MetaFilter posts tagged with ColdWar

Chairman Mao's Underground City

Kattullus — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:33:27 -0800

Chairman Mao's Underground City is a pictorial travelogue of a small part of the tunnels that Chairman Mao had built under Beijing to serve as a nuclear fallout shelter. The intrepid urban explorers come across some surprising things. The complex, which was built by hand, could house three hundred thousand people for up to four months and had amenities such as restaurants, cinemas and roller rinks. Here's a short Travel Channel feature on the Underground City.

World's Longest Invisible Fence

webhund — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:59:13 -0800

Twenty years ago this month, the nearly 700 mile border between East and West Germany started to disappear. "The fence is long gone, and the no-man's land where it stood now is part of Europe's biggest nature preserve. The once-deadly border area is alive with songbirds nesting in crumbling watchtowers, foxes hiding in weedy fortifications and animals not seen here for years, such as elk and lynx. But one species is boycotting the reunified animal kingdom: red deer." According to the Bavarian National Forest Park Service, scientists [link in German] have recorded nearly 11,000 GPS locations for 'Ahornia," a red deer who appears to never enter the Czech Republic.

That's just normal oxidation.

exogenous — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:52:23 -0800

Removing 600 kilos of enriched U-235: the story of how, in 1994, the United States secretly removed from Kazakhstan enough purified uranium to make 24 nuclear weapons. (Full article with one photo.) Russian bomb-grade uranium is now being used in U.S. power plants.

Keeping an eye on and old friend

Burhanistan — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:47:55 -0800

Russian strategic nuclear forces - an online watchdog of the movements of Russia's nuclear forces. With informed comments, a book, and six years of archives. Also, the Russians are going to name a ballistic missile submarine after Santa.

K-E-Y! Y? Because We Will Bury You

wendell — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:52:43 -0800

Exactly 50 years ago today, Soviet Premier and Cold War Villain Nikita Khrushchev was denied a visit to Disneyland. He was in Southern California as part of a cross-country tour of the U.S.A.* (Can you imagine an enemy of the US doing that today?). The reasons for the denial? Security Logistics and Time Limitations (you have to devote a whole day for The Magic Kingdom). Instead, he visited a sound stage at 20th Century Fox (shooting "Can Can") and a housing development in a San Fernando Valley suburb. The next day, he got a warmer, but semi-stunned, reception in San Luis Obispo, CA. Not the only place that welcomed him. Farmers in Coon Rapids, Iowa were happy to show off American agriculture in an event recently commemorated.
*Look Inside book at Amazon link for more content. Also lots more coverage in the L.A. Times' Nostalgia Blog)

The Iron Lady ❤s The Iron Curtain

empath — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:04:23 -0800

New Documents from the Soviet Archives reveal that as the Warsaw Pact was falling apart, Margaret Thatcher called Gorbachev to inform him that:

The reunification of Germany is not in the interests of Britain and Western Europe. It might look different from public pronouncements, in official communiqué at Nato meetings, but it is not worth paying ones attention to it. We do not want a united Germany. This would have led to a change to post-war borders and we can not allow that because such development would undermine the stability of the whole international situation and could endanger our security. In the same way, a destabilisation of Eastern Europe and breakdown of the Warsaw Pact are also not in our interests.

This backs up assertions from former German Chancellor Kohl's new memoir that Thatcher put up obstacles to German Re-unification, fearing the rise of a Fourth Reich.

"a real-life James Bond. His boozy amours, his tough postures, his intelligence expertise..."

The Whelk — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:55:35 -0800

In 1948, when John was five, Guy Burgess came to stay for a holiday. John's mother resented Burgess and his close relationship with her husband, and began staging accidents to claim attention; she once reported being mugged in her car, and on another occasion set fire to the living room, suffering serious burns. She was later sent to a Swiss clinic for treatment. Philby was posted to the United States the following year. The strange life of John Philby, the son of "the most hated man in England", Kim Philby, a member of the notorious Cambridge Five spying ring. (via)

The CIA in Tibet

nickyskye — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:06:35 -0800

The CIA in Tibet l the Cold War in ShangriLa l The CIA's Secret War In Tibet by Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison, the entire book online. The CIA Circus: Tibet's Forgotten Army Tibet, the 'great game' and the CIA (Wikipedia's definition of "the Great Game" and "the new Great Game") Review of The CIA's Secret War in Tibet

when two tribes go to war

the_very_hungry_caterpillar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:24:22 -0800

By 17 October, the day of the Soviet Moon landing, tension had risen. Czechoslovakian and Hungarian troops were said to be massing on the border with Austria. Soviet fighters had been harassing civil aircraft in the Berlin corridors, causing an American airliner to crash.

