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USSR News 1. Putin orders new security measures as Russia marks Soviet victory in WWII 2. Putin: US exit from INF Treaty puts Europe at risk of new arms race 3. Russia and Ukraine reach historic deal to restore trade ties 4. Putin: Russia will respond to US withdrawal from nuclear arms treaty 5. Putin: Russia will not deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe 6. Putin: Russia will cooperate with US on arms control and non-proliferation 7. Putin: Russia and US must cooperate on nuclear security 8. Putin: Russia to help implement START III arms reduction treaty 9. Putin: Russia, US must work together to resolve nuclear arms crisis 10. Putin: Russia will not deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe Articles 1. The Soviet Union’s Lasting Legacy: How the USSR Influenced Today’s World 2. How the Soviet Union Changed History 3. The Impact of the Soviet Union on the World 4. The Role of the Soviet Union in the Cold War 5. The Soviet Union’s Role in the End of the Cold War 6
How did a British Ship with Soviet Gold Sink During World War 2? — History is Now Magazine, Podcasts, Blog and Books | Modern International and American history
The lend-lease program established between the Allies and the Soviet Union involved the provision of allied equipment to bolster the Soviet war effort during World War II. This aid played a crucial role in supporting the Soviets during the initial stages of the conflict because the Soviet Union’s pr
The Roswell Incident: Did The US Cover Up An Alien UFO Crash In 1947? | HistoryExtra
During the summer of 1947, flying saucers were capturing the world’s imagination against a backdrop of rising tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. Then, a mysterious incident in Roswell, New Mexico, laid the foundations of a supposed cover-up – the full picture of which only came into focus decades later. In the second season of our Conspiracy podcast series, Rob Attar speaks to David Clarke and asks if visitors from outer space really did make contact at Roswell
This Godless Communism: Cold War as Religious Ideological Struggle — History is Now Magazine, Podcasts, Blog and Books | Modern International and American history
The Cold War pitted the USA against the USSR in all manner of ways – and a key part of that was a religious, Christian America against an atheist Soviet Union. Here, Victor Gamma returns and looks at the Cold War as a religious ideological struggle.
The Cold War, the Olympics, & the Forgotten Congressional Gold Medal | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
In the spring of 1980, the United States government faced a foreign-policy decision with Olympic-sized consequences. The previous fall, the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan to expand its sphere of influence. It was a shocking decision, made even more so given that Moscow was slated to host the international community at the 1980 summer Olympic games in July.Following the invasion, lawmakers in Congress questioned whether America should allow its delegation of athletes to compete in Moscow. To allow U.S. athletes to attend the games risked sending a message to the world that the federal government condoned the Soviets’ war. Blocking their participation, however, meant dashing the dreams of hundreds of young Americans who had trained for years to compete in the storied sporting event.For four decades, the Cold War standoff between the American and Soviet superpowers had left the world on edge. Proxy wars and the threat of nuclear conflict had stalked the years after World War II. But it was the pre-World War II Olympics in Nazi Germany’s Berlin in 1936 that legislators suddenly invoked during debate over whether the United States should send a delegation to Moscow.In January 1980, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by chairman Clement Zablocki of Wisconsin, held a hearing with members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) where they discussed the ramifications of the Soviet invasion and whether to send an American delegation to the games. “These are the questions that were asked in 1936, when the Olympics were held in Germany,” Zablocki said. Republican John Buchanan of Alabama extended the questioning: “Would you agree or disagree that when Nazi Germany passed a law stripping Jews of their citizenship just before the games in 1936 and then went on to the Holocaust and all the rest, that that was something more than politics, that that was crime, or is it just politics to be disregarded?”History Repeating Itself?The 1936 Olympics would be remembered in America for stunning athletic achievements in the face of hate and Adolf Hitler’s campaign of White supremacy. Jesse Owens, a 23-year-old Black man from Alabama, won four track and field gold medals that year. And during the men’s 400-meter relay, Owens and his teammates, which included future U.S. Representative Ralph Harold Metcalfe of Illinois, who was also Black, set the world record. “There was talk of boycotting Hitler and his doctrine of Nordic supremacy,” Metcalfe later recalled. “But we thought we would make a contribution. There were more negroes on that team than any previous United States Olympic team. We won and