After the Crimean War in 1856, the Russian Black Sea Fleet was defeated, the state coffers were depleted and, according to the Treaty of Paris, Russia was no longer allowed to have a fleet in the ...

During the 70 years of the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the number of constituent parts changed, but most of the time there were 15 of them. Here is the list. In the beginning ...

Before all else in St. Petersburg, there was a log cabin along the Neva River. Peter I was no stranger to modest accommodation, and when he moved out of the cabin in 1712, this new summer “palace” ...

From the Arctic Circle to Kazakhstan, from the western borders to the Far East — the Gulag system in Stalin's time encompassed the entire USSR. “Gulag” is often used to describe any Soviet prison or ...

Why visit Tobolsk? Well, for one, to look at the ancient capital of Siberia, feel what the great exile Fyodor Dostoevsky and Romanovs royal family experienced here and also admire how the city has ...

We have traced how the architecture of Russian churches changed from ancient times to present day, in line with “fashion trends” and technological progress. Historically, church architecture always ...

Sarah Welch/wikipedia.org Here’s a toast to the explorers and archaeologists who discovered the plant used to produce the drink of the ancient Indians. One of the most mysterious drinks in the history ...

Everything you wanted to know about the USSR’s notorious security apparatus. From its inception and until the end of the Soviet Union, the KGB was a prominent force in Soviet politics and society. Its ...

Adidas sneakers were a mainstay in the Soviet Olympic team. Then, the shoes were sold under a completely different name. Later, however, they were seen being worn by the Spetsnaz in Afghanistan.

Cossacks are not a race, nation, profession, nor a term for a particular location. They are all of those, combined. Let’s debunk the myths about what the Cossacks were and what they are now. They ...

The world is enjoying a boom in chess playing following ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ TV series’ sweeping success. We’ve boiled down a list of Soviet chess legends who proved that chess is mental ...

The Bolsheviks were in at the beginning of the Communist movement in China. However, it wasn’t the followers of Mao Zedong who became the USSR’s main allies in the country. In 1949, the Communists won ...