Tag: Soviet Union
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Latvia: under Russian influence?
In Latvia, the European Union nation with the highest proportion of Russian speakers, there is strong rejection of Vladimir Putin's government due to the invasion of Ukraine and after the death of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny. Despite the heritage of the Russian language and culture in the territory that was part of the former Soviet…
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China reveals its plans to send 'taikonauts' to the Moon starting in 2030
The Chinese Space Agency has made public its plans for a landing on the Moon. It will be, if everything works as they hope, in the 2030s. At the beginning or at the end, it is not clear. Currently, NASA hopes to do so in September 2026, but the delays suffered so far suggest that…
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The Albanian writer Ismaíl Kadaré under the regime of Enver Hoxha: the other ways of (not) being a dissident
How did Ismaíl Kadaré come to be published abroad during the times of Enver Hoxha's dictatorship? It was a bit by chance. A local publishing house was dedicated to translating Albanian authors into the most important European languages, French among them. The magazine director EuropePierre Paraf, French journalist and passionate about Albanian culture since the…
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A Ukrainian town devastated by the invasion defends its Soviet myth
The colossal figure of a Soviet myth presides over the Ukrainian municipality of Sviatohirsk, in the province of Donetsk. This is Artem, the name by which the Bolshevik revolutionary Fyodor Sergeyev was known. His effigy, like the rest of the town, has not been spared the destruction caused by the fighting during the three months…
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Transnistria asks Russia for protection in the face of “growing pressure” from Moldova
Mystery and tension have marked this Wednesday's meeting of pro-Russian separatist politicians in the ex-Soviet enclave of Transnistria, internationally recognized as part of Moldova, in which they have demanded protection from Russia in the face of “growing pressure” from the Moldovan government. The president of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselski, had summoned all the elected authorities of…
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How the Finns withstood Stalin's military superiority
Nightmare for Stalin's Army: A Finnish Rapid Reaction Force. Image: Interfoto Big country attacks small neighbor because he doesn't submit voluntarily. This is what happened to Finland in 1939. The expected quick victory of Stalin's Soviet Union did not materialize. A lesson for today. Ein a small country is threatened by its overpowering neighbor –…
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Baltic leaders sought by Moscow: symbol of reaffirmation of “one Russian world”
On February 13, Russia published wanted notices for several Baltic officials, including Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. All of them are accused of being responsible for decisions perceived by Moscow as “an insult to history.” According to experts interviewed by France 24, this is above all a symbolic accusation, intended to reaffirm that only one…
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Cuba and South Korea reestablish diplomatic relations after more than six decades
A triumph for South Korean diplomacy and an example of Cuban pragmatism. North Korea's main ally during the Cold War on the American continent reestablished diplomatic relations with Seoul, broken since 1959, the year of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. The restoration of relations includes the opening of embassies in both countries. First modification:…
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Ilham Aliyev remains at the head of Azerbaijan in the first elections after the conquest of Nagorno Karabakh
The Aliyev family has controlled Azerbaijan without opposition since 1993 and this Wednesday they will revalidate their power until at least 2031, in the first presidential elections after the forcible takeover of the Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabakh in September of last year. The region, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, but with an Armenian population…
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Eugeniu Chirca, the last survivor of Romania's anti-communist resistance, dies at 93
Eugeniu Chirca, the last survivor of Romania's anti-communist resistance who was arrested during the Sovietization process of the Eastern European country that began in 1945 after the end of World War II and spent eight years in the filthy prisons of the time, He died at the age of 93 last Sunday in his home…