In 1954 Soviet prisoners overthrew their guards and, for 40 days, established a gulag republic with a democratically elected provisional government, marriages between male and female prisoners, indigenous religious ceremonies and a general flowering of art and culture. 10
The USSR renamed its rocket base Baikonur in 1961…
The USSR renamed its rocket base Baikonur in 1961 to keep the Soviet space program a secret. Residents of the original Baikonur, hundreds of km away, took advantage of the resulting confusion by ordering many valuable supplies for themselves before the scam was discovered. 00
There is an unreleased experimental Russian film where nobody…
There is an unreleased experimental Russian film where nobody on set was allowed to admit they were part of a movie production. Everyone had to pretend they were living in the 50’s for three whole years. The entire set was even wired to reproduce the effect of living under the Soviet regime.
There is a theme park in Lithuania that recreates life as a USSR citizen…
There is a theme park in Lithuania that recreates life as a USSR citizen. Visitors have their belongings confiscated, wear gas masks, experience interrogation, and must learn the Soviet anthem. Their reward is a shot of vodka.
A Soviet soccer player was so popular that when…
A Soviet soccer player was so popular that when he was sent to the Siberian gulags during Stalin’s Great Purge in the 1930s, he was treated rather well as the gulag commanders were also his fans, who gave him better quarters and food rations, and was even asked to coach the local teams.
The soviet military mapped the entire world with an extreme…
The soviet military mapped the entire world with an extreme accuracy. They created more than 1 million maps and some are still used today. It remains one of the most ambitious cartography project till today.
The soviet military mapped the entire world with an extreme…
The soviet military mapped the entire world with an extreme accuracy. They created more than 1 million maps and some are still used today. It remains one of the most ambitious cartography project till today.
The term “Politically Correct” was originally used within…
The term “Politically Correct” was originally used within the Communist Party in Stalinist Russia to describe which opinions on government were appropriate to hold and which were not.
Nikita Khrushchev made a speech denouncing Stalin that was…
Nikita Khrushchev made a speech denouncing Stalin that was so shocking it caused heart attacks for some in attendance and others committed suicide afterwards.
During the Civil Rights Movement, the Soviet Union…
During the Civil Rights Movement, the Soviet Union purposely inflamed racial tensions by mailing forged threats from the KKK to black neighborhoods.