Soviet Union

Dr. Bruce Banner. Emil Blonsky. One a brilliant scientist, the other an agent for the KBG. Both men whose lives were irrevocably altered by gamma radiation - transforming Banner into the incredible Hulk and Blonsky into the deadly Abomination. For years, the two super-strong creatures have clashed. Now they are brought together for their most deadly confrontation yet. The Abomination has allied himself with the URSA, an organization dedicated to restoring the Soviet Union - but he is using the URSA to further his own mad quest for vengeance on all those who wronged him in life.

In Putin Country: A Journey into the Real Russia, Garrels crafts an intimate portrait of the nation's heartland. We meet ostentatious mafiosos, upwardly mobile professionals, impassioned activists, scheming taxi drivers with dark secrets, and beleaguered steel workers. We discover surprising subcultures, like the LGBT residents of Chelyablinsk who bravely endure an upsurge in homophobia fueled by Putin's rhetoric of Russian "moral superiority" yet still nurture a vibrant if clandestine community of their own.

In this courageous and unflinching book, award-winning journalist Jessikka Aro interweaves her own dramatic story as a target of Russian social media propaganda with accounts from many internationally known critics of the Kremlin, who share their own stories of being targeted by Russia’s multifaceted cyber warfare campaigns.

Drawing on new archival research, Robert Service's gripping new investigation of the final years of the Cold War - the first to give equal attention to the internal deliberations from both sides of the Iron Curtain - opens a window onto the dramatic years that would irrevocably alter the world's geopolitical landscape and the men at their fore.

Lending intimate historical detail and thrilling historical narrative, swinging from Moscow to Paris to Mexico, and taking in a cast of morally conflicted Russian spies, fanatical Mexican painters, and innocent American idealists, The Death of Trotsky delves into the lives of two fascinating, complex men locked in a life-or-death struggle that will bend the course of history.

This is a very timely study of Russia's development into a global energy power from the Russian Revolution to the present day. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, Russia emerged not only as a key producer but also as one of the world's leading exporters of oil. Russia's transformation into a modern global power was connected to its ability to make use of its vast natural resources and produce energy in increasing quantities.

In The Long Hangover, Shaun Walker provides new insight into contemporary Russia and its search for a new identity, telling the story through the country's troubled relationship with its Soviet past. Walker not only explains Vladimir Putin's goals and the government's official manipulations of history, but also focuses on ordinary Russians and their motivations. He charts how Putin raised victory in World War II to the status of a national founding myth in the search for a unifying force to heal a divided country, and shows how dangerous the ramifications of this have been.

The heroic story of Pussy Riot, who resurrected the power of truth in a society built on lies. On February 21, 2012, five young women entered the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. In neon-colored dresses, tights, and balaclavas, they performed a “punk prayer” beseeching the “Mother of God” to “get rid of Putin.” They were quickly shut down by security, and in the weeks and months that followed, three of the women were arrested and tried, and two were sentenced to a remote prison colony. But the incident captured international headlines, and footage of it went viral.

In The Kremlin's Noose Amy Knight tells the riveting story of Vladimir Putin and the oligarch Boris Berezovsky. When Putin began dismantling Boris Yeltsin's democratic reforms, Berezovsky came into conflict with the new Russian leader by reproaching him publicly. Their relationship quickly disintegrated into a bitter feud played out against the backdrop of billion-dollar financial deals, Kremlin in-fighting, and international politics.

L’interferenza nelle elezioni americane, il sostegno alle forze populiste in Italia e in tutta Europa, la guerra in Ucraina. Negli ultimi anni, la Russia di Vladimir Putin ha condotto una poderosa campagna per espandere la sua influenza e indebolire le istituzioni occidentali. Come è potuto accadere? E, soprattutto, chi si nasconde dietro questo piano ambizioso? Catherine Belton, giornalista investigativa già corrispondente da Mosca, racconta la storia segreta dell’ascesa al potere di Vladimir Putin e del ristretto gruppo di ex agenti del KGB che lo circonda.

Am 24. Februar 2022 schickte Wladimir Putin seine Armee gegen die Ukraine in den Krieg und traf damit eine Entscheidung, die das politische und ökonomische Gleichgewicht der ganzen Welt ins Wanken brachte. Der russische Angriffskrieg bringt unzählige menschliche Tragödien und immense materielle Zerstörung mit sich, und er wirft eine zentrale Frage auf: Wer ist Wladimir Putin, dieser Mann, der sich weigert, Lehren aus dem Zusammenbruch der Sowjetunion zu ziehen, und der von der Rückkehr zu den Grenzen des Zarenreichs und der Wiedereinsetzung eines Regimes träumt, das sich der totalitären Methoden des Stalinismus bedient?

