line will permit train travel at speeds of 160 kilometres per hour, versus the average 60 to 105 km per hour speed currently possible on existing track.

Air
Gujranwala has no airport of its own. The city is instead served by airports in nearby cities, including the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore that offers non-stop flights to Europe, Canada, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Gujranwala is also serviced by the nearby Sialkot International Airport - Pakistan's first privately owned commercial airport. Built-in 2007, the airport offers non-stop service to the Middle East, as well as domestic locations.

Public transportation
Gujranwala has a small scale centrally managed public transportation system known as a city tour. It has its routes from Wazirabad to Kamoke mainly extended on GT road only. Uber became available in Gujranwala in early 2017 and was soon followed by Careem.

Administration
Gujranwala and its environs were amalgamated into a district in 1951. The Gujranwala Development Authority was established in 1989 to oversee economic and infrastructure development in the city. The city is currently administered by the City District Government Gujranwala (CDGG) and Gujranwala Metropolitan Corporation, while development is generally under the office of the Gujranwala Development Authority. In 2007, the city was re-classified as a city district with 7 constituent municipalities: Aroop, Kamonke, Khiali Shahpur, Nandipur, Nowshera Virkan, Qila Didar Singh, and Wazirabad Towns.

In December 2019, Gujranwala Municipal Corporation was upgraded into Metropolitan Corporation under Punjab Local Government Act 2019.

Education
Gujranwala city's adult literacy rate in 2008 was 73%, which rose to 87% in the 15–24 age group throughout Gujranwala District, including rural areas. The city is also home to the Gujranwala Theological Seminary which was established in Sialkot in 1877, and moved to Gujranwala in 1912. The Army Aviation School of the Pakistan Air Force was moved to Gujranwala in 1987 from Dhamial. Many institutes are established for higher education such as:

 * University of Sargodha, Gujranwala Campus
 * University of Central Punjab, Gujranwala Campus
 * GIFT University, Gujranwala
 * University of the Punjab, Gujranwala Campus

Sports
Gujranwala has the multipurpose Jinnah Stadium, which has capacity of 20,000 spectators. It has hosted matches of the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup.

title: Gujranwala


text:
Talk:Nikolai Gogol

Ukrainian Cossaks?
There are several Cossaks groups who live and lived in present official territory of Ukraine. Article linked with words "Ukrainian Cossaks" leads to Zaporozhian Cossacks article since it is they who are really referred to in article. Present adjective is misleading and unwarranted by facts. Change it to Zaporozhian Cossacks in this article. Link will provide the context in full. Why prejudice the reader by misnaming it? Smells of crude propaganda. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2402:4000:B281:B9DD:48DB:50BF:A506:2 (talk) 03:42, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

Gogol is Ukrainian!!
Gogol was born in Ukraine and lived there until he was 19. He wrote in Russian because this language was obligarory kn Ukraine due to Russian imperialism. He indeed lived in Russia for some time, but he as well lived in several European countries. The fact that he lived in Russia some years, doesnt make him Russian. Sasha Chu12347 (talk) 15:39, 31 March 2022 (UTC)

 * Absolutly agree!! In my opinion, due to Russian crisis, which our world is suffering from right now, it's really important correct this mistake as soon as possible. Kur4k111n (talk) 10:45, 20 June 2022 (UTC)
 * absolutely it makes no sense what is written here; a Russian writer from Ukraine does not exist. He is Ukrainian.  2601:281:203:2660:C39F:C18E:F7EB:6C92 (talk) 05:28, 11 March 2023 (UTC)
 * The article needs to be updated to remove any biases and potential culture appropriations. For example, Britannica reads "Ukrainian-born humorist, dramatist, and novelist whose works, written in Russian, significantly influenced the direction of Russian literature." This is perfect. Whoever is in charge of editing this article, please, update it accordingly. PhD Cambridge (talk) 09:00, 5 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I would advise you to take a look at discussion page for Igor Sikorsky. Igor too was of Ukrainian ethnic background, he was self referring to himself as Ukrainian, initially he was presenting himself as a Russian but in sense that he at the time saw Ukrainians as one of groups of Russians (just like Tatars, Kalmyks, Komi etc. were seen as Russians at the time). Mr Fantastic Knowledge (talk) 17:41, 24 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Yes, it's widely known that he was of Ukrainian ethnic origin and was even referring to himself as Ukrainian. Same situation was with Anton Chekhov - he was also an Ukrainian, self referred to himself as one, actually spoke Ukrainian and was publishing in Russian. Mr Fantastic Knowledge (talk) 17:36, 24 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree too - the adjective that describes Gogol should be related to his nationality, not the language he wrote in. If we keep the description "Russian writer of Ukrainian origin" (if it is decided that language determines the adjective), then Edgar Allan Poe should not be described as "an American writer," but rather "an English writer of American origin." Shwabb1 (talk) 10:23, 26 October 2023 (UTC)
 * That would be Russian-language Ukrainian writer, or Ukrainian writer of Russian-language literature, if the point is to be clear. But I’ll point out that Joseph Conrad is not an “English writer,” either. —Michael Z. 22:38, 28 October 2023 (UTC)

A few questions
Didn't the Ukrainian nationality appear in the mid-nineteenth century in the historical territories of Red Ruthenia controlled by the Austrian Empire in environments associated with the Uniate Church? Didn't the Austrian Germans support the Ukrainian Uniate Church against the Orthodox Ruthenians who sought protection in the Russian Empire? Wasn't it Lviv that was the center of the Ukrainian movement supported by the Austrian Empire. Didn't this movement appear in the Russian Empire only after Gogol's death, in the 1870s, in narrow student circles? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.111.119.54 (talk) 14:58, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

 * nuh uh 216.245.77.37 (talk) 21:37, 18 December 2023 (UTC)
 * No.
 * Ukrainians are mentioned by that name in English sources by 1760, and Ukraine by 1651. Obviously the names were already in use in Ukraine.
 * Muscovy started suppressing Ukrainian language by 1620; see Chronology of Ukrainian language suppression. The Russian empire persecuted the Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius in 1847 for privately discussing Ukrainian nationality. It banned Ukrainian language in the 1863 Valuev Circular and 1876 Ems Ukaz.
 * Popular use of Ukraïntsi “Ukrainians” as an ethnonym started in the Russian empire in the nineteenth century by the people that had been officially labelled Malorossy “Little Russians”. In Habsburg lands it was only adopted at the beginning of the twentieth by people that had previously referred to themselves Rusyny or Rusnaky “Ruthenians.”
 * (When did Russian national identity form?) —Michael Z. 15:30, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 6 August 2023
The language Gogol wrote in was Ukrainian and Russian. In the same text his Ukrainian upbringing is mentioned, but also usage of Ukrainian language as well as Russian. Moreover in the main head in brackets a Ukrainian spelling of his name should be mentioned - Mykola Gogol, he was stemming from the Ukrainian culture, spoke the language and was Ukrainian. Using Russian lang name spelling only and not mentioning that he also wrote in Ukrainian, removes that part of Gogol's life completely. Lettashtohr (talk) 08:07, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. M.Bitton (talk) 20:57, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 4 November 2023
Change from:

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol[a] (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1809[1] – 4 March [O.S. 21 February] 1852) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin.

