Soviet Union
Former White House Russia expert Fiona Hill warns the U.S. is on a path to autocracy
Russia expert Fiona Hill warns that American democracy is under attack — from within.
In November 2019, Hill became one of the key witnesses at then-President Donald Trump's first impeachment hearing, where she condemned the false narrative that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that interfered in the 2016 election, and described the Trump administration's parallel policy channel in Ukraine to get dirt on Joe and Hunter Biden.
Inside The Russian Disinformation Playbook: Exploit Tension, Sow Chaos
A new video series by New York Times reporter Adam Ellick explores Russia's role in spreading fake news, dating back to the '80s conspiracy theory that the AIDS virus was created by the U.S. military.
'Red Famine' Revisits Stalin's Brutal Campaign To Starve The Peasantry In Ukraine
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum explains how Stalin killed millions in the '30s by orchestrating a famine to suppress the nationalist movement and strengthen Russian influence in Ukraine.
Novelist John Le Carré Reflects On His Own 'Legacy' Of Spying
Le Carré worked for MI5 and MI6 early in his career. "I felt I had to suppress my humanity," he said of those years. His novel A Legacy of Spies came out in 2017. Originally broadcast Sept. 5, 2017.
Sensing Chaos, Russia Takes A 'Wait-And-See' Approach To Trump
Despite ordering an "influence campaign" to help Donald Trump in last year's election, the Kremlin is scrambling to respond to a win it didn't expect, New Yorker editor David Remnick and staff writer Evan Osnos tell Fresh Air's Terry Gross.
How Crimea's Annexation Plays To Russians' Soviet Nostalgia
For those who viewed the end of the Soviet Union as a tragedy, Crimea was a chance to showcase Russia's strength. Now Russia may have changed its relationship with the outside world for years to come.
'Crushing Eastern Europe' Behind The 'Iron Curtain.'
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum describes the tactics the Soviets used after World War II to take over and transform much of Eastern Europe. Her book Iron Curtain was recently nominated for the National Book Award.
Area 51 'Uncensored': Was It UFOs Or The USSR?
Area 51 is classified to the point that its very existence is denied by the U.S. government. Journalist Annie Jacobsen says it's not because of aliens or spaceships -- but because the government used the site for nuclear testing and weapons development.
'Fresh Air' Remembers Journalist Daniel Schorr
NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr died a week ago at the age of 93. School covered Watergate for CBS and broke many major stories, including a secret U.S. plot to assassinate Fidel Castro. Fresh Air remembers the legendary broadcast journalist with highlights from a 1994 interview.
Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore
His new book is Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. It's a biography of the former Soviet leader. Stalin was often described as an enigma. This exhaustive account of his life seeks to banish the mystery. Montefiore has traveled extensively through the former Soviet Union, and has written for many publications, including The New York Times and The Spectator.