Soviet Union
Craig Mazin's Years-Long Obsession with Making 'Chernobyl' Terrifyingly Accurate
"We had a general standing philosophy from the beginning, which was: Accuracy is everything to us."
How Russia Fell in Love with Candy Bars Made of Blood
Many Soviet children grew up loving the sweetness, texture, and slight metallic twang of Hematogen bars—without knowing what was in them.
How Howard Hughes Helped the CIA Try to Steal a Russian Nuclear Sub
The expensive attempt was largely a mechanical failure, but it was still one of the stranger covert ops in US history.
Photos from Transnistria, the Country That Doesn't Exist
The United Nations may not formally recognise the country's independence, but 500,000 Transnistrians deserve to be seen.
What It Was Like to Work at a Russian Gulag
Ivan Chistyakov was living a modern life in the city, working as an engineer and checking out plays and movies. Then he got shipped off to Siberia.
30 Years Ago, Billy Joel Had a Meltdown in Moscow
In 1987, the piano man tried to bridge the gap between the US and the Soviet Union, and threw an onstage tantrum in the process.
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A Visit to Europe’s Last Dictatorship
Ex-Soviet Belarus only began accepting visa-free tourists this year. I had to explore one of the hardest-drinking, most WWII-nostalgic countries on Earth.
The Soviet Posters Meant to Keep Russians from Drinking
Russia's 1985 ban on alcohol proved disastrous for the economy, but it was a great time for lovers of beautiful anti-alcohol posters.
Remembering Vladimir Rodionovich Klitschko, Father To Champions and Casualty Of Chernobyl
While the Klitschko brothers are household names, far fewer people know about the exploits of their father. Not only did he raise two legends of boxing, he also bore witness to one of the most famous disasters in human history.
How the CIA Infiltrated the World's Literature
The new book, Finks, reveals how great writers such as Baldwin, Márquez and Hemingway became soldiers in America's cultural Cold War.
Photos of the Georgian Families Living Inside an Abandoned Military Hospital
25 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, many Georgians are struggling to survive in the new economy. In the outskirts of the capital, Tbilisi, over 150 families are forced by necessity to live in an abandoned military hospital.
'Vania The Bear Versus Radioactive Hellrats,' Today's Comic by Pedro d'Apremont, Gabriel Góes and Cynthia Bonacossa
Vania the Bear and friends head to the countryside to hunt radioactive hellrats in exchange for discount coupons.