To:

Nikolay Gogol, in full Nikolay Vasilyevich Gogol, (born March 19 [March 31, New Style], 1809, Sorochintsy, near Poltava, Ukraine, Russian Empire [now in Ukraine]—died February 21 [March 4], 1852, Moscow, Russia), Ukrainian-born humorist, dramatist, and novelist whose works, written in Russian, significantly influenced the direction of Russian literature. (Source: Britannica) 150.143.107.171 (talk) 04:02, 4 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: I'm fairly certain some of the desired changes may breach certain manual of style conventions - I'd have to research it. More importantly, volunteers are going to need more information on your source rather than just stating it's written somewhere in Britannica. — Sirdog (talk) 05:31, 10 November 2023 (UTC)
 * The above is cribbed directly from the lead of Britannica’s “Nikolay Gogol.” Britannica doesn’t write he was a “Russian” anything since a 2017 update, because the term used in this vague way is misleading. —Michael Z. 19:14, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

google
is better then wekipida or no 216.245.77.37 (talk) 21:36, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

Minor edit
The first two "the"s in this sentence are unnecessary.

"Tsarist authorities encouraged the Ukrainian intellectuals to sever ties with the Poles, promoting a limited, folkloric Ukrainian particularism as part of the heritage of the Russian empire."

"Tsarist authorities encouraged Ukrainian intellectuals to sever ties with Poles, promoting a limited, folkloric Ukrainian particularism as part of the heritage of the Russian empire." CretaceousFella (talk) 14:46, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 28 January 2024
Spelling. Wrong version:

His father wrote poetry in Ukrainian as well as Russian, and was an amateur playwright in his own theatre. As was typical of the left-bank Ukrainian gentry of the early nineteenth century, the family was trinlingual speaking Ukrainian as well as Russian, and using Polish mostly in reading. Mother was calling his son Nikola, which is a mixture of the Russian Nikolai and the Ukrainian Mykola. As a child, Gogol helped stage plays in his uncle's home theater.

Right version:

His father wrote poetry in Ukrainian as well as Russian, and was an amateur playwright in his own theatre. As was typical of the left-bank Ukrainian gentry of the early nineteenth century, the family was trilingual, speaking Ukrainian as well as Russian, and using Polish mostly for reading. Mother was calling his son Nikola, which is a mixture of the Russian Nikolai and the Ukrainian Mykola. As a child, Gogol helped stage plays in his uncle's home theater. 178.41.182.163 (talk) 12:24, 28 January 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ ARandomName123 (talk)Ping me! 18:07, 28 January 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 24 February 2024
Not all the information about the poet is correct. He wrote not only in Russian but Ukrainian language as well 213.124.223.2 (talk) 22:47, 24 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Sincerely, Guessitsavis (she/they) (Talk) 01:45, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 29 April 2024
Change "Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol" to "Mykola Vasilyevich Gogol" as his birth name. Change "Russian novelist" to "Ukrainian novelist", as he wrote in "surzhyk" or a mix of Ukrainian and Russian, some of his works were about Ukraine, in Ukrainian, and he was Ukrainian himself. He also wanted to return and live in Kyiv, and identified as Ukrainian in several documents, spoke Ukrainian with his family. Several of his works were banned of forced change onto, because they were "Pro-Ukrainian". 217.180.196.166 (talk) 18:10, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Charliehdb (talk) 10:30, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Russian-Ukrainian
Greetings @Mellk, it's not very fair for you to first remove sourced info with the justification "already says origin, don't need more refspam", and then remove it again with "most of the other sources disagree with you". ManyAreasExpert (talk) 18:04, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

 * We already have NINE references for this, so yes, it is not fair that you wish to override them. If you want to change the wording, then you can make your case here (assuming it is a new argument). This has already been discussed to death. Mellk (talk) 18:06, 6 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I see those references are confirming Bojanowska and Ilchuk 's approach of characterizing Gogol as Russian-Ukrainian. ManyAreasExpert (talk) 18:25, 6 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Including the ones that simply call him a Russian writer? The other ones call him a Russian writer and note his Ukrainian upbringing, which is precisely why currently the lead says he is a Russian writer of Ukrainian origin. Mellk (talk) 18:28, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

Ukrainian nationalist agenda
I find this Ukrainian nationalist hijacking of the page disgusting. The section on Gogol's identity politics is particularly misleading, quoting biased sources. Gogol lived in a time when most Russian and Ukrainian elites subscribed to the Russian Empire and identified as part of a Russian culture which they saw as encompassing Russia and Ukraine, as well as Belarus. For Gogol, to be Russian and Ukrainian was two sides of the same coin and the same civilization. But Ukrainian nationalists are exploiting western sympathy to sell an nationalist distortion of Gogol's background to sell a certain narrative of who Gogol was. Scarsdale.vibe (talk) 06:35, 8 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Well, I made a few edits to improve this section, but have to disagree. This section is well sourced and appropriate. Yes, Gogol is a Russian writer, but with very strong Ukrainian cultural connections, as obvious from his writings. No one is saying otherwise. In fact, in his last years he was pretty much an ardent Russian nationalist, as reflected in the famous Letter to Gogol, which needs to be mentioned on the page. My very best wishes (talk) 02:48, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * P.S. I also changed the title of the section, but do not insist this is the best solution. Every version is wrong version. Welcome to revert or correct. My very best wishes (talk) 21:40, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Well that section is primarily based on two 2007 and later books called "Nikolai Gogol: Between Ukrainian and Russian Nationalism" and "Nikolai Gogol: Performing Hybrid Identity" so perhaps we can work from here. At least they are not highlighting "Ukrainian" connections but, the impression I got, equalising both, calling Gogol "Russian-Ukrainian" or "hybrid identity". ManyAreasExpert (talk) 22:00, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Welcome to fix anything. I was just passing by. My very best wishes (talk) 03:28, 11 June 2024 (UTC)
 * It is interesting to see the Russian government at play even on an open web page. 92.40.213.67 (talk) 19:24, 29 June 2024 (UTC)

The grotesque
This comment regards the sentence "Gogol used grotesque, ...".

Grotesque is an adjective, so "Gogol used the grotesque" would be the correct usage (like with the sublime or the picturesque).

For clarity, it might be beneficial to rephrase it: "Gogol used the grotesque in his writings, ..." or "Gogol frequently employed elements of the grotesque,..."

Source: eg. Edwards, Justin & Graulund, Rune. Grotesque, Routledge, 2013, doi.org/10.4324/9780203383438-9 2001:4C4D:1281:C00:A8AA:D41C:290:7C09 (talk) 16:32, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes, you are right. I made the change you suggested. Let us know if it is not what you had in mind. Thank you!
 * Dieter.Meinertzhagen (talk) 02:20, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 29 June 2024
Change references to nationality from “Russian” to “Ukrainian”. Mykolai Gogol was an ethnically Ukrainian writer, born in Ukraine. He was proud of his Ukrainian heritage as evidenced by his work.

Example: Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer, and is referenced as having an Irish nationality, despite being born in the United Kingdom. He is not a “British” or “English” writer. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde 92.40.213.67 (talk) 18:49, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * We should make an assessment on how Gogol is best to be referred to in Ilchuk' and Bojanowska's works. ManyAreasExpert (talk) 21:27, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the template. PianoDan (talk) 20:32, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 29 June 2024 (2)
Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages](https://dlcl.stanford.edu/publications/nikolai-gogol-performing-hybrid-identity) [oai_citation:2,Stolen identity: how Nikolai Gogol usurped Mykola Hohol](https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/60477/stolen-identity-how-nikolai-gogol-usurped-mykola-hohol).

