Does anyone remember a big pink-, blue-, and white-striped shopping bag popular in developing countries in the '80s/'90s? It felt like waxed straw, or something Tyvek-y. It had handles, and was often big enough to cover a whole suitcase.
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posted by taramosalata
on Nov 2, 2011 -
23 answers
Watching a JFK assassination documentary on cable has gotten me thinking. Given the extreme state of the Cold War in 1963 and Lee Harvey Oswald having lived in the Soviet Union and being connected to Communism, was there any kneejerk reaction among the American public/political hawks calling for direct retribution against the Soviet Union? Or efforts to sell the assassination to the public as a reason to do so. How did that national tragedy differ from/align with 9/11 in that respect?
posted by punkfloyd
on Jun 19, 2011 -
8 answers
What are the best English-language books about life in the Siberian gulag
at the end of the 1930s?
posted by Marquis
on May 25, 2011 -
10 answers
I'm looking for high-school-appropriate resources about the Cuban Missile Crisis--particularly ones that highlight Cuban and Soviet perspectives or more of an IR approach. Any thoughts?
posted by lily_bart
on Aug 3, 2010 -
4 answers
I recently received these antique postcards from a friend (with no explanation) and I'd like to know what exactly they are. They're of Soviet/Eastern European origin and seem to relate to radio somehow.
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posted by hafehd
on May 7, 2010 -
6 answers
I'm preparing for a massive personal archiving/interviewing trip with my grandparents and need advice regarding many aspects of the project.
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posted by ikahime
on Aug 18, 2009 -
8 answers
Need a movie id. I saw it in the 80's and the plot was that the U.S.S.R. had created an "Anytown, USA" and kidnapped some americans to populate it with to study/observe. I thought it was titled "Back in the U.S.S.R." but alas the one on IMDB is not it.
posted by zap rowsdower
on Sep 13, 2007 -
8 answers
How do lawyers work in newly formed (or reformed) countries with new political systems, like Eastern Europe after the USSR, or Iraq or Timor-Leste today?
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posted by StrikeTheViol
on Mar 7, 2007 -
4 answers
Is it common for Americans to incorrectly assume that Russian is only spoken in Russia but forget that it is also a common language in the former Soviet states?
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posted by gregb1007
on Oct 18, 2006 -
37 answers
A recording of a speech by Stalin, released on vinyl in the USSR, the 8th side of which consists entirely of applause: did it really exist, and does anyone know where I could track it down?
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posted by jack_mo
on Mar 3, 2006 -
10 answers
Are there any serious scholars of Russian history who buy the "increased US military spending bankrupted the USSR" theory of the Soviet Union collapse?
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posted by bonecrusher
on Mar 3, 2005 -
11 answers
The UN Charter still lists "the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" as one of the permanent Security Council members. How was it decided that Russia alone would replace the USSR, and not some representative of all the ex-USSR nations? Was there a vote? Cause I can't find it.
posted by Pretty_Generic
on Jan 20, 2005 -
6 answers
