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”

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”

Soviets Learn of 1944 Peace Proposal to US from Prominent German Officers – Lets Germany Continue Fighting the USSR

On 14 June 1944, an unidentified Soviet human intelligence agent in Washington intercepted information that Allen Dulles, at the time the Swiss Director of the Office of Strategic Services, had been approached by German General Walther von Brauchitsch in Switzerland to meet at the US Embassy in Bern to discuss a peace proposal. The German,ContinueContinue reading “Soviets Learn of 1944 Peace Proposal to US from Prominent German Officers – Lets Germany Continue Fighting the USSR”

Here’s Why LGBT+ is Russia’s Main Domestic Enemy – Carnegie Politika

Photo: Getty Images Another in our series of translations of the latest Carnegie Politika articles. Resolving the Gay Question. Why was LGBT+ designated the main domestic enemy in Russia during the era of the Special Military Operation? Unlike the Soviet approach, Putin’s neo-Victorianism is not directed against same-sex relations as such, or even the peopleContinueContinue reading “Here’s Why LGBT+ is Russia’s Main Domestic Enemy – Carnegie Politika”

Whither Moldova? – Time for Deals: How Moldova Wound Up Between Trump and Putin – Carnegie Politika

Photo: Getty Images Today we bring another excellent piece from Carnegie Politika, from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP). Remember, if you’re interested in watching and learning about the history unfolding before your eyes, consider subscribing to CEIP’s news feeds or podcasts. We bring our unauthorized translations of Carnegie Politika’s excellent journalism to ourContinueContinue reading “Whither Moldova? – Time for Deals: How Moldova Wound Up Between Trump and Putin – Carnegie Politika”

Part Five and Final: Declassified Interrogation of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Commander

We continue our translation of the Russian-language record of the December 1946 interrogation of SS Standartenführer Anton Kaindl who, at the time of his arrest in May 1945, was the commandant of the infamous Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Due to its length, the translation is being published bit by bit throughout the week. In Part One Kaindl described his early yearsContinueContinue reading “Part Five and Final: Declassified Interrogation of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Commander”

Putin or Stalin – Force or Legitimization: Why Putin Needs Direct Talks – Carnegie Politika

Photo: Getty Images The following is a translation of a remarkable Russian-language article from Carnegie Politika, from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP). If you follow current global events but do not subscribe to CEIP’s news feeds or podcasts, do yourself a favor and make that happen today. The article presented today is clearlyContinueContinue reading “Putin or Stalin – Force or Legitimization: Why Putin Needs Direct Talks – Carnegie Politika”

Soviet Intercepted Telegram from UK Foreign Minister Eden to Lord Halifax on 1941 US-Japanese Discussions

On 8 December 1941, the Head of the Soviet NKVD Intelligence Directorate, Pavel Mikhaylovich Fitin, dispatched a special message to Josef Stalin regarding the contents of an intercepted telegram sent on 24 November 1941 from British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden to Lord Halifax, British Ambassador to the United States, regarding Japanese-American discussions in Washington. TOPContinueContinue reading “Soviet Intercepted Telegram from UK Foreign Minister Eden to Lord Halifax on 1941 US-Japanese Discussions”

DETI: German-Trained Soviet Teens Parachute Into Kursk Oblast to Conduct Sabotage, 1943

Nine documents were declassified and published on the Russian FSB (Federal Security Service) website on 1 June 2024, the International Day for the Protection of Children. This is the third in the series of documents translated. This is a “Special Message,” marked TOP SECRET, dated 3 September 1943 on the arrest of three saboteurs trainedContinueContinue reading “DETI: German-Trained Soviet Teens Parachute Into Kursk Oblast to Conduct Sabotage, 1943”