2. **Influence of Ukrainian Heritage**: In his letters, Gogol frequently refers to his Ukrainian upbringing and the influence of Ukrainian folklore and traditions on his works. For instance, in letters to friends and family, he often reminisced about Ukrainian customs and landscapes, which deeply colored his early works such as "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka" [oai_citation:3,Nikolai Gogol — Harvard University Press](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674022911). However, his choice to write in Russian and his desire to achieve literary fame in St. Petersburg reflect his strategic adaptation to the dominant Russian culture [oai_citation:4,Stolen identity: how Nikolai Gogol usurped Mykola Hohol](https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/60477/stolen-identity-how-nikolai-gogol-usurped-mykola-hohol).

3. **National Identity and Literary Ambitions**: Gogol's letters also reveal his internal conflict regarding his national identity. While he embraced his role as a Russian writer, he did not completely discard his Ukrainian identity. Scholars like Edyta M. Bojanowska in her book "Nikolai Gogol: Between Ukrainian and Russian Nationalism" argue that his works and letters illustrate a blend of Ukrainian and Russian influences, challenging the simplistic categorization of his identity [oai_citation:5,Nikolai Gogol: Performing Hybrid Identity 92.40.213.67 (talk) 19:22, 29 June 2024 (UTC)

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. PianoDan (talk) 20:33, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Nikolai Gogol


text:
Neruda (album)

Neruda is the third studio album by the Canadian rock band Red Rider, released in 1983 (see 1983 in music). The album was recorded at Metalworks Studios in Toronto, Ontario. The figure on the album cover was inspired by Denise Sexton. The instrumental track "Light In The Tunnel" followed by "Power" (with vocals) have been used to open Red Rider's concerts on several tours. Neruda became Red Rider's third straight platinum album in Canada, selling more than 100,000 copies, and peaking at number 11 on the charts.

Neruda reached number 66 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in 1983 assisted by the singles "Crack The Sky (Breakaway)" and "Power (Strength In Numbers)" which reached number 39 and number 13 respectively on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. "Human Race" reached number 29 in Canada and number 11 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.

The album is named after Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

The track "Can't Turn Back" was featured in the Miami Vice season 2 episode "Tale of the Goat."

Personnel

 * Tom Cochrane - lead vocals, guitars, arrangements
 * Ken Greer - guitars, vocals, arrangements
 * Rob Baker - drums, percussion
 * Jeff Jones - bass guitar, vocals
 * Steve Sexton - synthesizers, piano

 * Additional personnel
 * Hugh Syme - art direction and cover design
 * Deborah Samuel - photography

title: Neruda (album)


text:
James Gadsden

James Gadsden (May 15, 1788 – December 26, 1858) was an American diplomat, soldier and businessman after whom the Gadsden Purchase is named, pertaining to land which the United States bought from Mexico, and which became the southern portions of Arizona and New Mexico. James Gadsden served as Adjutant General of the U.S. Army from August 13, 1821 – March 22, 1822. Between 1853 and 1856, he served as U.S. Minister to Mexico. He was known commonly as General Gadsden, although he never had a rank above colonel.

Biography
Little is known about the life of Gadsden, especially his early life. It is known that he was born in Charleston, South Carolina, during 1788, and that he was grandson of the American Revolutionary War hero Christopher Gadsden, for whom the Gadsden flag was named. It is also known that Gadsden earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University in Connecticut, completing this degree in 1806. In university, he was a member of the debating and secret society, Brothers in Unity. One of his siblings, John Gadsden, served two terms as the Mayor of Charleston, and another sibling, Christopher Edwards Gadsden, was the fourth Episcopal Bishop of South Carolina.

Army service
Gadsden joined the U.S. Army in December 1812. He served as a commissioned officer commanded by General Andrew Jackson, who was later elected president in 1828. Gadsden served Gen. Jackson both during the War of 1812 against the British Army, and, from 1816 to 1821, in protecting the southern U.S. border from raiders — Native Americans, maroons (escaped slaves and their descendants) — based in Spanish Florida. As part of this effort, Jackson directed Gadsden, a member of the Army Corps of Engineers, to build a fort on the Prospect Bluff site. Jackson subsequently named it Fort Gadsden. Gadsden also helped to establish Fort Brooke with George Mercer Brooke at the site of the present-day city of Tampa, Florida. He was appointed Adjutant General in August 1821, but this appointment was not confirmed by the Senate, causing it to expire the following year.

Seminole expulsion
Gadsden next decided to quit the U.S. Army, and became a planter in Florida; he served in the Florida Territorial Legislature. Gadsden was appointed as a commissioner during 1823 to help with the organization and the expulsion of most of the Seminole Indian Tribe from their homes in Florida and southern Georgia, along the Trail of Tears to land reservations that had been reserved for them in what is now Oklahoma.

Years later Gadsden County, Florida, was named in his honor, and also the city of Gadsden, Alabama, and the town of Gadsden, Arizona.

Railroad executive
Later, Gadsden served as the president of the South Carolina Railroad company from 1840 to 1850. When first completed in 1833, the line was the longest railroad in the world under one management. As an engineer he directed the construction of the branch to Columbia, completed 1842, surveyed a proposed extension to the Ohio River, and helped promote the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, incorporated 1845 (completed in 1857, it was the first U.S. railroad link between the Atlantic and the Mississippi River, but long after Gadsden had turned his attention elsewhere).

By 1846, Gadsden and his associates promoted the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. He urged Georgia and South Carolina to abandon their rivalry and to "discover their true policy in the harmony of a free and unrestricted trade." A late 1840s map shows this railroad would hypothetically have been by way of the southern route from Charleston through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas to El Paso, Texas, and then through Mexico to the coast, in what in a few years would be newly acquired American land, after the 1846–1848 war with Mexico. In 1852, the SCRR followed the philosophy laid out by Gadsden during his tenure and moved the railroad's terminus from Hamburg, South Carolina, signaling the end of South Carolina's focus on economic sovereignty.

Much of the boundary between the United States and Mexico had been left unreasonably vague by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that had been signed and ratified by the United States and Mexico during 1848. Gadsden would play an important role in revising the boundary, with the aim to build a southern transcontinental railroad (see below and the article on the Gadsden Purchase).

California
During 1850, Gadsden advocated secession by South Carolina when California was admitted to the Union as a free state. Gadsden considered slavery "a social blessing" and abolitionists "the greatest curse of the nation."

When the secession proposal failed, Gadsden, working with his cousin Isaac Edward Holmes, a lawyer in San Francisco since 1851, and the California state senator Thomas Jefferson Green, attempted to divide California in two. They proposed that the southern half would allow slavery. Gadsden planned to establish a slaveholding colony there based on rice, cotton, and sugar. He would use slave labor to build a railroad and highway, originating in either San Antonio or on the Red River, that would transport people to the California gold fields. Toward this end, on December 31, 1851, Gadsden asked Green to secure from the California state legislature a large land grant located between the 34th and 36th parallels; it would eventually serve as the dividing line for the two California states.

