Soviet Soviet & Eastern Block Quiz

[Christian Zulus]

Erm that is a Georgian gentleman by the name of იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი or Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili as Latin alphabet would have it .....

..... nicknamed Stalin.... from the old Georgian word Steel (also same in Russian).

However, this man of steel was also a budding poet in his youth writing under the nom de plume of "Soselo" ..... I believe!

Jim

Dear Jim,

correct and congratulations - you are the winner .

So it is your turn to post question # 102 .

Best regards

Christian

[JimZ]

Thanks .... I will revert back shortly.

Jim

[JimZ]

Sooooooo! Here goes. I had this in mind for a while but I needed some research to give my...erm... usual cryptic clues......

No fishing for hints....... yet!!!

Enjoy!

Jim

Question

Before inception I was shrouded by conspiracy and espionage but I won my race.

I am specifically, the third sibling of sixteen. I would be the cause of loss of life.

Unlike the phoenix I would never be reborn from flame.

1) What is my full name and what was I affectionately known as?

2) How can I be identified from my siblings?

3) What is my story?

[Christian Zulus]

Dear Jim,

sorry, my English is not so first rate ... .

What does "inception" mean in your content? Bablefish translated it into German as "Gr?ndung" (=foundation).

"Shrouded" means, that there had been some fog & mystery about the whole affair.

The person had 15 sisters & brothers.

Many thanks for explaination .

Best regards

Christian

[JimZ]

So to help you out with the English....

Inception - at the start ..... at the beginning .... at the creation .... at the foundation - all synonyms of the word

Shrouded - covered ..... conceled ..... shadowed...... synonyms again.

Jim

[Christian Zulus]

So to help you out with the English....

Inception - at the start ..... at the beginning .... at the creation .... at the foundation - all synonyms of the word

Shrouded - covered ..... conceled ..... shadowed...... synonyms again.

Jim

Dear Jim,

many thanks for your help as a language teacher .

I know only one person who had (or has) 15 brothers & sisters and where is a connex to the Soviet Union (as a severe enemy):

Bin Laden ?????????????

Best regards

Christian

[JimZ]

Nope.... not Bin Laden!!!

Lets say all siblings were the same sex as this third one....... if I look at the russian language I'd say they were all brothers

Think espionage and race........

Jim

[Christian Zulus]

Nope.... not Bin Laden!!!

Lets say all siblings were the same sex as this third one....... if I look at the russian language I'd say they were all brothers

Think espionage and race........

Jim

Dear Jim,

due to medical statistics it is completly unlikely, that one mother has 16 children and they are all male .

So, I might guess, that the 16 siblings are not siblings in the literally way, but brothers in spirit - Politburo ?

If you mention "espionage & race" - maybe the comrade "Anti-bolshevik" & "Bonabartist":

Leo Trotsky ????????

Could be also our comrade "Voshd" & "Generalissimus":

Iosif Stalin ????????

O.K., I would say comrade Stalin, because there is some evidence, that he had contacts to Ochrana, the Czarist's espionage organisation.

Best regards

Christian

[JimZ]

So, I might guess, that the 16 siblings are not siblings in the literally way

Keep that in mind.

Trotsky....Stalin.... waaaay off mark....

Jim

[Belaruski]

race.. and 'brothers' makes me think you're talking about a Black man.

[JimZ]

When I talk of race its not in that context but in the context of something like the Space Race.......

As I confirmed ... do not take "siblings" or even "brothers" in the LITERAL way.....

But to help (or perhaps confuse) you a bit more..... I could add the following line to the hint:

"My father died in 2001"

Jim

[Christophe]

Hi Jim,

Clever !!!!

I propose the Tu 144, Tupolev 144.

1. My full name us Tupolev 144, also known as Concordski.

2. A significant difference between Concorde and the Tu-144 is that the Tu-144 wing did not have the complex curves found on that of Concorde. Lacking the sophisticated wing, Tupolev instead relied on a simple but practical device: a small retractable canard surface on either side of the aircraft, close to the nose, to manoeuvre at low speeds.

3. I was the Tu-144S 77102, 1st flight on 03.20.72 - 1st production aircraft. Crashed 06.06.73 at Le Bourget (Paris Air Show).

Although the Tu-144 flew before Concorde, its development was connected with industrial espionage against the French company A?rospatiale, which was developing Concorde, hence the name Concordski.

At the Paris Air Show on 3 June 1973, the development programme suffered a severe blow when the first Tu-144S production aircraft (reg 77102) crashed. While in the air, it undertook a violent downwards manoeuvre. Trying to pull out of the subsequent dive, the plane broke up and crashed, destroying 15 houses and killing all six on board and eight on the ground.

More details here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-144

http://jnpassieux.chez-alice.fr/html/Tu144.php

http://francis.deshayes.free.fr/concorde/tu144.htm

Ch.

[JimZ]

Hi Jim,

Clever !!!!

I propose the Tu 144, Tupolev 144.

1. My full name us Tupolev 144, also known as Concordski.

2. A significant difference between Concorde and the Tu-144 is that the Tu-144 wing did not have the complex curves found on that of Concorde. Lacking the sophisticated wing, Tupolev instead relied on a simple but practical device: a small retractable canard surface on either side of the aircraft, close to the nose, to manoeuvre at low speeds.

3. I was the Tu-144S 77102, 1st flight on 03.20.72 - 1st production aircraft. Crashed 06.06.73 at Le Bourget (Paris Air Show).

Although the Tu-144 flew before Concorde, its development was connected with industrial espionage against the French company A?rospatiale, which was developing Concorde, hence the name Concordski.

