Soviet History
Footage Shows How Daily Life Didn't Change After Chernobyl—and the Cover-Up's Toxic Aftermath
A new documentary shows how the disaster transformed—and endangered—those who lived near the nuclear plant
At a Former Concentration Camp, Holocaust Survivors Draw Parallels Between Nazi and Russian Rhetoric
Speakers at a ceremony marking the liberation of Flossenbürg condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims of demilitarizing and de-Nazifying Ukraine
The 1983 Military Drill That Nearly Sparked Nuclear War With the Soviets
Fearful that the Able Archer 83 exercise was a cover for a NATO nuclear strike, the U.S.S.R. readied its own weapons for launch
Digging Up the History of the Nuclear Fallout Shelter
For 75 years, images of bunker life have reflected the shifting optimism, anxieties and cynicism of the Atomic Age
Inside the Efforts to Preserve Ukraine's Cultural Heritage
Here's how experts and civilians alike are working to protect the country's art, artifacts and scientific specimens
The Music and Freedom We Experienced on the Streets of Kyiv
The story of a joint Smithsonian-Soviet-Ukrainian program in 1990 lends poignant resonance to Russia’s brutal invasion today
Vladimir Putin's Rewriting of History Draws on a Long Tradition of Soviet Myth-Making
Much like Joseph Stalin, the Russian president has used propaganda, the media and government-sanctioned books to present an ahistorical narrative
These Ukrainian Artists Are Making Traps for Russian Tanks
Berlin-based artists Volo Bevza and Victoria Pidust have joined with defense groups in Lviv to help fight back against Russian forces
A Century Ago, American Reporters Foresaw the Rise of Authoritarianism in Europe
A new book tells the stories of four interwar writers who laid the groundwork for modern journalism
What Happened at Babi Yar, the Ukrainian Holocaust Site Reportedly Struck by a Russian Missile?
During WWII, the Nazis murdered 33,000 Jews at the ravine over just two days. Last week, a strike near the massacre site drew widespread condemnation
The 20th-Century History Behind Russia's Invasion of Ukraine
During WWII, Ukrainian nationalists saw the Nazis as liberators from Soviet oppression. Now, Russia is using that chapter to paint Ukraine as a Nazi nation
Mass Graves in Ukraine Hold Thousands of Victims of Stalin's Great Purge
In the late 1930s, the Soviet secret police buried some 5,000 to 8,000 people at a newly excavated site in Odessa
A History of Gymnastics, From Ancient Greece to Tokyo 2020
The beloved Olympic sport has evolved drastically over the past 2,000 years
Why the Peace Corps’ Mission Is Needed Now More Than Ever
On its 60th anniversary, a moment of reckoning arrives for the nation's globe-trotting volunteers
The Day Soviet Aircraft Attacked American Pilots
On that April 'Black Thursday' 70 years ago, the air war over Korea changed as the Allies scrambled to counter the superior MiG-15 jet fighter
How the 1943 Khatyn Massacre Became a Symbol of Nazi Atrocities on the Eastern Front
Decades after the murder of 149 residents of a Belarusian village, the tragedy has taken on layers of meaning far removed from the attack itself
The True Story Behind 'The Courier'
A new spy thriller draws on the fascinating life—and whopping lies—of one of the U.K.'s most famous intelligence agents
Researchers Uncover Remains of Polish Nuns Murdered by Soviets During WWII
As the Red Army pushed the Nazis out of Poland in 1945, soldiers engaged in brutal acts of repression against civilians
Have Scientists Finally Unraveled the 60-Year Mystery Surrounding Nine Russian Hikers' Deaths?
New research identifies an unusual avalanche as the culprit behind the 1959 Dyatlov Pass Incident
The Soviet Spy Who Invented the First Major Electronic Instrument
Created by a Russian engineer, the theremin has delighted and confounded audiences since 1920