A few months after this, Gadsden and 1,200 potential settlers from South Carolina and Florida submitted a petition to the California legislature for permanent citizenship and permission to establish a rural district that would be farmed by "not less than Two Thousand of their African Domestics". The petition stimulated some debate, but it finally expired in committee.

Gadsden Purchase
Following the war between Mexico and the United States, disputes over the boundary line brought the two nations near to renewed conflict in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico, north of El Paso. In May 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed Gadsden as the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico, with instructions to purchase more land from Mexico as part of a settlement of the Mesilla controversy, for the prospective railroad route across southernmost parts of what are today New Mexico and Arizona, to end the possibility of disputes concerning control of the Apache along the border, and other more minor issues.

Gadsden successfully performed this mission by negotiating with the Mexican government in Mexico City for the purchase of more land from Mexico for southmost New Mexico and Arizona, and by establishing the boundary between the United States and Mexico as two long line segments between the Rio Grande at the westmost tip of Texas all the way to the River Colorado at the eastern boundary of California. This treaty is known as the "Gadsden Treaty", and it resulted in the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico of about 30000 sqmi of land in northmost Mexico for $10,000,000.

In the fall of 1856 Gadsden retired as minister to Mexico, and returned to Charleston where he died in 1858. The sectional crisis of the late 1850s and subsequent Civil War delayed construction of a proposed southern transcontinental railroad to California along the 32d parallel, just to the north of the Mexican border. Between 1878 and 1881, though, the Southern Pacific Railroad (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad) built the section of the southern transcontinental between Yuma and El Paso within the Gadsden Purchase territory. At the same time, 1880–1882, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad completed a transcontinental link through the Gadsden Purchase and then southwest to a terminus at the port of Guaymas, in the state of Sonora, Mexico. Completed October 25, 1882, this line was later acquired by the Southern Pacific. Today, the rail link across the Gadsden Purchase on the southern transcontinental is one of the busiest in the Western Hemisphere.

The land bought by the Gadsden Purchase contained the site of Arizona's second largest city, Tucson, a one-time Spanish presidio town, the minor cities and towns of Casa Grande, and Yuma, Arizona, Lordsburg, Deming, New Mexico, and New Mexico's second largest metro area at Las Cruces, New Mexico, in the Mesilla Valley, and it defined the status of the area north of the Gila River, that later became the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Glendale, and Tempe, Arizona. Most of the land south of Phoenix where tentative plans had been made to build a transcontinental railroad is desert land that is not suitable for much human inhabitation. Nearly all of this federally owned land was eventually reserved as a large, sparsely inhabited American Indian reservation, testing and combat-practice ranges for the U.S. Air Force, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Coronado National Forest, Sonoran Desert National Monument, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Saguaro National Park, and the Fort Huachuca Military Reservation of the U.S. Army.

Gadsden was buried in St. Philips Church Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.

title: James Gadsden


text:
Hans Karl von Diebitsch

Hans Karl Friedrich Anton Graf von Diebitsch und Narten (Иван Иванович Дибич-Забалканский; 13 May 1785 – 10 June 1831) was a German-born soldier serving as Russian field marshal.

Career
Hans Karl was educated at the Berlin cadet school, but by the desire of his father, Frederick II's aide-de-camp who had passed into the service of Russia, he also did the same in 1801. He served in the campaign of 1805 against Napoleon and the Grand Armee, and was wounded at Austerlitz, fought at Eylau and Friedland, and after Friedland was promoted captain.

During the next five years of peace, he devoted himself to the study of military science, engaging once more in active service in the War of 1812. He distinguished himself very greatly in Wittgenstein's campaign, and in particular at Polotsk (18 and 19 October), after which combat, he was raised to the rank of major-general. In the latter part of the campaign, he served against the Prussian contingent of General Yorck (von Wartenburg), with whom, through Clausewitz, he negotiated the celebrated convention of Tauroggen, serving thereafter with Yorck in the early part of the German Campaign of 1813.

After the battle of Lützen (1813) he served in Silesia and took part in negotiating the secret treaty of Reichenbach. Having distinguished himself at the battles of Dresden and Leipzig he was promoted lieutenant-general. At the crisis of the campaign of 1814, he strongly urged the march of the allies on Paris; and after their entry the emperor Alexander conferred on him the order of St. Alexander Nevsky.

In 1815 he attended the Congress of Vienna and was afterwards made adjutant-general to the emperor, with whom, as also with his successor Nicholas, he had great influence. By Nicholas he was created baron, and later count. In 1820 he had become chief of the general staff, and in 1825 he assisted in suppressing the Decembrist revolt.

His greatest exploits were in the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, which, after a period of doubtful contest, was decided by Diebitsch's brilliant campaign of Adrianople; this won him the rank of field-marshal and the victory title of Zabalkansky (meaning "Trans-Balkan") to commemorate his crossing of the Balkans.

In 1830 he was appointed to command the great army destined to suppress the November Uprising in Poland. After the inconclusive battle of Grochow on 25 February, he won the battle of Ostrołęka on 26 May, but soon afterwards died of cholera at Kleszewo near Pułtusk, on 10 June 1831.

title: Hans Karl von Diebitsch


text:
Renovationism

Renovationism (обновленчество; from обновление 'renovation, renewal') – also called Renovated Church (обновленческая церковь) or by metonymy the Living Church (Живая Церковь) –, officially named Orthodox Russian Church (Православная Российская Церковь), and later Orthodox Church in the USSR (Православная Церковь в СССР), was the official Christian Church in the Soviet Union in 1922–1946, which following the World War II was proclaimed as a religious movement that schismed from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1922. Sanctioned by the Soviet authorities, the movement ceased its operations in the late 1940s. In 1927 the movement was blessed by the future Patriarch Sergius of Moscow, a political move that allowed reformation of the modern Russian Orthodox Church in 1943 by Sergius (Stragorodsky).

This movement originally begun as a grassroots movement among the Russian Orthodox clergy for the reformation of the Church, but was quickly influenced by the support of the Soviet secret services (CheKa, then GPU, NKVD), which had hoped to split and weaken the Russian Church by instigating schismatic movements within it. The beginning of actual schism is usually considered to be in May 1922, when a group of Renovationist clergy laid claims to higher ecclesiastical authority in the Russian Church. Three days after the establishment of the new Church, the Soviet authorities arrested Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow on May 19. In such manner both factions were calling each other names "Renovationites" and "Tikhonovites" (тихоновцы и обновленцы). The movement is considered to have ended with the death of its leader, Alexander Vvedensky, in 1946, although the last unrepentant Renovationist hierarch, Philaret (Yatsenko), died in 1951.

While the entire movement is often known as the Living Church, this was specifically the name of just one of the groups that comprised the larger Renovationist movement. By the time of the Moscow Council of 1923, three major groups had formed within the movement, representing different tendencies within Russian Renovationism: The Living Church of Vladimir Krasnitsky lobbied for the interests of married clergy; the Union of the Communities of the Ancient Apostolic Church (Союз общин древнеапостольской церкви - Содац SODATs) of Alexander Vvedensky; and the Union for the Renewal of the Church (Союз церковного возрождения) – the group of bishop Antonin Granovsky, whose interest was in liturgical reform; along with several minor groups.

