text:
Talk:List of Nikon products

Wikipedia is not a brand-name catalog. Wetman 21:43, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Agreed - not a product catalog -- Egil 22:02, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

We have similar articles. There is no problem to keep this in wikipedia, and is useful. Optim 22:36, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

List of Nikon products
Including sub-page Nikon D70. Wikipedia is not a product catalog. Egil 22:32, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as d -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep: It is. Also keep the "subpage". Optim 22:43, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as k -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete DJ Clayworth 22:36, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as d -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * We have many similar articles. I will have to vfd all of them in case of deletion. I dont understand why we keep a list of all software products or a list of IBM products and we delete a list on Nikon products. Are we funded by IBM? :) We need to be fair. Optim 22:41, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. Secretlondon 22:46, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as k -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete: WP is not a product catalog -- impossible maintenance task. I'm comfortable with deleting the existing product lists. Wile E. Heresiarch 23:20, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as d -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. While I don't oppose this article on principle, unless it is made more substantial it misleads readers and as such is not NPOV. --Imran 23:28, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as d -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Wikipedia is not the entire Web. This is the sort of material for which corporate websites are ideal—comprehensive, and up-to-date. In many cases, material available on the web has value added to it by being selected for incorporation into Wikipedia and rewritten into an encyclopedia article. But in the case of a corporation's current product line, not only is no value added, but some value is subtracted by incorporating the material into Wikipedia. An historic overview of Nikon products, on the other hand, would be quite worthy of inclusion. Dpbsmith 23:47, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as d -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Merge and redir to Nikon - not substantial enough for its own article yet. This probably could have been done without VFD listing. Davodd 01:00, Mar 5, 2004 (UTC) counted as redir -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete: A) No reason to keep it here: those who need product catalog, go to the source. Those who need independent reviews or best prices, go to the corresponding sites. B) This is slippery slope. Imagine what will happen if some marketroids will learn that WP sports their competitor's catalog... Similarly hunt down other similar marketing catalogs in the WP. --Humus sapiens 04:03, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as d -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Uh, keep. As is.  I don't see what the big deal is.  RadicalBender 04:31, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as k -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Undecided. IMO it would be cool to have a good list of Nikon products, and not just the current ones. That's where the corporate websites tend to let us down, eg the Paiste cymbal site lists only currently manufactured models, not even ones that were current a week ago and will still be in the shops for the next 2-3 years! That's the most extreme example I know. But, the Nikon article itself is a stub, and if this were merged in I'm not sure the redirect would be useful. Andrewa 06:46, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC) not counted -- Optim 09:29, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep D70 article. Obviously useful, verfiable, extendable content. Only reason proposed for deletion is the claim that Wikipedia is not a product catalog - it clearly is (amongst other things). Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 10:12, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC) not counted (ambiguous) Optim 11:42, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as k -- Optim·.· 18:16, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * What is ambiguous about the word "KEEP"? What is ambiguous about "useful, verfiable, extendable conent"? If these new tallies are to be kept, they need to be accurate. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 14:31, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Answered on your talk page. Optim·.· 17:25, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * List of Nikon products redirected to Nikon and merged. Keep redirect. Best presentation at this time and for the forseeable future is to present a single cohesive article. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 10:12, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as redir Optim 11:42, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep both. I don't love lists, but this is clearly useful, verifiable, and a heck of a lot more handy than loads of other lists we've decided to keep. Sam Spade 10:17, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as k Optim 11:42, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Redir to Nikon and merge - Texture 15:59, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as redir -- Optim·.· 18:16, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Redirect List of Nikon products to Nikon. A decision should be taken here and someone needs to notify User:Vespristiano (who seems to be catologuing his gadget collection!).  There was a similar  decision on List of Sony products and Sony PictureStation DPP-EX50.  See also List of Olympus products and Olympus C-770 Movie, List of Matsushita products and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1, List of Sony Ericsson products and Sony Ericsson P900 etc etc etc.  This guy works hard and has been commended for his work on Star Trek episodes, so a simple pointer towards some kind of policy would help stop these re-appearing on Vfd. akaDruid 16:33, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC) counted as redir -- Optim·.· 18:16, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * There are others too: List of Nokia products, List of EZQuest products, List of Canon products, List of cookbooks, List of Kodak products (in case any needs a YAL for editing purposes!) akaDruid 16:39, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * If they're all as short as Nikon, merge into parent. If the pairs of articles are long, then keep separate with links to each other. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 18:47, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep Everyking 20:22, 5 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. Similar articles exist; either we delete them or we keep this. --Johnleemk 10:41, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * They are redirected now. If someone wants to revert that, they can, but it's not an issue for VfD which is why I've removed it from there. I redirected Nikon D70 as it had a vfd notice on it but I don't really mind whether it is kept as a merge with Nikon or reverted to its own page.Angela. 14:03, Mar 6, 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:List of Nikon products


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SC4

SC4 may refer to:

 * Au Cap (ISO 3166-2:SC code SC-04), an administrative district of Seychelles located on the island of Mahé
 * USS SC-4, an SC-1-class submarine chaser built for the United States Navy during World War I
 * SC04, a FIPS code for Saint George Gingerland Parish, Saint Kitts and Nevis
 * SC4, an uncultivated bacterial phylum
 * SimCity 4, a 2003 city-building computer game
 * South Carolina Highway 4, a 54.2-mile-long (87.2 km) state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina
 * South Carolina's 4th congressional district, a congressional district in upstate South Carolina bordering North Carolina
 * St. Clair County Community College, a two-year community college located in Port Huron, Michigan
 * Super Castlevania IV, a 1991 video game

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

title: SC4


text:
User:Ace Diamond

My real name is Tim Sheehan and I teach high school. I'm tempted to type a resume here but... well, I'm not going to. I will note that I am a political scientist by training and an active politician by avocation.

I'm currently going to concentrate my attention on the politics entry. Please feel free to comment.Ace Diamond 13:54, 29 Apr 2004 (UTC)

This user doesn't use user boxes.

title: User:Ace Diamond


text:
AEA Silver Dart

The Silver Dart (or Aerodrome #4) was a derivative of an early aircraft built by a Canadian/U.S. team, which after many successful flights in Hammondsport, New York, earlier in 1908, was dismantled and shipped to Baddeck, Nova Scotia. It was flown from the ice of Baddeck Bay, a sub-basin of Bras d'Or Lake, on 23 February 1909, making it the first controlled powered flight in Canada. The aircraft was piloted by one of its designers, Douglas McCurdy. The original Silver Dart was designed and built by the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), which had been formed under the guidance of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell.

From 1891, Bell had begun experiments at Baddeck and Hammondsport to develop motor-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. By 1908, the success of the AEA was seen in a series of ground-breaking designs, culminating in the Silver Dart. By the time the Silver Dart was constructed in late 1908, it was the Aerial Experiment Association's fourth flying machine. One of its precursors, the June Bug, had already broken records. It won the Scientific American Trophy for making the first official one mile (1609 m) flight in North America.

The frame and structure of the Silver Dart were made of steel tube, bamboo, friction tape, wire and wood. The wings were covered with rubberized, silvery balloon cloth provided by Capt. Thomas Scott Baldwin of Hammondsport; hence the name the "Silver Dart". Its Kirkham engine, supplied by Glenn Curtiss, was a reliable V-8 that developed 50 hp at 1,000 RPM. The propeller was carved from a solid block of wood. The aircraft had what is now called a canard or an "elevator in front" design. Like most aircraft of its day the Silver Dart had poor control characteristics; likewise, it had no brakes.

Operational history
When the Silver Dart lifted off on 23 February 1909, it flew only half a mile (800 m) at an elevation from three to nine meters, and a speed of roughly 65 km/h. The aircraft was the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to fly in Canada. Other records were soon to fall; on 10 March 1909, the Silver Dart flown again by McCurdy completed a circular course over a distance of more than 35 km. The first passenger flight in Canada was made in the Silver Dart on 2 August 1909.

The Canadian Army was unimpressed at the headway made by the group. The general impression of the time was that aircraft would never amount to much in actual warfare. Despite official scepticism, the Association was finally invited to the military base at Camp Petawawa to demonstrate the aircraft. The sandy terrain made a poor runway for an aircraft with landing wheels about 2 in wide. The Silver Dart had great difficulty taking off. On its fifth flight on 2 August 1909, McCurdy wrecked the craft when one wheel struck a rise in the ground while landing. The Silver Dart never flew again.

Although a significant aircraft in Canada, the location of the initial design and construction of the Silver Dart made it an American design. Following the disbanding of the AEA, founding members, McCurdy and F.W. ("Casey") Baldwin obtained the Canadian patent rights for Aerodrome No. 4 (The Silver Dart), for the express purpose of producing a Canadian-made version. Subsequently, the Baddeck No. 1 and Baddeck No. 2 were built by the Canadian Aerodrome Company, the newly formed company that Baldwin and McCurdy established in 1909.

