The Latest Breaking News from the Soviet Union

‘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 · Jul 9

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 · Jul 9

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 · Jul 7

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 Guardian - US · Jun 22

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 · Jun 21

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.”

Fortune · Jun 17

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 Conversation · Jun 4

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 Independent UK · May 29

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 · May 7

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

The Independent UK · Apr 26