During the 70 years of the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the number of constituent parts changed, but most of the time there were 15 of them. Here is the list. In the beginning ...

Alexander Blok was born into a noble family in 1880 in St Petersburg, where he lived all his life. That said, he spent his summers at his grandfather’s Shakhmatovo estate near Moscow, where one of the ...

Everything you need to know about one of the seven wonders of Russia: why go there, how to get there, and what you gain from it. The Northern Urals are home to an incredible geological monument: seven ...

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Poles had a chance to crush their main rival and become the ruler of Eastern Europe. For centuries, Eastern Europe was a battleground between two Slavic ...

Everything you wanted to know about the USSR’s notorious security apparatus. From its inception and until the end of the Soviet Union, the KGB was a prominent force in Soviet politics and society. Its ...

This architectural utopia of the Soviet authorities became one of the most outstanding examples of engineering and architectural thought. Albeit, only on paper. The Palace of the Soviets is the most ...

The most famous fictitious last name Vladimir Ulyanov ever used is, undoubtedly, Lenin. But it was one of about 150 monikers. Let’s take a closer look at the possible origins of the iconic pseudonym.

Even Queen Elizabeth II has some old pieces of jewelry that once belonged to the Russian royal family. The diamond, emerald and sapphire tiaras of the Romanov dynasty were remarkable for their beauty ...

Deportations are one of the most tragic pages in Soviet history, and continue to be a sensitive issue for many members of the repressed ethnic and social groups. So what was the goal of that policy?

In the late 1940s, the Soviets were only learning to play hockey. But within eight years, they built one of the most feared hockey teams in the world. The Red Machine went on to dominate hockey for ...

Before all else in St. Petersburg, there was a log cabin along the Neva River. Peter I was no stranger to modest accommodation, and when he moved out of the cabin in 1712, this new summer “palace” ...

The Russian Civil War opened a window of opportunity for Japan. Its ambitions extended not only to the Russian coast of the Pacific Ocean, but to the whole of vast Siberia, too. The large-scale ...