All Questions
Tagged with soviet-union cold-war
81 questions
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Did the Soviet Union quarantine shipment of Jupiter and Thor missiles to Italy and Turkey?
If not a quarantine, did Soviet Union publicly condemn the placement by Eisenhower before the Bay of Pigs Invasion or before the Cuban Missile Crisis?
If there was no quarantine, was it because ...
user55855
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why were there so many 'carrier killer' Kh-22 anti-ship missiles in Ukraine in the 1990s?
Ukraine is said to have scrapped 423 Kh-22 large anti-ship ('carrier killer') cruise missiles in the 1990s, together with some 60 strategic bombers that could carry & launch these. (This was due ...
- 5,548
-3
votes
2
answers
127
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Ranking Eastern Europe Communist regimes by severity of repression [closed]
I was wondering that the severity of repression, censorship, economic stagnation must have varied greatly across the Eastern bloc countries between 1945-1990. It may even have varied over the years in ...
- 350
2
votes
1
answer
218
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Did the US stop using the U-2 spy plane for USSR after the shoot-down event in 1960?
The shoot-down of Powers is a famous event in the history of modern military.
Did US stop using U-2 afterwards on USSR?
It is known that this event stimulated the US spy satellite program.
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2
votes
1
answer
2k
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How much did the production of the Tsar Bomba cost to the Soviets?
The Tsar Bomba, also known as the "King of Bombs," was the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. Developed and tested by the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, this ...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
98
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When did McFaul & Sechin first meet?
According to David Remnick,
In 1991, McFaul was in St. Petersburg, trying to organize a seminar on local government. He found himself doing business with a man from the mayor’s office named Igor ...
3
votes
0
answers
257
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How did US, and the Western world's people react when USSR suddenly became an ally during WWII?
Before the USSR's participation in WWII with the West, it had a non-aggression pact with Germany, invaded Poland, and is basically the super-villain of the Red Scare. But suddenly, after USSR became ...
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4
votes
2
answers
591
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What's the proxy war that the USSR spent most resources on?
Off the top of my head it might be Afghanistan, but I'm not totally sure despite direct troop participation. They also sent substantial aid to Vietnam, North Korea, and various Arab countries fighting ...
- 5,548
1
vote
1
answer
208
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Why did Women's Day never really catch on in the US, even though it started there?
The roots of International Women's Day (March 8th) go all the way back to New York City in 1909 and the Socialist Party of America. However, from what I have learned the International Women's Day is ...
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0
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1
answer
87
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Are there some concrete examples of the pre-1962 Soviet complaints in re CORONA spy satellites?
According to Pat Norris' book Spies in the Sky (p. 111)
until the first successful Zenit flight in summer 1962 the Soviets complained bitterly to America about the CORONA flights.
However he does ...
- 5,548
22
votes
8
answers
10k
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Why did the Soviets not shoot down US spy satellites during the Cold War?
The USSR was not happy with unauthorised overflights, shooting down everything it could, from spy balloons to U-2s. Also, despite repeated US proposals, something like the Open Skies treaty was only ...
- 5,548
1
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1
answer
349
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Were the Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan officially volunteers?
I always thought they were conscripts, who were ordered to go there, but recently saw a mention that they all were volunteers. So, I wonder whether they signed any paper of consent before being sent ...
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0
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0
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85
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Were there written (draft) Soviet proposals that would have effectively restricted the US navy from (parts of) Europe?
I'm pretty sure that if one trawls the Soviet propaganda, one can find something asking Americans to bugger off from Europe altogether (ok, on a more serious note--Gorbatchev did propose the ...
- 5,548
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3
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364
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How did the accounting and capital organization system work in communist countries like the USSR? [closed]
It's difficult to see how the leaders could have kept track of such a complex system, in such a big country as the Soviet Union (USSR), without recognizing the existence of capital relations, the ...
- 518
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1
answer
4k
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Was there a Cold War era Russian safe haven city for politicians and scientists?
I remember learning about a Russian city where, during the Cold War, top politicians and scientists and their families would be evacuated to. It would have existed as a normal city outside of Cold War ...
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2
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0
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352
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Did the Soviet Union or China participate in the light bulb cartel? If not, in what ways did they differ and how long did their bulbs last?
The Phoebus cartel was a well known scheme to fix the standard lifespan of incandescent lightbulbs that arose at the beginning of the 20th century.
See Spectrum.ieee.org.
Although not implemented for ...
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6
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3
answers
350
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Why didn’t the USSR and CCP reinstate ties after Mao’s death?
