The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/soviet-union/ News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World Thu, 11 Jun 2026 02:58:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://static-cdn.toi-media.com/www/uploads/2018/11/toi_icon_512-200x200.png Soviet Union | The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/soviet-union/ 32 32 Aldrich Ames, CIA agent who sold US secrets to Soviet Union, dies in prison at 84 https://www.timesofisrael.com/aldrich-ames-cia-agent-who-sold-us-secrets-to-soviet-union-dies-in-prison-at-84/ Wed, 07 Jan 2026 10:55:56 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3728662 Ames, aided by wife Rosario, compromised agents and relayed bogus intel from Moscow, earning $2.5 million until he was exposed in 1994; says he was motivated by financial troubles

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]]> The semi-true story of two Soviet Jews sent abroad by Stalin to fundraise during WWII https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-semi-true-story-of-two-soviet-jews-sent-abroad-by-stalin-to-fundraise-during-wwii/ Sat, 26 Jul 2025 04:40:25 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3555515 Avner Landes discusses his new book 'The Delegation,' an account of the adventures - and dark fates - of an actor and poet sent to raise money from coreligionists in the West

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]]> Unsealed memo from 1950 says Ethel Rosenberg ‘did not engage’ in atomic espionage https://www.timesofisrael.com/unsealed-memo-from-1950-says-ethel-rosenberg-did-not-engage-in-atomic-espionage/ Tue, 10 Sep 2024 18:03:01 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3373020 While historians have long agreed husband Julius was Soviet spy, they have been divided over whether Ethel took part in activities; both were executed by US in 1953

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]]> Uncovered floor of Vilnius’s Great Synagogue bears witness to Nazi, Soviet devastation https://www.timesofisrael.com/uncovered-floor-of-vilniuss-great-synagogue-bears-witness-to-nazi-soviet-devastation/ Thu, 25 Jul 2024 11:52:19 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3339502 Researchers find one of synagogue's columns collapsed on its side; 17th-century prayer house, at center of Jewish metropolis, was looted by Germans, razed by Russians

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]]> Russian-Jewish dissident handed 25-year sentence for treason, denigrating army https://www.timesofisrael.com/russian-jewish-dissident-handed-25-year-sentence-for-treason-denigrating-army/ Mon, 17 Apr 2023 12:20:42 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2997137 Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., twice a survivor of poisoning attempts he blames on Kremlin, convicted by court following speech in Arizona denouncing Ukraine invasion

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]]> ‘How the Soviet Jew Was Made’: A tale of wandering, oppression, language and lore https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-the-soviet-jew-was-made-a-tale-of-wandering-oppression-language-and-lore/ Sat, 11 Feb 2023 06:56:41 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2891000 In his award-winning book, Prof. Sasha Senderovich mixes a rich, centuries-old body of Yiddish folklore with early 20th-century events to define a notoriously nebulous Jewish group

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]]> Grigory Kanovich, award-winning author who chronicled Lithuanian Jewry, dies at 93 https://www.timesofisrael.com/grigory-kanovich-award-winning-author-who-chronicled-lithuanian-jewry-dies-at-93/ Tue, 24 Jan 2023 08:13:59 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2933373 Born in 1929 in the shtetl of Janova, an almost entirely Jewish village just north of Kaunas, the writer and his family escaped the Holocaust in Soviet-controlled Central Asia

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]]> Hungary’s Orban seems to compare EU to Soviet troops who crushed 1956 revolution https://www.timesofisrael.com/hungarys-orban-seems-to-compare-eu-to-soviet-troops-who-crushed-1956-revolution/ Sun, 23 Oct 2022 13:21:37 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2857375 'Let’s not bother with those who shoot at Hungary from the shadows or from the heights of Brussels,' PM says at event to mark anti-communist uprising

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]]> Russians pay last respects to Gorbachev at funeral snubbed by Putin https://www.timesofisrael.com/russians-pay-last-respects-to-gorbachev-at-funeral-snubbed-by-putin/ Sat, 03 Sep 2022 10:06:55 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2829473 Hundreds say farewell to the Soviet Union's last leader at Moscow ceremony that the Kremlin refused to declare a state funeral

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]]> Putin won’t attend Gorbachev funeral, says he’ll pay private tribute instead https://www.timesofisrael.com/putin-wont-attend-gorbachev-funeral-says-hell-pay-private-tribute-instead/ Thu, 01 Sep 2022 11:59:14 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2828692 Decision to skip official event reflects Kremlin’s ambivalence about legacy of leader who ended Cold War but led to 1991 Soviet collapse, plunging millions into poverty

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]]> Israeli leaders eulogize ‘brave’ and ‘visionary’ Gorbachev https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-leaders-eulogize-brave-and-visionary-gorbachev/ Wed, 31 Aug 2022 12:25:17 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2827850 Leaders across West remember Soviet Union's last head as pioneer who ended the Cold War; Putin offers 'condolences' but limited praise

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]]> Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, dies at 91 https://www.timesofisrael.com/mikhail-gorbachev-the-last-leader-of-the-soviet-union-dies-at-91/ Tue, 30 Aug 2022 20:46:40 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2827546 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was in power between 1985 and 1991, helped bring US-Soviet relations out of a deep freeze, remembered fondly in the West

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]]> Leonid Kravchuk, first president of an independent Ukraine, dies at 88 https://www.timesofisrael.com/leonid-kravchuk-first-president-of-an-independent-ukraine-dies-at-88/ Wed, 11 May 2022 03:16:51 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2760258 Former leader credited as driving force behind dismantling of Soviet Union; Zelensky hails ability to reach out to ordinary Ukrainians during troubling times

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]]> Russian filmmaker flees Moscow to Israel due to documentary critical of Putin regime https://www.timesofisrael.com/russian-filmmaker-flees-moscow-to-israel-due-to-documentary-critical-of-putin-regime/ Fri, 08 Apr 2022 21:48:35 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2739465 Dmitry Bogolyubov's 'Town of Glory' depicts town of Yelnya as representative of fanatical militarism fueling Russians' strong support for brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine

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]]> Amid today’s refugee crisis, author reflects on post-WWII abhorrence for Jewish DPs https://www.timesofisrael.com/amid-todays-refugee-crisis-author-reflects-on-post-wwii-abhorrence-for-jewish-dps/ Sat, 26 Mar 2022 06:01:37 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2710102 Unlike the 'outpouring of aid and invitations to resettle' Ukrainian refugees, historian David Nasaw's new book charts duel-loyalty paranoia, use of Jews as pawns in the Cold War

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