What was once the most secret British government document is released to the public on Tuesday. The Government War Book, used during the Cold War, set out in great detail exactly what would happen in the days before nuclear weapons were fired.

Prof Peter Hennessy describes the War Book

Lost in Space

homunculus — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:13:07 -0800

Lost in Space: What really happened to Russia's missing cosmonauts? An incredible tale of space hacking, espionage and death in the lonely reaches of space. "There are those who believe that somewhere in the vast blackness of space, about nine billion miles from the Sun, the first human is about to cross the boundary of our Solar System into interstellar space. His body, perfectly preserved, is frozen at –270 degrees C (–454ºF); his tiny capsule has been silently sailing away from the Earth at 18,000 mph (29,000km/h) for the last 45 years. He is the original lost cosmonaut, whose rocket went up and, instead of coming back down, just kept on going." [Via]

hatchink fiendish plan to catch moose and squirrel

shothotbot — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:14:05 -0800

Interested in Soviet era spying by the KGB in the United States? Bummed that you cant get into the KGB archives? Well it turns out that someone copied all the good stuff already, and you can take a peek. Alexander Vassiliev was a KGB officer who turned to journalism in 1990. From 1993-96 he had access to the KGB archives for the 1930s to early 1950s to write notes for a book project on Soviet spying in the Stalin era. His original notebooks - including extensive verbatim transcriptions - were left behind in Moscow when he moved to London but smuggled out via an elaborate plan. There are eight notebooks, on the Cold War International History site there are scans, transliterations and translations of each notebook, free for nothing. Vassilev assisted in the transcriptions and transliterations. The whole story is in Alexander Vassiliev’s Notebooks: Provenance and Documentation of Soviet Intelligence Activities in the United States (pdf). "Since the KGB’s archives remain closed, Vassiliev’s notebooks are as close as we are likely to get to the actual documents for many years, likely decades"

Strings, not Threads, nor Duct Tape

Blazecock Pileon — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:17:35 -0800

Nuclear puppet shows: Atomic survival PSAs by the U.S. Civil Defense

Samuel Huntington Dies

Glibpaxman — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:12:34 -0800

Samuel Phillip Huntington, best known for his work "Clash of Civilizations," died on December 24. Previously on the blue (here, here, here, and here)

Nuclear Redux

puckish — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:41:12 -0800

Photographer Paul Shambroom has spent the last sixteen years documenting a much-discussed but little seen aspect of American foreign policy -- our nuclear arsenal. "More than ten years after the end of the Cold War, the U.S. maintains 10,000 active warheads. Concerns about nuclear aspirations in Iraq and North Korea dominate foreign policy, and in the wake of September 11, the possibility that terrorists might obtain and use weapons of mass destruction has become frighteningly real. Paul has documented the nuclear reality we have created in a series of striking and eerily beautiful images that offer an inside look at America's nuclear arsenal." Portfolio includes detailed images of missiles, warheads, bombers, submarines, and command centers, as well as new warhead designs and missile defense prototypes that may be deployed well into the twenty-first century. Also worth checking out Shambroom's website for more pretty pictures. (nukes, meetings, factories, and first responders) Related links for Cold War junkies: Press the little red button! Truck driver John Coster-Mullen spends a decade researching and constructing a full-scale replica of the Little Boy atomic bomb. “Coster-Mullen sees his project as a diverting mental challenge—not unlike a crossword puzzle—whose goal is simply to present readers with accurate information about the past." (New Yorker slide show essay) Studio 360 goes atomic: Oppenheimer, Strangelove, and Richard Rhodes (PRI link) Complete back issues of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, now available (along with EVERYTHING ELSE!) via Google Books (courtesy of Design Observer)

Be thankful these black swans didn't fly

lalochezia — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:34:01 -0800

Seven Close calls in the Nuclear Age Previously

Well there goes Reykjavik

blahblah — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:29:06 -0800

More subprime collateral damage. Iceland's now getting a $5B bailout from Russia. What does Russia want in return? Access to shipping lanes? The old US base? via

When the Wind Blows

Artw — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:48:37 -0800

This is the Wartime Broadcasting Service. This country has been attacked with nuclear weapons. Communications have been severely disrupted, and the number of casualties and the extent of the damage are not yet known. We shall bring you further information as soon as possible. - The BBC releases its script for use in the event of nuclear war.

