#918239 Traveling the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1916 On May 31, 1891, in Russia’s Far Eastern port of Vladivostok, the future Russian Emperor Nicholas II, then Tsesarevich, launched the construction of the Great Siberian Railway, now called the Trans-Siberian Railway. The railway was built in the wild and sparsely populated taiga simultaneously from the west and from the east. In those days, it took a train 12 days to travel the 9,000-plus kilometers from Moscow to Vladivostok. 06/01/2011 #869186 Soviet people learn the truth about Josef Stalin On February 25, 1956, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced Josef Stalin’s personality cult at the 20th Soviet Communist Party Congress. Reassessing the country’s recent history, Khrushchev blamed Stalin for numerous crimes committed from the late 1930s through the early 1950s. Only three years had passed since the death of the “dear and beloved leader” who was now accused of such heinous crimes against his own people that they could only be called monstrosities. 02/25/2011 #808402 Nuremberg trials: how top Nazi criminals were prosecuted Sixty-five years ago, on November 20, 1945, the Nuremberg trials opened to prosecute a group of key Nazi war criminals. The International Military Tribunal, which represented the four Allied Powers, sat in session for 218 days, until October 1, 1946. 11/22/2010 #774342 The 80th anniversary of the birth of legendary Pavel Popovich Pavel Popovich, a member of the legendary first Soviet cosmonaut division, was born 80 years ago, on October 5, 1930. As a Soviet cosmonaut, Pavel Popovich served alongside Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. 10/05/2010 #736702 Atom bomb in Hiroshima killed 200,000 people in 1945bomb On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima, killing 200,000 people. 08/06/2010 #723270 The tragedy of the family of Tsar Nicholas II The last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, was crowned on May 14, 1896. On May 18, 1,389 people were trampled to death, and roughly 1,300 were injured in a catastrophe on Moscow’s Khodynka Field during the coronation festivities. 07/19/2010 #723049 Muscovites came to discuss politics at The Moscow News building The Moscow News newspaper celebrates its 30th anniversary in July. During perestroika it was one of the leading liberal democratic publications that supported glasnost (openness). Its popularity reached its peak in the 1980s when it was distributed in different languages in 140 countries. 07/19/2010 #721377 Developers of the first atomic bomb did “the devil’s work” The world’s first atomic device was detonated on July 16, 1945 on a testing range in Alamogordo (New Mexico, United States). But German scientist Otto Hahn obtained uncontestable proof that uranium could split into lighter elements as early as 1938. 07/16/2010 #720961 Celebrating 35th anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Thirty-five years ago, Soviet cosmonauts and U.S. astronauts shook hands in orbit for the first time, after their spacecraft docked during a six-day joint flight. 07/16/2010 #682572 Memorial to Beslan massacre victims unveiled in Moscow A memorial to the victims of the Beslan tragedy, which took place on September 1, 2004, was unveiled in central Moscow at a square in front of the Church of Nativity of the Theotokos in Kulishki. 06/02/2010 #664018 Feisty T-34 tanks and Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft The T-34 medium tank and the Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft were the best and most famous Soviet weapons systems used in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany. This RIA Novosti video footage shows their impressive performance. 05/14/2010 #640995 Soviet forces take Berlin: Archive video footageforces By late April 1945 the Red Army had surrounded the German capital. The Germans prepared to defend their positions, barricading the streets and turning house doors and windows into gun-ports. The Red Army used Stalingrad-style tactics that involved assault groups attacking after a brief and intensive artillery barrage.By April 28, German forces only controlled central Berlin. 04/30/2010 #638855 Auschwitz prisoner tells how she survived death camp On April 27, 1940, the Nazis established the concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in southern Poland. Yekaterina Dovidenko, a former prisoner, told RIA Novosti how she survived. 04/28/2010 #594805 Second after Stalin. Vyacheslav Molotov’s 120th birthday Vyacheslav Molotov, born Skryabin, was born on March 9, 1890 in the village of Kukarka in the Vyatka Province. He was 16 when he became a member of the Bolshevik Party. In 1912 he first met Josef Stalin and the meeting determined the course of his life for many years to come. 03/10/2010 #594304 Cosmic trailblazers: How outer space was conquered The first group of cosmonauts was formed by March 1960. There were 20 of them: nine from the air force, six from air defense and five from naval aviation.A loneliness test – ten to fifteen days spent in a soundproof chamber in complete isolation – was included in the medical and biological preparation of the future cosmonauts. 03/09/2010 #565327 The Big Three recarved Europe during their Yalta conferenceThree On February 4, 1945, the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United States and Britain met in Yalta to coordinate their military plans and the principles of post-war development in Europe. Talks between Sir Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin ran until February 11, and focused on key objectives including the delimitation of new state borders in the territories previously occupied by Nazi Germany, and the allies’ spheres of influence. 02/05/2010 #564628 Secret laboratory No. 2: Guided tour of a Soviet nuclear reactor The first Soviet nuclear reactor is located in the basement of the Russian Research Center Kurchatov Institute in Moscow. Now a monument to science and technology, the declassified reactor is still used to test instruments for modern nuclear power plants. 02/04/2010 #563056 Confession before execution: the tragedy of Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Meyerhold, a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and producer, was executed by firing squad on February 2, 1940. 02/02/2010 #552958 The day Lenin died, or the Soviet Union 86 years ago The world-famous revolutionary and founder of the Bolshevik Party and the Soviet State, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin died on January 21, 1924 in Gorki near Moscow. 01/21/2010