With Hua Guofeng and especially Deng Xiapoing’s rise to power, why wasn’t there a thaw and rapprochement in their ties, as the main divide was the rift in ideology between the USSR and Mao’s Stalinist ...
- 169
20
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4
answers
3k
views
What was the policy on academic research being published beyond the iron curtain?
If a little background to my curiosity were to help: when I was studying logic as a philosophy student, we covered the topic of defining probability, where we looked at Kolmogorov's axioms of ...
1
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1
answer
219
views
How did the countries devolved from USSR turn from communism to democracy or other ideology peacefully after the collapse?
After the Soviet Union dissolution, the countries independent from the Union, or the countries in the East Europe that were puppets of the Soviet Union turned to the current government without a civil ...
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5
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2
answers
480
views
How were USSR oblasts and cities governed?
From Wikipedia “During the Soviet period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the “Oblast” CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest ...
- 171
3
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0
answers
112
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How successful was the NDEA?
The National Defence Education Act (NDEA) was passed shortly after the Soviet launch of the satellite Sputnik I with the goal of remedying what the American government believed to be a gap in ...
-2
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1
answer
223
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How much damage was USSR already capable of doing by the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
How much damage was USSR already capable of doing, in the event of a nuclear war, by the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
How many ICBMs and strategic bombers did it have, and what were their ...
user26470
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1
answer
232
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Why did the Soviet Union take the risk of deploying missiles to Cuba, which precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis? [closed]
During the Cuban Missile Crisis both sides risked further escalation into a WW3. However, under MAD, Wikipedia says:
By the time of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, both the United States
and the ...
user26470
3
votes
0
answers
231
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Which Soviet submarine was HMS Splendid tracking on 30th March 1982?
In 'Vulcan 607', R. White describes the background of the submarines that headed to the Falkland Islands. For the HMS Splendid, he notes that the submarine, under CO Lane-Nott was engaged in a mission ...
- 10.8k
29
votes
5
answers
7k
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Did the Soviet Union or its satellite states have any broadcast propaganda media for an international audience?
Since 1949, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been a U.S. Government funded broadcasting service aimed at Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. During the Cold War, it mainly targeted ...
- 3,724
7
votes
1
answer
682
views
What was the Soviet reasoning for developing their Airborne Forces (VDV) into a powerful military branch?
The Soviet Airborne Forces (the VDV, or the Воздушно-десантные войска, or the Aerial Descent Force as a more precise translation) were one of the more prestigious units in the Soviet military (see '...
- 10.8k
11
votes
1
answer
3k
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Why was the Soviet Marine Infantry disbanded in 1947?
According to Peter Antill,
The naval Infantry performed a number of important landings in both World Wars including raids against the Turks around the Black Sea and the capture of Sakhalin Island and ...
28
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3
answers
9k
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Were Soviets invited to the Marshall Islands to observe the first hydrogen bomb detonations?
In 1952, did the US invite, or consider inviting, Russian scientist to observe the detonation of the first hydrogen bomb? These were above-ground tests far away from Russian in the Marshall Islands, ...
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4
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1
answer
390
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Did the Soviet ever attempt "innocent passage" thru American waters?
In 1986 and 1988, the US Navy sent warships into Soviet Crimean Sea territorial waters as exercises of innocent passage (which essentially means that you can sail through an unfriendly nation's waters ...
- 482
5
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2
answers
624
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What was the Soviet plan to respond to a nuclear first strike post WW 2?
I'm interested in the period between the war ending and the Soviets making their own bomb. Did they have a plan? Were they expecting a first strike?
5
votes
1
answer
286
views
What were the international space arrangements and scientific purposes Eisenhower spoke of in October 1957?
Background: Explorer 1 was successfully launched into orbit by the US 1958-02-01 about four months after Sputnik 1 was successfully launched by the Soviet Union 1957-10-04, and Vanguard 1 wasn't ...
- 1,759
7
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1
answer
3k
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What was the impact of Fischer vs. Spassky 1972 on the relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union?
In 1948, the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) organized the first Chess World Championship after WW2. Its winner was Mikhail Botvinnik. Further Chess World Champions were Vasily Smyslov, ...
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3
votes
0
answers
403
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Was Frisbee criticized in the Soviet Union?
In the U.S. of the 1950s, the Space Age and molded plastic flying discs (Frisbees) were both novel. New materials and a supposed resemblance to UFOs made this linkage irresistible for early disc ...
user18968
1
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0
answers
256
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What did Frank Sinatra think of the Sinatra Doctrine?
