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 asContinueContinue reading “1991: On the Cusp of the Fall of the Soviet Union, KGB Continues to Fret Over Radio Free Europe”
Tag Archives: Ukraine
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.ContinueContinue reading “Russian Ministry of Defense Publishes Study of Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile Tactics in War with Ukraine”
June 1945: The Soviet Interrogation of Hermann Göring
Immediately prior to or following Germany’s defeat in World War II, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring surrendered to the U.S. 36th Infantry Division on May 6–9, 1945, near Radstadt, Austria, seeking to avoid capture by Soviet forces. After being stripped of power by Hitler for perceived treason, Göring offered his surrender to the Western Allies, expecting toContinueContinue reading “June 1945: The Soviet Interrogation of Hermann Göring”
Soviet State Security Uses Family Members to Entrap Ukrainian Pair With US Intelligence Connections
On 22 August 1948, the Minister of State Security (MGB) of the Ukrainian SSR, General-Lieutenant Sergey Savchenko wrote a lengthy report to his USSR counterpart, General-Colonel Viktor Abakumov regarding efforts to entrap two young men of Jewish ancestry believed to have arrived in the Soviet Union from China attempting to gain entry into the UkrainianContinueContinue reading “Soviet State Security Uses Family Members to Entrap Ukrainian Pair With US Intelligence Connections”
Census Takers Executed by Soviet Authorities in 1938 for Unwittingly Revealing Millions of Ukrainians Were Lost to the Holdomor
Hopes were certainly high when Stalin declared a census be taken in 1937 across the entire Soviet Union. As the illustration above shows, gigantic success was anticipated for socialism in the USSR. But as the results started rolling in, Soviet leadership was in for a few surprises. One of the questions asked was whether orContinueContinue reading “Census Takers Executed by Soviet Authorities in 1938 for Unwittingly Revealing Millions of Ukrainians Were Lost to the Holdomor”
Russia Suspends Right of Innocent Passage in Baltic Sea Along Coast of Kaliningrad For Remainder of 2025
On 8 October 2025, the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense published notification of “the suspension of right of innocent passage through the territorial waters of the Russian Federation” in the southeastern Baltic Sea “for foreign military ships and other state vessels operated for non-commercial purposes.” This declaration, which is in effect through 31 December 2025,ContinueContinue reading “Russia Suspends Right of Innocent Passage in Baltic Sea Along Coast of Kaliningrad For Remainder of 2025”
Russian Ministry of Defense Reveals Projected Military Spending through 2028
According to a recently published report from Russian website Mil.Press, in 2026, Russia will allocate 12.9 trillion rubles [$156,313,686] from the federal budget for defense. This is stated in the explanatory note to the draft budget for 2026, which was submitted to the State Duma on Monday, September 29. By comparison, the 2025 budget allocatedContinueContinue reading “Russian Ministry of Defense Reveals Projected Military Spending through 2028”
Vice Premier Malenkov Informed of Liberation of Auschwitz, 29 January 1945: “Heinous…”
Two days after the infamous concentration camp in Auschwitz was liberated, General Lieutenant Konstantin Kraynyukov was able to put down into a terse telegram some initial details of the camp itself and what it held. But before launching into descriptions, he felt rightly compelled to sum up his thoughts on what he had seen inContinueContinue reading “Vice Premier Malenkov Informed of Liberation of Auschwitz, 29 January 1945: “Heinous…””
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”
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”
Translating History 