50th Anniversary flight
There is a reconstruction of the Silver Dart on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. The reconstruction was built by volunteers from the Royal Canadian Air Force between 1956 and 1958 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first flight. The aircraft flew over Baddeck Bay on the day of the anniversary but crashed due to high winds. A number of other scaled and full-scale replicas are found in Canadian and museum collections in other parts of the world, including examples at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum, Reynolds-Alberta Museum, Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum The Canadian Aviation Museum in Windsor On. A.G.Bell Museum, Baddeck Nova Scotia, the National Air Force Museum of Canada and Aero Space Museum of Calgary.

2009 Centennial celebrations
A small group of volunteers from the not-for-profit Aerial Experiment Association 2005 Inc. completed building a flying replica of the Silver Dart in early 2009. The main goal of the group was to recreate the original flight on 23 February 2009 – again on the frozen surface of Baddeck Bay near Baddeck, Nova Scotia. However, due to weather conditions forecast for the 23rd, the centennial flight and fly-by occurred on 22 February. After a temporary repair made to the front wheel, former Canadian astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason piloted five successful flights that day. The replica is officially considered a Canadian heritage project, and throughout the year was the centerpiece of a series of events celebrating the centennial of the Silver Dart's first flight in Canada. In 2013, it was moved to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, where it will be on permanent display.

Numerous other activities took place in 2009 to celebrate the Centennial of Flight, including a new exhibition entitled "Canadian Wings – A Remarkable Century of Flight" at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa and a trans-Canada flight of vintage aircraft. The no longer functional official Nova Scotia Ministry of Tourism website Centennial Celebration of the Flight of the Silver Dart in Baddeck promoted the flight and anniversary activities in Baddeck throughout the centennial. Various historical photos and documents were posted on that site, in a virtual museum presentation.

Commemorations
The 824 Silver Dart Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in St. Peter's, Nova Scotia is named in honour of the Silver Dart. Another cadet squadron, the 602 McCurdy Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets – in Florence, Nova Scotia – is named in honour of John McCurdy, the original pilot of the Silver Dart.

Physical commemorations include Silver Dart Drive, located in Mississauga, Ontario, which is a perimeter roadway within the confines of Toronto Pearson International Airport. Another Ontario commemorative site is the double ice-surface arena in CFB Petawawa, known as the Silver Dart Arena.

On the 50th anniversary of its first flight, Canada Post issued a Canadian Silver Dart stamp on 23 February 1959. During the Canadian Centenary of Flight, Canada Post honoured the Silver Dart – and the first flight in Canada – with a Canadian postage stamp released on 23 February 2009.

title: AEA Silver Dart


text:
Thrill of a Lifetime (TV series)

Thrill of a Lifetime is a television reality series (before that term was coined) created by Sidney M. Cohen (who also directed many of the episodes) and Willie Stein. It was telecast from 1981 to 1988 in Canada on the CTV network. Thrill of a Lifetime gave viewers the chance to live their dreams, with thrills ranging from daredevil adventures to the romantic. The program was hosted by Doug Paulson, with Teri Austin joining as co-host later in its run. One of the program's more notable episodes was in its first season, when it arranged for an aspiring model named Shannon Tweed to pose for Playboy, which led to her becoming 1982's Playmate of the Year and launching an acting career.

Thrill of a Lifetime was revived in 2002 with new episodes produced and telecast in Canada and other countries.

Episodes
The original run of Thrill of a Lifetime ran for six seasons.

title: Thrill of a Lifetime (TV series)


text:
Talk:Eberhard Arnold

User 64.72.66.122 edited out the following: "After Arnold's death, the Bruderhof was led by his son, Heinrich Arnold, and is currently under the leadership of Johann Christoph Arnold, Heinrich's son. Other brethren that respect the teaching of Eberhard Arnold have withdrawn for the Bruderhof, citing what they claim are "totalitarian" tendencies."

Unless that user or someone else can show that this information is incorrect, I will be adding it back to the article. Did these two men not follow Eberhard Arnold in leadership? As far as those that have withdrawn and claim the present Bruderhof has "totalitarian" tendencies", the article does not say they are correct - just that this is their viewpoint. Whether they are correct or not, it is their viewpoint.

The same user has shown the same tendency in the Bruderhof article - the tendency to remove anything that might be construed as negative. IMO, both articles discuss fairly indifferently the fact that there are those who have both positive and negative views about some things concerning the Bruderhof. - Rlvaughn 21:47, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Oops, sorry, after coming here from Purported cults, I just reflexively restored the deleted sentences.

Regards, Fire Star 15:42, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC)

The sentences were removed because they contain a number of factual errors. There was a period of 25 years after Eberhard Arnold's death when the Bruderhof was lead by someone else before Heinrich Arnold became elder in 1962, and currently the leadership is not under Johann Christoph Arnold. Regarding the second sentence, I am not aware of any brethren that fit this description.

 * It would be better to correct factual errors rather than just delete material. I found the dates of Heinrich's leadership and clarified that in the article. This site - http://www.christopharnold.com/jca/Bio/index.htm - would make it appear that Johann Christoph Arnold is the leader (Arnold is senior pastor of the Bruderhof - an international communal movement dedicated to a life of simplicity, service, sharing, and nonviolence). Can you address the issue more clearly, since you seem to be an insider? As far as the second sentence, your not being of aware of something does not make it a factual error. - Rlvaughn 18:33, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)

As a Bruderhof member I can clarify this. The Bruderhof has several senior pastors, but only one elder and one assistant elder. Johann Christoph Arnold served as elder from 1983 to 2001. I have changed the article reflect this. - JoeHine 11:34, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Joe, thanks for the clarifications. I noticed that you changed "Other brethren that respect the teaching of Eberhard Arnold have withdrawn for the Bruderhof, citing what they claim are 'totalitarian' tendencies." to "Some former members have criticized the Arnolds' leadership." User 64.72.66.122, also a Bruderhof member, objected to all the information, stating that it was not relevant to the article. IMO, the first part was relevant, in that it showed his family following in his footsteps. The later part was relevant in that it showed Arnold's influence extended beyond the Bruderhof. As it stands the way you have changed the last part, it shifts the direction from how people feel/felt about E. Arnold (respect his teachings) to how people feel/felt about the leadership of his son and grandson. Am I incorrect in thinking that some people felt that the modern leadership went further away from the teachings of Arnold? I have gotten that impression from things I have read on the subject. I think there needs to be some statement in this article that there are people (even if we leave off about those who've withdrawn from the Bruderhof) who have read Arnold, have been blessed by some of his teachings, while believing the community lifestyle is not necessary. - Rlvaughn 22:07, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I agree. I've changed the article to reflect this. - JoeHine 09:39, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Eberhard Arnold


text:
Belgorod Oblast

Belgorod Oblast (Белгоро́дская о́бласть) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Belgorod. , the population is 1,540,486.

History

During the Princely era of Kievan Rus', the region was part of the Principality of Chernigov. The area was devastated by Mongol-Tatar raids and came under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th and 15th centuries. Since 1500 it was part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

At the turn of the 17th century, a solid line of military fortifications was built in the area, stretching for almost 800 km. Zaporozhian Cossacks, who moved here because of the nobility and the tax burden, were in charge of the line defenses. Even more Cossacks moved to the area during the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648–1657) and the internecine wars in the Cossack Hetmanate (1659–1679). Belgorod became the military and administrative center, after originating as an outpost on the southern borders of Russia.

Following the Battle of Poltava, Peter I granted to soldiers of Greater Belgorod the regiment flag.

From 1708 to 1727, the territory of the modern Belgorod Oblast was part of the Kiev and Azov governorates. In 1727, Belgorod Governorate was established from parts of Kiev Governorate. The governorate lasted until 1779. This territory was much greater than that of today, and the governorate incorporated territories modern Kursk, Oryol, and parts of Bryansk and Kharkiv oblasts. The coat of arms of the then-Governorate is still used by the modern Belgorod Oblast.

In 1775–1779, the territory of Belgorod Governorate was abolished and divided between the newly formed governorates and vice-royalties. The city of Belgorod and the area around it became a part of Kursk Vice-Royalty, while the southeastern uyezds became a part of Voronezh Governorate.

During the 19th century and up until 1928 the territory of modern Belgorod Oblast remained part of the Kursk and Voronezh governorates. After the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in April 1918, in January 1919 the territory was incorporated into the Ukrainian State under hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi.

The current administrative-territorial boundaries of Belgorod Oblast were formed by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on 6 January 1954. The oblast was formed from several districts of Kursk and Voronezh Oblasts.

For the courage and resilience shown by the people of Belgorod Oblast in defense of the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, and for progress in reconstruction and development of national economy. On 4 January 1967, Belgorod Oblast was awarded the Order of Lenin, and in 1980 the city of Belgorod was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, first degree.

In 2007, the city of Belgorod received the honorary title of the City of Military Glory.

In May 2023, the governor of the region claimed that a Ukrainian "sabotage group" entered the region. Ukrainian media identified the alleged groups as the Freedom of Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps. The units claimed they had "completely liberated" the settlement of Kozinka in the oblast, and that they had entered Graivoron.