Frank Sinatra died seven years after the introduction of the Sinatra Doctrine in the Soviet Union. I'm wondering if he ever commented on it, especially since the Soviets named it after him.
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4
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1
answer
967
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Did the Soviet military in fact fear that the Space Shuttle would be used as an orbital bomber? If so, why?
I have read on this blog (scroll down to section "what happened to make it fail) dedicated to failed cold war space projects that the Soviet leadership was deeply concerned about the STS, fearing that ...
- 4,324
2
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3
answers
737
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Did Soviet Union really consider using atomic bomb against US aircraft battlegroup?
In this video youtube narrator says that:
"During Cold War Soviet Union considered American battle-group such a dire threat that they predicted the only way to defend against them would be by use ...
- 175
4
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1
answer
526
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How did the Apollo-Soyuz test project affect the relationship between the USSR and USA during the cold war?
Did the Apollo-Soyuz test project really impact the relationship of the the USA and USSR politically? And if so, in what way?
- 51
2
votes
1
answer
530
views
Does this CIA report describe the Soviet T-54 tank?
This CIA report from March 1954 describes an "Improved T-34 Tank" at the "V.I. Lenin Works at Pilsen". The report lists Czechoslovakia as the country of origin. This logically makes since as the T-34 ...
- 1,000
14
votes
1
answer
3k
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Did Truman threaten a nuclear strike if the Soviet Union didn't withdraw from Iran in 1946?
In episode 4 of Oliver Stone's documentary series, Untold History of the United States, Stone claims that then-president Truman issued an ultimatum to the Soviet Union: either withdraw from Iran (...
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4
votes
1
answer
965
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What was the role of Nigeria in Soviet invasion of Afghanistan [closed]
I'm required to present a report on the role and position of Nigeria on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But as far as I know , Nigeria had a civil war raging inside the country.
I've scanned ...
6
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4
answers
6k
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Is there any footage of the Chernobyl explosion?
I know there is a lot of footage of the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident, but is there any footage of the explosion itself?
In a documentary about the Chernobyl disaster it was stated that there ...
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2
votes
1
answer
401
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Did the US threaten a nuclear strike to defend Israel in 1973?
Did the US threaten a nuclear strike to defend Israel?
In 1973, America and Russia Almost Fought a Nuclear War over Syria
Soviet leaders were shocked by the American response. "Who could have
...
- 31
3
votes
1
answer
366
views
Is there a Soviet equivalent to foundational Cold War documents such as the Long Telegram and NSC-68?
During the early days of the Cold War, the United States produced key documents like Kennan's Long Telegram and NSC-68 to recognize the existence of the new conflict, understand the Soviet strategy ...
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6
votes
2
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584
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How prevalent were American disinformation campaigns during the Cold War?
Numerous disinformation campaigns were spread about the US during the Cold War by the KGB. Some notable examples include Operation INFEKTION, which attributed the AIDS virus to the US's involvement, ...
- 161
23
votes
2
answers
3k
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Did NATO promise Gorbachev not to accept membership applications from former Warsaw Pact nations?
There have been several claims that there was an agreement between NATO and USSR at the end of the Cold War. This agreement supposedly required NATO to reject any membership applications from the ...
- 865
21
votes
7
answers
13k
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Why was the Cold War carried out over the whole world instead of between Siberia and Alaska?
I was wondering why the conflicts, missile deployments etc. throughout the Cold War were basically all taking place in Europe, Africa and Asia, when in fact the US and Soviet Union were only separated ...
- 361
4
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2
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386
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Why did the Hungarians protest and react so much about Khrushchevs secret speech? [closed]
I know that Khrushchev made a secret speech but I don't really understand what the speech was about and why it made the Hungarians so angry to protest.
I know that the protest was about the lack of ...
- 57
5
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2
answers
1k
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Why did India sign the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation?
India had a policy of non-alignment during the cold war. But just before war broke out between India and Pakistan in December 1971, India signed the treaty in August 1971.
What were the reasons that ...
- 478
3
votes
2
answers
719
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Did the Chief of Soviet General Staff really say this?
The quotation, appearing in a 1992 New York Times opinions article, is as follows:
"We cannot equal the quality of U.S. arms for a generation or two. Modern military power is based upon technology,...
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1
vote
2
answers
775
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Was Brezhnev's rule an "era of stagnation" [closed]
Reading my IB textbooks, they say Brezhnev's rule was an "era of stagnation". However they are only able to cite evidence of economic stagnation when claiming that would require "stagnation" in ...
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