Soviet Union: Last News

Anne Garrels, longtime foreign correspondent for NPR, died of lung caner on Wednesday, the network announced.

Christopher Vourlias The pursuit of justice in the wake of unspeakable war crimes is at the heart of Ukrainian documentary filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa’s timely new feature, “The Kiev Trial.” Produced by Atoms & Void for the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, the film had its world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival. The trailer can be viewed below. Held in January 1946 in the former Soviet Union, the film’s titular trial was among the first court cases to hold Nazis and their collaborators accountable for atrocities committed during World War II — acts that would come to be known as “crimes against humanity” during the historic tribunals held in Nuremberg, Germany.

Guy Lodge Film Critic Just before director Christopher Nolan’s upcoming “Oppenheimer” plants a fixed image of Ted Hall in the popular imagination, along comes Steve James’s sensitive, studious documentary “A Compassionate Spy” to preemptively set any records straight. Unpacking the life and work of the prodigious teenage Manhattan Project physicist who passed key information about the endeavor to the Soviet Union — cuing an adulthood dogged by suspicion and secrecy — the film demonstrates its director’s characteristic nose for strong material and knack for gripping, straightforward storytelling. If the filmmaking is more televisual than in James’s best work, with its flourishes limited to some unnecessary dramatized passages, that should be no impediment to “A Compassionate Spy” commanding a sizable audience on multiple platforms. 

Manori Ravindran International Editor High-profile espionage cases in the post-war period often invoke the grisly fate of the Rosenbergs, the first U.S. citizens to be convicted and executed by electric chair for sharing atomic secrets with the Soviet Union in peace time. But in the new documentary “A Compassionate Spy,” filmmaker Steve James tells the incredible story of Manhattan Project scientist Ted Hall, who shared classified nuclear secrets with Russia — and got away with it. The Participant and Kartemquin Films-produced documentary, which has its world premiere in Venice on Sept. 2, is one of a number of films at this year’s festival that tackle the topic of nuclear disaster: Projects from Noah Baumbach’s feature adaptation of Don DeLillo’s “White Noise” through to Oliver Stone’s on-the-nose documentary “Nuclear” all contemplate some aspect of our nuclear past and future.

Mikhail Gorbachev in 1984, when he led a Russian parliamentary delegation to Britain. She hosted him at Chequers, and the tense atmosphere led Gorbachev to tell Thatcher he had no intentions of trying to recruit her to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. She broke into a fit of laughter, in Gorbachev's retelling, and the pair soon found that they could engage in "real political dialogue" despite their opposing views.

his death yesterday (August 30) at the age of 91.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres led tributes towards the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner and said Gorbachev was "as a unique leader who changed the world for the better" as well as a "a one-of-a kind statesman who changed the course of history"."He did more than any other individual to bring about the peaceful end of the Cold War," Guterres said.READ MORE: Former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev dies aged 91Despite Putin disagreeing with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, he expressed sympathies over Gorbachev's passing.Putin was joined British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who paid tribute to Gorbachev as he tweeted: ''I'm saddened to hear of the death of Gorbachev. I always admired the courage & integrity he showed in bringing the Cold War to a peaceful conclusion.

Vladimir Putin has expressed his "deep sympathies" over the death of former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev.The commiserations over his death came in spite of the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner expressing his sadness that his legacy of peace being 'destroyed' due Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Gorbachev died at the age of 91 after suffering from long-term kidney problems and was on dialysis during the Covid pandemic.READ MORE:Vladimir Putin 'finalising deal with the Taliban' as costs of Ukraine invasion mountKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said to reporters: "President Putin expresses his deep sympathies over the death of Mikhail Gorbachev."In the morning he will send a telegram of condolences to his family and friends."Gorbachev is heralded as one of the important and significant figures of the 20th century due to his role in the ending of the Cold War as well as the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.The former Soviet leader was also praised for enhancing freedom of speech and the press during his reign and his work to limit nuclear weapons.The contrast between Gorbachev's USSR and Putin's Russia has been one of constant debate with Putin himself calling the dissolution of the Soviet Union the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century".While the former leader attended summits with then-US President Ronald Reagan to find a solution to the Cold War, Putin has instead embarked on a path of restarting a war in Europe by invading Ukraine and isolating his nation from the West.Gorbachev was a notable critic of Putin in recent years as he made his feelings known about the current President's strategies.To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.He said: "I

Mikhail Gorbachev has died at the age of 91, according to reports.

Mikhail Gorbachev passed away on Tuesday (August 30) at the age of 91 and the former President of the Soviet Union left an undoubtable impact on both Russia and around the world.Leading the USSR in its final years from 1985 to 1991, Gorbachev oversaw massive change as he moved towards social democracy but his political standing wasn't without controversy, notably the Chernobyl disaster of 1986.As the most important man in the USSR, all eyes were on him on how he would manage a devastating incident like Chernobyl.READ MORE:Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant ‘disconnected from grid’ in fears of meltdownThe nuclear accident occurred on April 26 but it was only on May 14 that Gorbachev decided to tell the Russian public the full extent of the disaster, a decision that proved to be unpopular with the country's citizens.His reaction to the disaster inspired his infamous nickname – 'The Stained Leader' – a reference to the birthmark on Gorbachev's forehead.As most birthmarks appear at birth, Gorbachev's one is classed as a port wine stain – due to the red colour – which is caused by a malformation of blood vessels and appears either as a flat or slightly bumpy reddish-purplish discoloration of the skin.Gorbachev took aim at the Soviet Union Atomic industry for Chernobyl as he argued the industry was “dominated by servility, bootlicking, cliquishness, and persecution of those who think differently, by putting on a good show, by personal connections and clans.