Geography
Belgorod Oblast is part of the Central Black Earth economic region and the Central Federal District. It borders with Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Sumy Oblasts of Ukraine in the south and west, Kursk Oblast in the north and northwest, and Voronezh Oblast in the east. The total length of its borders is about 1150 km, of which 540 km are on the border with Ukraine.

The area of the oblast is 27100 km2; the oblast stretches for about 190 km from north to south and for about 270 km from east to west. The oblast is located in the southwestern and southern slopes of the Central Russian Upland in the Dnieper and Don River basins, in the steppe zone of elevated hilly plain with an average height of 200 m above the sea level. The highest point is 277 m above sea level, in Prokhorovsky District. The lowest point is located at the bottom of the Oskol and Seversky Donets River valleys.

Climate
The climate of Belgorod Oblast is temperate continental with a relatively mild winter with some snowfall and long summers. Average annual air temperature varies from +5.4 C to +6.7 C, being warmer on average in the southeast than the north. The coldest month is January and the frost-free period is 155–160 days, with an average of 1800 hours of sunshine. Rainfall is uneven by year and season, with an average of 540–550 mm although rainfall can dramatically differ between the western and northern areas and the warmer, drier eastern and southeast where some years lows of around 400 mm have been recorded.

Natural resources
Over 40% of known iron ore reserves of Russia are concentrated in the oblast. Deposits are confined to the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly area. Among them are Korobkovsky, Lebedinskoye, Stoylenskoye, and prospective Prioskolskoye iron ore deposits in Stary Oskol District, Bolshetroitskoye in Shebekinsky District, as well as Yakovlevskoye and Pogremetskoye fields.

Identified and explored in varying degrees are the large deposits of bauxites, apatites, underground mineral waters, and numerous deposits of construction materials such as chalk, sand, clay, and more. There are also known occurrences of gold, graphite, and other rare metals. Geographical features make the oblast likely to have deposits of platinum, hydrocarbons, and other minerals.

Hydrography
Rivers, lakes, and marshes occupy about 1% of the oblast's territory. There are more than 480 small rivers and streams. The largest of them are in the northwest—the Seversky Donets, Vorskla, Vorsklitsa, Psyol, and in the eastern regions—the Oskol, Tikhaya Sosna, Chyornaya Kalitva, Valuy. The total length of the river network is roughly 5000 km, and in addition, there are 1,100 ponds and four artificial reservoirs.

Wildlife
The fauna of Belgorod Oblast is predominantly of the meadow-steppe variety and comprises, by various estimates, from ten to fifteen thousand species.

About 10% of the animal species are in need of special protection. Fifty species are included in the IUCN Red List. There are about 279 species of birds, including 152 which breed in the oblast. The richest bird populations include sparrows (111 species); waders (45 species); geese (up to 30 species); day predators (21 species). The richest bird populations include sparrows (111 species); waders (45 species); geese (up to 30 species); day predators (21 species). The numbers of game animal species are as follows: moose: 387; deer: 501; roe deer: 4474; boar: 2574; hare: 18361; fox: 3856; marten: 2025; polecat: 1120; wolf: 36. The annual number of game animals remains stable.

Vegetation
Vegetation in Belgorod Oblast reflects the features of the northern forest-steppe, characterized by the alternation of forests with the meadow steppes. It is chiefly represented by two types of vegetation—the zonal and extrazonal. In all, there are 1,284 flora species. Woodlands cover 9.8% of the total area, of which over 800 hectares are classified as protected areas because their rare species of plants and habitats of animals are on the IUCN red list.

Culture
The Belgorod region played a significant role in the evolution of Russian culture. It was inhabited by different tribes besides East Slavs and was one of the earliest Rus' principalities. Belgorod region played an important role in the Russian wedding tradition of the Rushnyk. Belgorod is also famous for its wood carving.

Politics

During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Belgorod CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.

The Charter of Belgorod Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Belgorod Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia.

The governor of Belgorod Oblast, Yevgeny Savchenko, was first appointed to this position in 1993 and subsequently re-elected in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2012 and 2017. In the 1999 election, his rival was Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Savchenko holds the title of longest-serving governor in post-Soviet Russia, being in office for 27 years. Since November 2020, Vyacheslav Gladkov is the governor of Belgorod Oblast.

On 13 September 2020, elections to the 7th Belgorod Oblast Duma were conducted. The United Russia Party has won 44 out of 50 seats, 4 seats were won by the Communist Party, 1 by the LDPR, and 1 by the Russian Party of Pensioners for Social Justice.

Demographics
In terms of area, the oblast is in the 67th place among the federal subjects of Russia; while in terms of population it is 30th (as of the results of the 2021 Census, down two places compared to the 2010 Census results. According to the results of the 2021 Census, the population of the oblast was 1,540,486, with the urban population of 65.2% and the rural population of 34.8%. This is up from 1,532,526 recorded in the 2010 Census, and 1,380,723 recorded in the 1989 Census.

Population density in 2008 was 56.1 persons per 1 km2. The average age is 38.5 years—35.6 for men and 41 for women; 46% of the population are economically active.

As in other regions of the European part of Russia, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union there has been a natural population decrease (about -5 per 1,000 of the population). In recent years, there has been some reversion of this decline as a result of growth of fertility and mortality. Nevertheless, despite the negative trend of growth, the population of the area has remained relatively stable because of immigration. Belgorod, in Soviet times, attracted retirement workers from the Far North and Ukraine. This trend has increased since 2005 and now cancels out the natural decline in population. Worker migrants also arrive in Belgorod from Uzbekistan; however, Muslim migrants face discrimination on a daily basis, and choose to leave.

Population
Population:

Ethnic composition

 * 245,098 people (or 15.9% of the population) residing in the Belgorod oblast did not state their ethnicity in the 2021 census.
 * 44,012 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.

Vital statistics for 2022:
 * Births: 10,885 (7.1 per 1,000)
 * Deaths: 21,754 (14.3 per 1,000)

Total fertility rate (2022):

1.17 children per woman

Life expectancy (2021):

Total — 70.67 years (male — 66.54, female — 74.66)

Religion
According to a 2012 survey 50.5% of the population of Belgorod Oblast adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 8.1% are nondenominational Christians (excluding Protestant churches), 1.7% are Orthodox Christians who don't belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. In addition, 22.2% of the population declares to be spiritual but not religious, 10.5% is atheist or irreligious, and 7% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

Administrative divisions
Belgorod Oblast is administratively divided into twenty-one districts (raions), which are further divided into 335 rural okrugs. There are ten cities/towns in the oblast, as well as twenty urban-type settlements and 1,592 rural-type settlements.

Economy
Belgorod Oblast is a highly developed industrial-agrarian region, whose economy relies on its enormous wealth of mineral resources and the unique black soils.

Belgorod Oblast has traditionally had and still has strong ties with the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine. Despite its relatively small size, the oblast accounts for one fifth of the trade turnover between Russia and Ukraine.

Some 2,713.4 thousand hectares is dedicated to agriculture, over 70% of which are chernozems. Per capita, there are an average of 1.43 hectares of pastoral land, and 1.1 hectares of arable land. Natural forests and forest plantations occupy 248.3 thousand hectares, or 12.5% of the oblast's area. Total timber reserves are estimated to be 34.3 million m3.

Transport
Important railways and highways of regional significance cross the oblast's territory, connecting Moscow with the southern and western regions of Russia and Ukraine. Of major importance is the Crimea Highway, or federal highway M-2 Crimea, and the Moscow-Kharkiv-Sevastopol railway line. The length of railways for general use is 694.6 km; the length of paved roads is 8,500 km; roughly 87% of the total road surface in the oblast.

title: Belgorod Oblast


text:
Physician assistant

A Physician Assistant or Physician Associate (PA) is a type of healthcare professional. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes between smaller jurisdictions such as states or provinces. Depending on location, PAs practice semi-autonomously under the supervision of a physician, or autonomously perform a subset of medical services classically provided by physicians.

The educational model was initially based upon the accelerated training of physicians in the United States during the shortage of qualified medical providers during World War II. Since then, the use of PAs has spread to at least 16 countries around the world. In the US, PAs may diagnose illnesses, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and serve as a principal healthcare provider. In many states PAs are required to have a direct agreement with a physician. In the UK, PAs were introduced in 2003. They support the work of the healthcare team, but are dependent clinicians requiring supervision from a physician. They cannot prescribe medications nor request ionising radiation investigations (e.g., x-ray) in the UK. PAs are widely used in Canada. The model began during the Korean War and transitioned to the present concept in 2002. Skills and scope of privileges are similar to those in the US.

Nomenclature
The occupational title of physician assistant and physician associate originated in the United States in 1967 at Duke University. The role has been adopted in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, India, Israel, Bulgaria, Myanmar, Switzerland, Liberia, Ghana, and by analogous names throughout Africa, each with their own nomenclature and education structure.

