283 Items Tagged

Soviet History

Why the Soviets Sponsored a Doomed Expedition to a Hollow Earth Kingdom

How a search for the hidden land of Shambhala turned into a geopolitical power play.

Dimitra Nikolaidou September 15, 2016

Aerial View with Plac Centralny at bottom center

Nowa Huta

This sprawling concrete suburb of Kraków was designed by the Soviet Union as the model proletarian city.

Lenin greets visitors in front of the Central Pavilion

Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy

This newly renovated Soviet-era outdoor exhibition center is bigger than the principality of Monaco.

Prypiat, Ukraine

Abandoned City of Prypiat

The ghost town left by the worst nuclear disaster of all time is being taken over by nature and urban explorers.

A 1965 stamp depicting cosmonaut Alexey Leonov on the first space walk.

A Whirlwind Tour of Space Race Relics

Places left behind by Americans and Soviets in the race to the stars.

Molly McBride Jacobson August 12, 2016

soviet architecture

The Soviet Travel Brochures That Made Estonia Look Like a Fairytale

Inside an archive of travel guides and postcards that sold tourists on Soviet-era Estonia.

Anika Burgess July 29, 2016

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia

Sofia, Bulgaria

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

A striking symbol of the Bulgarian capital.

The Largo Party House.

Sofia, Bulgaria

The Largo

Sofia's legislative center is continuously reinventing itself.

military history

The Man Who Took This Photo Was Accused of Being an Enemy of the State

A look back at the Young Pioneers of Soviet Russia.

Tao Tao Holmes July 6, 2016

space exploration

See Retro Space Mission Patches Worn by Cosmonauts

These rare Russian insignia are a colorful relic of Soviet space travel.

Anika Burgess July 5, 2016

How a Gift from Schoolchildren Let the Soviets Spy on the U.S. for 7 Years

Attention, ambassadors: inspect every present carefully.

Matt Soniak June 21, 2016

Scale model of a Metro station escalator

Public Museum of the Moscow Metro

Hidden in a metro shop under a shopping mall, this small museum tells the story of one of the world's largest urban transit systems.

You Can Again Dine at the KGB's Favorite Restaurant

A lot of spies used to eat here.

Cara Giaimo May 17, 2016

Radar antennas at Chernobyl.

The Top Secret Military Base Hidden in Chernobyl's Irradiated Forest

The mysterious Cold War base is now an eerie, crumbling ruin.

Luke Spencer April 25, 2016

Poland To Take Down 500 Soviet-Era Monuments

The country has steadily been eliminating remnants of its Cold War past.

Erik Shilling April 1, 2016

Nuclear Bunker Museum

Prague, Czechia

Nuclear Bunker Museum

Buried five stories underground, this Soviet bunker is packed with gas masks and Cold War paraphernalia.

Cold War Spies Sifted Through Used Soviet Toilet Paper In Search of Clues

Operation Tamarisk has been called one of the most successful spy operations of the era.

Urvija Banerji March 17, 2016

Transpolar Railway between Salekhard and Nadym

Turukhansky District, Russia

The 'Dead Road' Transpolar Railway

Stalin's prisoner-built rail line sits in ruin, never having a single car ride its tracks.