Montenegro Overturns Coup Verdict for 2 Russians, 11 Others
A Montenegrin court on Friday overturned the convictions of two Russians and 11 others over an attempted coup against the pro-Western government in 2016, and ordered a retrial.
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Belarusian Lawyers Describe Living in a Soviet-Era Nightmare
In interviews with Courthouse News, Belarusian lawyers opened a window into the state of affairs this winter in a European nation still suffering the kind of repression that marked Europe’s Soviet past.
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Double Agent Blake’s Family Sought to ‘Cash In’: UK Govt Papers
The British government suspected the family of the late double agent George Blake of seeking to cash in on his notoriety after he fled to the Soviet Union, according to government papers released Wednesday.
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Moldova’s Pro-Russian Prime Minister Resigns After Protests
Moldova’s pro-Russian prime minister has resigned to, as he put it, pave the way for an early parliamentary election and “bring normalcy” to the tiny former Soviet state.
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Pro-Western Candidate Wins Moldovan Presidential Election
Maia Sandu, a former World Bank economist who favors closer ties with the European Union, has won Moldova’s presidential runoff vote, decisively defeating the staunchly pro-Russian incumbent.
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Kyrgyzstan Village Untouched by Political Unrest
The political turmoil that has gripped Kyrgyzstan hasn’t reached the quiet village of Tash-Bashat in the mountains near the capital, where residents talk about the country’s feuding elites with resignation and disdain.
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Cold War Relics and Spy Tools to Go Up for Auction
Hundreds of Soviet spy tools and assorted Cold War-era relics will be sold at auction next year.
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Several Held Hostage at Bank in Ex-Soviet Republic Georgia
An armed assailant took several people hostage at a bank in the ex-Soviet nation of Georgia on Wednesday, authorities said.
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Germany: OPCW Says Nerve Agent Used in Navalny Poisoning
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman says a global chemical watchdog group has confirmed Germany and other countries’ findings that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was the victim of an attack with a Soviet-era nerve agent.
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French, Swedish Labs Confirm Navalny Poisoned With Novichok
Specialist labs in France and Sweden have confirmed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok, the German government said Monday.
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The Axe That Killed Leon Trotsky Now a Museum Exhibit
The ice axe that was plunged into Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky’s skull during his gruesome murder in Mexico on August 20, 1940, is today among the prized exhibits at Washington’s International Spy Museum.
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Belarus’ Ruler Vows to Quash Opposition Rallies After Vote
Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko warned Monday that the protesters who challenge the official vote results extending his 26-year rule will face a tough crackdown, deriding the opposition as “sheep” manipulated by foreign masters.
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President’s Virus Swagger Fuels Anger Ahead of Belarus Vote
As Kseniya Milya’s grandfather lay dying of Covid-19 at a hospital in Belarus’ capital of Minsk, the country’s authoritarian leader was blithely dismissing the pandemic as “psychosis,” and recommending an unusual remedy: Have a regular shot of vodka and work hard in the fields.
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Kremlin Denies Election Meddling in Belarus
The Kremlin on Thursday denied that it plans to destabilize an “ally” after Belarus arrested 33 Russians it said were mercenaries on a mission to disrupt upcoming presidential polls.
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Czechs Expel Russian Diplomats Over Poison Plot Hoax
The Czech Republic has expelled two Russian diplomats after a Russian embassy employee spread false information about a planned poison attack on three Prague politicians, officials said on Friday.
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75 Years After WWII, Search Continues for Missing Soldiers
n eastern Germany, today’s verdant pastures were killing fields 75 years ago as the Soviet Red Army pushed toward the Nazi capital in the final weeks of World War II.
Read moreSoviet Woman Spy Who Helped Foil Attack on Allied Leaders Dies
Goar Vartanyan, one half of a legendary Soviet spy couple who helped prevent a Nazi assassination of allied leaders in Tehran in 1943, has died at age 93.
Read moreFamous Soviet Dissident Vladimir Bukovsky Dies at 76
Vladimir Bukovsky, a prominent dissident and writer who helped expose the Soviet Union’s abuse of psychiatry to silence its critics, has died in Britain at 76.
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30 Years After Fall of the Wall, Eastern Europe a Bit Quizzical
Thirty years after the Berlin Wall came crashing down, a wide-ranging survey finds many people in the former Soviet Union bloc happy about the transition to capitalism and multiparty democracy but also saying life in many areas isn’t better and has gotten worse.
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Washington State Lawmaker Espouses Hatred of Muslims in Video
Washington state Rep. Matt Shea said in a video posted Thursday that the media’s exposure of his extremist ideas such as Christian dominion — which calls for Christians to control society by taking over political and cultural institutions — is a “Soviet tactic” to persecute him.
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