Topic: U.S.S.R.
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Briefing
Chechnya: How a remote Russian republic became linked with terrorism
The main suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing are two brothers from Chechnya, a Russian republic that has been the scene of cyclical revolts and brutal crackdowns for the past 200 years.
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Man and Mars through history
A look back over centuries at man's attempt to uncover information about the 'Red Planet.'Sources: NASA, American Museum of Natural History, and Scientific American
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Cuban Missile Crisis: the 3 most surprising things you didn't know
Fifty years ago, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the United States and the Soviet Union within a hair’s breadth of nuclear war. Here are three things that many Americans don’t know about what historians routinely call “the most dangerous moment in human history.”
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Cuban Missile Crisis: 5 ways leftist ideology lives on in Latin America
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the US and the Soviet Union were on the brink of nuclear war over the installation of Soviet missiles in Cuba.
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Presidential debate: 7 defining moments in history (+video)
From Ronald Reagan’s one-liner, “There you go again,” to Al Gore’s heavy sighs and eye rolls, zingers and mannerisms can define a presidential debate even more than the candidates’ positions on critical issues. Here is a look back at seven defining debate moments.
All Content
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How NASA dodged a derelict Soviet spy satellite
In March 2012, NASA's Fermi space telescope could have collided with a Russian naval signals satellite, were it not for an untested maneuver.
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Opinion: Reminder from Boston Marathon bombings: A need to integrate immigrant children
The Boston Marathon bombings could not have been foreseen in the case files of 8-year-old asylum seeker, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and his 15-year-old brother, Tamerlan. What should be questioned is whether US authorities do enough to integrate immigrant children once they arrive.
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Syria chemical weapons: Where did they come from? (+video)
The roots of Syria's chemical weapons program lie decades in the past, perhaps back to the 1970s. Other countries were early suppliers. What's uncertain now is if Syria can make its own chemical weapons.
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Briefing
Chechnya: How a remote Russian republic became linked with terrorism
The main suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing are two brothers from Chechnya, a Russian republic that has been the scene of cyclical revolts and brutal crackdowns for the past 200 years.
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Chechen strongman corrects his minister - with a boxing glove to the head
Ramzan Kadyrov's sparring match – ostensibly good-natured 'criticism' of the minister's job performance – is seen by some as reflective of the darker undertones of Kadyrov's hard rule.
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Return of a King
William Dalrymple looks for contemporary lessons in the story of Britain's disastrous 19th-century invasion of Afghanistan.
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Global News Blog Fundamentalism and the Chechens' fighting history
The ancestral home of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has long been a land of fighters, but it took on the character of an Islamic jihad in the 1990s.
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Opinion: Boston bombing: Media haste makes mistakes
The rush for information about the Chechen suspects in the Boston bombing has led to mistaken reporting and pointing to innocents. The authorities, though, have not misled the public. It is important to let them do their jobs, and not rush to a judgment that may well be false.
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Chechen identity looms over Boston Marathon bombing suspects
If true that the two suspects were raised in Chechnya, its warrior tradition - which stresses male independence and defiance of authority - would likely have shaped their childhood.
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Can Pakistan drive the Taliban out of its tribal belt?
With the 2014 withdrawal of NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan looming, Pakistan is turning its attention to the impoverished tribal areas where regional terror groups have long sought haven.
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Antares vs. Falcon 9: How the two rockets ferrying NASA's cargo differ
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has already proved itself able to get a cargo payload to the International Space Station. Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket, set for its first test launch Wednesday evening, is a very different animal.
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Energy Voices How oil exporters reach financial collapse
High oil prices are good for oil exporters while low oil prices are good for oil importers, Tverberg writes. The result is a price tug of war between oil importers and oil exporters.
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Redoine Faid's brazen escape and other notorious prison breaks
Redoine Faid escapes: It wasn't the first time that Faid, an armed robber being held in the death of a police officer, had gone on the lam. Here are a few other notorious prison escapes.
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Energy Voices Why peak oil demand is already a major problem
Oil demand has to do with how much oil we can afford, Tverberg writes, and many of the developed nations are not able to outbid the developing nations when it comes to the world’s limited oil supply.
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Latin America Monitor Cuban entrepreneurs determined to 'resolver'
After decades of a US embargo and authoritarian government, Cubans have a reputation of 'figuring things out.' Just look at the new entrepreneurs emerging amid gradual reforms.
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Terrorism & Security Just how bothered is Beijing about North Korea?
While neither Beijing nor Washington want to see North Korea's belligerence explode into actual conflict, Beijing is not willing to push Pyongyang too hard for fear of toppling the regime.
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Opinion: To break the cycle of North Korea threats, US must put Kim on his heels (+video)
To break the cycle of threats from North Korea, the United States must take a much more assertive stance. Leader Kim Jong-un must be put on the defensive by sending him a clear warning of preemptive action if America and its allies find themselves threatened.
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Are North Korea's nuclear weapons small enough to fit a ballistic missile?
North Korea claims to have made progress on miniaturized nuclear devices. Some experts credit that claim, but much of what North Korea can or can't do remains unknown.
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Margaret Thatcher: the divisive creator of modern Britain
Though loved and loathed equally in Britain, the former prime minister was undeniably a force for change, breaking the British unions and helping the West win the cold war.
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The Monitor's View: What made Margaret Thatcher special in her time
Margaret Thatcher's leadership qualities were essential for Britain and the world of the 1980s, but her failings also provide lessons for leaders today.
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Margaret Thatcher leaves mixed legacy in Ireland
The late British prime minister's blunt style and politics were not well received in either the Republic or Northern Ireland, which she once famously declared 'as British as Finchley.'
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The Monitor's View: Can hope replace North Korea's fears?
The escalation of fear between North Korea and the US reveals the danger of relying too much on fear of retaliatory nuclear attacks as a strategy for defense. The difficult task of replacing North Korea's fears with hopes of peace and prosperity must continue.
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Holocaust Day: New film tells story of survival in Ukrainian caves
The 83-minute film, “No Place on Earth,” premiered this weekend in New York, just as Israel is marking Holocaust Day. It is scheduled to open in major cities across the US in coming weeks.
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Is Putin trading his own party for a new power base?
With his United Russia party's popularity diminishing, Putin appears to be reorganizing his political power with the Popular Front, an East German-style, extra-political body.
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Stock market's record bull run shows few signs of slowing down
Stock market averages are hitting record highs routinely, and there are few red flags to indicate they are about to peak. Instead, historical data suggest a continued upward trend.
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