Tag Archives: USSR

The Soviet Manned Space Program (Review)

Posted on March 9, 2017 by swabby429

I like to browse the used book shelves at the local Goodwill Store.  Most days, I come across mostly old cookbooks, religious titles, novels that never made any top ten lists, and coffee table books.  Once in awhile, I do … Continue reading →

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Five Day Weeks In The USSR

Posted on December 6, 2016 by swabby429

While struggling to read through an old Soviet Russian language children’s textbook the other day, I found a short mention of a curious Soviet social experiment that triggered my curiosity. It was a reconfiguration of the calendar into weeks of … Continue reading →

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Disneyland? Nyet!

Posted on September 19, 2016 by swabby429

In 1959, the relationship between The West and the Soviet Union seemed larger than life.  Every diplomatic gesture by either side had drastic implications about the very fate of humanity.  The United States was led by the popular Warld War … Continue reading →

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Luna 24

Posted on August 9, 2016 by swabby429

August 22, 1976 is thought of as the true conclusion of the first Moon Race. It was also the last gasp of the Soviet Union’s lunar program, and the final soft landing on the Moon by any nation in the … Continue reading →

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Putin Country (Review)

Posted on July 17, 2016 by swabby429

My informal, ad hoc study of Russia has been aided by the appearance of several contemporary books about the country the past couple of years. More than a few of these feature President Vladimir Putin and his influence. Last week, I … Continue reading →

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The First Woman In Space

Posted on June 16, 2016 by swabby429

I can almost visualize the scene in Red Square in Moscow back in the spring of 1963. A crowd of thousands of women enthusiastically celebrating the arrival of the first woman into orbit around the Earth. A year before this … Continue reading →

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Something About The Baikonur Cosmodrome

Posted on May 15, 2016 by swabby429

Perhaps one of the contributing factors that caused me to become a borderline Russophile is their Space Program.  People like me cut their teeth on forbidden, threatening places like the old Soviet Union.  The deeply arcane, yet highly promoted Soviet … Continue reading →

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