At the Paris Air Show on 3 June 1973, the development programme suffered a severe blow when the first Tu-144S production aircraft (reg 77102) crashed. While in the air, it undertook a violent downwards manoeuvre. Trying to pull out of the subsequent dive, the plane broke up and crashed, destroying 15 houses and killing all six on board and eight on the ground.

More details here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-144

http://jnpassieux.chez-alice.fr/html/Tu144.php

http://francis.deshayes.free.fr/concorde/tu144.htm

Ch.

All correct Cristophe. The only thing is that question number 2 was supposed to be answered by Tu-144S Reg 77102 as the specific registration number of the plane identifying it from the other 15 TU 144s ....... but you answered that in no. 3 anyways. So very well done. I enjoyed setting this question and although the clues were cryptic, I think they were fair.

The ball is now in your court Christophe!

Jim

[Christian Zulus]

Dear Christophe,

congratulations for answering that super-difficult question .

Jim's fantastic question had been really extremly tricky - remind the guessing:

- Bin Laden

- Leo Trotsky

- Iosif Stalin

- some "black brothers"

Would give a great picture, to show Bin Laden, Trotsky, Stalin and a gang of "black brothers" on board of a Tu-144 .

I had my problems with Jim's "cryptic" language . Also Belaruski, who is British, understood "race" in a biological meaning .

The question is, which had been the better design: Concorde or Tu-144 - and how much did the Soviets really copy?

The fact is, that the Concorde doesn't exist anymore, but the Tu-144 (2 planes) are still flying frequently at the MAKS airshows in Russia.

Another fact is, that since the introduction of the MiG-15 the Soviet Union had been always in the lead concerning aircraft designs and also in space flight (Sputnik, Gagarin, etc.) in comparison to the west till the end of the 1970s.

Best regards

Christian

[JimZ]

Well.... I referred to the phoenix.... which was a mythological bird.... That was a very nice hint

As for words.... you just gotta love them

Jim

[Christian Zulus]

Well.... I referred to the phoenix.... which was a mythological bird.... That was a very nice hint

As for words.... you just gotta love them

Jim

Dear Jim,

your question had been a great question .

Best regards

Christian

[JimZ]

Thanks Christian. I think the poor TU 144 was totally eclipsed by Concorde and many people are in fact unaware of the fact that it ever even existed! Hence I hope this question was also educational to some!

Jim

[Belaruski]

I was thinking along the lines of the Black Panther Party!

[Christophe]

All correct Cristophe. The only thing is that question number 2 was supposed to be answered by Tu-144S Reg 77102 as the specific registration number of the plane identifying it from the other 15 TU 144s ....... but you answered that in no. 3 anyways. So very well done. I enjoyed setting this question and although the clues were cryptic, I think they were fair.

The ball is now in your court Christophe!

Jim

Thanks Jim,

This was a very clever set of questions, with excellent clues !!!! Bravo!!!! I really enjoyed finding the mystery.

So, it's my turn now...

Cheers.

Ch.

[Christophe]

(...) The fact is, that the Concorde doesn't exist anymore, but the Tu-144 (2 planes) are still flying frequently at the MAKS airshows in Russia.

(...)

Christian

Christian,

I thought that only one Tu-144 was still flying : the Tu-144D 77114 (1981), modified to become Tu-144LL.

After years of storage, Tu-144 has been made airworthy again to be used on a number of test flights in a joint venture of the United States and Russia, under the administration of NASA and with the participation of US aerospace firms such as Boeing.

Cheers.

Ch.

[Christian Zulus]

Christian,

I thought that only one Tu-144 was still flying : the Tu-144D 77114 (1981), modified to become Tu-144LL.

After years of storage, Tu-144 has been made airworthy again to be used on a number of test flights in a joint venture of the United States and Russia, under the administration of NASA and with the participation of US aerospace firms such as Boeing.

Cheers.

Ch.

Dear Christophe,

the Wiki-entry says, that 77114 (you mentioned) and 77115 are at "Zhukovsky" and used for airshows.

Best regards

Christian

[Christophe]

Christian,

I doubt they are used for airshows. As far as I know, only the 77114 has been "converted" in the Tu-144LL. He performed a series of 19 flights (within Russian airspace) in two test phases, the last flight being early 1998. The programme ended in 1999.

No Tu-144 has flown since the end of NASA testing.

I will be in Moscow end of August for the next MAKS Airshow. If I see a Tu-144 flying, be sure I will take thousands of photos !!!!

Cheers.

Ch.

[Gerd Becker]

Christophe, thanks for an extremly educating and entertaining thread. It has developed just great! Also thanks to all, who participated

[Christophe]

Christophe, thanks for an extremly educating and entertaining thread. It has developed just great! Also thanks to all, who participated

Thanks for the kind words, Gerd . And thanks to all, again. To all, please, don't hesitate to participate, questions are not so difficult, and in "playing", we all increase our culture and knowledge. We are now a strong and friendly team here!!!!

Cheers.

Ch.

[Christophe]

So, now Question #103 !!!!

A set of questions all related to the same "event"...

In February 1953, took place in Vienna a secret meeting involving MGB officers. They discussed there a secret plan, agreed by Stalin, to assassinate a foreign head of state. The volunteered MGB agent for the role of assassin was part of this meeting.

1. Who was the head of state targeted by the MGB ?

2. Who was the "assassin" present in Vienna ? Name and codename ? Details ?

3. This "assassin" already took part in the past in another attempt again the life of another leader. Which one, and when ?

4. During the meeting in Vienna, four possible ways to eliminate the leader have been suggested. What are these 4 solutions ?

5. At the end, what was the result of this mission ?

The most difficult part is question 4. If good or composite answers from several members, the winner will be the one able to give the 4 solutions.

Good luck, and good hunt!!!!

Cheers.

Ch.