Topic: U.S.S.R.

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

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.
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
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.”
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.
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

The Monitor's View: Christmas in Newtown: restoring childlike innocence

A big Christmas tree in Newtown, Conn., has become a memorial site for the Sandy Hook children killed at their elementary school. Many faiths use a Christmas-like embrace of an innocent child to help them in troubled times and restore the promise of purity.
Syria: rebels fight Palestinian pro-Assad group (+video)

When the revolt against Assad's rule began in March 2011, the half-million-strong Palestinian community in Syria stayed on the sidelines. But as the civil war deepened, many Palestinians have taken sides.
Tax VOX How Eisenhower and Congressional Democrats balanced the budget

President Dwight Eisenhower truly believed that budgets should be balanced, and his 1960 budget incorporated severe spending restraint and only minor tax increases, Penner writes.
Israeli Defense Minister Lieberman resigns after criminal charge

Mr. Lieberman denies the charge and says he is resigning to clear his name. But his resignation may impact Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reelection chances.
Opinion: Is South Africa following the path of 'the strongman'?

South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, was once a post-apartheid hero. Now it is the latest caricature of African bad governance, and it no longer resonates with the people. At its upcoming meeting, the party must embrace internal debate and reject economic nationalism.
The Monitor's View: Putin's drive for Russian identity

In a big speech Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said Russians lack 'spiritual braces.' He joins other world leaders who recently made similar warnings about their people. Should governments, especially those with weak democratic credentials, be promoting moral values?
Israeli minister charged with breach of trust, but evades more serious charges

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman will likely come under heavy pressure to resign after today's charges from the Israeli attorney general.
North Korea rocket test shows long road to credible missiles

Experts say Pyongyang is years from even having a shot at developing reliable missiles that could bombard distant targets, though it did gain attention and the outrage of world leaders with its first successful launch of a three-stage, long-range rocket.
US hesitates to forcefully condemn North Korean rocket launch

The Obama administration has made it clear the US will not tolerate Iran or Syria's acquisition of nuclear weapons, but North Korea's missile program is a tricker situation diplomatically.
In human rights spat, Russia poised to target US adoptive parents

After the US Congress approved a bill to punish Russian officials involved in human rights abuses, Moscow is set to blacklist Americans accused of violating Russians' rights – including US parents accused of abusing adoptive children from Russia.
Focus Baltic nations offer ex-Soviet states a Western model

The tiny states of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, having shed their Russian-dominated past and joined the EU and NATO, are looking to help their post-Soviet neighbors to do the same.
Focus Left behind? Russian-speaking minorities struggle in new Baltics

While the Baltics make economic and democratic strides, they also face growing pressure to better integrate their poor, disenfranchised Russian-speaking minorities.
Focus A Russian island encircled by Europe: Kaliningrad's dual existence

Once the Prussian city of Königsberg but now separated from the rest of Russia by Lithuania and Poland, Kaliningrad occupies a peculiar space in Europe both geographically and psychologically.
Chapter & Verse Writer David Nasaw discusses the turbulent life of Joseph P. Kennedy

From his role as a father to powerful politicians to his job as a movie industry mogul, Nasaw says that 'unlike other outsiders who fight to get inside... once [Kennedy] gets inside, he refuses to play by the rules.'
Price of a vacation on the moon? $1.5 billion.

The company is aiming for a first launch before the end of the decade and then up 15 or 20 launches total.
Ike's Bluff

Writer Evan Thomas's perceptive analysis of the 34th president shows a shrewd operator who played his cards close to the vest.
Cover Story Inside the mind of Iran's Khamenei (+video)

Why Iran's iron ayatollah distrusts the US and what that means for nuclear talks and the possibility of war with the West.
Iron Curtain

You won't find a better book about the beginnings of the Cold War than this National Book Award-nominated study by Anne Applebaum.
Will China's new leaders implement bold reforms?

China's Communist Party transitioned to new leadership peacefully on Thursday. Rapid growth over the past decade has left the Chinese public wanting more. Will the new government deliver?
Energy Voices An America self-sufficient in oil? Don't bet on it.

A new forecast that the US will surpass Saudi Arabia in oil production is unrealistically optimistic. Oil prices would have to rise far too much for unconventional oil to meet forecast levels.
Opinion: Balkan conflicts hold clear lessons on intervention in Syria

As policymakers in Europe, the United States, the Gulf states, Turkey, and the Arab League search for ways to resolve the conflict in Syria, they should consider what the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo have to teach about outside intervention. The main lesson? Do it – to stop the killing.
In 'eloquent declaration,' Russia opens world's largest Jewish museum

Israeli President Shimon Peres, who was born in Belarus, inaugurated the Jewish Museum, noting its powerful testament to how a country can change.
China enlists everyone from cops to cabbies to enforce orderly transition

China's ruling Communist Party opens a congress Thursday to usher in a new group of leaders. Much about the meeting will be a reminder that China remains an authoritarian state.
Opinion: Election day: Most predictions of the next four years will be wrong (+video)

As President Obama or Mitt Romney will discover, the only predictable thing about foreign and domestic events is unpredictability. Woodrow Wilson didn't foresee World War I. Jimmy Carter called Iran an 'island of stability.' Terrorism got only brief mention in the 2000 Bush-Gore debates.
Terrorism & Security Syria's opposition groups convene in Qatar – can they build a unified front?

The opposition's Syrian National Council began a conference in Qatar yesterday to overhaul its structure. Many, including the US, have lost confidence in the fragmented group.