Services
Physician assistants or associates may:
 * conduct patient interviews and take medical histories
 * conduct physical examinations
 * order and interpret diagnostic tests and exams (in some countries)
 * diagnose illnesses
 * formulate treatment plans
 * coordinate and manage care
 * perform medical procedures
 * prescribe medications (in some countries)
 * conduct clinical research
 * provide patient counselling
 * offer advice on preventative health care
 * first assist in surgery
 * Can serve as a clinical tutor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor (depending on academic qualifications along with experience).

Workplaces
Physician assistants or associates train to work in settings such as hospitals, clinics and other types of health facilities, or virtually via telemedicine. PAs are commonly found working in teaching and research as well as hospital administration and other clinical environments. PAs may practice in primary care or medical specialties, including emergency medicine, surgery and cardiology.

Training
Physician assistant (or associate) education is shorter than a medical degree required to become a physician. It also typically does not involve residency training, although this is increasingly offered in a variety of specialties.

Renewal of certification is usually required every few years, varying by jurisdiction.

History
In 1961, Charles Hudson recommended that the American Medical Association create new medical provider certifications. Eugene A. Stead of the Duke University Medical Center assembled the first class of physician assistants in 1965, composed of four former US Navy Hospital Corpsmen. He based the curriculum of the PA program on his first-hand knowledge of the fast-track training of medical doctors during World War II. Two other physicians, Richard Smith at the University of Washington, and Hu Myers at Alderson-Broaddus College launched their own programs in the mid-late 1960s. J. Willis Hurst started the Emory University Physician Assistant Program in 1967.

The Liberian model of PAs was a curriculum intended for graduates to work in areas absent of physicians as physician substitutes. Advisors for this program included UNICEF, American physicians, and Agnes N. Dagbe, MS, RN, a Liberian nurse educated in the US. Additional training was done in the USSR. The Liberian government inaugurated the program in 1965 with Dagbe as PA program.

Beginning in January 1971, the US Army produced eight classes of physician assistants, at 30 students per class, through the Academy of Health Sciences, Brooke Medical Center (academically accredited by Baylor University).

In 2017, approximately 68% of physician assistants in the United States were women and approximately 32% were men.

The profession expanded globally. It can now be found in Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Germany, Ghana, India, Israel, Liberia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. As a profession, physician assistants have greatly influenced the theory and conceptualization of socially accountable health professional education.

Australia
In 2011, Health Workforce Australia began developing the role of physician assistant throughout the country culminating with registration and a PA Program based out of James Cook University. The Australian Society of Physician Assistants in 2011 published a code of practice. Despite all initial indicators showing that the new profession would be successfully integrated into the health care system, in 2013 it was reported that the progress had floundered resulting in the majority of PAs in Australia being unemployed.

Canada
, there are approximately 800 physician assistants working in healthcare settings in Canada. The first formally trained physician assistants graduated in 1984 from the Canadian Forces Medical Services School at Borden, Ontario. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) recognized physician assistants as a health professional in 2003. Physician assistants are able to perform medical functions such as ordering tests, diagnosing diseases, prescribing medications, treating patients, educating patients and performing various medical and surgical procedures. Physician assistants are labeled under the federal government national occupational classification code 3124: allied primary health practitioners.

Education and certification (Canada)
The first civilian physician assistant education programs were launched in 2008 at the University of Manitoba and McMaster University. In 2010, a third civilian program was launched by the consortium of physician assistant education (University of Toronto, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and The Michener Institute) while further programmes were added in 2024 at Dalhousie University and at the University of Calgary.

In Canada, the education of a physician assistant generally consists of three years of professional post-graduate university education. The education is delivered over a two calendar year time-frame by completing fall, winter and summer semesters for both years of the program in either a master level university physician assistant program or post-graduate professional university bachelor level physician assistant program. Physician assistant graduates become eligible for the certification exam by being a graduate of a Canadian physician assistant program that is recognized by the Physician Assistant Certification Council of Canada (Canadian Armed Forces physician assistant program, University of Manitoba, McMaster University and the consortium of physician assistant education all of which are accredited by the Canadian Medical Association).

Scope of practice (Canada)
As of 2023 PAs in Canada may: Physician assistants resemble and provide many of the functions of Physician Assistants (PA) are academically prepared and highly skilled health care professionals who provide a broad range of medical services. PAs are physician extenders and not independent practitioners; they work with a degree of autonomy, negotiated and agreed on by the supervising physician(s) and the PA. PAs can work in any clinical setting to extend physician services. PAs complement existing services and aid in improving patient access to health care. A relationship with a supervising physician is essential to the role of the PA. " Physician assistants may be compared to the role of nurse practitioner by the general public and may be confused as the same profession. Nurse practitioners in Canada practice under an advanced nursing model. Physician assistants practice under a medical model, similarly modeled after medical school (physician) education. Nurse practitioners practice within their defined specific scope of practice autonomously and sometimes collaboratively. The defined scopes of a nurse practitioner include the areas of (family care, adults and paediatrics). Physician assistants are permitted to practice in all medical specialties by mirroring the practice of a physician with a full range of skills and scope by practicing both autonomously as a clinician and collaboratively with physicians when required. Some examples of practice areas for physician assistants include (emergency medicine, critical care medicine, cardiology, psychiatry, community and family medicine, neurology, surgery, orthopaedics, internal medicine, oncology, gastroenterology, military medicine, respirology, dermatology, women's health and many more specialities). Physician assistants may perform certain roles which have been traditionally only provided by physicians in clinical practice, making the PA's medical training over other providers unique in this regard.

Compensation (Canada)
Physician assistant salaries in civilian practice in Canada are relatively new and can range from approximately $80,000 CAD for entry level positions to $142,000 CAD a year for experienced providers which are not on call and up to $178,000 CAD for experienced providers which are on call. The physician assistant profession is newer to civilian practice in Canada. The compensation report published in 2019 by the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants outlines the typical salaries across Canada being an entry median salary of approximately $80,000 CAD and an experienced median salary of approximately $105,000 CAD.

Regulation (Canada)
Physician assistants are currently practicing across Canada in the Canadian Armed Forces as commissioned officers in domestic and international environments and have been in practice since the 1960s. Physician assistants outside of the Canadian Armed Forces practice usually in the public health care system in the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Alberta. Physician assistants have been regulated in Manitoba since 1999 and in New Brunswick since 2009 and are registrants of their respective provincial college of physicians and surgeons. In Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia the profession is not regulated at this time. Physician assistants in Ontario were introduced in 2007 to the public health system as a joint venture between the Ontario Ministry of Health and the Ontario Medical Association. In Alberta, a registry has been established for physician assistants under the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta with future regulation underway. In Ontario, future regulation has been discussed by the Ontario Ministry of Health in which physician assistants would be members of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Physician assistants are represented by the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants, which originally was formed in October 1999. As of 2023, PAs scope of practice in Canada is described at their website:
 * The PA's scope of practice is determined on an individual basis and formally outlined in a practice contract or agreement between the supervising physician(s), the PA and often the facility or service where the PA will work. Activities may include conducting patient interviews, histories and physical examinations; performing selected diagnostic and therapeutic interventions or procedures; and counseling patients on preventive health care.

Germany
Physician Assistants / Associates were established in Germany as a degree course in 2005. (de:Arztassistent ). Recruitment had initially been slow, but as of 2019 there were said to be several hundred de:Arztassistenten in Germany.

India
The first PA program in India was established in 1992 with a focus on expanding cardiovascular surgery. Since then, eight additional programs have developed (in total seven baccalaureate and four master's level programs). The profession is regulated by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.

Ireland
Physician Associates were introduced by the Health Service Executive in the mid-2010's. The Royal College of Surgeons has offered a PA postgraduate degree since 2016, with 28 graduating by. PAs may not write prescriptions.

Israel
Physician Assistants were introduced in Israel in May 2016 to help augment a shrinking physician workforce. The initial training programs have been overseen by the ministry of health directly, but transition to academic training is planned. Israeli PA education is modeled after United States' and Netherlands' approaches, and has focused on former paramedics with bachelor's degrees. As of 2022, the 100 or so PAs in Israel work exclusively within Emergency Departments. While PA scope of practice includes many emergency procedures, Israeli PAs are not currently allowed to prescribe or administer medicine in non-emergency settings.

New Zealand
In February 2015, Health Workforce New Zealand completed a Phase-2 trial of PAs who worked for a period of two years (2013–2015) in four clinical settings. Specifically, the sites included one rural emergency department and three primary care settings (two rural and one urban) located on the North and South Islands of New Zealand. At conclusion of the trial, several clinics continued to employ PAs while the process of health regulation makes its way through the government bureaucracy.

United Kingdom
The position of physician assistant was established in the United Kingdom in 2005. It evolved from that of physician assistant, developed in the US in the 1960s. In 2012, a group of physician assistants voted to change the name to physician associate, this title is however exceedingly close to the title Associate Physician, which represents a senior medical doctor. Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was asked to manage the recruitment of 200 physician associates who are expected to come from the US for 40 NHS trusts in September 2015.

