Soviet Union
As war rages on in Ukraine, some ethnic Russians in Latvia say they feel marginalized
Ethnic Russians have been living in Latvia for decades. But with public opinion turning sharply against Russia since the war in Ukraine began, some say they are increasingly worried about their place in Latvian society.
The Soviet Union once hunted endangered whales to the brink of extinction — but its scientists opposed whaling and secretly tracked its toll
The Jewish graves in Kyrgyzstan are fading. But a small Jewish community continues to thrive.
Longtime refugees in Georgia say goodbye to the Soviet-era sanatoriums they called home
Amid war in Ukraine, India maintains 'strategic partnership' with Russia
Space law hasn’t been changed since 1967 – but the UN aims to update laws and keep space peaceful
Activities in space today are far more numerous and complicated compared to 1967, before humans had landed on the moon or Elon Musk had even been born. Two experts explain the need for better laws to keep space peaceful.
Cuba’s promise of a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine
Cuba, a world leader in medicine, is the first in Latin America to develop its own COVID-19 vaccine.
It's been 60 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first man in outer space
Author Stephen Walker discusses his biography on Yuri Gagarin with The World's host Marco Werman.
Cold War 'CORONA' satellite images find second life in ecology research
Some of the more than 800,000 satellite images taken during the Cold War are being used by researchers to track biodiversity and species decline.
Fiona Hill: Putin has become ‘wild card’ for Russia's political system
Russia expert and former presidential adviser Fiona Hill speaks with The World's Marco Werman about US-Russia relations and the state of Russia's politics ahead of Victory Day celebrations.
‘I am a hostage of the north’: Trapped in a post-Gulag Arctic city
Many Russians in the far north have been waiting for more than two decades to be resettled in lower latitudes. They are caught between Moscow's grand plans for Arctic development and an exodus of aging Soviet workers longing to see flowers rather than blizzards in the springtime.
Ukrainian eyeglasses market brings pains of deindustrialization into focus
The ‘optical capital’ of the Soviet Union in Izyum, Ukraine, struggles amid regional economic decline on the borders of a hot war.
In 'The Humorist,' Soviet comedy is no joke
Michael Idov's new film, “The Humorist,” captures the oxymoronic nature of state-sanctioned Soviet comedy and the downfall of the system through the eyes of character, Boris Arkadiev.
For these Latvian Americans, summer is for learning about their roots
A new academic year is kicking off around the world, but for some American teens, the end of summer brings a close to a different school experience — learning their immigration history and family language in heritage summer schools.
20 years of Putin in power: A timeline
Last year marked two decades of Vladimir Putin in power in Russia. Here are the events that have shaped — or been shaped — by the former KGB officer.