Is That a Soviet Soldier—or Superman?

In Bulgaria, a Collective Called Destructive Creation Illegally Remakes Old Monuments to Start Discussion

The sun rises above Sofia’s skies. It seems like an ordinary day in 2011. But as people pass near the centrally-situated Sofia University, they forget their hurry and come to a halt.

They can’t help staring at a weird explosion of colors, vaguely reminiscent of a bronze sculpture they have seen before. The Monument to the Soviet Army, erected in 1954 in gratitude for the Red Army’s role in World War II, has been rendered unrecognizable. A sprayed inscription reads “abreast of the times”—below an army of superheroes and cartoon characters …

The (Actual) Communist Agents Who Lurked Among Us

American Fears About Soviet Spycraft Never Seemed to Match Reality

Russian spies held a morbid fascination in the minds of Americans dating back to the Red Scare in 1919, following the Bolshevik Revolution and the creation of the Communist International, …

The Man Who Explained the Soviets to America

How George F. Kennan's Passion for Russia Colored Our Cold War Strategy

The enduring irony of George F. Kennan’s life was just how much the architect of America’s Cold War “containment” strategy—aimed at stopping Soviet expansionism—loved Russia.

Kennan arguably played a …

Russia Has Been Many Things to Americans, Except an Ordinary Country

Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em, My Feeling Was We Should Study Those Elusive Soviets

The United States and Russia have been at loggerheads for so long now that their rivalry might seem to be a permanent feature of the international firmament. But just as …