Physician Associates are not regulated and are therefore not registered healthcare professionals. They are not able to prescribe or order tests which require ionising radiation. Legally, Physician Associates cannot work autonomously, as the provision of treatment is regulated by the Health and Social Care Act, which explicitly legislates the protected professional titles of the registered healthcare professionals that can undertake the regulated activities of providing treatment.

In 2022 it was reported that private company Operose Health, owned by US company Centene Corporation, which had acquired many UK National Health Service (NHS) GP practices, was using many PAs—at less than half the cost of a GP —and allowing them essentially to act as GPs, without required supervision. A BBC reporter worked undercover at an Operose practice for six weeks, reporting on many problems. A senior GP said that the company was prioritising profit, putting patients at risk.

In July 2023, the death of Emily Chesterton raised questions about the naming of physician associates in the UK. Emily died from a pulmonary embolism after seeing a physician associate twice in the weeks proceeding her death, who had misdiagnosed her and asked for her to be given anxiety medication. Emily was under the impression she was seeing her GP, and not a physician associate. After her death, Emily's mother and her local MP, Barbara Keeley, called for more regulation around physician associates and for the role to be renamed to avoid confusion.

In July 2023 a motion was brought forward for discussion by the British Medical Association to rename PAs clearly as Physician Assistants in the U.K. to avoid role confusion with Physicians and for them to be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.

In February 2024 a story broke about make up artist Christopher Tucker receiving a cystoscopy despite symptoms of a urinary infection. He received no antibiotics for the infection or as prophylaxis after the procedure. He died less than 48 hours later. The Physician Associate involved then took part into the investigation of their own practice in the case.

Faculty of Physician Associates, Royal College of Physicians (UK)
The Faculty of Physician Associates is the professional body for Physician Associates working in the United Kingdom. A joint venture between the Royal College of Physicians of London and the previous professional body, the United Kingdom Association of Physician Associates, the Faculty officially launched in July 2015, taking over all professional responsibilities. The Faculty oversees the managed voluntary register, which all practising associates are encouraged to join, and sets and runs the National Assessment Examination and National Recertification Examination which is optional for PAs.

Scope of practice (UK)
In the United Kingdom, PAs are dependent practitioners, and they must practice under the supervision of a physician. Physician Associates/Assistants are trained under the medical model, similarly to physicians, to deliver medical care in primary, secondary, and tertiary care settings. They perform some tasks relating to diagnosis, taking medical histories, ordering and interpreting laboratory tests. PAs cannot legally request ionising radiation investigations such as a CT scan or radiographs, they also cannot legally prescribe any medications.

There is no nationally agreed upon scope of practice for Physician Associates in the United Kingdom as of 2024, despite them working in the United Kingdom for over a decade.

In early 2024, the British Medical Association published their recommendations for doctors supervising PAs in an effort to formulate a scope of practice aligned to the education received by PAs.

The six core principles of this guidance are: Points five and six are aligned to the existing guidance from the Faculty of Physician Associates. Who advise that Physician Associates should not use any title that may confuse patients, giving some specific examples: 'GP physician associate', 'GP PA', 'PA surgeon'. The Faculty is also clear that "PAs must not use the prefix 'Dr' or title 'doctor' in any clinical environment or interaction with patients." the faculty highlight that a PA could use the title Dr if they hold a recognised Level 8 qualification when in an academic context/environment, but not in the clinical setting.
 * 1) This is an assistant role to doctors helping with simple practical procedures, administrative tasks, and working with patients in a supportive and specified role.
 * 2) This does not extend to seeing undifferentiated patients in any situation.
 * 3) * In a hospital setting, this means that they should not work in an emergency department setting unless a supervisor reviews each patient in person
 * 4) * In a GP setting, a GP should first triage all the patients and decide which ones a PA can see for some protocolised reviews in stable patients
 * 5) When seeing differentiated patients (those already triaged by a doctor as appropriate, or already assessed, diagnosed, and on a treatment plan by a doctor), MAPs must be directly and closely supervised.
 * 6) PAs/AAs/SCPs must not make independent management decisions for patients nor be responsible for initial assessments of patients and diagnosis.
 * 7) MAPs must make it clear in all communication to patients and to other staff members that they are not doctors and be clear about their specific role.
 * 8) Statements such as 'I am one of the medical team' must not be used unless also stating their own title.

The British Medical Association highlighted a number of activities that they felt PAs should not be undertaking. In March 2024, the Royal College of General Practitioners issued a statement about the activites suitable for a Physician Associate when working in Primary Care. They stated that:
 * Physician Associates working in general practice must always work under the supervision of qualified General Practitioners.
 * Physician Associates must be considered additional members of the team; rather than substitutes for General Practitioners.
 * Physician Associates do not replace General Practitioners nor mitigate the need to urgently address the shortage of General Practitioners in the United Kingdom.
 * Physician Associates must be regulated as soon as possible.
 * There must be an improvement to public awareness and understanding of the Physician Associate role.
 * Training, induction and supervision of Physician Associates within general practice must be properly resourced and designed.
 * At a time of significant workforce challenges in general practice, funding allocations, resources and learning opportunities within general practice must be prioritised for the training and retention of medical doctors (i.e., General Practitioners).
 * The significant responsibility and skills required for supervision of a Physician Associate must be appropriately recognised and resourced; with General Practitioners able to choose whether or not they are willing to undertake supervision of Physician Associates.
 * Physician Associates should not be employed unless sufficient supervision is provided.

Voluntary register (UK)
The title physician associate is not a protected one. PAs in the U.K. are not able to legally prescribe or legally request ionising radiation imaging. No regulatory body governs PAs. Since June 2010, physician associates have been able to obtain membership of the Managed Voluntary Register for physician associates. This database, run by PAs for PAs, aims to identify all qualified PAs who are able to practise. Its intent is to maintain high standards. To remain on the voluntary register, physician associates are required to re-certify every 5–6 years.

In 2018 Matt Hancock announced a plan regulate PAs. The General Medical Council agreed to be the regulatory body for PAs, with regulation aiming to begin in 2022, this was pushed back to 2024.

Training (UK)
Training is through a two-year training programme (MSc) in Physician Associate Studies, although some PAs in the United Kingdom only hold a PgDip in Physician Associate Studies. at least 32 universities offered these programs:

 * University of Bolton
 * University of Hertfordshire
 * Queen Mary University of London
 * University of Aberdeen
 * University of Bradford
 * Anglia Ruskin University
 * University of Birmingham
 * Canterbury Christ Church University
 * University of East Anglia
 * Hull York Medical School
 * University of Leeds
 * Manchester Medical School
 * University of Liverpool
 * University of Central Lancashire
 * Newcastle University
 * Plymouth University
 * University of Reading
 * Sheffield Hallam University
 * St George's, University of London
 * University of Surrey
 * University of Wolverhampton
 * University of Worcester

Entry requirement vary, especially in terms of required first degree subject. For example, University of Bradford requires a 2:1 (or above) undergraduate degree in a Life Science, Biomedical Science, or Healthcare subject. Under exceptional circumstances, experience in healthcare practice may contribute/compensate absent the above requirements.

Nomenclature (US)
In accordance with the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), the official title of the profession in the United States is "Physician Associate". While this is the official title used by the national organization, utilization of this title may vary on the state and local level based on state and local bylaws and policies. Many hospital and healthcare systems still use physician assistant as titles, with some just resorting to using "PA" to avoid confusion with physicians.

A physician assistant may use the initials "PA", "PA-C", "APA-C", "RPA" or "RPA-C", where the "-C" indicates "Certified" and the "R" indicates "Registered". The "R" designation is unique to a few states, mainly in the Northeast. APA stands for aeromedical physician assistant and indicates that a physician assistant successfully completed the US Army Flight Surgeon Primary Course. During training, PA students are designated PA-S. The use of "PA-C" is limited to certified PAs who comply with the regulations of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and who have passed PANCE.

Students undertaking physician assistant or associate training may refer to themselves as a physician assistant student, physician associate student, student physician assistant or student physician associate. PA students may add "S" at the end of their student designation (PA-S). Students may also use the corresponding year of their training in their student designation. For example, students in the second year of their physician assistant or physician associate training may use (PA-S2) as their student designation.

The American Academy of Physician Associates has spent over $22 million since 2018 campaigning to change the word "assistant" to "associate" in the title of physician assistant. The campaign has been heavily criticized by physicians, but advocates argue that the revised title more accurately reflects the clinician's role on the patient care team.

In the United States, the profession is represented by the American Academy of Physician Associates. All PAs must graduate from a nationally accredited ARC-PA program as well as passing the national certification exam. In 1970 the American Medical Association passed a resolution to develop educational guidelines and certification procedures for PAs. The Duke University Medical Center Archives had established the Physician Assistant History Center, dedicated to the study, preservation, and presentation of the history of the profession. The PA History Center became its own institution in 2011, was renamed the PA History Society, and relocated to Johns Creek, Georgia.

