Soviet Union

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Thatcher Urged Gorbachev to Block German Reunification

British leader warned Soviets that the change would endanger security

(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...

'Giant Leap' Was a 'Knee in NASA's Groin'
 'Giant Leap' Was a 
 'Knee in NASA's Groin'
OPINION
Jul 19, 2009 11:00 AM CDT

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

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

(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...

Gorbachev Ballads Album Fetches $160K at Auction

(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...

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

Former Soviet states should unite, he suggests

(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...

Thank Right-Wing Nuts for Socialism's Fading Stigma

(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 Post....

Katyn Horrific, Excellent
 Katyn Horrific, Excellent 
Movie Review
Feb 20, 2009 11:15 AM CST

Katyn Horrific, Excellent

(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 “solemn and searing,...

WWII Mass Grave of German Civilians Unearthed

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

(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...

Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead
Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead
OBITUARY
Dec 5, 2008 12:24 PM CST

Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead

Patriarch Alexiy unified denomination, was suspected of KGB ties

(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...

Taliban Chief to America: Let's Make a Deal

Mullah Omar offers US troops safe passage out of Afghanistan

(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 "...

Spy Author Le Carré Was Tempted to Join Soviets

Curiosity, not ideology, piqued his interest

(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...

Ethel Was Innocent: Witness

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

(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,...

Russia Claims US Citizen Provoked War

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

(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...

China Likely to Use Georgia War to Justify Crackdowns

Beijing sees conflict as new lesson to keep minorities in line

(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...

Russia Flexes New Muscle in Georgia
 Russia Flexes New
 Muscle in Georgia
OPINION
Aug 13, 2008 1:29 PM CDT

Russia Flexes New Muscle in Georgia

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

(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...

Georgia Conflict Offers a Test for US Candidates

Obama urges calm; McCain takes harder line on Russia

(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...

Judge Orders Rosenberg Evidence Kept Secret

Attorneys sought material to clear Ethel

(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...

Commies See Red Over Indiana Jones Film

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

(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...

Russia Parades Its Might, With Soviet Echoes

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

(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...

Ex-Soviet Monkeys Survive 15-Year Limbo

Breakaway republic can barely support survivors from better times

(Newser) - Traumatized monkeys once the subjects of Soviet experiments are odd remnants of a more prosperous time in Abkhazia, an area of Georgia that calls itself independent, the Los Angeles Times reports. The area was crippled in its effort to break away from Georgia, but the 286 primates living in a...

NATO Bars Former Soviet States in Blow to US

Ukraine, Georgia, Macedonia blocked

(Newser) - In a blow to the US, a divided NATO has refused to permit membership bids by former Soviet states Georgia and the Ukraine. The decision is an indication that Europe is wary of antagonizing an increasingly belligerant Russia, Bloomberg reports. Germany and France led the opposition to membership. In another...

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