In Europe, a number of new states had emerged in the wake of
First World War. Austria-Hungary had split in two, the Czechs and Slovaks
had come together forming a single state appropriately called Czechoslovakia.
Hungary too was now independent and in Yugoslavia, they had established
a Serbian-led kingdom, which also included the Croats and the Slovenians.
Poland had restored its independence and was now claiming large chunks
of the former Russian Empire which eventually led to the 1920 war with
Soviet Russia. In Turkey, the Russian-backed national liberation movement
led by Kemal Ataturk had managed to prevent the country's breakup and carry
out a string of major reforms designed to Europeanize the nation.
In 1920, the remaining forces of the vanquished White Guards
movement commanded by General Pyotr Vrangel, were holed up in Crimea and
Vladimir Lenin wanted them to be out of the way before winter. His will
was carried out with ruthless efficiency by Mikhail Frunze, who was one
of the most able and cruel Red Army commanders of the time. In late November,
amassing an impressive force of combat-ready units which considerably outnumbered
Vrangel's, Mikhail Frunze stormed into the Crimean peninsula sending the
routed General Vrangel and his troops scurrying for safety in neighboring
Turkey. Five years later, General Vrangel finally gave up the idea of waging
an armed struggle against the Soviets…
In 1920 they opened the Panama Canal connecting the Atlantic
Ocean with the Pacific and, in that same year, the Czech writer Karel Capek
introduced the word "robot" which has since made its way into
many languages throughout the world.
Jeanne d'Arc is one of the greatest names in human history. An
ordinary French peasant girl, she led her country's liberation struggle
against the British in the 15th century. After a string of major victories,
she presided over King Charles the Seventh's coronation in Rheims only
to be later taken prisoner by the enemy, accused of sorcery and sentenced
to burn… Five centuries later justice finally prevailed and in 1920 Jeanne
d'Arc was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
Carl Vojtyla, the future Pope John Paul the Second, was born
in 1920. He happens to be the fist non-Italian to have become Pontiff since
16th century. In the United States, Ray Bradbury was born to someday become,
along with Jerome David Salinger, born the year before, one of the two
authors to merit the lifetime title of Great American Writer. Another great
American writer, Isaak Azimov also was born in 1920. Even though it happened
in Belorussia, the family soon relocated to the United States where Isaak
graduated from Columbia University and was doing pretty well as a scientist.
What made him really famous, however, were his science fiction novels which
started coming out in the late Forties. The outstanding Russian film director
Sergei Bondarchuk was also born in 1920. His screen adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's
War and Peace epic won him an Oscar in 1964. Another famous Russian born
in 1920 was the legendary pilot Ivan Kozhedub who shot down 62 enemy planes
in 120 dogfights he fought during World War Two.
The year 1920 was the last in the life of the great Russian jeweler
Pyotr Faberge who left behind a whole collection of masterpieces, most
notably a series of Easter eggs made of precious stones, platinum and gold.
The first such Easter egg was acquired by Emperor Alexander the Third.
On January 16th, the US Congress passed the ill-fated 18th Amendment
banning the production, sale of transportation of alcoholic beverages.
Shortly after the amendment came into effect, it became clear that the
Americans' urge for the hard drinks was stronger than the law. Prohibition
brought into being a new kind of criminal - the bootlegger. The Mafia quickly
moved in grabbing control over the import, export and sale of the banned
liquor and the career of Al Capone was a dramatic instance of the development
of bootlegging on a large scale. His annual earnings were estimated at
around 120 million dollars. This famous or, rather, infamous, gangster
made his headquarters in 50 hotel suites in the very heart of Chicago.
No matter how hard police tried to nab him, Al Capone was never even once
seriously punished for his crimes .
THE 20th CENTURY:YEAR AFTER YEAR series
of historical programs is prepared by Vladimir Zhamkin.
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