Beginnings and first period (1920s–1930s)
In 1919–1920, the Cheka officials began actively seeking contacts with those representatives of the Orthodox clergy who, in their opinion, were suitable for the role of destroyers of the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church. The first attempts to introduce an element of disorganization into the church environment, acting through hierarchs (or former hierarchs) from the patriarch's entourage, were not crowned with success. Therefore, the Cheka decided to act through the young white parish clergy, who are revolutionary in relation to possible intra-church transformations, leading the case to eventually quarrel between "the priests and the episcopate", married ("white") and monastic ("black") clergy. The special VI branch of the GPU became the coordinating center of all efforts to split the Church through the GPU (OGPU since 15 November 1923) headed by Yevgeny Tuchkov. The general management of the process of the split of the Church was concentrated (although not immediately) in the hands of the Politburo of the Central Committee (personally responsible – Leon Trotsky). By the spring of 1922, the necessary organizational preparations for striking the Church were completed. The right moment to start was needed.

Such an opportune moment soon presented itself on the occasion of the launch of a campaign to seize church valuables. As a special representative of the Council of People's Commissars, Leon Trotsky headed the work of the Commission on Accounting and Concentration of Values. On January 23, 1922, the members of the Commission agreed that work on the removal of valuables from existing religious institutions should begin in the near future in the two or three most important regions of the country (Moscow, Petrograd, Novgorod). Among the preparatory activities included work with representatives of the Church: "If necessary, individual representatives of the clergy may be involved, who, contrary to the anti-Soviet clergy, would sharply defend the government's measures, thus introducing a split among the clergy." After the events in Shuya on March 15, 1922, where the commission for the seizure of valuables faced massive and stubborn resistance of believers, Leon Trotsky on March 17, 1922, in a letter to Lev Kamenev, Vyacheslav Molotov and Timofei Sapronov, formulated 17 theses containing detailed instructions to the party-Soviet and Chekist bodies regarding the forms and methods of expropriation of church valuables (the leadership of the campaign henceforth focused on in the hands of party organs). Among other things, it was proposed to "decisively split the clergy" by taking under the protection of state power those clergy who openly advocate the transfer of church wealth to the state.

In the same month, the so-called "Petrograd Group of Progressive Clergy" was formed. The first program document of the group was the declaration on famine relief dated March 24, 1922, was signed by 12 clergymen. The participants of the Petrograd group immediately launched an active activity: Alexander Vvedensky and Alexander Boyarsky made reports almost daily, urging them to give away church values. Vladimir Krasnitsky did not make reports, but he tied ties with various institutions, in particular with the Cheka, which was then located on Gorokhovaya Street, 2. It was Krasnitsky who became the main organizer among the participants of the Petrograd group. Under his leadership, which, however, was disputed by Vvedensky and Boyarsky, the Petrograd group became the center of the nascent renovationist movement.

This move was quickly (18 June 1922) denounced by Agathangel as unlawful and uncanonical. However, for a brief time it seemed that the Renovationists had gotten the upper hand. The Renovationists, with full support of Soviet authorities, seized many church buildings and monasteries, including the famous Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. In many dioceses, the married ("white") clergy was encouraged to take church government into their own hands, without approval of their diocesan bishops. Simultaneously, these bishops were often threatened and pressed to recognize the authority of the HCA. In effect, this resulted in "parallel" church administrations existing in one diocese and one city, one supporting the HCA and the other supporting the canonical bishop.

This campaign of terror had its effects: by the summer of 1922, more than 20 hierarchs had recognized the canonical authority of HCA, the most notorious of whom was Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) of Nizhny Novgorod, the future Patriarch. In many large cities, all of Orthodox church properties were in the hands of Renovationists. Before convening any general council to discuss their measures, the Renovationists began to implement radical reforms aimed at what they perceived to be the interests of the married clergy. Among the measures, changing the traditional order of ecclesiastic life were:

 * Permission for monastics (including bishops) to marry, while retaining their episcopal and clerical ranks;
 * Permission for the Clergy to marry after their ordination, to remarry or to marry widows;
 * Permission for the married priests to be consecrated as bishops (Christian Orthodox tradition is that only monastics may be Bishops).

The last decision sparked a number of consecrations of "married bishops" throughout the country, especially in Siberia. As a result of its promulgation, of 67 bishops that arrived to the Second Moscow Council in April 1923, only 20 had been ordained before the schism. The consecration of the "married bishops" without waiting for a conciliar decision on changing appropriate Canons met with opposition even among many Renovationist leaders and those "married bishops" later received a second laying on of hands before the Council opened.

The I Renovationist (or officially "II All-Russian" Council) met in Moscow between 29 April and 8 May 1923. Its most controversial and infamous decision was to put Patriarch Tikhon (who was under house arrest, awaiting trial) on ecclesiastic trial in absentia for his opposition to Communism, and to strip him of his episcopacy, priesthood and monastic status. The council allowed the marriage for episcopate and second marriage for priests. Monasteries "as having deviated from the pure monastic idea" were ordered to be closed. The Council then resolved to abolish the Patriarchate altogether and to return to the "collegial" form of church government. The Supreme Church Administration was renamed to the Supreme Church Council, still under the chairmanship of Antonin (Granovsky). Patriarch Tikhon, who was visited by delegation from the council, refused to recognize the authority of this council and the validity of the "court" decision, due to many irregularities in canonical procedure: essentially, the decision had no effect on the life of the Patriarchal or "Tikhonite" Church.

On June 24, 1923, a power struggle among the factions resulted in the forced resignation of Metropolitan Antonin (Granovsky). On June 29, 1923, he declared his "Union for Church Renewal" autocephalous and soon reverting to his previous title of "bishop", engaged in a series of radical liturgical experiments: e.g., moving the altar table to the middle of the church, etc. He made one of the first translations of the Divine Liturgy into modern Russian. His group disintegrated in 1929.

The telling blow against Renovationism was the return of Patriarch Tikhon to active duty in June 1923 when, under international pressure, he was released from house arrest. Already by that time, large passive resistance to the Renovationists, especially in rural areas, had undermined their efforts to "take over" the Russian Church. On 15 July 1923, the Patriarch declared all Renovationist decrees, as well as all their sacramental actions (including ordinations) to be without grace, due to the "trickery" by which they tried to seize power in the Church and to their complete disregard for the canons. In August 1923, the council of Russian Orthodox bishops, returned from exile and imprisonment, confirmed Tikhon's decision, proclaiming the Renovationist hierarchy as "unlawful and without grace". Some of the churches were returned to the "Tikhonites" (as Renovationists called the "Patriarchal" Church at that time), and many bishops and priests who had been pressed to support the schism, repented and were received back into communion.

In addition to ecclesiological experimentation, the 1920s, the Renovationist Church had some activity in the fields of education and apologetics. Particularly, in 1924 the church was allowed to open two institutions of higher learning: the Moscow Theological Academy and the Theological Institute in Leningrad. Some contacts were made with other portions of the Christian East: thus, the II Renovationist Council (a.k.a. III All-Russian Council), convened in Moscow in 1–9 October 1925, was marked by the presence of the representatives from the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Alexandria who concelebrated the eucharist with other members of the Renovationist Synod.

