Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov committed an act of bravery in 1983 that probably prevented a nuclear conflict. Yet he was largely unheralded in Russia.
The killing of four Americans in El Salvador in 1980 exposed the brutality of US-backed governments in Latin America. But at the time, the fight against communism obscured justice for the victims — even in the eyes of their own government.
In 1989, Leslie and Cornelia were two young Berlin students living on opposites sides of the wall. But when the border opened, a shared love of radio brought them together in a friendship that is still alive today.
A new report from the European Leadership Network details a surge in incidents involving Russian planes and submarines, raising fears of a "new Cold War." And without better coordination, the risk of an unintended conflict could rise along with tensions.
East Germany never had a lot of cash on hand. What it did have was political prisoners, and plenty of them. So during the Cold War, the communist regime ransomed hundreds of thousands of people to the West in exchange for much-needed hard currency.
The once frightening and desolate border that separated western Europe from the Communist countries is taking on a new role. The Iron Curtain is now a 5,000-mile network of bicycle paths that go past guard towers, barbed wire fences and other historical landmarks from the Cold War.
Eduard Shevardnadze, the former Soviet foreign minister and president of Georgia, died Monday at the age of 86. He was a major player in the final days of the USSR, but in the post-Soviet era, his legacy was complicated by charges of corruption in Georgia.
The imminent demise of the American U-2 spy plane reminded The World's environment editor Peter Thomson of an odd story linking the plane with one of his favorite places, Siberia's Lake Baikal.
In this Winter Pledge Special, Kurt Andersen talks with Wayne Coyne, the mastermind of the Flaming Lips, about a near-death experience. Rocky and Bullwinkle make the Cold War kid-frie...