Education and certification (US)
, 243 accredited PA programs operated in the United States, with dozens more in development. Most educational programs are graduate programs leading to the award of master's degrees in either Physician Assistant Studies, Health Science (Master of Health Science), or Medical Science (MMSc), and require a bachelor's degree and Graduate Record Examination or Medical College Admission Test scores for entry. The majority of PA programs in the United States employ the CASPA application for selecting students. Professional licensure is regulated by state medical boards. PA students train at medical schools and academic medical centers across the country.

PA education is based on medical education; it typically requires 2 to 3 years of full-time graduate study like most master's degrees. (Medical school lasts four years plus a specialty-specific residency.) Training consists of classroom and laboratory instruction in medical and behavioral sciences, followed by clinical rotations in internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and geriatric medicine, as well as elective rotations. PAs are not required to complete residencies after they complete their schooling (unlike physicians). Postgraduate training programs are offered in certain specialties for PAs, though these are optional and shorter in length than medical residency.

PA clinical postgraduate programs are clinical training programs that differ from on the job training given their inclusion of education and supervised clinical experience to meet learning objectives. Montefiore Medical Center Postgraduate Surgical Physician Assistant Program was established in 1971 as the first recognized clinical postgraduate PA program. 49 programs address specialties such as Neurology, Trauma/Critical Care and Oncology. 50 programs joined the Association of Postgraduate Physician Assistant Programs to establish educational standards for postgraduate PA programs.

In the United States, a graduate from an accredited PA program must pass the NCCPA-administered Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) before becoming a PA-C; this certification is required for licensure in all states. The content of the exam is covered in the PANCE BLUEPRINT. In addition, a PA must log 100 Continuing Medical Education hours and reregister his or her certificate with the NCCPA every two years. Every ten years (formerly six years), a PA must also recertify by successfully completing the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Exam (PANRE) There is a growing number of doctoral programs for certified PAs leading to a Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) but there is no requirement for one to have a doctorate in order to practice. "National Physician Assistant Week" is celebrated annually in the US from October 6 through October 12. This week was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the first graduating physician assistant class at Duke University on October 6, 1967. October 6 is also the birthday of the profession's founder, Eugene A. Stead, Jr., MD.

Scope of practice (US)
Physician assistants have their own licenses with distinct scope of practice. Each of the 50 states has different laws regarding the prescription of medications by PAs and the licensing authority granted to each category within that particular state through the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). PAs in Kentucky and Puerto Rico are not allowed to prescribe any controlled substances. Several other states place a limit on the type of controlled substance or the quantity that can be prescribed, dispensed, or administered by a PA. Depending upon the specific laws of any given state board of medicine, the PA must have a formal relationship on file with a collaborative physician. The collaborating physician must also be licensed in the state in which the PA is working, although he or she may physically be located elsewhere. Physician collaboration can be in person, by telecommunication systems or by other reliable means (for example, availability for consultation). In emergency departments the laws governing PA practice differ by state, generally allowing a broad scope of practice and limited direct supervision.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several state governments changed regulations regarding PA scope of practice, including:
 * On May 21, 2020, the law S.B. 1915 was signed by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. This law allows Physician Assistants to become primary care providers and receive direct pay from insurers. The reference of "supervision" was changed to "delegating" in regards to physician responsibility. This law also allows PAs to legally volunteer in the case of disaster or emergency.
 * On May 27, 2020, Governor Tim Walz signed into Minnesota law the Omnibus Healthcare Bill S.F. 13. This law removes references to physician responsibility of supervision and delegation of care provided by PAs. The law also removes delegated prescriptive authority.

Employment (US)
The first employer of PAs was the then-Veterans Administration, known today as the Department of Veterans Affairs. Today it is the largest single employer of PAs, employing nearly 2,000.

According to the AAPA, as of 2020 there are more than 148,560 certified PAs in the United States, up from 115,547 in 2016.

Money magazine, in conjunction with Salary.com, listed the PA profession as the "fifth best job in America" in May 2006, based both on salary and job prospects, and on an anticipated 10-year job growth of 49.65%. In 2010, CNN Money rated the physician assistant career as the number two best job in America. In 2012, Forbes rated the physician assistant degree as the number one master's degree for jobs. In 2015, Glassdoor rated physician assistant as the number one best job in America. In 2021, US News & World Report rated physician assistant as the number one best job in America.

The US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics report on PAs states, "...Employment of physician assistants is projected to grow 37 percent from 2016 to 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations..." This is due to several factors, including an expanding health care industry, an aging baby-boomer population, concerns for cost containment, and newly implemented restrictions to shorten physician resident work hours.

In the 2008 AAPA census, 56 percent of responding PAs worked in physicians' offices or clinics and 24 percent were employed by hospitals. The remainder were employed in public health clinics, nursing homes, schools, prisons, home health care agencies, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Fifteen percent of responding PAs work in counties classified as non-metropolitan by Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture; approximately 17% of the US population resides in these counties.

For PAs in primary care practice, malpractice insurance policies with $100,000–300,000 in coverage can cost less than $600 per year; premiums are higher for PAs in higher-risk specialties.

Compensation (US)
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2020 the median pay for physician assistants working full-time was $115,390 per year or $55.48 per hour, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $162,470. Physician assistants in emergency medicine, dermatology, and surgical subspecialties may earn up to $200,000 per year.

Federal government, uniformed services, and US armed forces (US)
PAs are employed by the United States Department of State as foreign service health practitioners. PAs working in this capacity may be deployed anywhere in the world where there is a State Department facility. They provide primary care to US government employees and their families in American embassies and consulates around the world. An important part of their jobs is to get to know what resources are available locally that they can count on in an emergency. They have other important roles, such as advising their ambassadors on the health situation in the country and provide health education to the diplomatic community. In order to be considered for the position, these PAs must be licensed and have at least two years of recent experience in primary care.

Military PAs serve in the White House Medical Unit, where they provide care to the president and vice president and their families as well as White House staff.

They are employed by several organizations with the intelligence community, specifically the Central Intelligence Agency. While much of the job description is classified, they work under the Directorate of Support and are deployed to "austere environments" where they provide medical care, including trauma stabilization, and teach in the fields of survival, field medicine, and tactical combat casualty care.

United States Army PAs serve as Medical Specialist Corps officers, typically within Army combat or combat support battalions located in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and overseas. These include infantry, armor, cavalry, airborne, artillery, and (if the PA qualifies) special forces units. They serve as the "front line" of Army medicine and along with combat medics are responsible for the total health care of soldiers assigned to their unit, as well as of their family members.

PAs also serve in the Air Force and Navy as clinical practitioners and aviation medicine specialists, as well as in the Coast Guard and Public Health Service. The skills required for these PAs are similar to that of their civilian colleagues, but additional training is provided in advanced casualty care, medical management of chemical injuries, aviation medicine, and military medicine. In addition, military PAs are also required to meet the officer commissioning requirements, and maintain the professional and physical readiness standards of their respective services.

The marine physician assistant is a US Merchant Marine staff officer. A certificate of registry is granted through The United States Coast Guard National Maritime Center located in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Formal training programs for marine physician assistants began in September, 1966 at the Public Service Health Hospital located in Staten Island, N.Y.

title: Physician assistant


text:
Hilltop Youth

Hilltop Youth (נוער הגבעות, No'ar HaGva'ot) are hardline, extremist religious-nationalist youth who establish outposts without an Israeli legal basis in the West Bank. The ideology of the Hilltop Youth, a derivation of Kahanism, includes the claim that the Palestinians are "raping the Holy Land", and must be expelled. According to Ami Pedahzur, their work in establishing illegal outposts was not simply the result of individual initiatives, this was "a myth cultivated by the Yesha Council", and, in fact, forms part of a wider multi-faceted settler strategy. The term "hilltop youth" is regarded by Daniel Byman as a misnomer, since the movement was founded mostly by married people in their mid-twenties.

Origins
On 16 November 1998, in what was viewed as a declaration intended to thwart peace talks, and in particular the implementation of his political rival Benjamin Netanyahu's Wye River agreement with the Palestinian National Authority, the then-Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon urged settler youth to "grab the hilltops", adding, "'Everyone that's there should move, should run, should grab more hills, expand the territory. Everything that's grabbed will be in our hands. Everything we don't grab will be in their hands.'"

People proceeded to heed his exhortation and outposts proliferated, in a practice often called "creating facts on the ground", but many would later feel betrayed by Sharon when the Israeli West Bank barrier he devised in 2005 cut off many of the illegal communities from the expanded Israel Sharon envisaged at that time.

The example of figures like Netanel Ozeri, who moved his family out of the safety of Kiryat Arba's perimeters to build an outpost, Hilltop 26, on nearby Palestinian land, was also important: Ozeri was later shot dead by Palestinian gunmen.

Influences
According to terrorism expert Ami Pedahzur, ideologically, Hilltop Youth espouse a Kahanist worldview, favouring "deportation, revenge, and annihilation of Gentiles that posed a threat to the people of Israel".

