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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Soviet Union

Soviet Union stories: 39 news summaries

1 - 20 of 39 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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OPINION

 'Tear Down This Wall' 
 Not So Confrontational 

Reagan 'defeated' Soviets with diplomacy, not bravado

Nov 6, 09 12:54 PM CST
(Newser) - Prepare to see a lot of clips in the coming days of Ronald Reagan declaring, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” The 20th anniversary of the Berlin wall’s fall is days away, and in our collective memory, Reagan brought it down with sheer bravado. But that’s... More »

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Soviet Union • Mikhail Gorbachev • Ronald Reagan • Cold War • history • Brandenburg Gate

VIRAL VIDEO

'Screw' Those Soviet Hockey Players: Kid

Pint-sized coach
recites Kurt Russell's speech from Miracle

Oct 6, 09 10:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - What’s more inspiring than watching Kurt Russell speak the words of legendary hockey coach Herb Brooks to the 1980 men’s Olympic team before they played—and beat—the Russians in the film Miracle? Try the same words coming from a 5-year-old. Well, maybe it’s just cuter,... More »

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social networking • Internet • YouTube • film • Soviet Union • hockey • viral video • movies • Kurt Russell • Miracle on Ice • Herb Brooks • Miracle • 1980 Winter Olympics • Lake Placid

 Thatcher Urged 
 Gorbachev to Block 
 German Reunification 

British leader warned Soviets that the change would endanger security

Sep 11, 09 2:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Margaret Thatcher called on Mikhail Gorbachev to halt German reunification months before the Berlin Wall came down, newly unearthed Kremlin documents reveal. Thatcher—telling the Soviet leader he should disregard NATO pronouncements on the issue—said the breakdown of the Warsaw Pact wasn't in the interests of the West, the... More »

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Soviet Union • Mikhail Gorbachev • Margaret Thatcher • East Germany • Berlin Wall • Communism • West Germany • reunification

OPINION

 'Giant Leap' Was a 
 'Knee in NASA's Groin'

Ever since 1969, hope for a 'bridge to the stars' has faded

Jul 19, 09 11:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US took a “giant leap” landing on the moon in 1969, but NASA's greatest moment of triumph was also "a real knee in the groin" for the space agency, writes Tom Wolfe in the New York Times. At the time, we thought we’d build “a... More »

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NASA • Mars • Soviet Union • space • philosophy • space flight • moon landings • Tom Wolfe • John Glenn

(Newser) - A CD of Mikhail Gorbachev singing traditional Russian ballads has sold for $164,940 at a charity auction in London, the Guardian reports. The sole copy is now in the hands of an “anonymous British philanthropist.” The benefit was held to raise money for a foundation, named after... More »

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philanthropy • Russia • London • Soviet Union • auction • Mikhail Gorbachev • charity • album • Raisa Gorbachev Foundation • childhood cancer • benefit • ballad

West 'Wasted 20 Years' After Berlin Wall Fell: Gorbachev

Former Soviet states should unite, he suggests

May 13, 09 3:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Europe has squandered two decades of potential cooperation since the Berlin Wall fell, Mikhail Gorbachev says. At a Moscow event sponsored by his foundation, the former Soviet leader criticized Western leaders who viewed the 1989 event as their victory over Eastern Europe, rather than an opportunity for common good, Reuters... More »

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Russia • Eastern Europe • European Union • Vladimir Putin • Soviet Union • Mikhail Gorbachev • Berlin Wall • United Russia • Dmitry Medvedev

(Newser) - In a much-touted recent Rasmussen poll, only 53% of Americans said they preferred capitalism to socialism. Among those under 30, that figure fell to 37%. “If you comb the annals of Americans’ ideological preferences, you won’t find figures like these,” writes Harold Meyerson of the Washington ... More »

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Rush Limbaugh • Soviet Union • socialism • poll • capitalism • Sean Hannity • Rasmussen Reports • President Obama • Eugene Debs

Movie Review

 Katyn Horrific, Excellent 


Feb 20, 09 11:15 AM CST
(Newser) - American art houses are finally getting a taste of Katyn, legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda’s acclaimed film about the World War II-era massacre of the same name, and critics are heaping yet more acclaim on it. AO Scott of the New York Times calls it “... More »

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film • Poland • Soviet Union • movie review • World War II • foreign film • movies • Andrzej Wajda

WWII Mass Grave of German Civilians Unearthed

Corpses found near Polish castle believed to have been killed as Soviets advanced

Jan 9, 09 2:41 AM CST
(Newser) - The corpses of 1,800 men, women and children believed to be German civilians have been found in a mass grave near the Polish city of Malbork, Der Speigel reports. The city was German until the end of World War II. Officials believe many of its former residents were massacred... More »

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Germany • Poland • Soviet Union • massacre • World War II • mass graves

OBITUARY

Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead

Patriarch Alexiy unified denomination, was suspected of KGB ties

Dec 5, 08 12:24 PM CST
(Newser) - The iconic leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who healed an 80-year rift in the church and restored its prominence in Russian society, died today, the Times of London reports. No official cause of death was given for Patriarch Alexiy, but the Kremlin’s first post-Soviet Orthodox leader had been... More »