The Umbrella Killer

up in the old hotel — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:38:51 -0800

Scotland Yard thinks it knows who killed Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Markov with a ricin-tipped umbrella on the streets of London 30 years ago this month. Police are hoping to press charges against the man known as Agent Picadilly, who received a secret medal for his services. Interest in the case was sparked by "Kill the Wanderer", a book by journalist Hristo Hristov, who gained access to the archives of the former Bulgarian security service. Bulgaria has extended its own investigation, just as the statute of limitations on the Markov murder was set to expire.

Better red than dead

infini — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:01:32 -0800

With the potential 'crisis' with Russia, Georgia, Europe et al, the BBC tries to imagine what a new Cold War would be like starting with a tour of the budding Moscow tourist attraction called the Confrontation Cold War Museum. Sold off in an auction last year, the underground bunker now belongs to a private company that plans to turn it into an entertainment complex with a museum about the Cold War, a restaurant and even a spa. But it is already possible to hold fashion shows around the 600-meter-long network of bare, cavernous tunnels.

A Tale of Two Airplanes

kurmbox — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:35:34 -0800

"Once Upon A Time... there were two very special airplanes that lived.... far.... far.... away on a tiny island in the Bering Sea. One was named Rivet Ball and the other was named Rivet Amber. Very few people knew anything about these two planes or the men that flew them. Even family members knew very little. That's because their mission was... TOP SECRET." (some photos and language within are NSFW) [via the wonderful PointNiner]

Those barricades can only hold for so long

sister nunchaku of love and mercy — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:01:20 -0800

Twenty years ago this week, the biggest escape ever over the Berlin Wall took place, but the event went nearly unreported outside of the two Germanies. The 182 persons who jumped over the Wall in the early morning hours of 1 July 1988, instead of leaving East Germany, fled in the opposite direction (scroll down to "Wolfgang Ritter") to escape the West Berlin police. East German border guards waited with trucks on the other side of the Wall in the middle of the death strip to pick up the wall-hopping protesters; they were driven to another location, served breakfast, and then taken to the Friedrichsstrasse crossing to West Berlin with the admonition to "use the usual border crossing next time." The Lenné Triangle, where the wall jumpers lived in their tent village (including a "People's Kitchen") for the month before the police raid (slideshow here), was part of the bustling Potsdamer Platz before the Second World War. On the division of Berlin it turned into a no-man's land and an accidental nature preserve. After the reunification of Berlin it again became part of the center of commercial development. In 2007, $117 million in restitution was finally paid to the Wertheim family, who had owned the property and been stripped of it in the 1930s due to National Socialist anti-Jewish laws.

There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?

KokuRyu — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:28:10 -0800

Russian car magazine "Autoreview" has posted photos of a 1978 Korean Air Lines (KAL) forced landing to accompany an article about the Land Rover Defender pickup that was used to haul equipment at that time. Apparently, Korean Air Lines is not amused (Korean) by this effort to dig up the past. More photos. Via the always awesome Marmot's Hole. The KAL 707 airliner heading to Seoul from Paris was forced down on a frozen lake 200 miles south of Murmansk after it strayed off course into Soviet airspace on April 21, 1978. During the forced landing, a missile fired from a Soviet fighter killed two and wounded 13.

Canada's Russian Revolution

amyms — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:25:51 -0800

It stands as one of the more unusual turning points of the Cold War, thanks mostly to the surprise appearance of several naked middle-aged women. Taking The Cure: How a group of British Columbian anarchists inspired democracy in Russia. More information on the Doukhobors at the Doukhobor Discovery Centre and the Doukhobor Genealogy Website. Alexander Yakovlev died in 2005. Here's his obituary as presented by the BBC. For more information about his place in history, see Alexander Yakovlev and the Roots of Soviet Reforms, a collection of documents housed at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. And for those who can read Russian, The Alexander Yakovlev Foundation.

'Radioactive mama, we'll reach critical mass tonight'

anastasiav — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:17:13 -0800

Atomic Platters :: Cold War Music from the Golden Age of Homeland Security

Тхундербирдс являются дороге!

Artw — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 08:28:50 -0800

Russian cold war bombers - The Tu 95 Bear and Tu 160 Blackjack, based in central Russia, which resumed long range patrols in August.