In the second half of the 1920s, the canonical Russian Orthodox Church started making steps toward some form of rapprochement with the Soviet regime. Significantly, in 1927, the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius Stragorodsky issued a "Declaration" proclaiming absolute loyalty of the Church to the Soviet government and its interests. Subsequently, a Synod formed by Sergius, received recognition from the Soviets. This had effectively put the Renovationist Synod out of place as the chief spokesman for the alliance between the Church and the Soviet state, and it was then that the Renovationist movement began its rapid decline.

Decline (1930s–1940s)
By the mid-1930s the general failure of the movement had become evident. Having failed to attract the majority of the faithful, the movement ceased to be useful for the Soviet regime and, consequently, both the "Patriarchal" Church and the Renovationists suffered fierce persecution at the hands of Soviet secret services: church buildings were closed down and often destroyed; active clergy and laity were imprisoned and sometimes executed. At the same time, trying to "win back" more traditional Russian Orthodox, the church had abandoned all attempts at ecclesiastical or liturgical reform, with the exception of the concessions previously made to married clergy. Instead, the Renovationist Church made attempts at imitating external liturgical and organizational forms of their opponents from the "Patriarchal" Church.

In 1934, the Renovationist Synod issued an infamous decision declaring the "allegiance to the old church" (староцерковничество), i.e., the Patriarchal Church, to be a "heresy" and a "schism". The mastermind behind that decision, Metropolitan Nikolai (Platonov) of Leningrad resigned from episcopacy in 1938, publicly denounced the faith and became an infamous propagator of atheism. The Renovationist church continued to dwindle in numbers; the process intensified starting in 1939, when the Synod forbade the diocesan bishops to do any priestly ordinations without its approval.

The final blow to the movement came with the beginning of the Second World War in 1941. The Metropolitan's residence had to be relocated due to evacuation. Therefore, the Synod had difficulties contacting and controlling its clergy in the parishes. More importantly, in its efforts to seek moral and financial support from the Eastern Orthodox Church, Joseph Stalin decided to turn to the more popular and traditional Russian Orthodox Church led by Sergius, rather than to its largely unsuccessful rivals. On 8 September 1943, Stalin met with three chief hierarchs of the "Patriarchal" Church and promised to make concessions to the Church and religion in general in exchange for its allegiance and support.

One of the effects of this unlikely concordat was that the days of the Renovationist movement were numbered. What followed was a deluge of Renovationist clerics seeking reconciliation with Sergius. As a general rule, the Patriarchal Church considered all sacraments celebrated by Renovationists "null and void", hence these receiving clergy were received in those orders in which they happened to be upon the moment when they joined the schism (i.e. 1922). The only exception was made for Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky, who was regarded as the ‘father-founder’ of the schism. Vvedensky refused to come into the Moscow Patriarchy as a layman, and died unreconciled.

In 1943, the Renovationist church had 13 active hierarchs and 10 more bishops, retired or in exile. By 1945 only three bishops remained, one of whom was retired. In Moscow, only one church remained under Renovationist control; the rest of the church properties had been returned by the Soviet government to the Moscow Patriarchy while Vvedensky was in evacuation. Vvedensky died of a stroke on July 8, 1946, with his church in complete disarray. By this time, almost all the Renovationist parishes and clergy had been annexed to the Moscow Patriarchate. After that scattered and isolated communities left in the country, headed by priests, who, in case of repentance, were defrocked for canonical reasons. The last Renovationist bishops to recognize the patriarchal Church were Archbishop Gabriel (Olkhovik) (1948) and Seraphim (Korovin) (August 1, 1948) and Alexander (Shcherbakov) (April 17, 1949). The last Renovationist hierarch in the USSR was Metropolitan Philaret (Yatsenko) of Krutitsy, who considered himself the head of the Renovationist Church. He died in early 1951, leaving no successors.

Leadership and administration
The central administrative body of the Renovationist Church, as well as its entire administration, was in a state of constant flux and changed names several times in the 28-year period of its existence. Initially it was called the Supreme Church Administration (Высшее церковное управление), then Supreme Church Council (1922–23). Thereafter it assumed a more traditional style: The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in the USSR (1923–1935). Its President was usually considered a chief hierarch of the church, regardless of the see that he occupied.

In its later years, the Renovationist administration started to lean more toward more "traditionalist" titles. In 1933, the position of the First Hierarch (Первоиерарх) was introduced, in opposition to the "Tikhonite" Church, which was not to have a Patriarch until 1943. The position was given to the then-President of Synod Vitaly Vvedensky; however, since the mid-1920s all power in the Renovationist Church had consolidated in the hands of its actual leader, Metropolitan Alexander Vvedensky. Toward the latter part of the 1930s, A. Vvedensky bore a very peculiar conglomerate of titles, invented specially for him: Metropolitan - Apologete - Evangelizer and Deputy First Hierarch. In the fall of 1941 he himself assumed the title of the First Hierarch and made an abortive attempt to declare himself a Patriarch of all Orthodox Churches in the USSR. The attempt was not received well by his fellow clergy, and in December 1941 he reverted to his previous titles.

The Chief Hierarchs of the Renovationist Church
The hierarchs in the position of official leaders of the Renovationist Church were:

 * Chairman of Supreme Church Administration
 * Metropolitan Antonin (Granovsky) (15 May 1922 – 8 May 1923)

 * Chairman of the Supreme Church Council
 * Metropolitan Antonin (Granovsky) (8 May – 24 June 1923)
 * Metropolitan Yevdokim (Meschersky) (13 April – 8 August 1923)

 * President of the Holy Synod
 * Metropolitan Yevdokim (Meschersky) (8 August 1923 – 9 April 1925)
 * Metropolitan Benjamin (Muratovsky) (February 1925 – 6 May 1930)
 * Metropolitan Vitaly (Vvedensky) (10 May 1930 – 29 April 1935)

 * First Hierarchs
 * Metropolitan Vitaly (Vvedensky) (5 May 1933 - 6 October 1941)
 * Metropolitan Alexander (Vvedensky) (6 October 1941 – 8 August 1946) self-proclaimed Patriarch during October–December 1941
 * Metropolitan Philaret (Yatsenko) (1946–1951) de facto

title: Renovationism


text:
Christopher Gadsden

Christopher Gadsden (February 16, 1724 – August 28, 1805) was an American politician who was the principal leader of the South Carolina Patriot movement during the American Revolution. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress, a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, a merchant, and the designer of the Gadsden flag. He is a signatory to the Continental Association.

Early life
Gadsden was born in 1724 in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the son of Thomas Gadsden (b. 1701), who had been in the Royal Navy before becoming customs collector for the Port of Charleston. His grandfather, Edward Gadsden, was born in Wiltshire, England in 1672 and emigrated to South Carolina in 1695. He was sent to school near Bristol, England. He returned to America in 1740 and served as an apprentice at a counting house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He inherited a large fortune from his parents who died in 1741. From 1745 to 1746 he was a purser on a British warship during King George's War. He entered into mercantile ventures and by 1747 had earned enough to return to South Carolina and buy back the land his father had sold because he needed the money to pay off debts. He built Beneventum Plantation House in about 1750.

