Soviet Union

Stanislav Petrov made a split-second decision that probably averted a nuclear conflagration. “I told myself I won’t be the cause of World War III. I won’t. Simple as that,” he said.

The unsung Soviet officer who averted nuclear war

Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov committed an act of bravery in 1983 that probably prevented a nuclear conflict. Yet he was largely unheralded in Russia.

The unsung Soviet officer who averted nuclear war
Omar Hernandez in downtown Moscow. He says problems that came from speaking his mind too freely in Cuba led him to leave in the early 90s. Now he's lives in Russia.

Is Russia's romance with Cuba coming to an end?

Is Russia's romance with Cuba coming to an end?
Christian Ray Flores became a rock star in post-Soviet Russia in the '90s: "No one knew exactly how to make music like that but I did because I grew up overseas."

The guy who supplied the soundtrack for Boris Yeltsin's Rock the Vote

The guy who supplied the soundtrack for Boris Yeltsin's Rock the Vote

Rescuing Cold War History Before It Disappears

Rescuing Cold War History Before It Disappears
The crew and back-up team for Ahad Momand's mission. Momand is third from the left.

The only Afghan to ever fly in space almost didn't make it back to Earth

The only Afghan to ever fly in space almost didn't make it back to Earth
Nikolai Pozharuk, a retired lawyer who helped with the search, says that when weeks passed without any sign of the plane, people began to look for other explanations.

When a Russian plane vanished without a trace, conspiracy theories filled the void

It's completely baffling how a large aircraft, like Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, could disappear. It's no less disturbing when a small plane vanishes. That happened in Russia two years ago.

When a Russian plane vanished without a trace, conspiracy theories filled the void
The World

This photographer has found the beauty in Soviet bus stops

When you see his photos, you can understand why Christopher Herwig spent 12 years traveling through the former Soviet Union, taking pictures of Soviet-era bus stops.

This photographer has found the beauty in Soviet bus stops
Alina Simone's father, Alexander Vilenkin, at the Kharkov Zoo in 2011.  Vilenkin worked there as a night watchman after he was blacklisted by the KGB in Soviet Ukraine.

This Soviet-born émigré remembers working at the Kharkov zoo

Kharkov's Zoo in eastern Ukraine has been in the news over a shortage of funding and food. But when Kharkov-born writer Alina Simone saw the news, it hit even closer to home. Her dad worked as a night watchman at the zoo.

This Soviet-born émigré remembers working at the Kharkov zoo
Vladimir Zhidovich

Here's a rare glimpse of JFK's assassin, from his co-workers in Minsk, Belarus

The man who shot JFK in Dallas — Lee Harvey Oswald — first defected to the former Soviet Union and worked in a factory in Minsk. He married there and was under the watchful eye of Soviet intelligence, before he decided to return to the US. His former co-workers remember him fondly and refuse to believe he shot President Kennedy.

Here's a rare glimpse of JFK's assassin, from his co-workers in Minsk, Belarus
Jazz saxophone great Igor Butman

Growing up without religion in the Soviet Union, believing in jazz

Igor Butman grew up in the Soviet Union, where he learned jazz from listening to nightly broadcasts of the Voice of America on shortwave radio, and from bootleg records.

Growing up without religion in the Soviet Union, believing in jazz

Painting in Pre-Glasnost Russia

Painting in Pre-Glasnost Russia

Cultural Exchange

Cultural Exchange

Lomo

Lomo

Special Guest: Svetlana Boym

Special Guest: Svetlana Boym

Theremin

Theremin