275 Items Tagged

Soviet History

A mural celebrating Russian space exploration remains on the wall at Prypiat's abandoned post office, which once served nearly 50,000 residents.

Tragedy Lingers Inside Chornobyl's Abandoned City

It’s been nearly 40 years since a reactor exploded at this Soviet nuclear power plant, but disaster has a long half-life.

Matthew Christopher December 11, 2024

Kraków-Płaszów Train Graveyard

This cemetery of rusting Soviet-era steam locomotives and train cars offers an apocalyptic glimpse into a bygone era.

Tirana, Albania

Postbllok Memorial

A memorial to the atrocities of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania.

Beached Wreck of the Warship Grom II

The rusting hulk of a Soviet warship sits on a Polish beach.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Islam Karimov Museum

An eccentric museum dedicated to Islam Karimov, the former dictator of Uzbekistan.

Visaginas, Lithuania

Orthodox Church of the Nativity of Saint John

Originally built for nuclear power plant workers, this church sits between apartment buildings.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Automuseum Vilnius

Discover the car that once belonged to the King of Nepal in a former Soviet-era taxi park.

Why You Should Visit Turkmenistan, Land of Contrasts

An expert guide to Central Asia’s most fascinating country.

Sponsored by Cayman Jack

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Red History Museum

A unique interactive experience of everyday life in communist Yugoslavia—a very different time in Croatian history.

The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War in Kyiv displays installations made of weapons and equipment from the war.

How Ukraine’s Museum Curators Are Risking Life and Limb to Document the War

Working to preserve memory, as history unfolds in real time.

Tom Mutch January 11, 2024

Remembrance Memorial to the Victims of the Soviet Occupation

With a design inspired by traditional Latvian textiles, this monument honors the Latvian people who suffered under Soviet occupation.

Mustahamba, Estonia

Communication and Laptop Museum

A small museum showcasing various communication equipment and laptops in the middle of the southeast Estonia countryside.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Dambadarjaa Monastery

An off-the-beaten-path monastery in the northern hills of Ulaanbaatar.

Printed in a communist youth magazine in the 1930s, Towards Soviet America visits all of capitalist America’s social injustices on the way to “Soviet America” in the center.

objects of intrigue

The Anti-Monopoly Board Game That Promoted a 'Soviet America'

In 1934, American Communists translated a Stalinist book about revolution into a children’s game. Curiously, it didn't catch on.

Frank Jacobs August 18, 2023

Podcast: Bone Vinyl

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team July 31, 2023

Miedzianka, Poland

The Disappeared City of Miedzianka

This formerly-prosperous Silesian mining town was completely demolished in the late 1960s and early 1970s as an attempt to cover up a secret Soviet uranium mine.

How Are These Trees Floating Over a Finnish Road?

A photo archive reveals clever camouflage techniques, and highlights the strange position of NATO’s newest member, during World War II.

Andrea Prada Bianchi April 27, 2023

The cover of this Red Haggadah from the National Library of Russia, features a search for leavened bread, which is forbidden on Passover.

The Soviet 'Red Passovers' Where Jews Gave Thanks for Communism

Instead of celebrating freedom from Egypt, people celebrated liberation from capitalism.

Sam Lin-Sommer March 28, 2023