The secret police troikas became an execution machine, implementing persecutions and torture of priests or other "anti-Soviet elements." This was done in secret and the victims of these trials often stood no chance at fighting the claims placed before them. They were often forced to give evidence against themselves and watch as the members of the troika sentenced them, often to death. Gradually, troikas were introduced to other parts of the Soviet Union for various and different purposes: "court troikas" (судебная тройка), "extraordinary troikas" (чрезвычайная тройка), and "special troikas" (специальная тройка).
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The third person was usually the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) secretary of the corresponding regional level. The staff of these troikas were personally specified in the Order No. 00447. While Order 00447 decreed the personal constitution of all troikas, in the course of the Purge many members of troikas were repressed themselves, so the staff of troikas varied over time. Protocols of a troika session were passed to the corresponding operative group for executions of sentences.
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The International Classification for 1979 rated Dunette the second-best three-year-old filly in Europe, nine pounds behind Three Troikas. In 1980 she was rated 122 by Timeform, six pounds behind their top-rated older female Three Troikas. The International Classification rated her the second-best older female in Europe, two pounds behind Three Troikas and level with Kilijaro.
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Le Marmot's first two races of 1980 saw him matched against Three Troikas, the filly who had beaten him in the Arc. On 7 April Le Marmot finished third behind Three Troikas and Gain in the Prix d'Harcourt over 2000 m at Longchamp. On 4 May Le Marmot faced Three Troikas, Gain, Northern Baby and High Sierra at weight-for-age in the Prix Ganay. Starting at odds of 4.6/1, he overtook Northern Baby early in the straight and won decisively by one and a half lengths from the 3/10 favourite Three Troikas.
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Troy looked superb in the paddock, as did Three Troikas and Le Marmot. Major Dick Hern said before the race that Troy was as well as he had been for the Derby. Criqette Head reported that Three Troikas had been particularly impressive in a piece of work with Gay Mecene (second to Troy in the King George) and Fabulous Dancer. Troy's pacemaker Rivadon set the early pace while Three Troikas tacked across to the inside rail from a high draw.
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Three Troikas' 1979 performance made her the highest-rated three-year-old in Europe in the International Classification.
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She was rated 124 by Timeform, nine pounds behind their top-rated three-year-old filly Three Troikas.
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On his final racecourse appearance, Ile de Bourbon finished unplaced behind Three Troikas in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
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The deportation was preceded by a typical Soviet scenario of political repression: falsified trials of local party leaders accused of insurrection, accusations of plans of the secession of the Far Eastern Krai, local party purges, and articles in Pravda about Japanese espionage in the Far East.Pavel Polyan, "The Great Terror and deportation policy", Demoscope Weekly, No. 313-314, December 10–31, 2007 The deportation was executed by NKVD troikas of several levels — oblast troikas, raion troikas, and "group" troikas () — under strict monitoring of deadlines. Hundreds of party functionaries were purged and repressed for failures in this operation. The deportation was performed in three batches, graded by the remoteness to the border; the first was the Posyet raion and "raions adjacent to Grodekovo".
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Among those sentenced to death were Alexey Rykov, Bukharin, Nikolai Krestinsky, Christian Rakovsky, and Yagoda. ;April 8: NKVD chief Yezhov became also Narkom of Water transport. ;May 21: NKVD order On Police troikas (Militsejskaya troika), the extrajudicial body with the power to exile or to sentence for up to five years in the labor camps. Police troikas were to process the socially harmful and socially dangerous population (violater of the Passport rules, the unemployed, petty criminals without proven guilt, etc.) More than 400,000 people were sentenced by Police troikas in 1937-1938.
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In the official Irish Handicap, she was rated level with Godetia as the best three- year-old filly. The International Classification rated her the eighth-best filly of her generation in Europe. Kilijaro received her best Timeform rating of 126 in 1980, placing her only two pounds behind the top-rated older female Three Troikas. In the International Classification ahe was rated the third- best older female in Europe behind Three Troikas and Dunette.
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The NKVD Order no. 00447 by July 30, 1937 О репрессировании бывших кулаков, уголовников и других антисоветских элементов ("Concerning the repression of former kulaks, criminals, and other anti-Soviet elements") undersigned by Nikolai Yezhov. By this order, troikas were created on the levels of republic, krai and oblast. Investigation was to be performed by 'operative groups' "in a speedy and simplified way" and the results were to be delivered to troikas for trials.
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After the approval, the convictions (shooting or imprisonment) were immediately put into effect. A similar procedure was applied to all other national operations of 1937-1938: German, Latvian, Finnish, Estonian, Romanian, Greek, and others. The procedure was amended in September 1938. To expedite the process, regional NKVD units were instructed to set up so-called "Special Troikas" (not to be confused with the regional Troikas established under the NKVD Order № 00447) authorized to try the "national operations" cases locally.
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Some administrative reforms were implemented: departments and commissariats were abolished, replaced by union delegates' boards, and revolutionary troikas were formed to implement the PRC measures in all factories, institutions and military units.
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According to NKVD statistics, from July 1937 to November 1938, 335,513 persons were sentenced by troikas in the course of the implementation of the National Operations. Among them, 247,157 (or 73.6%) were executed by shooting.
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Dunette (30 March 1976 - 25 April 1998) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In three seasons of racing she won five of her thirteen races and twice defeated the outstanding racemare Three Troikas. As a two-year-old she showed considerable promise by winning two of her three races including the Prix d'Aumale. In the following year she was beaten by Three Troikas in her first two races before springing a 50/1 upset over her great rival in the Prix de Diane.
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This instituted a regional based system for these troikas to work, so that the operations could be handed locally and with a quicker result. In each region, the troikas would decide the fate of the peasants branded as "kulaks". The troika, composed of a member of the state police, a local communist party secretary, and a state procurator, had the authority to issue rapid and severe verdicts (death or exile) without the right to appeal. In effect they served as judges, juries, and executioners.
