Eurasianism: A Primer
Anti-Western and pro-expansionist, Eurasianists believed every country had a right to its own existence...as part of the Russian civilization.
A Messy Divorce: The Sino-Soviet Split
The ideological disagreements between two nations shattered the idea of monolithic communism and re-arranged the chessboard of the Cold War.
Getting Pickled With Joseph Stalin
The Soviet dictator was notorious for hosting drinking parties where vodka loosened the inhibitions of associates and got them to reveal their secrets.
Black in the USSR
Soviet artworks that featured Black Americans tended to trade in stereotypes. The paintings of Alexsandr Deineka were an exception.
Workers of the World, Take PTO!
Vacations in the Soviet Union were hardly idylls spent with one’s dearest. Everything about them—from whom you traveled with to what you ate—was state determined.
The Red Sting: Conmen in the USSR
The Soviets loved a good confidence game, as was made evident by the popularity of the fictional character of Ostap Bender after Russian Revolution.
The USSR’s “Invisible Cuisine”
Unofficial cookbooks—handwritten recipes passed from kitchen to kitchen—provided their owners with social and cultural capital within the Soviet system.
How a Forbidden Russian Epic Finally Got Published
Soviet dissident Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate was "arrested" by the KGB in 1961. Here's how it finally saw the light of day.
What Do We Really Know about Joseph Stalin?
It took three more decades of Soviet rule before the archives dealing with Stalin and his times could be explored. And then the doors were shut again.
How the Nazis Created the Myth of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad was the first major defeat of the Nazis in World War II, and presented the Nazis with a propaganda quandary.