History

Diamonds, Pineapples, And A Soviet Execution

A folder in Ukraine's KGB Archive reveals the glittering wealth, and shocking punishment dealt out to an allegedly corrupt fruit merchant in Kyiv.

The Faces Of Memorial: Those Who Created It, Helped It To Flourish, And Who Were Working For It Until The End

The story of Memorial is the story of thousands of people the group has helped, hundreds of volunteers, and dozens of members hard at work in Moscow and regions across Russia. RFE/RL looks at 7 people whose work displays the breadth, depth, and impact of the organization the state is shutting down.

The USSR Quiz: 15 Questions For 15 Republics

Join us on a trip back in time to the last years of the Soviet era and the beginning of a period that would test preconceptions about both sovereignty and democracy.

Take A Guess! How Have The Lives Of Russians Changed Over The Last 30 Years?

In 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed, the average Russian got married between the ages of 18 and 24, had one or two children, and was expected to live to the age of 69. How have the lives of Russians changed since then?

Tbilisi’s 1991-1992 War: A Ruthless Conflict That Had To Be Fought, Veterans Agree

From December 22, 1991 to January 6, 1992, brutal, chaotic fighting ripped through downtown Tbilisi over the rule of Georgia’s first post-Soviet, elected president, Zviad Gamasakhurdia. Current Time spoke with two veterans who say the Tbilisi war was a fight that could not be avoided.

What Do You Think Of When You Hear The Words 'Soviet Union'?

Almost 30 years after the Soviet Union's dissolution on December 26, 1991, young people across the former U.S.S.R. spoke to Current Time about what comes to mind when the country is mentioned today.

Mighty Memories: Memorial's Fight To Remember Stalin's Victims In The Urals

Labeled as 'foreign agents,' Memorial activists in Yekaterinburg, Russia still refuse to forget the past

Current-Time-Backed Film Mr. Landsbergis Takes Top Honors At IDFA

Lithuania Goes After Ukrainian Who Drove Tank In 1991 Soviet Crackdown

Thirty years after Lithuania achieved independence from the Soviet Union, it is requesting that Greece hand over a man from Ukraine who was involved in a Soviet military intervention. Oleksandr Radkevich was a tank driver when Soviet troops entered Vilnius in January 1991.

The Babyn Yar Tragedy As Described By The Executioners, Their Accomplices, And Survivors

Yom Kippur, the Jewish high holy day of repentance and atonement, fell on September 29 in 1941. This same day, the execution of more than 33,771 Jews in Nazi-occupied Ukraine began at Babyn Yar. The bloodshed would come to be known as one of the most tragic events in Kyiv’s history.

'Russians Building On Bones': What Fuels Ukrainian Opposition To Babyn Yar Memorial Complex

Eighty years after the September 29-30, 1941 Nazi massacres that left nearly 34,000 Ukrainian Jews dead, Ukraine is still struggling to decide how best to remember the tragedy of Babyn Yar. One private proposal for a huge memorial complex that includes Russian investors has provoked the wrath of some Ukrainians, but the government, for now, has offered no alternative.