Word: autocrats
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...time when Russia might have been transformed by shrewd and humane reforms into a parliamentary democracy with a figurehead monarch (a role that would have suited a Czar whose only talent was that he sat on a horse well), Nicholas saw himself as a stern 17th century autocrat. Liberalization was dangerous; had not his grandfather, the cautious reformer Alexander II, been assassinated by populists? The Czarina enthusiastically egged on his autocratic posturing, and when her grandmother, Britain's Queen Victoria, wrote tactfully to suggest that a queen must work hard to win the love of her subjects, she replied...
...rehearsal, his relationship with his orchestra seems more that of a primus inter pares than a Prussian autocrat from the old school. He talks frequently, calling up vivid images to illustrate his interpretative intention. "This is an old fiddler who can hardly pick up his instrument," he says during the rehearsal of a plaintive string passage in Mahler. "And then he gets stronger and stronger, and suddenly it all comes back!" When he's happy with the ways things are going, he lets the band know. "You make the music," he shouts. "I listen to it and adjust...
...bird: a quiet one. As the president and CEO of Viacom--the conglomerate that owns the Showtime and mtv cable networks, Simon & Schuster publishing, the Blockbuster video chain and Paramount's movie and TV empire--he has been regarded as a smart, low-key executive who stresses teamwork over autocratic rule. But being a team player is not always an asset when the reigning autocrat--in this case, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone--wants to run the show. Last week, in a move that surprised practically everyone, Biondi was fired...
Profile: Philosopher and autocrat, Polish priest and Roman Pontiff, aging...
...would freeze the nuclear program. Washington then backed off from proposing economic sanctions to the U.N. and set in motion the new attempt at dialogue. The first-ever summit between North and South Korean leaders, slated for July 25, was another diplomatic triumph for the 82-year-old autocrat. The North has said it still wants to go ahead with the meeting, but with the Great Leader's funeral now scheduled for July 17, it will probably be postponed...