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Dunette begn her second season in the Prix Vanteaux over 1900 metres at Longchamp on 16 April in which she was matched for the first time against the Alec Head trained Three Troikas. She was no match for the Head filly but was a clear second best, finishing three lengths behind the winner and four clear of Felix Culpa in third. Her next appearance was the Prix Saint-Alary over 2000 metres at the same course on 20 May when she started 11/1 fourth choice in the betting behind Three Troikas who had won the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in the interim. She set off at an exceptional pace, proving too fast for the Head stable's pacemaker Sealy, but was exhausted by the final turn and faded to finish fifth behind Three Troikas, Pitasia, Salpinx and Karinetta.
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Three Troikas won her only start at two in November 1978 at Longchamp under Head. Racing as a three-year-old, Three Troikas began the season with an impressive three-length win over Dunette in the Prix Vanteaux at Longchamp on April 16. A fortnight later she defeated Nonoalco when landing the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches at Longchamp. In the Prix Saint-Alary, again at Longchamp, she set a new course record which had been held by Solitude since 1961 when defeating Pitasia with the free-running Dunette only fifth.
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Having already had a fine season, Three Troikas was among the fancies for the 1979 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. The outstanding British colt Troy, who had won the Derby in such impressive fashion was destined however to go off a hot favourite at odds of 8/10 on the Pari-Mutuel, coupled with his pacemakers Player and Rivadon. Three Troikas went off 88/10 fourth choice coupled with the Head-owned Fabulous Dancer. A crowd of 34,182, swelled by a great number of English visitors, flocked to see the end-of-season finale.
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At age four, during an injury-interrupted campaign Three Troikas enjoyed some success, winning the Prix d'Harcourt at Longchamp in April. She was then beaten by Le Marmot in the Ganay before injuring a metacarpal bone in her off-fore foot when running third behind Northern Baby and Strong Gale in the Prix Dollar and running a creditable fourth behind Detroit in the Arc. Taken to Aqueduct for the Turf Classic, Three Troikas could not handle the exceptionally heavy going and finished last. This injury-blighted campaign was nonetheless enough for her to be crowned Champion Older Mare in Europe in 1980.
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There was a gap of two and a half lengths back to Producer who took third ahead of Pitasia, Salpinx and the fading Nonoalca. After a break of three months, Dunette returned in September for the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp. She started at odds of 9/1 in a very strong field which included Three Troikas, Pitasia, Producer and Salpinx as well as The Oaks winner Scintillate and the Prix Minerve winner Anifa. Racing over 2400 metres for the first time she finished fourth of the thirteen runners behind Three Troikas, Salpinx and Pitasia, beaten just over two lengths by the winner.
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With Karmal's ascension to power, Parchamites began to "settle old scores". Revolutionary Troikas were created to arrest, sentence and execute people. Amin's guard were the first victims of the terror which ensued. Those commanders who had stayed loyal to Amin were arrested, filling the prisons.
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Northern Baby began his third season in the Group One Prix Ganay and Longchamp on 4 May in which he was ridden by Eddery and finished third behind Le Marmot and Three Troikas. On 1 June he met Three Troikas again in the Prix Dollar over 1950m at the same course. Ridden by Paquet, he started the 5.3/1 favourite and won by a length from Strong Gale, with the Arc winner two and a half lengths away in third place. In the Prix d'Ispahan at the end of the month he finished fourth after setting the pace for the winner Nadjar, who raced in the same ownership.
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She was the top-rated British-trained filly in the International Classification, fourteen pounds below Three Troikas. In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated One in a Million an "average" winner of the 1000 Guineas.
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She made steady progress on the outside in the straight without ever looking likely to win and finished fourth behind Ela- Mana-Mou, Mrs Penny and Gregorian. Dunette was ruled out of a run in the Prix Foy after suffering a bout of colic and returned in the Prix du Prince d'Orance over 2000 metres at Longchamp on 21 September. She started second favourite behind Three Troikas (the fillies were meeting for the fifth time) with the other runners including Providential and Northern Baby. Despite conceding two pounds to her old rival, Dunette won comfortably by half a length from Three Troikas with Doloeuze patting her on the head as she crossed the line.
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Troy's final race was the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp Racecourse on 7 October. He started the 4/5 favourite in a field of twenty-two runners which included Top Ville, Le Marmot, Three Troikas, Fabulous Dancer, Ile de Bourbon, Trillion, Crimson Beau, Two of Diamonds and Northern Baby. He was not far behind the leaders on the final turn, but his usual finishing run failed to materialse, and although he made some progress in the closing stages and finished third behind Three Troikas and Le Marmot. Timeform commented that Troy had failed to reproduce his best form, speculating that he had not recovered from his hard race at York.
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Stalin sanctioned the formation of troikas for the purpose of extrajudicial punishment. In April 1935, Kamenev's prison sentence was increased by another 5 years, to a total of 10 years imprisonment. Hundreds of oppositionists linked to Kamenev and Zinoviev were arrested and exiled to Siberia. In late 1935, Stalin reopened the case.
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On 10 June, Dunette started a 50/1 outsider for the 130th running of the Prix de Diane (sponsored by Revlon) over 2000 metres at Chantilly. Three Troikas, coupled in the betting with her pacemaker Sealy, started at odds of 1/10 ahead of Producer (winner of the Prix de Royaumont), Nonoalca (runner-up in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches), Cheerfully, Pitasia and Salpinx. In contrast to her previous run, Dunette was successfully restrained by Doleuze and turned into the straight in seventh or eighth place. Three Troikas went to the front from Nonoalca and Producer but Dunette produced a sustained run on the outside to catch the previously unbeaten favourite 50 metres from the finish and won by a nose.
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Lyphard went on to become a very successful breeding stallion in both Europe and North America, siring Three Troikas, Dancing Brave and Manila. Her dam Carefully Hidden was a descendant of the influential American broodmare Iltis (foaled in 1947), the female-line ancestor of In Reality, Diamond Shoal, Glint of Gold and Tank's Prospect.