The youth are influenced by religious Zionist ideals, which include a dedication to building and farming the land, as well as devoting time to learning Torah. Many have studied in the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva under Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, who developed the metaphor comparing Israel to a "nut" which had to be cracked in order to allow the fruit, the people, out. In addition to basing their ideals on the teachings of prominent rabbis such as Avraham Yitzchak Kook and Rabbi Shmuel Tal, some regard Avri Ran as a spiritual leader, or "father", of the movement, though he does not see himself as such. The philosophy of some in the movement is expressed by a mixture of distrust of the Israeli government and a desire to re-establish the Ancient Kingdom of Israel.

About the groups
The Hilltop Youth are a "loosely organized, anarchy-minded group", of some several hundred youths around a hard core of scores of violent activists often noted for establishing illegal/disputed outposts outside existing settlements. According to Danny Rubinstein they are formed into private militias. Their numbers (2009) are estimated to be around 800, with approximately 5,000 others who share their ideological outlook. They completely dissociate themselves from Israeli institutions, and identify themselves with the Land of Israel. They settle on hilltops in areas densely crowded by Palestinians. Members linked to the group have been accused of engaging in Israeli settler violence, including vandalism of Palestinian schools and mosques, the rustling of sheep from Palestinian flocks and the extirpation of their centuries-old olive groves, or stealing their olive harvests. This last practice was endorsed by Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu on a visit to a hilltop outpost, Havat Gilad, where he issued a rabbinical ruling that, "The ground on which the trees are planted is the inheritance of the Jewish people, and the fruit of the plantings was seeded by the goyim in land that is not theirs." They seize land not by any official method: they claim a hilltop by setting up an encampment, and then claim the land nearby, whether under Palestinian cultivation or not, or by uprooting Palestinian trees and shooting in the air if any Palestinian comes near to the new outpost.

Settlers have long been accused of carrying out what are called "price tag attacks", a term used for targeting Palestinian property in revenge for outposts demolished by the Israeli military, although no one as yet has actually been convicted of having been involved in such vandalism.

Many of the Hilltop Youth feel that the mainstream settler movement has lost its way, opting for cheap housing close to major cities, built by local Arab labor, with tall fences and no space between their homes. The Youth often engage in organic farming and shun Palestinian labor in favor of Hebrew labor. 2.5% of eggs consumed in Israel are calculated to be produced on the outposts run by the Hilltop Youth leader Avri Ran.

The Hilltop Youth has been condemned in the past by figures within Israel's government, with Former Defense Minister Ehud Barak referring to the group as unacceptable "homemade terror, Jewish-made terror".

Notable exponents
Meir Ettinger (born 4 October 1991), the son of Tova Kahane (daughter of Meir Kahane) and Mordechai Ettinger, a rabbi at the Jerusalem yeshivot of Har Hamor and Ateret Cohanim. He previously resided at Ramat Migron outpost, and later the Givat Ronen outpost near Har Brakha, was subsequently deported, by administrative order, from the West Bank and Jerusalem, taking up residence with his family in Safed. He has attracted many followers and in addition to public speaking, he has published a blog at the pro-Hilltop Youth website "The Jewish Voice" (Hebrew: הקול היהודי). He was arrested for the "spy affair", when settler youths were accused of maintaining an "operation room" to monitor IDF movements and warn outpost settlers of impending evacuations. After violating his house arrest terms, he was held in jail until the end of his trial, in which he was convicted following a plea-bargain for conspiring to gather military intelligence and sentenced to time served, approximately 6 months. In August 2015, following the arson at the Church of the Multiplication in June and the Duma arson attack, he was placed under administrative arrest for 6 months, which was extended by an additional 4 months. During his incarceration, he staged a hunger strike. In June 2016, following his release, he returned to reside in Safed, and is barred by administrative order from entering the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Yad Binyamin. In addition, he is forbidden, by administrative order, from contacting 92 people.

External link

 * About Nati Ozeri
 * Interview with Avri Ran

title: Hilltop Youth


text:
Belgorod

Belgorod (Белгород, ; Бєлгород or Білгород ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately 40 km north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of

Etymology
The name Belgorod (Белгород) in Russian literally means "white city", a compound of "белый" (bely, "white, light") and "город" (gorod, "town, city"). The name is a reference to the region's historical abundance of limestone. Etymologically, the name corresponds to other Slavic city-names of identical meaning: Belgrade, Belogradchik, Białogard, Biograd, Bilhorod Kyivskyi, and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.

Demographics
The population of Belgorod is 339,978 as of the most recent censuses:

As of the 2021 Census, the ethnic composition of Belgorod was:

1149,931 people (or 44.1% of the population) residing in Belgorod did not state their ethnicity in the 2021 census.

Urban layout
Like many Russian cities, Belgorod began as a fortified settlement. The oldest Belgorod fortress was built at the end of the 16th century on a chalk mountain. According to scientific excavations and surviving archival data, the first fortress outpost was erected in 1596. The site of the construction of the defensive facility was the top of the Belaya Gora ("White Mountain"). This is the highest point of the right bank of the Seversky Donets channel. On 17 September 1650, voivode Vasily Petrovich Golovin laid the foundation for the third Belgorod Fortress on the left bank of the Vezenitsa River, which flows into the Seversky Donets. In the fall of 1650, a wooden fort with 11 towers was attached to the rampart of the Belgorod line, which runs from the fortress town Bolkhovets to the mouth of the Vezelka River in the area of the former brewery. The two parts of the city were connected by the Nikolskaya Passage Tower located in the eastern wall of the Kremlin. The position of the eastern wall of the Kremlin corresponded to the modern street of the 50th anniversary of the Belgorod Oblast. With the expansion of the borders of the Russian state, the military significance of the Belgorod fortress gradually decreased and by the middle of the 18th century, only the Kremlin remained from the formidable fortress.

In the fall of 1766, the new governor, Andrei Fliverk pushed for a new city plan. A regular street plan was developed and signed on 18 April 1767. The architect's signature is not legible, but it may have been signed by Andrey Kvasov. The central part of the plan was occupied by an octahedral "marketplace" with 64 stone shops and 20 warehouse barns. Moskovskaya, Kievskaya, Voronezhskaya and Kharkovskaya streets ran from the trading area in four directions. According to the plan, it was supposed to divide the entire city into 16 quarters, 4 of which should be built up with stone houses, and the rest with wooden and huts. The plan was executed formally without taking into account the buildings that survived the fire, the Kremlin fortress and the terrain. On 28 April 1768, a new plan was developed under the leadership of Andrey Kvasov who was the author of a number of city plans. The plans overlaid the old city center layout and the projected one. It provided for a trading area, which in the west adjoined the fortress Kremlin, and in the east ended with stone benches of the Gostiny dvor in the form of two arcs. The central planning axis was also chosen relative to which the directions of mutually perpendicular streets were formed.

Travel notes which were published in 1781 showed the location of a sketch of the ramparts of the lost ancient settlement. Only in the middle of the 1950s, the archaeologist Arkady Nikitin carried out excavations at the site of the first fortress, where the remains of ancient ramparts and ditches were still clearly visible. though the fortress itself was destroyed already in the 1860s during the construction of the railway the eastern part of the chalk mountain, on which the Kremlin was located, was collapsed. The location of the first fortress approximately corresponded to the location of the modern car market on Byelaya Gora.

In the 1780s, during the general survey of the Russian lands, several plans of Belgorod were fulfilled. When drawing up plans, an overlay of the old and new layouts of Kvasov was used. The plans described above give a distorted position of church estates, which were fixed when the city was laid and, as a rule, did not change. The plan, signed by the titular adviser Salkov, is the most accurate plan of Belgorod in the second half of the 18th century.

Climate
Belgorod's climate is humid continental (Köppen climate classification Dfb slightly cooler than Dfa) featuring moderate precipitation. Winters are rather cold and changeable with frequent warmings followed by rains. Temperatures may occasionally fall below -15 °C for about one week or more. Summer is warm and either humid and rainy or hot and droughty. Autumn is mild and rainy. The Belgorod reservoirs get covered with ice by the end of November or the beginning of December, and the ice layer typically lasts until March or April.
 * average year temperature: + 7.7 °C
 * average humidity: 76%
 * average wind speed: 5–7 m/s
 * average precipitation 380 - 620 mm, mostly in summer.

Before the 20th century
There was a settlement of the Slavic tribe of Severians in the area, which was probably destroyed at the beginning of the 10th century by the nomadic Pechenegs. In 965, the lands in the upper reaches of Seversky Donets were annexed to the Principality of Pereyaslavl.

