Known as the “Butcher of Addis,” Mengistu was the leader of the Derg, a military junta that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991 and carried out a brutal campaign of repression called the “Red ...

How did Ethiopia fall into dictatorship and war? The Derg seized power in 1974, overthrowing Emperor Haile Selassie - but their rule led to mass killings, economic collapse, and conflict.

took power in Ethiopia, having defeated the Derg military dictatorship after almost two decades of civil war. The Derg had presided over one of the darkest periods in recent Ethiopian history ...

the begena was once reserved for the elite -- and effectively banned during the Marxist Derg regime between 1974 and 1991. But it is experiencing a resurgence among Ethiopia's artistic community.