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.

Starting in the 1960s, the USSR was a net grain importer. For example, in 1963, it bought 10.4 million tons of grain and 2.1 million tons of flour from the U.S. Furthermore, the amount of imports ...

Throughout the filming of Come and See, real bullets were used. At times, they flew just above the heads of actors, making their terrified looks genuine. And the scene where machine gun fire takes ...

Since the Middle Ages, (with the exception of the years 1712 to 1917), the Moscow Kremlin was the main official residence of Russian leaders. The President’s office is located in the Kremlin ...

The Russian president has declared his love for classical music on more than one occasion. In particular, he has mentioned Pyotr Tchaikovsky - according to Putin, the composer’s First Piano ...

Muzhiki are the most widespread caste in the Russian penal colony system. Unlike the blatniyeh, these guys are not professional criminals or regular prison guests. Members of this caste end up in ...

Probably the first thing you ought to know is why a revolution at all happened in Russia and how it came to be. Read our extensive and compelling article about the reasons behind the Revolution ...

The Grand Duchess was one of the few Romanovs who managed both to escape abroad after the 1917 Revolution and also to take her jewelry with her. Some of the treasures were taken out of the country ...

On the streets of the post-war USSR, it was often possible to meet disabled people on “gurneys”. They were simple boards on four wheels made of bearings. Legless invalids rode them, starting ...

R504 Kolyma Highway isn’t a popular destination on Russia’s map, which attracts mostly only thrill-seeking tourists. The highway is covered with a mix of dirt and gravel, so traveling here is ...

The most powerful of these is the Kolyma HPP, which is located 500 km from Magadan and generates around 75 percent of the region's electricity. Originally, the plan was for the plant to be built ...

The KGB was known for its highly creative methods for eavesdropping on the U.S. embassy personnel in Moscow. Once, Soviet agents modified typewriters used by the embassy staff. “Inside that ...