EJ Panaligan editor Mikhail Gorbachev, the Russian politician who served as the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91, according to the Associated Press. The Central Clinical Hospital in Russia provided a statement to Russian news organizations that Gorbachev died after suffering from an undisclosed, long-term illness. Gorbachev served as the leader of the Soviet Union during its demise in 1991. He resigned on Christmas of that year after spending the last few months in office watching different republics declare independence. His initiatives and reforms led to the end of the Cold War but resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev has died at age 91, according to Russian news agencies. His cause of death was not immediately released, but Gorbachev's office had said earlier that he was undergoing treatment at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow, according to The Associated Press.Gorbachev served as the eighth and final General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991.

Mikhail Gorbachev, who ushered in an era of reform in the Soviet Union and played a role in ending the Cold War with the West, has died, Russian state media and other outlets reported on Tuesday.

EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Stern has joined the cast of the Apple TV+ series for Season 4 as a series regular.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader, has died at the age of 91, according to local reports.

Russian communist revolutionary died of a stroke in 1924, millions flocked to Red Square to see the body of the man who had led the people in revolt, civil war, and then founded the Soviet Union. And almost a century later, before the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, millions were still turning up to see the man historians call "one of the most significant and influential figures of modern history" - who sparked and inspired communist revolutions in China, Cuba, Mongolia, Congo, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and El Salvador to name but a few.

Her Majesty The Queen has formally congratulated Ukraine on the country’s 31st anniversary of Independence from the Soviet Union. In her address to the nation’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday 24 August, the 96 year old monarch said: “It gives me great pleasure to send Your Excellency and the people of Ukraine my warmest greetings on the celebration of your Independence Day.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Seasoned Finnish producer Ilkka Matila (“The Eternal Road”, “All the Sins”) of MRP Matila Röhr has signed with Estonia’s Taska Film and locked early support from the Finnish Film Institute and local commercial channel MTV3 for the $2.7m film “Between the Hammer and the Sickle.” Nordisk Film holds Scandinavian rights. To be pitched on Aug. 24 at the Nordic Co-Production Market in Haugesund, Norway, the title will be one of Matila’s most defining projects, a feature which he believes will stay, along the lines of the multi-awarded “Mother of Mine” or “The Eternal Road.” “Between the Hammer and the Sickle” will be one of the first features ever to portray Finland’s illustrious former president Urho Kekkonen. Head of state for nearly 26 years, Kekkonen served as the longest-serving Finnish president from 1956 until 1981 and masterminded his country’s policy of neutrality, keeping at bay the threatening Soviet Union with which Finland shares 800 miles of border.

The Dnipro Kids charity chairman has successfully got the backing of his fellow Perth and Kinross councillors to mark Ukraine Independence Day.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast, co-host Mike DeAngelo launches into one of the best sci-fi series currently on television, “For All Mankind.” The show began as an alternate history version of the 1969 space race in which the Soviet Union beat the United States to the moon, kicking off an increasingly different reality that keeps the space race running towards new goals for decades.

Armie Hammer and his family are the subjects of a new shocking docuseries. On Wednesday, discovery+ debuted the first trailer for "House of Hammer," a special that "chronicles the deeply troubling accusations leveled against critically acclaimed actor Armie Hammer and the dark, twisted legacy of the Hammer dynasty." In the trailer, two of the 35-year-old’s exes, Courtney Vucekovich and Julia Morrison, are seen speaking out about their experiences with the disgraced star.They also shared troubling text messages and voice notes they alleged are from Hammer.

Channel 5 at 10pm, exploring the history and criminals housed at one of the UK’s most notorious prisons.Located in West Yorkshire, the walls at HMP Wakefield have seen their fair share of dangerous convicts.It has housed terrorists, serial killers and psychopaths, with many still there to this day.However, some of the most notorious are criminals of the past – including Charles Bronson and Harold Shipman.There is a reason why Channel 5 chose to use the word evil in the show’s title, as many of the acts these criminals committed are unthinkable in their horror and depravity.The press called him the “most violent prisoner in Britain” and “Britain’s most notorious prisoner.”Born Michael Gordon Peterson, he has spent most of his life behind bars after first being arrested for petty crimes in 1974.He attacked guards and other prisoners during his stay but was eventually released in 1987.That year, he became a bare-knuckle boxer, where he gained his title of Charles Bronson before returning to prison in 1988.He was also the subject of Nicolas Winding Refn’s film Bronson, where Tom Hardy played the title role.A German theoretical physicist and atomic spy, Klaus Fuchs gave over British, American and Canadian intelligence from the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union.He was instrumental in early calculations in early nuclear weapons shortly after the Second World War, even helping with early models of the hydrogen bomb.He was convicted in 1950 and spend nine years in the UK before migrating to East Germany and resumed his career as a scientific leader.Behind the Soham Murders, Ian Huntley killed two children in Soham, Cambridgeshire.Born in Grimsby, Ian ended up working as a school caretaker in Soham before luring Holly Marie