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DARK SECRETS: Soviet union | Vintage Vibes

How Iran draws citizens into political surveillance

Authoritarian governments have long drawn ordinary citizens into political surveillance. Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union encouraged denunciations. East Germany’s secret police service, the Stasi, embedded informants in workplaces and neighbourhoods.

The Conversation

Georgia and Armenia Budget Travel Guide for Indians: The Caucasus Circuit That Costs Less Than Europe

Why These Two Countries Keep Getting SkippedMost Indian travelers routing through the Middle East on a layover have flown within an hour of Tbilisi without knowing it. Georgia and Armenia don't appear on the standard shortlist, Bali, Europe, Thailand, Dubai, because no one in your extended family has been there…

Times Life

Goodbye to the Soviet Union – archive, 1991

On 2 September 1991, the Congress of People’s Deputies voted for the dissolution of the Soviet Union, allowing its republics to opt for independence

The Guardian - UK

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In 1975, Soviet Union sent a cannon to space and tested it from Salyut 3 station, just six months before US and Soviet astronauts met in orbit for the Apollo-Soyuz mission during the Cold War

In January 1975, the Soviet Union fired a 23mm cannon from its Salyut 3 military space station as a test of its orbital defence system. The weapon was intended mainly to protect the station from a possible close-range attack or capture attempt, months before the historic Apollo-Soyuz mission brought the…

The Economic Times

At 15, Lynne Cox broke the English Channel record for men and women; at 30, after an 11-year wait for permission, she swam through 38°F water from Alaska to the Soviet Union

In 1987, endurance swimmer Lynne Cox made waves by crossing the Bering Strait, swimming from Alaska to Soviet territory during a tense Cold War period. This monumental swim was more than a personal triumph; it represented a bridge of peace and understanding between two divided nations. Her bravery earned accolades…

The Times of India

Gulag prisoners built this town during WW2, it grew into a USSR mining centre of over 10,000 people; before the end of the Soviet era brought its decline in 1996

Once a vibrant Soviet town dedicated to coal mining during World War II, Kadykchan was home to a lively community complete with schools and houses. Its downfall was triggered by the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, further exacerbated by the mine's closure in 1996. Now, it lies deserted, serving as…

The Economic Times

Dordoi Bazaar: How a shipping container market became the commercial heart of Central Asia

On the outskirts of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, sits Dordoi Bazaar, a sprawling 100-hectare market built almost entirely from stacked shipping containers, now recognised as the largest wholesale and retail trading hub in Central Asia. What began in the chaotic years following the collapse of the Soviet Union has…

The Times of India

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Ukraine war sparks fears of an organised crime resurgence in Russia

Following the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, Russia endured a period of violent criminal lawlessness known as the “wild 90s”. Organised crime spiked, with gangs taking control of banks, factories and other lucrative markets. Contract killings, shootings and car bombings became part of urban life.

The Conversation

On This Day in History, June 22: Fast & Furious release, France surrenders, Germany invades Soviet Union, Napoleon abdicates, Galileo recants, Maradona's Hand of God, G.I. Bill signed and other events

On This Day in History, June 22 witnessed Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, Napoleon's second abdication, Galileo's recantation before the Inquisition and the signing of the G.I. Bill by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The date is also remembered for Diego Maradona's famous "Hand of God" goal, France's surrender to Nazi…

The Economic Times

'Ponies' merges comedy with a gritty spy story in TV dramedy

The Peacock series “Ponies” starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson blends comedy and drama as widows of CIA operatives become intelligence assets in the 1970s Soviet Union

The Independent UK

Russia Considering Lowering Working Age To 12 To Address Jobs Crisis Stemming From Ukraine War

Russia is considering lowering the country's minimum working age to 12 and reopening child labor camps active during the Soviet Union era to address shortages stemming from the war in Ukraine, according to a new report.

International Business Times

Russia’s pared-down Victory Day parade tells a story: Away from the pomp, war in Ukraine is not going to Putin’s plan

Victory Day in Russia, which marks the surrender of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union, has long held particular importance in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

The Conversation

'What House Are You From?': A daughter's take on her mother's exile from civil war in Spain

Portuguese-Spanish film director and artist Ana Pérez-Quiroga focuses on her mother's memories in her documentary, 'What House Are You From? The film delves into the life of Angelita who was taken from Spain to the then Soviet Union at the age of four, during the civil war.

Euronews

Born in Soviet Union, Grindr CEO was told he had two career options: Learn English or how to shoot a gun

Grindr CEO George Arison used the only public fax machine in town to smuggle his application across the border to America and escape the Soviet Union.

Fortune

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The Conversation

I was in Georgia in the late 1980s: I observed how tradition survived harsh Sovietisation and rapid transformation

When Soviet president and Communist party secretary Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the policies of perestroika (reconstruction) and glasnost (openness) in the mid-1980s, it marked the beginning of cautious reforms of the Soviet Union. Georgia, or the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, to give it its full name at the time, was on…

Space

Russia aims to reclaim Soviet space glory with 2036 launch of ambitious Venus mission

Russia plans to launch the Venera-D mission to Venus in 2036, continuing the Soviet Union's legacy of exploring there in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

The Conversation

Front lines of humor: Dark humor voices Ukrainians’ hopes for victory

In 1991, a simple line appeared in Broom, a Lithuanian satire and humor journal. “A shortest joke: Communism,” it said. A one-liner to celebrate the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Space

AI helps find new clues in the 60-year search for Luna 9, the 1st successful moon lander

Scientists may have narrowed down the landing site of the Soviet Union's Luna 9, which in 1966 became the first spacecraft to touch down softly on the moon.

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Reason

No Excuses for Zohran Mamdani and Radical Socialism

The new mayor's buddy, Hasan Piker, wishes the Soviet Union had won the Cold War.

The Conversation

Why Ukraine should avoid copying Finland’s 1944 path to peace with Moscow

The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, recently drew parallels between his country’s experience from its conflicts with the Soviet Union during the second world war and Ukraine’s current struggle against Russian aggression. The analogy has gained considerable traction.

The Guardian - UK

Dau director Ilya Khrzhanovsky: my ‘pornographic propaganda’ recreating the USSR is more important than ever

When Khrzhanovsky’s colossal immersive project on the horrors of the Soviet Union launched in 2019, it caused uproar in east and west alike. Now, he plans to release its ‘mother film’, to expose the ‘huge danger’ the world faces today

The Conversation

Russia’s decision to pull out of nuclear treaty makes the world more dangerous

Russia has announced it will no longer uphold its obligations under the intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty, signed by the Soviet Union and the United States in December 1987. The decision has raised questions about the future of nuclear deterrence and the danger of global nuclear proliferation.

The Independent UK

With only one nuclear arms pact left between the US and Russia, a new arms race is possible

For decades, the threat of nuclear conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union hung over humanity

The Conversation

Why the US is letting China win on energy innovation

During the cold war, the US and Soviet Union were locked in a desperate race to develop cutting‑edge technologies like long-range missiles and satellites. Fast forward to today and the frontiers of global technology have pivoted to AI and next‑generation energy.

WhatToWatch

The Soviet Union had its own Sherlock Holmes? Yes, and episodes are streaming free online right now

Watch Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson on YouTube right now to see what Holmes aficionados consider one of the better adaptations of Doyle’s iconic detective.

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