soviet union

In May 1956, an Italian publishing scout visited Russia's greatest living poet, Boris Pasternak. He left carrying the original manuscript of Dr. Zhivago. Pasternak believed his novel was unlikely ever to be published in the Soviet Union, where the authorities regarded it as an irredeemable assault on the 1917 Revolution. But Pasternak thought it stood a chance of being published and read in the West. From Italy it made its way around the world to earn Pasternak the 1958 Pulitzer Prize in Literature. Copies were sold in Moscow and Leningrad on the Black Market and when Pasternak died in 1960 in Russia his funeral was attended by thousands of admirers who defied their government to bid him farewell.

The 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Iceland was the turning point of the Cold War. Initially planned as a short gathering to outline future talks, the meeting quickly turned to major international issues including SDI (Star Wars) and the possibility of eliminating all nuclear weapons. Both men were at the height of their powers and this move toward peace laid the groundwork for the most sweeping arms accord in history, adopted in 1987, and the end of the Soviet Union five years later. In one weekend the world was changed.

An exploration of submarine espionage during the Cold War that relates details about secret operations which could have led to nuclear war or cost the lives of hundreds of sailors.

Illustrates African contributions to contemporary culture, including the significance of the African diaspora, and examines the continuing influence of the superpowers on the affairs of Africa.

Examines the origins of the Cold War after World War II, major players, and debates about how this major U.S. foreign policy should be implemented.

In the first video, historical footage and personal interviews tell the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the second film, Erich Neumeth, the former CIA officer who interpreted for Kennedy and Khrushchev on the final night of the crisis, reveals insights never before shared in public.

Tracks the building tension over ideology between Soviet and American superpowers in the post-war world till the early 1960s. (60 min.).

Robert Kennedy recounts the details of his brother's direction of the American response to the Cuban missile crisis.

Presents opposing viewpoints on the changes in the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in the era of Glasnot.