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In Soviet Russia since 1918 Cheka was authorized to execute counter-revolutionaries without trial. Hostages were also executed by Cheka during the Red Terror in 1918–1920. The successors of Cheka also had the authority for extrajudicial executions. In 1937–38 hundreds of thousands were executed extrajudicially during the Great Purge under the lists approved by NKVD troikas.
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He appeared to be outpaced in the early stages but made up a great deal of ground in the straight to finish fifth behind Detroit, Argument, Ela-Mana-Mou and Three Troikas, beaten less than two lengths by the winner. Nebos returned to Germany for the Preis von Europa, but failed to reproduce his earlier form, finishing third behind Pawiment.
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Three Troikas (foaled 1976) was a French Thoroughbred champion racehorse who was owned, trained, and raced by three members of the famous Head family. The highlight of her career came in an impressive victory in the 1979 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe where she defeated Troy among others. She would be crowned Champion 3yo of Europe in the same year.
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Rested until the Prix Vermeille on September 16, Three Troikas was opposed by Epsom Oaks winner Scintillate. Intent on not giving her a hard race before the Arc, Head did not push the filly out close home and she had only a short head to spare over Pitasia, when she could certainly have won by much more. Scintillate finished a disappointing ninth.
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Groups with three members (triads, trios, troikas, etc.) are hard to maintain. After all, it is easier to deal with one other person than with two. Besides, two of the people in a triad are apt to find it easier to relate to each other than to the other partner. That can motivate the neglected party to drop out of the group.
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She began as an assistant trainer for her father and in 1978 obtained her training license. The following year the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe became a true "Head" family affair. Winner Three Troikas was owned by her mother Ghislaine Head, was ridden by Freddy Head, and trained by Criquette. Her victory in the most prestigious French horse race was the first ever by a female trainer.
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Under Khrushchev, the special tribunals operated by security agencies were abolished. These tribunals, known as troikas, had often ignored laws and procedures. Under the reforms, no prosecution for a political crime could be brought even in the regular courts unless approved by the local Party committee. This rarely happened; there were no major political trials under Khrushchev, and at most several hundred political prosecutions overall.
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Kalinin Oblast NKVD troika condemning priest Peter Zinoviev to execution by shooting. The first troika was instituted in 1918, the members being Felix Dzerzhinsky, Yakov Peters, and Left SR V. Aleksandrovich. The first "operational troikas" (оперативная тройка) were introduced in the "centre", in the Moscow military okrug in 1929. The qualifier "operational" denotes they were based on the operational departments of the state police (OGPU).
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Three Troikas was next saddled for the Prix de Diane at Chantilly. It poured rain throughout the day and the filly did not appear to move easily on the going. Having seen off Nonoalco and Producer at the 200 metre mark she was caught on the line by the late challenge of Dunette, going down by a nose. Criquette believed the defeat may have been caused by a bruised foot.
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Lichine was a "smallish, wiry" bay horse bred in Maryland by Mrs. J. Getty & Carelaine Stables. He was from the sixth crop of foals sired by Lyphard, an American-bred stallion who raced in France, winning the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix de la Forêt in 1972. Lyphard went on to become a very successful breeding stallion in both Europe and North America, siring Three Troikas, Dancing Brave and Manila.
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As a four-year-old she dead-heated for first place in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and successfully conceded weight to Three Troikas in the Prix du Prince d'Orange. She was rated the second-best filly of her generation in Europe in both 1979 and 1980. After her retirement from racing she had some success as a broodmare, producing the Canadian International Stakes winner French Glory.
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Prior to this time, only groups of three or more people could use three horses, and a single person or two people had the right to only drive a single horse or a pair. During the Russian Empire, the upper classes would use a troika driven by a livery-clad postilion. Decorated troikas were popular in major religious celebrations and weddings. The troika was a part of both urban and rural culture.
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The "Local Special Troikas" became the primary method for deciding on arrested parties, instead of the "album processes". ;September 29: NKVD resolution on Strengthening the regime in the labor camps (trudposelki). ;October 8: The Politburo decided to create a "Commission on the project for the new processes for arrests, procurator control, and investigation". The Commission was formed by Yezhov, Beria, and Vyshinsky, and was seen as a sign of future easing of repression.
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In 1978 the independent Timeform organisation gave Northern Baby a rating of 109, twenty-five pounds below their top-rated two-year-old Tromos. In the following year he was rated 127 by Timeform, ten pounds below the top-rated racehorse Troy. In the official International Classification he was rated thirteen pounds below the top-rated Three Troikas. As a four-year- old, Northern Baby was rated 119 by Timeform, eighteen pounds below the top- rated Moorestyle.
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When the leaders began to tire in the straight, Saint-Martin sent Akiyda into the lead along the rail and the filly established a two-length advantage over the field. She was strongly challenged in the closing stages but held on to win by a head from Ardross, with Awaasif and April Run less than a length away in third and fourth. She was the fourth consecutive filly to win the race following Three Troikas, Detroit and Gold River.
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In the International Classification for 1978, Kilijaro was rated on 82, making her the sixth-best juvenile filly in Europe behind Sigy, Devon Ditty, Formulate, Greenland Park and Pitasia. She was the top-rated filly in the Irish Free Handicap, three pounds ahead of Godetia. The independent Timeform organisation gave her a rating of 121, eleven pounds behind Sigy. In the following year Timeform rated her on 124, nine pounds behind their best three-year-old filly Three Troikas.
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Northern Baby was a further length and a half away in third ahead of Viteric and Providential. Two weeks later, Dunette started at odds of 15/1 in a twenty-runner field for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. She was prominent from the start and looked to have a good chance in the straight but was unable to quicken in the closing stages and finished seventh behind Detroit, Argument, Ela-Mana-Mou, Three Troikas, Nebos and Nicholas Bill.
