Soviet Union - The Atlantic

Soviet Union

Iran Could Speedrun the Vietnamese Path

April 11, 2026

An image of people walking on a pedestrian street near the Ho Chi Minh Monument in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The Death of Khamenei and the End of an Era

Karim Sadjadpour

February 28, 2026

Women in chadors surround a large framed photograph of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Countdown to an Arms Race

February 3, 2026

Collage with photograph of negotiators with the U.S. and U.S.S.R. flags behind them and a black-and-white world map

The Great Divorce

January 23, 2026

Illustration of a world map with a thick, black zigzag line crossing through the Atlantic Ocean

The Holiday Traditions of a Nation Long Dead

December 31, 2025

Left: The Red Square viewed from the "Gum" department store, Moscow, 2001. Right: Christmas Tree On Berlin Soviet Zone On December 7th, 1960.

The Accidental Trailblazers of a New Global Condition

November 12, 2025

Black-and-white photo of a person standing with crutches in the doorway of a room containing prosthetic legs.

Why You Should Keep an Open Mind on the Divine

Arthur C. Brooks

October 30, 2025

An illustration of a man walking on a nature trail beside a screen showing a yellow smiley face

Trump Is Demolishing Four Pillars of American Power

October 28, 2025

A photo-illustration showing Donald Trump and protesters climbing the Berlin Wall

The Happiness of Choosing to Walk Alone

Arthur C. Brooks

October 9, 2025

A man hopping over a fence from a crowded area to an empty, open space, with a large smiley face

Moscow Can’t Stop the Music

September 30, 2025

The Russian singer Monetochka performs in an anti-war concert in Poland in 2022.

Every Scientific Empire Comes to an End

July 31, 2025

Collage of photos: a high-tech facility with white-coated scientists, Mikhail Gorbachev, Adolf Hitler

How NASA Engineered Its Own Decline

September 2025 Issue

collage with blocks of red, blue, orange, yellow on black background and images including astronaut, moon lander, eagle on moon, orbit diagrams, and Elon Musk waving U.S. flag at rally

Trump Is Fulfilling Kissinger’s Dream

May 1, 2025

Photo-illustration of two red-toned headshots--one of Henry Kissinger and one of Donald Trump--over a world map.

Europe Can’t Trust the U.S. Anymore

March 10, 2025

People walk behind a waving flag of the European Union

The Atlantic Daily

A Terrible Milestone in the American Presidency

February 19, 2025

Rows of crosses for the Ukrainian victims of a Russian bomb attack. One cross has an image of a girl and a pink teddy bear underneath.

Why People Feel Nostalgic for Terrible Times

February 19, 2025

Photo illustration of rose colored glasses with thorns on them

A Mindset for the Trump Era

December 13, 2024

Many white and opaque silhouettes walking in one direction, one in bright red walking the other way, with a giant shadow of Donald Trump behind them.

Putin Decides That Stalin’s Victims Were Guilty After All

December 5, 2024

A photo-illustration depicting Vladimir Putin, Joseph Stalin, and Anna Akhmatova with a map of the Soviet Union

A Dissident Is Built Different

October 21, 2024

A sketch, in light blue over a peach background, of a man with wavy hair with just the outline of a jacket.

The Most Misunderstood Concept in Psychology

August 2, 2023

two characters standing apart from each other with cautionary road signs for faces

The Atlantic Daily

When the Soviets Voted

November 8, 2022

Boris Yeltsin campaigning in 1989.

What Putin’s Treatment of Jews Reveals About Russia

July 26, 2022

A man sits alone in a ruined synagogue in Russia.

Young People Don’t Care About the U.S.S.R.

March 1, 2020

Soviets Tried So, So Hard to Eliminate the Plague

May 16, 2019

Two women standing with shovel