Translating History has recently received a small bundle of declassified Russian-language materials related to Soviet diplomatic involvement in the Korean War, and will be publishing the translations thereof in the coming week. We hope they may be of interest to our readers. The materials can be divided into two groups. The first group includes officialContinueContinue reading “Kremlin Suggests North Korea Slow its Roll in 1949, the Eve of the Korean War”
Tag Archives: russia
June 2025 Russian Ministry of Defense Report Reveals Drone-Defense Measures for Storage Depots
A report published by the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense in June 2025 provides a look at the latest modifications to its counter-drone measures employed as a response to Ukraine’s propensity to expand combat drone operations deep into Russian territory. The report, unclassified but not intended for broadest distribution, covered a number of different (mostlyContinueContinue reading “June 2025 Russian Ministry of Defense Report Reveals Drone-Defense Measures for Storage Depots”
November 1944: SMERSH Interrogates Treblinka Death Camp Executioner, a Soviet Red Army Deserter
During the military operations on the frontlines during the Great Patriotic War, the counterintelligence agencies “SMERSH” of the various fronts, armies, corps and divisions, along with carrying out the tasks assigned to them to combat enemy intelligence agents, simultaneously conducted investigations of Hitler’s atrocities, and carried out an active search for Nazi war criminals andContinueContinue reading “November 1944: SMERSH Interrogates Treblinka Death Camp Executioner, a Soviet Red Army Deserter”
“Communists” Come Out of the Woodwork as the Red Army Advances on Berlin, April 1945
As the Red Army approached the outskirts of Berlin, local Soviet spies on the ground reported on the surprising number of individuals springing forward to proclaim their membership in the Communist Party. The author of a 30 April 1945 Top Secret report, recently declassified by the Russian SVR, clearly had no wool pulled over hisContinueContinue reading ““Communists” Come Out of the Woodwork as the Red Army Advances on Berlin, April 1945″
Secrecy Vs. Control: What’s Going On with the Classification of Russian Statistics – Carnegie Politika
Another in our series of translations of the latest Carnegie Politika articles. Secrecy Vs. Control: What’s Going On with the Classification of Russian Statistics Openness is no longer declared by the Russian authorities as an instrument of transparency and accountability. But it still partially persists, primarily as a by-product of the desire to control theContinueContinue reading “Secrecy Vs. Control: What’s Going On with the Classification of Russian Statistics – Carnegie Politika”
Minerals for Weapons: Ukraine Declassifies Geological Data on Strategic Minerals
The following translation is cobbled together from Ukrainian- and Russian-language reports from a number of Ukrainian news organizations. Ukraine has declassified a limited list of minerals, including critical minerals, which was a relic from Soviet times, according to Svitlana Hrynchuk, Ukraine’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. “The classification has been removed, and weContinueContinue reading “Minerals for Weapons: Ukraine Declassifies Geological Data on Strategic Minerals”
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! But Which Ones? The Arrival of the Mysterious Il-96
Many Russian (and some US) virtual plane-spotters are wondering as to what a mysterious “special” diplomatic Il-96 is doing in the United States, having flown to Washington DC with no apparent notice to the media. At 22:28 Moscow time, the mysterious Russian special flight landed in New York City. At 21:10 Moscow time, information aboutContinueContinue reading “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! But Which Ones? The Arrival of the Mysterious Il-96”
Soviet Censors Send Top Secret 1946 Report to Communist Officials for Action Regarding Mail from Family Members of Ukrainian Servicemen
Postal censorship was never unique to the Soviet Union. Often most associated with wartime correspondence between deployed servicemen and their families back home, in many countries censorship was accepted as a small price to pay to keep operationally sensitive information out of enemy hands. Also generally accepted is the understanding that, once peace has beenContinueContinue reading “Soviet Censors Send Top Secret 1946 Report to Communist Officials for Action Regarding Mail from Family Members of Ukrainian Servicemen”
Oil and Reputation: Russia’s Wins and Losses from the Israeli-Iranian Conflict – Carnegie Politika
Another in our series of translations of the latest Carnegie Politika articles. Oil and Reputation: What a New War in the Middle East Means for Russia Russian leadership tends to value tactical gains over long-term planning, so it may well believe that a new crisis in the Middle East is more likely to play intoContinueContinue reading “Oil and Reputation: Russia’s Wins and Losses from the Israeli-Iranian Conflict – Carnegie Politika”
Weidling Announces Hitler’s Suicide, Orders German Army to Lay Down Arms
On 1 May 1945, amidst fierce fighting in Berlin and with both Hitler and Goebbels having committed suicide in the span of 36 hours, the Commander of the Berlin Defense Area Helmut Weidling clearly saw the writing on the wall. Soviet troops were certainly just days away from taking the city, and Weidling recognized thatContinueContinue reading “Weidling Announces Hitler’s Suicide, Orders German Army to Lay Down Arms”
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