Views on slavery
While Gadsden vehemently supported John Adams, who was opposed to slavery and promoted a gradual approach to abolition, the U.S. National Park Service writes that "by 1774, Christopher Gadsden owned four stores, several merchant vessels, two rice plantations, a residential district in Charleston called Gadsdenboro, and a large wharf on the Cooper River." Of all the colonies, South Carolina received the highest number of slaves from Africa, and most of these came ashore on Gadsden's Wharf in Charleston. Gadsden himself held slaves, as did many rice plantation owners in South Carolina who used the labor of enslaved Africans to grow and sell agricultural products. In A Forgotten Founder: The Life and Legacy of Christopher Gadsden, Kelcey Eldridge states that, "at the time of his death, he owned enough slaves to 'divide my Estate real and personal as well as my negroes as otherwise into nineteen equal parts or shares; but it is unknown just how many enslaved people he purchased, owned, or used.

Seven Years' War
Gadsden began his rise to prominence as a merchant and patriot in Charleston. He prospered as a merchant and built the wharf that bears his name. Between its completion in 1767 until 1787 and 1803 to 1808, it is estimated that 40% of all African slaves (about 100,000 enslaved people) were brought to America through his wharf. He was captain of a militia company during a 1759 expedition against the Cherokee. He was first elected to the Commons House of Assembly in 1757 and began a long friction with autocratic royal governors. His re-election to the Commons in 1762 was beset with minor voting irregularities, which resulted in Governor Boone refusing to administer the oath of office for Gadsden and dissolving the entire Commons. This perceived excess of gubernatorial power led to a political culture in South Carolina of legislative dominance over the executive branch.

In 1766, the assembly made him one of their delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City, which was called to protest the Stamp Act. While his fellow delegates Thomas Lynch and John Rutledge served on committees to draft appeals to the House of Lords and Commons respectively, Gadsden refused any such assignment, since in his view the British parliament had no rights in the matter. He was outspoken in his support of the Declaration of Rights and Grievances produced by the Congress. His addresses brought him to the attention of Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, and the two began a long correspondence and friendship. Gadsden was eventually known as "the Sam Adams of the South".

Revolutionary years
On his return from New York, Gadsden became one of the founders and leaders of the Charleston Sons of Liberty. He had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the militia. He was elected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and the Second Continental Congress the following year. He left Congress early in 1776 to assume command of the 1st South Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army and to serve in the Provincial Congress of South Carolina. In February 1776, South Carolina President John Rutledge named him a brigadier general in charge of the state's military forces. As the British prepared to attack Charleston, Major General Charles Lee ordered outlying positions abandoned. Rutledge and the local officers disagreed. A compromise was reached and as William Moultrie prepared the defenses on Sullivan's Island, Gadsden paid for, and his regiment built, a bridge that would allow their escape if the position were threatened. The British attack was repulsed.

In 1778, Gadsden was a member of the South Carolina convention that drafted a new state constitution. That same year he was named the lieutenant governor, to replace Henry Laurens who was away at the Continental Congress. He served in that office until 1780. For the first year and a half, his office was called "Vice President of South Carolina," but when the new constitution was adopted, the title was changed to the modern usage.

When the British laid siege to Charleston in 1780, John Rutledge, as president of the council, fled to North Carolina to ensure a "government in exile" should the city fall. Gadsden remained, along with Governor Rawlins Lowndes. General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered the Continental Army garrison on May 12 to General Henry Clinton. At the same time, Gadsden represented the civil government and surrendered the city. He was sent on parole to his Charleston house.

Prisoner of war
After Clinton returned to New York, the new British commander in the South, General Charles Cornwallis, changed the rules. On August 27, 1780, he arrested about 20 of the civil officers then on parole. They were marched as prisoners to a ship and taken to St. Augustine, Florida. When they arrived, Governor Patrick Tonyn offered the freedom of the town if they would give their parole. Most accepted, but Gadsden refused claiming that the British had already violated one parole, and he could not give his word to a false system. As a result, he spent the next 42 weeks in solitary confinement in a prison room at the old Spanish fortress of Castillo de San Marcos. When they were released in 1781, they were sent by merchant ship to Philadelphia. Once there, Gadsden learned of the defeat of Cornwallis' subordinate Banastre Tarleton at Cowpens and Cornwallis' subsequent movement to Yorktown. Gadsden hurried home to help the restoration of South Carolina's civil government.

Later life
Gadsden was returned to South Carolina's House of Representatives, then meeting at Jacksonboro. At this session, Governor Randolph and de facto President Rutledge both surrendered their offices. Gadsden was elected as the governor but felt he had to decline. His health was still impaired from his imprisonment, and an active governor was needed since the British had not yet given up Charleston. So in 1782, John Mathews became the new governor. Gadsden was also a member of the state convention in 1788 and voted for ratification of the United States Constitution.

In 1798, he built the imposing house at 329 East Bay Street in the Ansonborough area of Charleston that remained in the family for more than a century; famous ironworker Philip Simmons built the gates that incorporate a snake motif, drawn from the "Don't Tread on Me" flag that Gadsden designed.

Gadsden was married three times and had four children with his second wife. Three of his grandsons, all brothers, were also notable:
 * Christopher Edwards Gadsden, who served as the fourth Episcopal Bishop of South Carolina
 * James Gadsden, for whom the Gadsden Purchase of Arizona was named
 * John Gadsden, who served two terms as the Mayor of Charleston

Gadsden died from an accidental fall on August 28, 1805, in Charleston, and is buried there in St. Philip's Churchyard.

Legacy
The Gadsden flag has come to symbolize individualism, the American Revolution, and liberty.

Battery Gadsden, an extension of Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island, is named after him.

title: Christopher Gadsden


text:
North Hamgyong Province

North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province.

Geography
The province is bordered by China (Jilin) to the north, South Hamgyong to the southwest and Ryanggang to the west. To the east is the Sea of Japan. The province is home to the Musudan-ri rocket launching site and the Hoeryong concentration camp. In 2004, Rason was reabsorbed back into the province and since 2010, Rason is again a Directly Governed City.

Economy
In critical studies of North Korea, North Hamgyong has a reputation as a neglected and underdeveloped region even by the country's standards. It was where the 1990s famine hit hardest, and food shortages persist even in the 2020s. The majority of North Korean defectors who live in South Korea came from the province after crossing the relatively shallow Tumen River into China. Therefore, the conditions of the province, which analyst Fyodor Tertitskiy has described as "not only a very grim, but also a very boring place," tend to be projected onto the whole country, even though they are not representative.

Administrative divisions
North Hamgyong is divided into three cities (si) and 12 counties (kun). These are further divided into villages (ri) in rural areas and dong (neighborhoods) in cities. Some cities are also divided into wards known as "kuyŏk", which are administered just below the city level.

Cities
청진시/ 회령시/ 김책시/
 * Chongjin (Capital)
 * Hoeryong
 * Kimchaek

In popular culture

 * Cha Ki-seong (played by Kim Joo-hyuk), the main antagonist of the 2017 South Korean action comedy film Confidential Assignment is revealed to be a native of Hoeryong, one of the main cities of North Hamgyong Province.
 * One of the main characters of Netflix's famous South Korean thriller series Squid Game, Kang Sae-byeok (played by Jung Ho-yeon) is a North Korean defector who is originally from North Hamgyong Province and lived there before defecting with her younger brother Kang Cheol to South Korea.

title: North Hamgyong Province


text:
Boyd K. Packer

Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2008 until his death. He also served as the quorum's acting president from 1994 to 2008 and was an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve from 1970 until his death. He served as a general authority of the church from 1961 until his death.