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In 1978, the independent Timeform organisation gave Thatching a rating of 98, thirty-five pounds below their top-rated three-year-old Ile de Bourbon. In the following year, Thatching was rated 131 by Timeform and rated the best sprinter of the year. In the official International Classification Thatching was rated the second-best older horse in Europe and the fifth best horse of any age after Three Troikas, Troy, Ile de Bourbon and Le Marmot.
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Victims were rounded up as soon as sentences were handed down by non-judicial organs: committees of three persons, “troikas”, or of two persons “dvoika”, or of the military tribunal of the Supreme Court. They were then transported to Butovo in trucks marked “Bread” or "Meat" to disguise operations from local residents. Some prisoners would be immediately killed upon arrival when their truck was flooded with carbon monoxide, and the bodies then disposed of in nearby ditches.Timothy J. Colton.
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Crimson Beau then surprisingly went into a long lead ahead of Troy's pacemakers. Top Ville began to struggle as they entered the straight while Three Troikas loomed on the outside going very easily. The crack French filly went on to win going away by three lengths from Le Marmot and a staying on Troy. The victory was an outstanding triumph for the Head family and made Criquette Head the first, and still only, woman in history to train an Arc winner.
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The socialist revolutionary Peter Aleksandrovich, lieutenant of Felix Dzerzhinski, obtained great power in the Cheka, imposing unanimous votes in the troikas' that judged the most serious cases of counterrevolutionary activity, which in practice gave the veto over the death sentences. Until the loss of control of the body during the July revolt, the Left-SRs avoided the execution of political prisoners. Even after his brethren joined the organization, Steinberg continued to try to subordinate the CheKa to his Commissariat, and reported their abuses.
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In 1931 the opening of a vocational school of miniature painting at Fedoskino ensured the perpetuation of the art form, which allowed the continued development through the following years. Stylistically the Fedoskino factory is distinct from the other schools of miniature lacquer painting: notably those of Palekh, Mstera and Kholui. Masterpieces of Russian Folk Art. Krestova Moscow 1995 The popular motifs used in Fedoskino miniature are all sorts of tea-drinking with samovar, troikas (carriage-and-three), and scenes from Russian peasant life.
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He was made the 2/5 favourite (coupled with his stable companion Kamaridaan) despite carrying top weight but finished fourth of the six runners behind Le Marmot. On 7 October, Top Ville (and Kamaridaan) started the 23/4 second favourite for the 58th running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was never in contention and finished seventeenth of the twenty-two runners behind Three Troikas. Saint-Martin reported that Top Ville had been disconcerted by the noise of the crowd.
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After a break of more than two months, Scintillate reappeared in the Virginia Stakes over ten furlongs at Newcastle Racecourse in August and ran very disappointingly, finishing last of the five runners behind Abbeydale. When the filly contested the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp Racecourse on 16 September she was equipped with blinkers for the first time. Starting at odds of 12/1 she never looked likely to win and finished ninth of the thirteen runners behind Three Troikas, beaten eight lengths.
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Due legal process, as defined by Soviet law in force at the time, was often largely replaced with summary proceedings by NKVD troikas. Hundreds of thousands of victims were accused of various political crimes (espionage, wrecking, sabotage, anti-Soviet agitation, conspiracies to prepare uprisings and coups); they were quickly executed by shooting, or sent to the Gulag labor camps. Many died at the penal labor camps of starvation, disease, exposure, and overwork. Other methods of dispatching victims were used on an experimental basis.
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To speed up the procedure, prisoners were often even forced to sign blank pages of the pre-printed interrogation folios on which the interrogator later typed up the confession. After the interrogations the files were submitted to NKVD troikas, which pronounced the verdicts in the absence of the accused. During a half- day-long session a troika went through several hundred cases, delivering either a death sentence or a sentence to the Gulag labor camps. Death sentences were immediately enforceable.
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Bellypha was a grey horse bred in Ireland by the Head family's Societe Aland breeding organisation. During his racing career Bellypha was a dark grey with a lighter face: like all greys his coat lightened as he aged and later appeared almost completely white. He was from the third crop of foals sired by Lyphard, an American-bred, French-trained horse who won the Prix Jacques Le Marois in 1972. At stud, Lyphard was very successful, siring champions such as Three Troikas, Dancing Brave and Manila.
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In August, the colt was sent to England again, but failed to reproduce his form of 1979, finishing unplaced behind Master Willie in the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup at York. A month later, Northern Baby was brought back in distance for the Prix du Moulin over 1600m at Longchamp and finished fifth behind Kilijaro. Two weeks later, Northern Baby showed something of a return to form as he finished third behind Dunette and Three Troikas in the Prix du Prince d'Orange, but did not race again.
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Jolypha was a bay mare with a white star bred in Kentucky by Juddmonte Farms, the breeding arm of the Saudi Prince Khalid Abdullah's racing organisation. She was sired by Lyphard, an American-bred stallion who raced in France, winning the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix de la Forêt in 1972. Lyphard became a very successful breeding stallion in both Europe and North America, siring Three Troikas, Dancing Brave, Dancing Maid and Manila. Jolypha's dam, Navajo Princess, won sixteen races including the Molly Pitcher Handicap.
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Unusually, the race was run on firm ground and the presence of several pacemakers ensured that the early pace was very fast. Eddery retrained the filly in the early stages before moving to the outside to make her challenge in the straight. Detroit made rapid progress, overtaking Ela-Mana- Mou and Three Troikas inside the last 200 m and holding the late run of Argument to win by half a length. The winning time of 2:28.0 was a new record for the race.
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Paul's was effectively a reaction against his mother, and the reforms he brought in were intentionally directed at the aristocracy, whom Catherine had encouraged to imitate that of France at Versailles. Fashion in directoire France was a reaction against the sombre, egalitarian clothes enjoined upon the populace by the Jacobin government. With the Thermidorian Reaction came a relaxation which saw a return to fancy clothes, especially colourful waistcoats and cravats so high they might cover the chin. Traffic was to drive sedately, even the troikas.
