soviet union

Soviet aviators with their American colleagues in front of a version of the PBY Catalina aircraft in Elizabeth City, N.C. The U.S. trained Soviet pilots to fly the plane as part of Project Zebra, a secret military program during World War II.

National

North Carolina Town Accepts, Then Spurns Russian Gift

7:22pm March 25, 2018

by Jay Price

Russia is offering to build a $1 million monument in Elizabeth City, N.C., honoring a World War II U.S.-Soviet joint operation. The city council at first said yes. Newly-elected members now say no.

Queue Listen Now

Queen Elizabeth II dances with Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah at a ball in Accra, Ghana, in 1961.

'The Crown' Says One Dance Changed History. The Truth Isn't So Simple

7:00am January 21, 2018

by Tim McDonnell

What the Netflix show gets right — and wrong — about Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Ghana in 1961.

Kachka: The Word That Saved A Family During WWII And Inspired A Chef

12:18pm November 18, 2017

by Neda Ulaby

It took until adulthood for Bonnie Morales, the daughter of immigrant Russian Jews, to appreciate the food of her childhood. Now she owns a popular Oregon restaurant and has released a new cookbook.

Queue Listen Now

The Hughes Glomar Explorer off the coast of Catalina Island, Calif., in August 1975, a year after its secret CIA mission to raise a Soviet sub that sank in the Pacific Ocean. This was one of the CIA's most elaborate and expensive operations. The CIA has j

How The CIA Found A Soviet Sub — Without The Soviets Knowing

5:52pm September 18, 2017

by Greg Myre

It's a great tale of Cold War intrigue that includes eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, a CIA covert operation and a Soviet sub with nuclear missiles that sank to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Queue Listen Now

Stanislav Petrov, a former Soviet military officer, poses at his home in 2015 near Moscow. In 1983, he was on duty when the Soviet Union's early warning satellite indicated the U.S. had fired nuclear weapons at his country. He suspected, correctly, it was

Stanislav Petrov, 'The Man Who Saved The World,' Dies At 77

2:33pm September 18, 2017

by Greg Myre

Petrov was on overnight duty in 1983 when computers indicated the U.S. had launched a nuclear strike against his country. He had only a few nerve-jangling minutes to act.

NPR journalist Alina Selyukh makes oreshki, a cookie from the former Soviet Union. The walnut-shaped cookies, which have a rich, nutty filling, were popular during a time when people had to make do with limited ingredients.

This Soviet-Era Cookie Is Filled With Sweetness Amid Scarcity

2:56pm July 06, 2017

by Rhitu Chatterjee

With many foods in short supply, Soviet bakers had to be creative. And while the U.S.S.R. is gone now, the walnut-shaped oreshki cookie endures. Russian ex-pat Alina Selyukh shows us how to make them.

Poles Return To A Taste Of Their Communist Past: Cheap Milk Bars

10:42am December 01, 2016

by Joanna Kakissis

Subsidized greasy-spoon diners called milk bars thrived in Poland in the communist era. Their numbers have dwindled, but Poles are once again embracing them for cheap comfort food.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Gigantic Shield Moves Into Place To Cover Exploded Chernobyl Reactor

3:33pm November 15, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

It's billed as the "largest movable land-based structure ever built," and it is an important step toward ultimately dismantling the reactor. The 1986 blast was the world's worst nuclear disaster.

In 1955, British spy Kim Philby denied working for the Soviet Union. Eight years later, he defected to Moscow. He went on to speak to Stasi agents in East German, in an event that was captured on film.

Rare Film Emerges Of Double-Agent Kim Philby Speaking After Defection

11:59am April 04, 2016

by Bill Chappell

"It is a very, very dirty story," the notorious spy says in an archive film reel from 1981 that the BBC recently unearthed from Germany's Stasi Records Agency.

The Doomsday Clock stayed fixed at three minutes to midnight — the closest it has been to midnight since 1984.

Doomsday Clock Stays At 3 Minutes To Midnight

3:52pm January 26, 2016

by Laura Wagner

Despite the progress represented by the Iran nuclear deal, rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia, North Korea's nuclear tests and other conflicts mean the world is still close to catastrophe.