Early life and education
Packer was born on September 10, 1924, in Brigham City, Utah, the tenth of eleven children born to Ira Wight Packer and Emma Jensen. As a young boy, he contracted polio. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in the spring of 1943. He graduated as a pilot in September 1944 and was assigned to bomber training. He was on Okinawa when World War II ended, and his unit remained stationed on Japan until 1946. After leaving the military, Packer initially attended Weber College (now Weber State University), where he met his future wife, Donna Smith (1927-2022). They married in the Logan Temple in 1947 and had ten children, including emeritus LDS general authority Allan F. Packer. After their marriage, Packer attended Utah State University, earning a B.S. degree in 1949 and an M.S. degree in 1953. He later earned an Ed.D. from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1962. Packer was also an artist and enjoyed painting birds. In 2014, BYU's Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum installed an exhibit featuring many of Packer's paintings and sculptures.

LDS Church employment and service
In his career as an educator, Packer worked for the Church Educational System, where he held various administrative positions overseeing seminary and institute programs, including as assistant supervisor of the church's Native American seminary programs, general assistant administrator of seminaries and institutes, and later as supervisor of church's seminaries and institutes. Packer served a four-year term on the Brigham City City Council.

In 1961, Packer was called by LDS Church president David O. McKay to serve as a general authority as an Assistant to the Twelve (a position that no longer exists). While serving in the position, Packer was assigned to serve as president of the church's New England States Mission. He also served for a time as the managing director of the church's military relations committee.

Following McKay's death in January 1970, Packer, then 45 years old, was called by new church president Joseph Fielding Smith as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the church's April 1970 general conference. Between 1979 and 1981, he was on the committee that produced the new editions of the LDS Church scriptures. On September 12, 1991, Packer dedicated Ukraine "for the preaching of the restored gospel." In 1993, Packer read the dedicatory prayer in the Spanish language at the dedication of the San Diego California Temple.

When Howard W. Hunter, who had been President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, succeeded to the presidency of the church in 1994, he called Gordon B. Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson as his counselors in the First Presidency. Packer was the fourth apostle in seniority among the ranks of the church, behind Hunter, Hinckley, and Monson. This created a situation where the only apostles senior to Packer were members of the First Presidency. As a result, Packer was named Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve. When Hunter died in 1995 and was succeeded by Hinckley, Monson was again retained in the First Presidency and Packer was again asked to be Acting President of the Twelve. Of the six acting presidents of the Quorum in the church's history, Packer served the longest in that capacity and is the only one to serve under two different church presidents.

In 1999, Packer dedicated the Regina Saskatchewan Temple. Packer became President of the Quorum of the Twelve on February 3, 2008, when Monson became church president. In 2012, Packer dedicated the Brigham City Utah Temple.

Teachings and legacy
Packer was well known for several talks and teachings, and several of his stories have been adapted into short films. His sermon about singing a hymn to drive off bad thoughts was adapted into the video Worthy Thoughts. His Parable of the Mediator (Jesus Christ) was adapted into the short film "The Mediator". "The Candle of the Lord" (1982) contained an analogy of trying to describe what salt tastes like to trying to describe what promptings from the Holy Ghost are like. Packer also taught the importance of following the rule before the exception and of hymn-centered prelude music for worship services.

Packer blamed “immorality” in the United States for its loss in the Vietnam War. Items he cited as immoral included “unmarried couples, abortion, the elimination of prayer from public life, addictive drugs, and the placing of the collective rights of the majority in subjugation to any citizen’s individual rights.”

Packer served as an advisor to the Genesis Group, a social organization of the LDS Church for African-American members and their families, and was also active in obtaining genealogical records on microfilm for the church through its Genealogical Society of Utah. In 1977, Packer was a key figure in getting Native American-related records filmed from the federal records centers in Los Angeles, Fort Worth, Seattle, and Kansas City. He was involved in negotiations that same year with archivists and scholars at Jerusalem to microfilm Jewish records.

Controversy
In a General Conference Priesthood Session in October 1976, Packer gave a sermon entitled "To Young Men Only", in which he discouraged boys of the Young Men organization in the Aaronic priesthood from pursuing activities which the LDS Church defines as immoral, including masturbation, the use of pornography, and homosexual activities. The sermon has been criticized for encouraging homophobia and gay bashing. Packer also addressed homosexuality in a 1978 speech, "To the One", directed to "those few, those very few, who may be subject to homosexual temptation"; and comments during his October 2010 General Conference address, "Cleansing the Inner Vessel", were interpreted as pertaining to homosexuality and generated a petition by the Human Rights Campaign. The church responded to this petition by reaffirming its doctrinal position on marriage while reiterating the universal need to follow "Jesus Christ's second great commandment—to love one another." Following the conference, Packer altered the published text of the sermon to "clarif[y] his intent." In 2013, amid a nationwide shift toward acceptance and legalization of same-sex marriage, Packer attracted some attention for comments critical of "legalized acts of immorality" and warning of a "tolerance trap."

In 1981, Packer advocated that Latter-day Saint historians and educators should use discretion in discussing history that does not promote faith. In a speech to educators in the LDS Church Educational System, he cautioned, "There is a temptation for the writer or teacher of Church history to want to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith-promoting or not. Some things that are true are not very useful." Teaching that teachers should "give milk before meat", he stated that "Teaching some things that are true, prematurely or at the wrong time, can invite sorrow and heartbreak instead of the joy intended to accompany learning.… [S]ome things are to be taught selectively and some things are to be given only to those who are worthy." Packer's opinion applied to all historians who were members of the LDS Church:"That historian or scholar who delights in pointing out the weakness and frailties of present or past leaders destroys faith. A destroyer of faith—particularly one within the Church, and more particularly one who is employed specifically to build faith—places himself in great spiritual jeopardy. He is serving the wrong master, and unless he repents, he will not be among the faithful in the eternities. One who chooses to follow the tenets of his profession, regardless of how they may injure the Church or destroy the faith of those not ready for 'advanced history', is himself in spiritual jeopardy. If that one is a member of the Church, he has broken his covenants and will be held accountable." Packer's comments raised criticism by some prominent Mormon and non-Mormon scholars. Soon after Packer's 1981 speech, Mormon historian D. Michael Quinn gave a speech highly critical of Packer's views, and suggested that a historian who followed Packer's advice would sacrifice their honesty and professional integrity. Quinn also discussed what he viewed as a Mormon tradition of portraying LDS leaders as infallible people. C. Robert Mesle has criticized Packer as having created a false dichotomy "between the integrity of faith and the integrity of inquiry."

Recognition
In May 2013, Weber State University, where Packer received an associate degree in 1948 and where he met his wife, designated a public service center for families the "Boyd K. and Donna Smith Packer Family and Community Education Center". Packer was also interviewed by PBS for its documentary on the LDS Church titled The Mormons.

Death
Packer died at his home on July 3, 2015. At the time of his death, he was the second-most senior apostle among the ranks of the church and the fifth-longest serving general authority in the church's history. His funeral was held on July 10, 2015, and he was buried in Brigham City.

title: Boyd K. Packer