In Collisions, Michael Kimmage, a historian and former State Department official who focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, offers a wide-angle, historically informed account of the origins of the current Russia-Ukraine war.

Nell'agosto 1991, Tiziano Terzani - che già nel febbraio precedente ha potuto visitare le isole Curili e Sachalin, estremo avamposto dell'Unione Sovietica - inizia, come membro di una spedizione sovietico-cinese, un lungo viaggio sul fiume Amur per osservare da vicino la situazione del paese nelle sue zone asiatiche più periferiche.

Seit Jahren nehmen Zensur und Repression in Russland zu. Nur wenige wissen, wie es um die russische Gesellschaft und ihre Führung wirklich bestellt ist. Informationen darüber werden systematisch unterbunden. Wie kaum jemand sonst verfügt die Osteuropa-Expertin des Deutschlandfunks über langjährige Einblicke in den von Putin diktatorisch geführten Staat. Schwindet die Macht des Kremlchefs? Wer sind die neuen politischen, militärischen und ökonomischen Akteure? Was halten Russinnen und Russen von ihrem Land? Gibt es Grund zur Hoffnung, oder treibt die Nation in den Abgrund?

From learning about Lenin and the Red Army to discovering how and why Stalin rose to power and his eventual leadership during World War II and beyond, this book provides an essential look at one of the most important periods in Russian history. Listeners will be enthralled by this fascinating tale that delves into every aspect of Russia's struggles and successes.

Anne Applebaum, ganadora del Premio Pulitzer por Gulag y finalista del National Book Award por El Telón de Acero, cuenta en Hambruna roja la reveladora historia de uno de los peores crímenes de la era soviética. En 1929, la gran colectivización puesta en marcha por Stalin forzó a millones de campesinos a entregar sus tierras. El resultado fue una hambruna sin precedentes; al menos cinco millones de personas perecieron entre 1931 y 1934 en la URSS, de los cuales cuatro eran ucranianos.

Ein Kaleidoskop voller akkurater, hellsichtiger und ungeschönter Beobachtungen des Bestsellerautors zur politischen und gesellschaftlichen Entwicklung Russlands während der letzten 10 Jahre bis heute. Glukhovskys scharfer Blick auf die Ereignisse bietet eine erhellende Analyse der inneren und äußeren Verfasstheit des Landes und zeigt, warum Russland sehenden Auges in den Untergang steuert — und wie lange sich das schon abzeichnete. Ein klarer Blick auf die frühen Signale und den Sog des russischen Niedergangs und zugleich ein brillantes Panorama der Gegenwart von einem Meister der satirischen, scharfzüngigen Erzählkunst.

What goes through the mind of a mother who must send her child to school across a minefield or the men who belong to groups of volunteer body collectors? In Ukraine, such questions have been part of the daily calculus of life. Greta Uehling engages with the lives of ordinary people living in and around the armed conflict over Donbas that began in 2014 and shows how conventional understandings of war are incomplete. Everyday War considers where peace can be cultivated at an everyday level.

Was der Westen nicht wissen wollte: die brisante Analyse des "Außenministers der russischen Opposition". Unter Putin hat sich Russland zu einer imperialistischen Diktatur verwandelt, die die Werte und das Lebensmodell des Westens bedroht. Wie das passiert ist und warum Europa es bis zuletzt ignoriert hat - das analysiert Leonid Wolkow, ein enger Vertrauter des inhaftierten Dissidenten Alexei Nawalny. Anhand persönlicher Erfahrungen im Kampf gegen Korruption und Willkürherrschaft legt er die brutale imperialistische Dynamik in Putins Reich offen und zeigt, was man in Deutschland und Europa nicht wahrhaben wollte.

Династия Романовых правила Россией более 300 лет. О последних представителях царствующей семьи говорят по-разному. Кто-то их любит и почитает, а кто-то винит во всех трагедиях, произошедших с Россией в начале XX века, возлагая на них ответственность за гибель империи. Однако и те, и другие, говоря о последних Романовых, в первую очередь имеют в виду Николая II и Александру Федоровну. А ведь венценосная пара - лишь верхушка правящей династии.