On 22 October 1965, a letter was sent to Leonid Brezhnev about the challenges facing the Soviet Union’s once all-powerful space program. The letter that hit Brezhnev’s desk was probably worth his attention for two reasons: first, it carried the classified “Top Secret,” and second, it was signed by seven cosmonauts, well-known across the globeContinueContinue reading “Cosmonauts to Brezhnev in Top Secret 1965 Letter: Soviet Woes and US Gains in Space”
Tag Archives: history
1955: Soviet Scientists Float Idea of Launching an Artificial Earth Satellite by 1958 to Leadership
We all know the rest of the story. Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union in early October, 1957, thanks to a plucky team of scientists and Khrushchev’s desire to beat the Americans. On 5 August 1955, eminent Soviet scientists Mikhail Khrunichev, Vasiliy Ryabikov, and Sergey Korolev wrote a second letter to Soviet leaders KhrushchevContinueContinue reading “1955: Soviet Scientists Float Idea of Launching an Artificial Earth Satellite by 1958 to Leadership”
1986: Gorbachev Reacts to US Mass Expulsion of Soviets on Heels of Reykjavik Summit
1986 was an exciting year in the world of foreign policy, especially for the Americans and Soviets. Here’s a brief rundown of events that sets the tone for this article: March 7: The United States orders the Soviet Union to reduce staff members of the Soviet, Ukrainian, and Belorussian missions to the United Nations toContinueContinue reading “1986: Gorbachev Reacts to US Mass Expulsion of Soviets on Heels of Reykjavik Summit”
Top Secret 1974 Politburo Records on the Solzhenitsyn Issue: Exile? Imprison? Expel?
By January 1974, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was already well known throughout most of the Soviet Union as a rabble-rouser, trouble-maker, ne’er-do-well, and pretty good author. When he quietly sent his weighty manuscript for ‘Gulag Archipelago’ off to the YMCA Press to be published in Paris and New York City, many inside Kremlin circles were shocked, toContinueContinue reading “Top Secret 1974 Politburo Records on the Solzhenitsyn Issue: Exile? Imprison? Expel?”
Japan Prepares for Bacteriological Warfare Against the Soviet Union: New FSB Release
On 18 August 2025, the Russian Federal Security Service [FSB] (Omsk office) declassified and released from its archives a batch of materials related to Imperial Japan’s bacteriological warfare program and the creation of the notorious Detachment 731. Today we’ll be presenting a translation of the initial four-page ‘Special Report’ described below. Also included in theContinueContinue reading “Japan Prepares for Bacteriological Warfare Against the Soviet Union: New FSB Release”
1943 Report to Moscow on the Frank Questions Being Asked of the Liberators
Throughout 1943, as the German Army stalled and took on massive losses in Soviet territory, Red Army troops were able to eventually push them back and, in the wake of the battles, were rightly embraced as liberators of the inhabitants of those territories the Nazis had been occupying. Soldiers and citizens alike, unsurprisingly, had manyContinueContinue reading “1943 Report to Moscow on the Frank Questions Being Asked of the Liberators”
1980: KGB Keeps Nobel Prize out of Ukrainian Writer’s Grasp
During the lifetime of the USSR, Ukrainian culture and national identity were subjected to brutal oppression by the Soviet authorities, and especially by the USSR State Security Committee (KGB). This special service was the main instrument of political control and repression, carrying out large-scale operations to discredit, persecute and destroy Ukrainian patriots, intellectuals and activistsContinueContinue reading “1980: KGB Keeps Nobel Prize out of Ukrainian Writer’s Grasp”
Zvezdochka Shipyard Rolls Out Russian Navy’s Newest Weapons Transport Vessel
A ceremony was held on 14 August 2025 for the Project 20181 Akademik Makeyev reinforced ice-class weapons transport departing the slipway. The ceremony was held at the Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center. As noted by the United Shipbuilding Corporation [USC] public affairs office, the vessel was developed by the Almaz Design Bureau by order of theContinueContinue reading “Zvezdochka Shipyard Rolls Out Russian Navy’s Newest Weapons Transport Vessel”
Stalin’s Eldest Son: Captured, Interrogated, Killed
Yakov Dzhugashvili, the oldest child of Josef Stalin, could never be said to have enjoyed an easy life. After his mother died when he was less than one year old, his father dumped him off to be reared by her family while he went off to be Stalin, doing Stalinesque things as only he couldContinueContinue reading “Stalin’s Eldest Son: Captured, Interrogated, Killed”
Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Kursk
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the K-141 Kursk, the Northern Fleet’s Project 949A nuclear submarine. The general picture is still clear in the minds of those who were “around “in the trade” when it took place – the first major Russian Navy exercise in a decade, while sailing submerged inContinueContinue reading “Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Kursk”
Translating History 