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The Latest Breaking News from the Soviet Union

The 'Caspian Sea Monster': How a Cold War spy satellite uncovered a mysterious 100-metre Soviet craft unlike any aircraft ever built

American spy satellites discovered a massive Soviet craft along the Caspian Sea. This mysterious machine was identified as an ekranoplan, a unique ground-effect vehicle. It flew low over water, combining aircraft speed with ship-like cargo capacity. Soviet engineers developed several prototypes for military transport and missile deployment. Funding cuts after…

The Times of India

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

The August Coup by Robert Service review – the drink-soaked collapse of the Soviet Union

This brilliant account of attempts by the old guard to take back control captures the ludicrousness of it all beautifully

The Guardian - UK

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AI before AI: The forgotten Soviet programme (1/2)

Beginning in the 1950s, the Soviet Union launched an ambitious programme aimed at developing artificial intelligence. While the history of AI today seems to be shaped by the giants of Silicon Valley, ideas originating from behind the Iron Curtain had a significant influence, although they remain largely overlooked.

France 24

In 1958, the US planned to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon. Why project A119 never happened

The US considered detonating a nuclear bomb on the Moon after Sputnik's launch. Project A119 aimed to demonstrate American power and prestige to the Soviet Union. Physicist Leonard Reiffel led the study, with Carl Sagan modeling the detonation's effects. The plan was scrapped due to risks and a shift towards…

The Economic Times

In 1980, the Soviet Union dammed a Caspian Lagoon to save water; it nearly vanished within three years, and salt-laden dust storms followed

A Soviet dam built in 1980 blocked water flow to the Zaliv Kara-Bogaz-Gol lagoon. This action caused the shallow lagoon to dry up rapidly due to evaporation. The exposed salt and sediment created dust storms affecting the surrounding region. The dam's construction also destroyed vital sturgeon spawning grounds and habitats.…

The Times of India

Why the US-China Moon race could turn into a lunar land grab

Sixty years ago, the United States and the Soviet Union were embroiled in a race to the Moon, which the USA won. The 21st-century lunar contest, with China stepping in for the Soviet Union, has many similarities, but key differences.

The Conversation

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After a devastating famine, the Soviet Union planted 5,320 km of giant tree belts in 1948, hoping to transform the climate itself. Still, the world's largest forest-engineering experiment was largely abandoned after Stalin's death

The Soviet Union launched a grand plan to alter its climate and prevent famine. Millions of trees were planted across vast regions to combat drought and soil erosion. This ambitious environmental experiment aimed to engineer landscapes on a continental scale. However, political shifts and practical challenges led to its eventual…

The Times of India

‘We are waiting for the Americans to save us’ – in crisis, Cubans have given up on reform from within

When I first visited Cuba, the island was recovering from a severe economic crisis. It was 1996, and the collapse of the Soviet Union had ushered in a prolonged period of deprivation and hardship.

The Conversation

Teatime in Tbilisi: Georgia’s Soviet-era plantations brew up a renaissance

Georgia’s tea industry collapsed alongside the Soviet Union but is now reaching a luxury market

The Guardian - UK

Ukraine war is not going well for Russia – how dangerous is this for Vladimir Putin?

The mood regarding the war in Ukraine has changed in recent months. Ukrainian drones have struck Russian oil infrastructure, causing fuel shortages across Russia. And the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is exuberant about finishing the war from a “position of strength”.

The Conversation

The butcher who brought his haggis to Cold War Moscow

WHY would a butcher from Kirkcaldy hand-deliver his haggis to the Soviet Union in the middle of the Cold War?

The National (Scotland)

Russia's fuel crisis is so bad that a mom and her baby waited in line for 18 hours to get gas — 'Are we in the Soviet Union?'

Energy analysts have estimated that 25% or more of Russia’s oil refining capacity has been taken offline by Ukraine's drone attacks.

Fortune

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

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Reason

My Grandfather's Account of the Early Days of Germany's Attack on the Soviet Union in World War II

Today is the 85th anniversary of that momentous event.

The Guardian - US

The end of the NBA’s American empire: how the 1986 draft changed basketball for ever

European players had long been dismissed as a risk by NBA teams. But two picks by the Portland Trail Blazers helped usher in the league’s international era

The Economic Times

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…

Fortune

The man who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union and helped wealthy Chinese move to Canada sees a familiar picture in America

Nuri Katz has spent 34 years moving the world’s ultrarich from one country to another, and now Americans top the list: “I’ve never seen that before.”

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The Conversation

Armenia’s ties with Russia continue to deteriorate as election day approaches

Armenia was once widely considered Russia’s closest ally in the South Caucasus, with the two nations maintaining deep political, economic and military ties. But ahead of pivotal parliamentary elections on June 7, Armenia is facing the deepest crisis in its relations with Moscow since it secured independence from the Soviet…

The Independent UK

Tributes pour in for MI6 ‘trailblazer’ Baroness Meta Ramsay

Her tenure included participation in the 1985 extraction of KGB double agent Oleg Gordievsky from the Soviet Union

The Conversation

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 Independent UK

AP Was There: Early Chernobyl victims buried in Moscow cemetery

In the weeks after the April 26, 1986, explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, it was difficult to get any information about the scope of the disaster, aside from terse announcements from the government of the Soviet Union

Euronews

Austrian court acquits ex-official Johannes Peterlik over Novichok document leak

Prosecutors had accused Peterlik of requesting "without official necessity" a classified report in 2018 that included the formula for Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union.

The Conversation

Chernobyl at 40: Secret Stasi files reveal extent of Soviet misinformation campaign over nuclear disaster

On April 26, 1986, Soviet engineers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were conducting a safety test. Doomed by a fatal design flaw and pushed to the limit by human negligence, reactor 4 exploded amid an attempted shutdown during a routine procedure, setting off a chain of events that ultimately…

Space

'For All Mankind' alternative timeline vs reality: How Apple TV's sci-fi show diverges from history

How do "For All Mankind"'s six decades of space exploration "history" compare with the real thing?

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