The fall of the Berlin Wall is probably the thing people remember most, but the Soviet empire, truncated and divided, limped on for another two years. It was the August coup, 20 years ago today, that really finished it off.
Soviet Union
Hungarian government ‘persecution’ of former La Trobe Uni professor
Claims have emerged that current EU president Hungary is trying use the police and media to silence dissenters, writes a Crikey correspondent in Berlin.
A Soviet solution to the oil spill: nuke it
Forget your fancy containment domes and underwater pipes, Russian newspaper Komsomoloskaya Pravda has a far simpler solution to cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill: blast it with nukes. That’s how the Soviets would’ve done it.
Could the Polish Presidential plane crash actually help Russian relations?
Poland’s leaders were on their way to commemorate the 1940 massacre of Polish soldiers by the Soviet Union, when their plane crashed in Russia on Saturday. But historians say the tragedy may help the two countries finally move on.
Congressman Charlie Wilson’s war is finally over
Charlie Wilson, former US congressman, died overnight. His name would hardly ring a bell if it not for the 2007 film Charlie Wilson’s War, which dramatised his role in promoting US support for the anti-Soviet resistance in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
How the world was saved from orbiting laser battle stations
In the 1970s, the Soviet Union came this close to launching a huge satellite with a giant laser attached to it to take out America’s anti-missile shield. The fascinating and largely untold story of how it all fell to pieces.
Why the fall of the Berlin Wall didn’t really matter
Forget the fall of the Wall in 1989, says Niall Ferguson, the truly revolutionary, world-changing events took place a decade earlier: the USSR invaded Afghanistan, the UK elected Thatcher, China began opening up to the West, and Iran became an Islamic Republic.
Gorbachev: The battle over climate change is the new Cold War
On the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev has a message for the leaders of today: climate change is your Wall.
Obama needs to review Afghanistan ASAP
Foreign troops in Afghanistan are increasingly being seen as foreign invaders, says a former US national security adviser. How can the US Alliance ensure it doesn’t repeat the Soviet Union’s mistakes in Afghanistan?
REVEALED: Thatcher feared the fall of the Wall
Documents smuggled out of the Kremlin have revealed details of a secret meeting between Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1989, where the Iron Lady stated plainly that Britain did not want Germany to be reunited.
PHOTO GALLERY: A tale of two Mongolias
The independent nation of Mongolia and the Chinese-controlled Inner Mongolia may share a common history, but have taken two very different paths over the last 20 years. Stunning photos show neighbouring countries that are worlds apart.
I was Romania’s car czar: lessons in nationalising your auto industry
Ion Mihai Pacepa ran Romania’s car industry under the Soviet Union. With the US Government set to take over General Motors, he offers Congress some advice.
