Translating History

Russian FSB Using Declassified Materials and Emotion-Packed Rhetoric to Create Rift Between Ukraine, Poland

On 5 July 2026, the Ukrainian news agency Ukrainska Pravda [Ukrainian Truth] published an article blasting the Russian government's Federal Security Service (FSB) for spreading faked "declassified" documents in a massive campaign to undermine the growing strategic partnership between and Poland. This is certainly not the first time such claims have been made. Russia's ForeignContinue reading "Russian FSB Using Declassified Materials and Emotion-Packed Rhetoric to Create Rift Between Ukraine, Poland"

December 1942: Admiral Isakov’s Life-Saving Amputation Nearly Kills Him After Luftwaffe Attack

Much has been written across the years about the much-decorated Chief of the Naval Staff, Ivan Stepanovich Isakov. Almost all of the biographies, papers, and mere anecdotes dedicated to the Hero of the Soviet Union's World War Two exploits make glancing, even joking, references to the fact that Isakov had a leg amputated after heContinue reading "December 1942: Admiral Isakov’s Life-Saving Amputation Nearly Kills Him After Luftwaffe Attack"

1942: Roosevelt Willing to Sacrifice 120,000 Troops in “Second Dunkirk” to Help Soviets, Churchill Outraged

In 1942, the situation for the Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany took a dramatic turn for the worse. Soviet troops suffered defeats in Crimea and near Kharkov. German forces began a rapid advance westward, moving toward the shores of the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus region. Given the situation, the USSR beganContinue reading "1942: Roosevelt Willing to Sacrifice 120,000 Troops in “Second Dunkirk” to Help Soviets, Churchill Outraged"

1944 Romania Switches Alliances in WW2: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

In late August 1944, World War II was clearly coming to a swift close for Romania. Having sided with Nazi Germany under the government of Ion Antonescu, Romania observed the Red Army’s August 1944 Jassy-Kishinev offensive crush the Axis front in northeastern Romania. With no realistic chance of survival, the Romanian Army declared a unilateralContinue reading "1944 Romania Switches Alliances in WW2: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire"

1991: On the Cusp of the Fall of the Soviet Union, KGB Continues to Fret Over Radio Free Europe

Just months before the failed Soviet putsch of 1991, which is known today as having indirectly led to the collapse of the USSR, Nikolai Golushko, the chairman of the Ukrainian KGB posted a Secret report to Leonid Kravchuk, the newly anointed Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR, regarding what was seen asContinue reading "1991: On the Cusp of the Fall of the Soviet Union, KGB Continues to Fret Over Radio Free Europe"

1945: Stalin Reads Britain’s Top Secret Plans to Neutralize Worldwide Soviet Threat

When published in June 1945, the Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee (JIC) paper on "British Empire Security" was the talk of the town (London, that is). The 68-page Top Secret document, written as the war in the Pacific still raged on,provided a security roadmap for the United Kingdom for the period 1955-1960, identifying potential threats to theContinue reading "1945: Stalin Reads Britain’s Top Secret Plans to Neutralize Worldwide Soviet Threat"

1942: Nazi Propaganda School in Wustrow for Soviet POWs With Promise of Ukrainian Independence

In recent days, the FSB archives for the so-called Donetsk People's Republic have declassified excerpts of documents which shed light on the operations of Nazi propaganda schools for Soviet prisoners of war. Among the papers are interrogation transcripts from 1944–1947, in which former trainees describe in detail how they were taught to hate the SovietContinue reading "1942: Nazi Propaganda School in Wustrow for Soviet POWs With Promise of Ukrainian Independence"

1952: Soviet Executed for Collaborating with the Nazis During WW2 and Executing Soviet Jews

There'll likely never be a consensus on the exact tally of Soviets executed for treason during World War 2. However, there is no doubt about two things: the number is in the six-figure range, and as many as half of them were wrongfully executed. There is also no doubt that, as we crawl along inContinue reading "1952: Soviet Executed for Collaborating with the Nazis During WW2 and Executing Soviet Jews"

Russian Ministry of Defense Publishes Study of Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile Tactics in War with Ukraine

Issue No. 1 (2026) of Military Thought [Voyennaya Mysl / Военная Мысль], the official magazine of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense, features a noteworthy article titled "Tactics for the Employment of Long-Range Air-to-Air Missiles in the Special Military Operation." The article is authored by Colonel A. Yu. Stepkin, Lieutenant Colonel A.A. Gvozdenko, and Yu.G.Continue reading "Russian Ministry of Defense Publishes Study of Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile Tactics in War with Ukraine"