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The troikas were tasked with administering quick punishment of anti-Soviet elements, without public trial or investigation. The sentences that were doled out, executions, were to be held in secret. In January 1930, as part of the collectivization program, the Soviet Politburo authorized the state police to screen the peasant population of the entire Soviet Union. Normal legal procedures were suspended and the corresponding OGPU order of the 2nd of February, specified the measures needed for "the liquidation of the kulaks as a class".
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Times and places of executions of death sentences were ordered to be held in secret. Troikas of this purpose were established for a period of 4 months, but functioned for about a year. When Operation No. 00447 was finally stopped, on November 17, 1938, by the Decree about Arrests, Prosecutor Supervision and Course of Investigation, issued jointly by the Sovnarkom and Central Committee of the CPSU, it is estimated that up to 767,000 persons had been condemned, of whom 387,000 had been executed by shooting.
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In 1978, the independent Timeform organisation gave One in a Million a rating of 116p, sixteen pounds below their top-rated two- year-old filly Sigy. The "p" indicated that the filly was likely to make more than usual improvement. In the inaugural International Classification, she was rated eight pounds below Sigy and four pounds below the leading British- trained fillies Devon Ditty and Formulate. In the following year she was rated 125 by Timeform, eight pounds below the top-rated three-year-old filly Three Troikas.
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After the murder, Stalin became increasingly concerned by the threat of assassination, improved his personal security, and rarely went out in public. State repression intensified after Kirov's death; Stalin instigated this, reflecting his prioritisation of security above other considerations. Stalin issued a decree establishing NKVD troikas which could mete out rulings without involving the courts. In 1935, he ordered the NKVD to expel suspected counter-revolutionaries from urban areas; in early 1935, over 11,000 were expelled from Leningrad. In 1936, Nikolai Yezhov became head of the NKVD.
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They also ordered the formation of Bolshevik troikas in the different districts of the city, these were to neutralize and disarm the socialist revolutionaries of the respective districts. The Bolshevik authorities in Petrograd knew about the murder of the German ambassador before even the local socialist revolutionaries. Moisei Uritsky arrived in Petrograd around 15:00 on July 7 and immediately took over the leadership of the revolutionary military committee. He relieved Prosh Proshian from the regional Commissariat of Interior and accelerated the release of the Administration's socialist- revolutionary positions.
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The date of completion of the operation was thus extended until August 1938. In October 1938, special Troikas were then set up to deal with the backlog of unprocessed cases. The Latvian operation ended when Yezhov's successor, Lavrenty Beria issued NKVD Order No. 00762 on November 26, 1938, marking the end of the massive repressions of the Great Purge. The liquidation of the Latvian party officials caused certain difficulties for the Soviet authorities when they sought to establish a party and administrative apparatus during the occupation of Latvia 1940.
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Al Nasr was a strongly-built, good-looking, horse standing 16 hands high with no white markings bred in France by Michel Henochsberg and Rene Romanet. He was referred to as a bay during his racing career, but at stud was described as "dark bay or brown". He was sired by Lyphard, an American-bred, French-trained stallion who won the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix de la Forêt in 1972. At stud in the United States, Lyphard sired many important winner including Three Troikas, Manila and Dancing Brave.
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In the 1978 official French handicap for two-year-olds, Dunette was rated fourteen pounds inferior to the top-rated filly Sigy. The independent Timeform organisation gave her a rating of 108, twenty-four pounds behind Sigy. In their annual Racehorses of 1978 Timeform commented that she would be "suited by 1¼m" and was "probably better than her running in the Pouliches" suggested. In the following year Timeform awarded her a mark of 127, making her the third-best female racehorse in Europe behind Three Troikas (133) and Producer (130).
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L'Emigrant was an exceptionally good-looking brown horse with a narrow white blaze and two white socks bred by Bedford Farms Inc of Paris, Kentucky. He was sired by The Minstrel, a Canadian-bred horse who won The Derby in 1977. As a stallion, The Minstrel alo sired the Breeders' Cup Mile winner Opening Verse, the 1000 Guineas winner Musical Bliss and the William Hill Futurity winner Bakharoff as well as Palace Music, who won the Champion Stakes and sired Cigar. L'Emigrant's dam Suprina had previously produced the filly Salpinx, who was beaten a short head by Three Troikas in the Prix Vermeille.
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At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the NKVD was tasked with deporting thousands of Germans from the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. This decree issued from Moscow in 1941 was the responsibility of the Troika and all measures of decrees execution were left in the hands of the so- called three who made up this particular Troika. After the war responsibilities within the government began to shift and in 1952 two special Troikas were crested. The first Troika consisted of Georgy Malenkov, Nikita Khrushchev (who was also heavily involved with the Great Purge and Show trial), and Nikolai Bulganin.
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In a closely contested finish he prevailed by a neck and head from Fabulous Dancer and Kamaridaan, with Top Ville a length and a half further back in fourth place. On 7 October, Le Marmot started the 7.25/1 third favourite for the 58th running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe over 2400 m at Longchamp. Le Marmot raced just behind the leaders before taking the lead from Northern Baby in the straight. He was quickly overtaken by the filly Three Troikas but held on to take second place from the English-trained favourite Troy.
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However, the trials and executions of the former Bolshevik leaders, while being the most visible part, were only a minor aspect of the purges. A series of documents discovered in the Central Committee archives in 1992 by Vladimir Bukovsky demonstrate that there were quotas for arrests and executions as for all other activities in the planned economy. The victims were convicted in absentia and in camera by extrajudicial organs—the NKVD troikas sentenced indigenous "enemies" under NKVD Order no. 00447 and the two- man dvoiki (NKVD Commissar Nikolai Yezhov and Main State Prosecutor Andrey Vyshinsky, or their deputies) those arrested along national lines.