Records first mention the settlement in 1237, when the Mongol-led army of Batu Khan ravaged it during the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'. It is unclear whether this Belgorod stood on the same site as the current city. In 1596 Tsar Feodor Ioannovich of Russia ordered its re-establishment as one of numerous forts set up to defend Russian southern borders from the Crimean Tatars. Belgorod was part of a chain of fortification lines, created by Grand Duchy of Moscow and later the Tsardom of Russia to protect it from the Crimean–Nogai slave raids that ravaged the southern provinces of the country during the Russo-Crimean Wars. The tsar appointed two princes-governors to supervise the construction of Belgorod: Mikhail Vasilyevich Nozdrovaty and Andrei Romanovich Volkonsky. The first Belgorod fortress was built on the high right bank of the Seversky Donets, in the area of the current car market; the Belgorod Kremlin was close to the present-day Belaya Gora restaurant. The legendary White Mountain has not survived, as it was completely torn down for chalk mining in the 1950s. The first Belgorod fortress stood for sixteen years, withstanding several major attacks, both from the Tatars and from the Polish–Lithuanian troops who participated in the wars with the Russian state during the Time of Troubles. In 1612 the Belgorod fortress was taken and burned by a detachment of Lithuanians. The governor, Nikita Likharev, by order of the tsar, was already building the second Belgorod fortress on the opposite bank of the Seversky Donets the following year, 1613. Over the next decades, Belgorodians repulsed a large number of attacks on their lands. By the middle of the 17th century, the question arose about the construction of a new Belgorod fortress three kilometers south of the existing one.

In the 17th century Belgorod suffered repeatedly from Tatar incursions, against which Russia built (from 1633 to 1740) an earthen wall, with twelve forts, extending upwards of 200 mi from the Vorskla in the west to the Don in the east, and called the. In 1666 the Moscow Patriarchate established an archiepiscopal see in the town.

Tsar Peter the Great visited Belgorod on the eve of the Battle of Poltava in 1709.

After the Russian border moved south following successful wars against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the second half of the 17th century, the strategic importance of the city gradually decreased, and on 13 May 1785, by decree of Catherine II, Belgorod was excluded from the number of fortresses of the Russian Empire. From that moment on, the city plunged into the measured provincial life of the central black earth zone of Russia. Military life was replaced by agricultural life, the number of spiritual, educational, industrial and commercial institutions were growing, and in the historical chronicles of the Russian Empire, the city seems to have fallen asleep for a century. The Belgorod province disappeared from the geographical maps, and the city was for a long time a part of the first Kursk Governorate, then the Kursk province, and, finally, the Kursk region. A dragoon regiment had its base in the town until 1917. Ioasaph of Belgorod, an 18th-century bishop of Belgorod and Oboyanska, became widely venerated as a miracle worker and was glorified as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1911.

20th and 21st centuries

Soviet power was established in the city on 26 October (8 November) 1917. On 10 April 1918, troops of the Imperial German Army occupied Belgorod. After the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty of 9 February 1918 the demarcation line passed to the north of the city. Belgorod became part of the newly proclaimed Ukrainian People's Republic (February to May 1918) and Ukrainian State headed by Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi.

On 20 December 1918, after the overthrow of German-backed Skoropadskyi, the Soviet Red Army regained control over the city, which became part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. From 24 December 1918 to 7 January 1919, the Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government of Ukraine, then led by General Georgy Pyatakov, was based in Belgorod. The city served as the temporary capital of the Ukrainian People's Republic. From 23 June to 7 December 1919, the Volunteer Army occupied the town as part of White-controlled South Russia.

From September 1925, the territorial 163rd Infantry Regiment of the 55th Infantry Division of Kursk was stationed in Belgorod. In September 1939, it was deployed to the 185th Infantry Division.

On 2 March 1935, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union decided to allocate the city of Belgorod, Kursk region, into an independent administrative unit directly subordinate to the Kursk Regional Executive Committee.

The German Wehrmacht occupied Belgorod from 25 October 1941 to 9 February 1943. The Germans operated a forced labour battalion for Jews in the city. The Germans re-captured it on 18 March 1943 in the final move of the Third Battle of Kharkov. On 12 July 1943, during the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in world history took place near Prokhorovka, and the Red Army definitively retook the city on 5/6 August 1943. The Belgorod Diorama is one of the World War II monuments commemorating the event.

In 1954, the city became the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast and rapidly developed as a regional industrial and cultural center. The major educational centers of the city are Belgorod State University, the Belgorod Technological University, the, and the Financial Academy. Belgorod Drama Theater is named after the famous 19th-century actor Mikhail Shchepkin, who was born in this region. On 22 April 2013, a mass shooting occurred at approximately 2:20 PM Moscow time on a street in Belgorod. The shooter, identified as 31-year-old Sergey Pomazun (Сергей Помазун), opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle on several people at a gun store and on a sidewalk, killing all six people whom he hit: three people at the store and three passers-by, including two teenage girls. Pomazun was apprehended after an extensive day-long manhunt; during his arrest, he wounded a policeman with a knife. He was sentenced to life in prison on 23 August 2013.

There were several attacks on Belgorod during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian officials claimed that Belgorod was repeatedly targeted by indiscriminate Ukrainian attacks. On 1 April 2022, two Ukrainian Mi-24 performed a night raid and set fire to a fuel depot in Belgorod, in a low-altitude airstrike. On 20 April 2023, a Russian Su-34 fighter jet accidentally dropped a bomb on the city, leaving a crater 20 metres across and injuring two people. On 22 April, more than 3,000 people were evacuated from their homes after an undetonated explosive was found; it was not known if the second bomb had come from the same aircraft. On 30 December, a Ukrainian airstrike killed 25 people and wounded over 100. In March 2024, authorities began evacuating 9,000 children from the city and wider region due to shelling and drone attacks. On 6 May, at least six people were killed following a Ukrainian drone strike. On 12 May, 16 people were killed when a section of an apartment block collapsed. Russian MOD claimed it as a Ukrainian missile strike. CIT investigators said the building was most likely hit by a Russian bomb, as the explosion occurred on the North-Eastern side of the building, opposite to the border with Ukraine.

Administrative and municipal status
Belgorod is the administrative center of the oblast. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the city of oblast significance of Belgorod—an administrative unit with status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of oblast significance of Belgorod is incorporated as Belgorod Urban Okrug.

For administrative purposes, Belgorod is divided into two city okrugs:
 * Vostochny ("Eastern"), population: 141,844 (2010 Census)
 * Zapadny ("Western"), population: 214,558 (2010 Census)

Transportation
There has been a railway connection between Belgorod and Moscow since 1869. The city is served by Belgorod International Airport (EGO) in the north of the city.

There are two bus stations: Bus Belgorod, Belgorod- 2 Bus Terminal (located on the forecourt), and the bus stop complex Energomash. The Energomash bus station is mainly for commuter buses. Buses run from the Belgorod-2 station mainly to nearby regional centers, and depart in accordance with the arrival of trains.

Trolleybus services were discontinued on 30 June 2022 and replaced by diesel buses, despite public support for retention of the trolleybus system. The officially cited reason for the closure was inadequate condition of the overhead contact lines and insufficient funds for its modernization. The length of trolley lines was over 120 km. Trolleybus city park consisted of 150 pieces of equipment, mainly Russian-made trolley ZiU-682V, 2 units ZiU-683, operated from 1990, and 3 units ZiU-6205, 30 units "Optima", and one trolley Skoda-VSW -14Tr, which started operation in 1996. The city administration purchased 15 new ZiU-682G trolleybuses in 2002, another 20 new ZiU-682Gs in 2005, 30 Trolza-5275.05 "Optima" trolleybuses in 2011, and 20 new ACSM-420 trolleybuses in 2013.

Culture and art
Theaters
 * Belgorod Drama Theater
 * Belgorod Puppet Theater
 * Two monkeys, Belgorod clowning theater

Museums
 * Belgorod historical museum
 * Belgorod Art Museum
 * Belgorod Museum of Folk Culture
 * Belgorod Diorama of the Tank Battle of 1943

Festivals
 * White mask, a festival of street arts

Notable people

 * Ioasaph of Belgorod, 18th century bishop
 * Viktoria Brezhneva, wife of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev
 * Svetlana Khorkina, Olympic gymnast
 * Natalia Zuyeva, Olympic rhythmic gymnast
 * Alexey Shved, basketball player
 * Vadim Nemkov, mixed martial artist
 * Nikita Bedrin, racing driver

Twin towns – sister cities
Belgorod is twinned with:

 * 🇩🇪 Herne, Germany
 * 🇷🇸 Niš, Serbia
 * 🇷🇺/🇺🇦 Sevastopol, Russia (de facto), Ukraine (de jure)
 * 🇷🇺/🇺🇦 Yevpatoria, Russia (de facto), Ukraine (de jure)

Former twin town:
 * 🇬🇧 Wakefield, United Kingdom. The tie was severed by the British city following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

title: Belgorod


text:
M97

M97 or M-97 may refer to:

 * Messier 97, a planetary nebula in the constellation Ursa Major
 * Winchester Model 1897, a pump-action shotgun
 * M-97 (Michigan highway), a state highway in Michigan
 * Morehead-Rowan County Clyde A. Thomas Regional Airport (FAA LID: M97), a public airport located northwest of Morehead, Kentucky, United States

title: M97


text:
User:Cantara

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About Me
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