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Russia • Vladimir Putin • Soviet Union • KGB • religion • church • Dmitry Medvedev • Roman Catholic Church • Russian Orthodox Church • Alexiy II

Taliban Chief to America: Let's Make a Deal 

Mullah Omar offers US troops safe passage
out of Afghanistan

Sep 30, 08 3:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Taliban boss Mullah Omar has warned that the US will suffer defeat just like the Soviet Union if it fails to withdraw from Afghanistan, Reuters reports. In a message posted on extremist websites, the defiant leader offered American forces "safe passage" out of Afghanistan if officials reconsider their "... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • Soviet Union • troop withdrawal • Mullah Omar • mujahedeen

Spy Author
Le Carré Was Tempted to
Join Soviets

Curiosity, not ideology, piqued his interest

Sep 15, 08 7:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - British spy novelist John le Carré once considered defecting to the Soviet Union out of curiosity about the country, he told an interviewer while promoting his new book. “When you spy intensively and you get closer and closer to the border it seems such a small step to jump... More »

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Soviet Union • spy • author • John le Carre

 Ethel Was 
 Innocent: 
 Witness 

Co-defendant admits being spy, calls Julius' secrets 'junk'

Sep 12, 08 3:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - A co-defendant of Julius and Ethel  Rosenberg has admitted for the first time that he was a Soviet spy—and that she was innocent. Morton Sobell, 91, passed military secrets to the Communists in World War II when the nations were still allies, he told the New York Times. Sobell,... More »

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espionage • Soviet Union • Cold War • atomic bomb • Communists

Russia Claims US Citizen Provoked War

Cites teacher's found passport as proof of meddling in Georgia

Sep 3, 08 12:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - To support its claims that US intelligence agents played a role in the Georgian conflict, the Kremlin has produced a US passport belonging to an Army veteran from Texas, the Wall Street Journal reports. They say the passport was found in an outpost used by Georgian special forces. The alleged... More »

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China • Russia • CIA • Vladimir Putin • espionage • Soviet Union • KGB • Georgia • spy • international relations • passport

ANALYSIS

China Likely to Use Georgia War to Justify Crackdowns

Beijing sees conflict as new lesson to keep minorities in line

Aug 19, 08 2:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Chinese government will likely seize upon the Georgia conflict to justify crackdowns on its own separatists in Tibet and Xinjiang, according to a Bloomberg analysis. Chinese officials view the Georgia conflict "as the result of Russia's inability to control the country," and they don't want to make... More »

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China • Soviet Union • Georgia • Tibet • separatists • Central Asia • Xinjiang • Uighurs

OPINION

 Russia Flexes New
 Muscle in Georgia

But we've seen this before—30 years ago in Afghanistan

Aug 13, 08 1:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Russia's invasion of Georgia is a way for the rejuvenated country to flex its muscles, writes Eugene Rumer in the Washington Post. Bolstered by oil and gas exports, Russia's GDP has surged from $200 billion in 1999 to $1.2 trillion, giving it the economic and military power of the... More »

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Russia • Soviet Union • Georgia

Georgia Conflict Offers a Test for US Candidates

Obama urges calm; McCain takes harder line on Russia

Aug 9, 08 1:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - The conflict between Russia and Georgia provided one of the first real tests of how the presidential candidates would respond to that infamous 3 a.m. phone call about a world crisis, Politico notes. The upshot: Barack Obama echoed the international consensus, George Bush included, by calling for calm and... More »

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Russia • Barack Obama • John McCain • Soviet Union • Georgia • war • Election 2008

Judge Orders Rosenberg Evidence
Kept Secret

Attorneys sought material to clear Ethel

Jul 23, 08 4:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Evidence that could clear the name of Ethel Rosenberg must stay under wraps to protect grand jury secrecy, a judge ruled yesterday. Ethel and husband Julius were executed in 1953 for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. Her brother David Greenglass, who testified against her, has since said he lied... More »

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espionage • Soviet Union • nuclear weapons • Cold War • atomic bomb • Communists

Commies See Red Over Indiana Jones Film

St. Petersburg's Communist Party says a big 'nyet' to latest Indy adventure

May 24, 08 12:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Indy's new Cold War adventure has infuriated St. Petersburg's Communist Party, the London Times reports. The angry apparatchiks say Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's depiction of ruthless KGB spies who send terrorists to the US is pure propaganda intended to “slander Soviet Communists” and poison... More »

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Russia • Indiana Jones • Soviet Union • Communist Party • St. Petersburg • Cate Blanchett • Harrison Ford • Communists

 Russia Parades Its Might,
With Soviet Echoes

Red Square display, marking defeat of Nazis, puts revived military on display

May 9, 08 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Russia marked the 63rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany today with a parade of Soviet-era of tanks, missile launchers, and columns of foot soldiers, the New York Times reports. President-turned-prime-minister Vladimir Putin and his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, looked on, surrounded by the contrast of communist ritual with symbols... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Russia • military • Vladimir Putin • Soviet Union • Soviet • Nazi • World War II • Dmitry Medvedev

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