Vladimir Putin Opens Russian ‘Military Disneyland’

Roisin Davis / Truthdig Jun 16, 2015 The Russian president used the opening of Patriot Park to announce a dramatic expansion of the country’s nuclear arsenal. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Argentina’s President Was First Head of State to Meet With Edward Snowden

Roisin Davis / Truthdig Jun 5, 2015 Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner met with the whistleblower in "secret talks" in 2013. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Narkomfin: A ‘Six-Story Blueprint’ for the Emancipation of Women

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig May 11, 2015 Before the terminal interference of Stalinism, architects in Moscow were creating housing designed to allow newcomers from the countryside to enjoy and make full use of a “socially superior mode of life.” Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

A Russian Soldier Talks of Fighting in Ukraine

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Mar 25, 2015 Moscow denies its soldiers are crossing the border into Ukraine. But 20-year-old Russian conscript Dorji Batomunkuev told reporters how he was seriously injured near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Former U.S. Diplomat to Soviet Union Scolds Today’s Leaders

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 27, 2015 At a meeting of the National Press Club this month, James Matlock -- “one of the Cold War’s wise men” -- criticized the Obama administration for publicly denigrating the Russian leadership rather than striking a conciliatory tone in the conflict over Ukraine. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

What Is Moscow Thinking?

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 9, 2015 NATO encroachment, stinging sanctions and civil war at the border. Political economist Jeffrey Sommers, an expert on the evolution of the former Soviet states, carefully describes the impinging economic and geographic forces shaping decision-making by Moscow's elite. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fire May Have Damaged 1 Million Documents in a Cultural ‘Chernobyl’

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 1, 2015 A fire is believed to have damaged more than 1 million historic books and papers in a Moscow library said to contain some of the richest collections of work in the Slavic language. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Vladimir Putin Invites Kim Jong Un to Moscow

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Dec 19, 2014 Amid U.S. and European sanctions that are driving Russia into the arms of its Asian neighbors, President Vladimir Putin has invited the North Korean leader to Moscow next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Russian Actor and Putin Adversary Alexei Devotchenko Found Dead in Moscow

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig Nov 6, 2014 On Wednesday evening, 49-year-old Russian actor Alexei Devotchenko was discovered dead in a pool of his own blood in Moscow. In recent years he had been a prominent and public critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Russia and Egypt Reportedly Strike $3.5 Billion Arms Deal

Donald Kaufman / Truthdig Sep 18, 2014 A top Russian military official said Wednesday that the country had made a sizable preliminary arms deal with Egypt to sell $3.5 billion worth of weapons to the North African nation. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Obama and NATO Allies Signal Support for Ukraine at Wales Summit

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig Sep 4, 2014 In an expected show of solidarity, President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and other NATO delegates meeting in Wales on Thursday agreed to disagree with Moscow over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and readied new sanctions against Russia. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Obama Calls Russia’s Activity in Ukraine a ‘Brazen Assault’

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig Sep 3, 2014 Speaking in Estonia two days before huddling with NATO officials in Wales to discuss the simmering conflict with Russia over Ukraine, Barack Obama characterized the crisis as a "moment of testing" for NATO. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )