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Russia

Hail Vladimir? Putin says he drove a taxi after Soviet Union's fall

Putin once called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century".

Culture news

Saving Culture: Meet the man preserving Russia's forgotten voices

A digitisation project that catalogues tape recordings from as early as 1890 is reconnecting Russia with forgotten voices, stories and songs from its Arctic north.

Destinations

Visit Transnistria: The breakaway state that's in the Champions League

If you’re looking to visit somewhere really off-the-beaten-track, the self-declared independent state of Transnistria should have you fumbling for your passport.

My Europe Series

How Ukraine's Soviet legacy is helping derail its COVID fightback

Just 14% of Ukraine's population has been vaccinated. With COVID infections increasingly sharply, there are fears of a tough winter ahead.

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Russians celebrate 65 years of the Volga GAZ-21

Russians have taken to the streets in an old Volga GAZ-21 in celebration of the car's 65th anniversary.

My Europe Series

Why has it taken Moldova so long to shake off its Soviet legacy?

It's exactly 30 years since Moldova declared independence from the Soviet Union.

My Europe Series

It's 30 years since the failed coup to oust Soviet leader Gorbachev

The world held its breath 30 years ago when a group of senior Communist officials attempted to oust Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and flooded Moscow with tanks. The August coup collapsed after just three days and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Travel News

Ukraine’s Soviet mosaics are more than just old propaganda

Soviet mosaics in Ukraine were neglected after the end of the USSR. Now artists and locals are trying to restore this important piece of Ukraine’s art history.

Czech Republic

Czech town Milovice marks 30 years since withdrawal of Soviet troops

The former Soviet military base has marked the moment with a parade of floats reconstructing this important moment in its history.

Slovakia

Slovakia: Parliament backs pension cuts for former communist officials

Slovakia just passed a new law that will reduce the high pensions received by Soviet-era apparatchiks.

Destinations

Car culture in Cuba: The locals with a love for Ladas

The Russian-made Lada is a prize possession in Cuba. Here’s why.

Russia

Mikhail Gorbachev, last Soviet leader, turns 90 in quarantine

Gorbachev, who is widely credited with ending the Cold War, was very popular in the West, but a much more polarising figure within Russia.

Lithuania

Lithuania marks 30 years of deadly Soviet assault over independence

More than a dozen people lost their lives on January 13, 1991 when Soviet troops and tanks drove through crowds gathered in front of the television tower in Vilnius — seen as a symbol of independence.

Russia

George Blake, notorious Soviet Cold War double agent, dies at 98

Blake was jailed in the 1960s for betraying the British foreign intelligence service but escaped and spent the rest of his life behind the Iron Curtain.

Russia

Volunteers build path to site of cosmonaut landing in Russian forest

The trail, deep in the remote Perm region of Russia, will take visitors to the site where 55 years ago two cosmonauts crash-landed after their spacecraft malfunctioned.

World News

Russia 'rewriting history' to justify occupation of Baltic states

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the United States have accused Russia of seeking to “rewrite history” to justify the annexation of the Baltic states in 1940.

Russia

Sergei Khrushchev, son of Soviet leader, dead at 84

Khrushchev once said he hoped his father would have supported his becoming a U.S. citizen. “After all, it’s not as if I’m defecting," he said.

Romania

Gaffe as tribute to Romania's war dead conducted at Russian memorial

They had meant to honour Romania's war dead but the ceremony was instead directed towards fallen soldiers of the Red Army.

Uzbekistan

UN hails Uzbekistan’s move to end statelessness for 50,000 people

Hundreds of thousands of people were left without citizenship across Central Asia following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Germany

Volunteers search for missing soldiers 75 years after Second World War

Volunteers work to dig up bodies in Klessin, Germany to bring closure to families whose loved ones have only ever been a statistic.