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50–75% of the members of the Supreme Soviet and officers of the Soviet military were stripped of their positions and imprisoned, exiled to the Gulags in Siberia or executed. In addition, a much greater number of ordinary Soviet citizens were accused (usually on flimsy or nonexistent evidence) of disloyalty or "wrecking" by local Chekist troikas and similarly punished to fill Stalin and Yezhov's arbitrary quotas for arrests and executions. Yezhov also conducted a thorough purge of the security organs, both NKVD and GRU, removing and executing not only many officials who had been appointed by his predecessors Yagoda and Menzhinsky, but even his own appointees as well.
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Monteverdi was a small, "neat, quite attractive" chestnut horse with a small white star and white socks on his hind legs bred in Ireland by Lawrence Kip McCreery at his Orchardstown Stud in County Tipperary. He was sired by Lyphard, an American-bred, French-trained stallion who won the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix de la Forêt in 1972. At stud in the United States, Lyphard sired many important winner including Three Troikas, Manila and Dancing Brave. Monteverdi's dam Janina, was a half-sister of the Coronation Cup winner Nagami and a great-granddaughter of the outstanding broodmare Athasi, whose other descendants include Trigo, Tulyar and Time Charter.
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McGrew suggests, for example, that Paul's proscription on the speed of the city's troikas can only have been a positive thing for St Petersburg's pedestrians. He was also right to attempt to re-instil discipline into the Russian Army, which had slipped in the latter years of his mother's reign. His centralising of the army's War College was also a progressive policy, suggests Keep. Although Keep argues it was paul's methods which he should be criticised for, rather than the intention, as the army had grown slack in the final years of Catherine's reign, with more officers than was required, and many of them drawing salaries without attending to their duty.
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Dancing Maid was a lightly built bay mare with a broad white blaze and three white socks bred in France by her owner Jacques Wertheimer. She was from the second crop of foals sired by Lyphard, an American-bred stallion who raced in France, winning the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix de la Forêt in 1972. Lyphard went on to become a very successful breeding stallion in both Europe and North America, siring Three Troikas, Dancing Brave and Manila. Dancing Maid was the third foal of her dam, Morana and a granddaughter of Moira who finished fourth in the Oaks Stakes in 1962.
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In 1978, the independent Timeform organisation gave Scintillate a rating of 102, thirty pounds below their top-rated two-year-old filly Sigy. In the Free Handicap, a rating of the best two-year-olds to race in Britain, she was rated eighteen pounds below the top-rated fillies Devon Ditty and Formulate. In the following year she was rated 119 by Timeform, while the International Classification rated her seventeen pounds inferior to the leading three-year-old filly Three Troikas. In their book, A Century of Champions, based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Scintillate an "inferior" winner of the Oaks.
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Vyatka stallion in 1902 The Vyatka was influenced by the climate and terrain of the Kirov, Udmurtia and western Perm regions; Estonian horses and Kleppers brought to northern Russia in the fourteenth century by Novgorod colonists may have affected its conformation, as may later imports of Estonian horses for mining work in the Ural Mountains. The Vyatka was valued for its endurance, speed and frugality. By the middle of the nineteenth century it was considered the best horse for pulling troikas; some were exported from the Vyatka region, including to Poland. In 1917 the breed was virtually extinct; some efforts at re-establishment were made after the Russian Revolution.
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Since trains hardly reached many parts of Russia, much of the journey was made using troikas and were often followed by hungry wolves. Harris later discovered that her Grand Duke was a charlatan. Baranov had been presenting her onstage as a singing African savage, manipulating and stealing her money after the show. Eventually, the couple arrived in the city Kazan. Located on the left bank of the Volga and Kazanka River and 520 miles east of Moscow, the former capital of the ancient Qazan Khanate was ravaged annually by many winters and summers; it was also modern compared to the numerous Germanic villages and towns that lined the Volga.
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A few years later, during the Great Purges, Yavlovy was summarily sentenced on 9 October 1937 at a session of the extrajudicial, special NKVD troika of the Leningrad Oblast to be shot at one of the killing field-burial grounds in Karelia. The execution, a bullet to the back of the head in front of a ready dug trench, took place a few weeks later on 3 November 1937 in Svirlag OGPU (Lodeynoye Pole). Other data indicate that Yavlovy's final resting place may be among the thousands shot and buried at Sandarmokh near Medvezhyegorsk. After Stalin's death, Yavlovy and the many thousands of other victims condemned to die by the extrajudicial troikas were rehabilitated.
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Gay Macene was the only horse to mount a serious challenge, chasing the British colt throughout the last quarter mile and finishing second, one and a half lengths behind the winner despite swerving to the right in the final furlong. On 9 September at Longchamp, Gay Mecene started odds-on favourite for the Prix Foy, a trial race for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He finished third behind Pevero and Trillion, conceding seven pounds to the winner and five to the runner-up. The colt bypassed the Arc, which the Head stable won with Three Troikas, and was instead sent to Germany for the Preis von Europa at Cologne- Weidenpesch Racecourse.
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Detroit was unable to obtain a clear run until the closing stages, but then produced a strong late run to finish third, beaten half a length and three quarters of a length by Mrs Penny and the Irish-trained outsider Little Bonny. Many observers, including Timeform, considered Detroit to have been a very unlucky loser. On 5 October, Detroit was one of twenty horses to contest Europe's most prestigious weight-for-age race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe over 2400 m at Longchamp. Ridden by Eddery, she started the 6.7/1 fourth choice in the betting behind the British four-year-old Ela-Mana-Mou, the French colt Le Marmot and the 1979 Arc winner Three Troikas.
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Reine de Saba was an attractive, strongly-built bay mare with a white blaze and white socks on her own legs bred in France by her owner Jacques Wertheimer. She was from the second crop of foals sired by Lyphard, an American-bred stallion who raced in France, winning the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix de la Forêt in 1972. Lyphard went on to become a very successful breeding stallion in both Europe and North America, siring Three Troikas, Dancing Brave and Manila. Reine de Saba's dam Sirya was a half-sister of several good winners including Homely (winner of the Prix Yacowlef) and Trictrac, who won the Prix Eugène Adam and sired Balmerino.
