On November 12, 1927, Leon Trotsky, a towering figure of the Russian Revolution and a former close ally of Vladimir Lenin, was expelled from the Soviet Communist Party. This moment marked a pivotal shift in Soviet politics, consolidating Joseph Stalin’s undisputed control over the…
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Leon Trotsky’s expulsion from the Soviet Union marked a pivotal moment in the tumultuous history of the early 20th century. A prominent Marxist revolutionary and one of the key figures in the Russian Revolution of 1917, Trotsky played a crucial role in the establishment…
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On November 9, during the height of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) computers and the Alternate National Military Command Center at Fort Ritchie, Maryland, sounded a chilling alarm. The automated systems detected…
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The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 served as one of the most dangerous episodes in the history of the Cold War. It was a critical moment in which the United States and the Soviet Union teetered on the brink of nuclear war. The crisis…
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On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during one of the holiest days of the Jewish people. The Yom Kippur War marked a significant turn in the history of the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Their goal…
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It was a joke that put everyone on edge. On August 11, 1984, during a routine sound check before his weekly Saturday radio address, President Ronald Reagan made a remark that would become one of the most infamous gaffes of his presidency. Testing the…
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On August 8, 1945 the United States, England, France and the Soviet Union joined together and signed the London Agreement, a new treaty to impose justice against the Nazis for their crimes. For two months during the summer of 1945, Robert H. Jackson and…
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The execution of Tsar Nicholas II on July 17, 1918, changed the course of history, symbolizing the definitive end of the Romanov dynasty and the old imperial order in Russia and ushering in the Soviet Union. The event, shrouded in mystery and controversy, occurred…
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On July 10, 1991, Boris Yeltsin became the first President of the Russian Federation, a historic moment marking a significant shift in Russian politics. This event came at a time of profound transformation for Russia, as it transitioned from a Soviet republic to a…
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Hungry sailors are not to be trifled with. That’s what happened aboard the Russian battleship the Potemkin on June 27, 1905. Spoiled meat sparked a storm of rebellion that echoed across revolutionary-minded Russia. The US Naval Institute helps contextualize things: “For a century before 1905, Imperial Russia was…
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