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Durtal was a bay mare with a white blaze and three white socks bred in Ireland by Ecurie Aland, a breeding operation owned by the Head family. She was from the first crop of foals sired by Lyphard, an American-bred stallion who raced in France, winning the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix de la Forêt in 1972. Lyphard went on to become a very successful breeding stallion in both Europe and North America, siring Three Troikas, Dancing Brave and Manila. Durtal's dam Derna, failed to win a race, but was a highly successful broodmare who had already produced Valderna, the grand-dam of Zabeel and later produced the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Detroit.
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The compilers of the International Classification was less impressed: he was named the best three-year-colt in Europe but was rated a pound behind Three Troikas. He was named British Horse of the Year for 1979 by the Racecourse Association, taking twenty-seven of the thirty-two votes. In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Troy a "great" Derby winner and the sixteenth best British racehorse of the 20th Century. Troy's third-place prize money from the Arc took his total earnings to £450,428, a record for a horse trained in Britain or Ireland, which stood for three years until it was surpassed by Glint of Gold.
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Northern Baby (1 April 1976 - 21 February 2007) was a Canadian-bred, French- trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from October 1978 until September 1980 he won five of his seventeen races. After showing promising form as a two-year-old he emerged as a top-class middle- distance performer in 1979, winning the Prix de la Côte Normande in France but showing his best form in England, where he finished third in both The Derby and the Eclipse Stakes before recording his most important victory in the Champion Stakes. He remained in training as a four-year-old with mixed success, running several moderate races but defeating the outstanding filly Three Troikas in the Prix Dollar.
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Northern Baby began his autumn campaign in the Prix du Prince d'Orange over 2000m at Longchamp in September, in which he was beaten half a length and a head by the four-year-old colt Rusticaro and the five-year-old mare Trillion. On 7 October Northern Baby started a 90/1 outsider for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Ridden by the Irish jockey Pat Eddery he briefly took the lead in the straight before fading to finish sixth of the twenty-two runners behind Three Troikas, Le Marmot, Troy, Pevero and Trillion. Two weeks after his run in the Arc, Northern Baby was sent to England for the third time to contest the Group One Champion Stakes over ten furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse.
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In the International Classification for 1978, Kris was given a rating of 82, nine pounds behind the top-rated two-year-old Tromos. The independent Timeform organisation gave him a rating of 123, placing him eleven pounds behind Tromos and commented that he would probably improve but would need to "settle much better ... to have any hope of staying much beyond a mile". In the following year, Kris was rated the fifth-best three-year-old in Europe, level with the French miler Irish River, but behind Three Troikas, Troy, Le Marmot and Top Ville. Timeform rated him more highly, making him their Best Miler of the season with a rating of 135, and the second best horse of any age, two pounds behind Troy.
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In the British Free Handicap for 1978, a ranking of the best two-year-olds to have raced in Great Britain that year, Connaught Bridge was given a weight of 112 pounds, 21 pounds behind the top-rated Tromos and fifteen pounds behind the top filly Devon Ditty. The independent Timeform organisation gave her a rating of 105, twenty-nine pounds behind Tromos and twenty-seven behind their top two-year-old filly Sigy. In their annual Racehorses of 1978 Timeform commented that she would be "suited by 1¼m+". In the International Classification for 1979, Connaught Bridge was the highest rated British- trained three-year-old filly level with One In A Million, but fourteen pounds behind the French filly Three Troikas.
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In 1978, the independent Timeform organisation awarded Godetia a rating of 106 p (the "p" indicating that she was probably capable of making significantly more than normal improvement), twenty-six pounds behind their top-rated two-year-old filly Sigy. In their annual Racehorses of 1978 Timeform praised her "great potential" and commented "We shouldn't be surprised if Godetia were to develop into a leading fancy for the One Thousand Guineas". In 1979 the organisation rated her on 119, fourteen pounds inferior to the top three-year-old filly Three Troikas, commenting that her record was that of a poor traveller, who only showed her best form in Ireland. (An alternative explanation is that she was unsuited to left-handed tracks, viz.
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In the inaugural International Classification, a collaboration between the official handicappers of France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Sigy was rated the best two-year-old filly in Europe two pounds behind the leading colt Tromos and level with the leading French colt Irish River. The independent Timeform organisation rated her the best two-year-old filly of the season with a rating of 132. During the 1970s the only two-year-old fillies to be more highly rated by the organisation were Jacinth (133 in 1972) and Rose Bowl (133 in 1974). In the following year she was rated 119 by Timeform, while the International Classification rated her sixteen pounds inferior to the top- rated Three Troikas and eleven below the top sprinter Thatching.
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Pharly was a dark-coated chestnut horse with no white markings bred in France by Jean-Paul Van Gysel. He was from the first crop of foals sired by Lyphard, an American-bred stallion who raced in France, winning the Prix Jacques Le Marois and Prix de la Forêt in 1972. Lyphard went on to become a very successful breeding stallion in both Europe and North America, siring Three Troikas, Dancing Brave and Manila. Pharly's dam Comely, was close to top-class as a racehorse (she finished second in the Prix Chloé), and became a very successful broodmare: she had previously produced Comeram the runner-up in Irish 2,000 Guineas and went on to produce the Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Melyno.
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In 1978, Top Ville was given a rating of 120 by the independent Timeform organisation, fourteen pounds behind their top-rated two-year-old Tromos. In the inaugural International Classification, a collaboration between the official handicappers of France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Top Ville was rated nine pounds below Tromos and was the equal-third best French-trained two-year-old colt behind Irish River and Bellypha. In 1979, he was rated 129 by Timeform, eight pounds behind their leading three-year-old colt, Troy. In the International Classification, he was rated the third-best three-year-old colt in Europe and the fifth best horse of any age, behind Three Troikas, Troy, Ile de Bourbon and Le Marmot.
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Members of the Agro-Joint, as well as foreign colonies and national diasporas such as the settlements they established, fell squarely within those parameters. Although the Agro-Joint was never intended as a permanent program, the swiftness and fierceness with which it was dismantled by the Soviet Regime shocked those involved, in particular, its leader Joseph Rosen whose network of internal Soviet connections fell to the purges. In total around 60 high- ranking members of the Agro-Joint staff were arrested, the bulk of which were tried and sentenced by NKVD Troikas on the grounds of being counter- revolutionaries, nationalists, or spies. Happening in conjunction with the resettlements by the Agro-Joint was the Soviet Union's attempt at giving the Jewish population a homeland.
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In 1978, the independent Timeform organisation awarded Le Marmot a rating of 112, twenty-two pounds below their top-rated two-year-old Tromos. In the French Free Handicap a rating of the best two-year-olds to race in France, Le Marmot was rated twelve pounds inferior to Irish River. In the following year, Timeform rated Le Marmot on 120, seven pounds behind their top-rated horse Troy, despite the fact that Le Marmot had defeated the British colt when they met in the Arc. In the official International Classification, Le Marmot was rated the best three-year-old colt in France and the fourth-best horse of any age in Europe behind Three Troikas, Troy and Ile de Bourbon.
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Le Marmot (14 May 1976 - 1981) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won two of his three race as a two-year-old in 1978 including the Prix La Rochette before emerging as a top-class performer in the following year when he won the Prix Greffulhe, Prix Hocquart and Prix Niel as well as finishing second in the Prix du Jockey Club and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and third in the Washington, D.C. International. As a four-year-old he defeated the Arc de Triomphe winner Three Troikas in the Prix Ganay and also won the Prix Niel. Le Marmot was rated one of the ten best racehorses in Europe in both 1979 and 1980.
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Blokhin had the official title of commandant of the internal prison at the Lubyanka, which allowed him to carry out his duties with a minimum of scrutiny and no official paperwork. Although most of the estimated 828,000 NKVD executions conducted in Stalin's lifetime were performed by local Chekists in concert with NKVD troikas, mass executions were overseen by specialist executioners from the Kommandantura. In addition to overseeing the mass executions, Blokhin personally pulled the trigger in all of the individual high-profile executions conducted in the Soviet Union during his tenure, including those of the Old Bolsheviks convicted at the Moscow Show Trials; Marshal of the Soviet Union Mikhail Tukhachevsky (convicted at a secret trial); and two of the three killed NKVD Chiefs (Genrikh Yagoda in 1938 and Nikolai Yezhov in 1940) he had once served. He was awarded the Badge of Honour for his service in 1937.
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On 9 June, Godetia was sent to England and started the strongly-fancied second favourite for the 201st running of the Oaks Stakes over one and a half miles on soft ground at Epsom Downs Racecourse. Although she looked impressive in the paddock before the race she ran very poorly, struggling to match the early pace, dropping from contention at half way and finishing ninth of the fourteen runners behind Scintillate. Godetia was dropped back in distance for the ten furlong Pretty Polly Stakes (then restricted to three-year-olds) at the Curragh and won by six lengths from Fair Davinia and twelve others. On 21 July, the filly was moved back up in distance for the Irish Oaks and started the 6/4 favourite ahead of the Maurice Zilber-trained Producer who had won the Prix de Royaumont and the Prix Chloé as well as finishing third to Dunette and Three Troikas in the Prix de Diane.
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On August 11, 1937, following a Politburo top-secret resolution taken two days earlier, Nikolai Yezhov issued another secret directive, Order No. 00485, aimed at "the complete liquidation of local branches of the Polish Military Organization (POW) and its networks of spies, wreckers and terrorists in industry, transport and agriculture". Due to a backlog of people being processed by "dvoikas" (two person extrajudicial commissions) as part of the Polish Operations, on September 15, 1938 the Politburo issued the resolution (# П64/22) about the creation of special troikas (Особая тройка) for the period of the Polish operation of the NKVD. Order No. 00485 served as a model for a series of similar NKVD "National Operations" targeting a number of the Soviet Union's diaspora nationalities and ethnic groups: the German, Finnish, Latvian, Estonian, Romanian, Greek, and Chinese. The NKVD referred to these decrees collectively as "the National Operations" directed against "nationalities of foreign governments".
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A screen shot of the 1936 document About the anti-Soviet elements () also known as Decision of the Politbureau of the CC of the VKP(b) No. P51/94 () was a provision of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of 2 July 1937 that initiated the Great Purge. The resolution of the document was composed and signed by Stalin for secretaries of regional committees and Central Committees of National Communist parties about necessity to take in accountability all "kulaks" (a term for affluent peasants) in order to have them arrested immediately and liquidated. Within five day the Central Committee should be provided a report on composition of troikas (NKVD special committees) and number of people who should be arrested (and executed through shooting) as well as those who were sentenced to imprisonment in forced-labor camps (in document is used a term "expulsion"). This provision triggered the Order No. 00447 of the People's Commissariat of Interior (NKVD) which was headed at that time by Nikolay Yezhov.
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The Gulag is recognized as a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet Union. The camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers of whom were convicted by simplified procedures, such as by NKVD troikas or by other instruments of extrajudicial punishment. In 1918–22, the agency was administered by Cheka, followed by the GPU (1922–23), OGPU (1923–34), later by the NKVD (1934–46), and in the final years by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). The Solovki prison camp, the first corrective labor camp constructed after the revolution, was established in 1918 and legalized by a decree, "On the creation of the forced-labor camps" on April 15, 1919. The internment system grew rapidly, reaching a population of 100,000 in the 1920s. According to Nicolas Werth, the yearly mortality rate in the Soviet concentration camps strongly varied, reaching 5% (1933) and 20% (1942–1943) while dropping considerably in the post-war years (about 1 to 3% per year at the beginning of the 1950s). In 1956 the mortality rate dropped to 0.4%. The emergent consensus among scholars who utilize official archival data is that of the 18 million who were sent to the Gulag from 1930 to 1953, roughly 1.5 to 1.7 million perished there or as a result of their detention.
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