it stuck a pin in the balloon of Hitler’s doctrine.”Congress did consider boycotting the Olympics in 1936. In the leadup to the games, Representative Emanuel Celler of New York introduced two bills he called “weapons to use against Germany” and which he hoped would alert the nation to what he called “the goings-on in Germany we may regard as a definite threat to the security of our own freedom, not merely where religion is concerned, but personal liberty of every kind.” Celler reminded the House that “it is an established fact that hate or prejudice or intolerance never remains limited to a small portion of existence—either it is overthrown completely and liberalism takes its place, or it grows and strengthens its hold until it has choked liberty everywhere and from every possible angle.” Celler’s bills—H. J. Res. 381, which would have boycotted America’s participation in the games by prohibiting the use of funds to send U.S. athletes to Europe, and H. Res. 368, to ensure Americans who held German debt be paid fair value—both expired in committee.Celler wasn’t alone in his opposition. Representative William Citron of Connecticut had noted earlier in August 1935 that he “object[ed] to participating in these games if they are to be held in Germany. I object to sending our youth to Germany. . . . The youth of the world meet to promote good sportsmanship, brotherly feeling between the peoples of various nationalities and races, the fundamental ideals of democracy—equality and justice.”But despite Members like Celler, who later served as Judiciary Chairman, and Citron, who lost re-election in 1938 and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942, no formal protest or boycott emerged from the 74th Congress (1935–1937). Just a few months prior to the 1936 games, Germany violated the Treaty of Versailles when it occupied the Rhineland and persecuted Jewish citizens. The United States attended the games in Berlin anyway. Three years later, Adolph Hitler’s Germany invaded Poland setting off World War II.A BoycottIt was that history that informed debate in Congress as the 1980 games in Moscow approached. On January 24, 1980, the House, by a vote of 386 to 12, passed H. Con. Res. 249 urging the U.S. Olympic Committee to implore the IOC to either move the games from the Soviet Union or cancel them altogether. If the games remained in Moscow, Congress called on the United States and its allies to boycott them and instead “conduct alternative games of their own.” The Senate quickly concurred in a vote of 88 to 4.Two months later, on March 21, 1980, President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would boycott the Moscow games. In April, the United States Olympic Committee voted in support of the boycott. Ultimately, more than 60 countries joined the United States in its protest. At home, many of the athletes set to compete in the games expressed frustration with the decision. “My gripes are not against the Soviet athletes, it’s against their government,” said Craig Masback, a favorite in the one-mile track event. John Nonna, a fencing champion, noted, “I’d like to think there are other ways to show our displeasure and put pressure on the Soviets.” A few frustrated Olympians looked for ways to boycott the boycott and sought to compete under the Olympic flag rather than the American flag, but the Carter administration rebuffed that idea.In early June 1980, Representative Frank Annunzio of Illinois, chairman of the House Budget Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, introduced legislation to honor Team USA’s 650 athletes and coaches with a Congressional Gold Medal, one of Congress’s highest civilian honors. “I urge Members of the House, regardless of their personal feelings about the Olympic boycott, to co-sponsor the legislation. This legislation is the least that the Congress can do to recognize our Olympic team, which according to all indications, would have been one of the strongest in our country’s history,” Annunzio said.Annunzio’s bill, H.R. 7482, set aside $50,000 for the medals. To keep costs down, the proposal allowed for the medals to be gold-plated, rather than solid gold. The bill enjoyed widespread bipartisan support and gained 228 co-sponsors in a matter of weeks.The House took up Annunzio’s bill on June 30. “We are here today for one purpose—to honor dedication, sacrifice and, most of all, athletic achievement,” Annunzio said during debate that day. Republican Norman Shumway of California, who served with Annunzio on the Banking Committee, spoke next. “The congressional medals that we will be voting on today can never take the place of a genuine, gold Olympic medal,” he said. “However, it is one small way for our Nation to express gratitude to our Olympic athletes. The 1980 summer Olympics will best be remembered, not by who competed, but rather by who did not. The Congressional Gold Medal will serve to remind us and future generations as well, that we as a nation will never forsake our principles of freedom—not even for the cherished, Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medals.”Annunzio’s measure quickly passed the House and the Senate; President Carter signed the bill into law on July 8. Officials invited the Olympians to a ceremony at the Capitol on July 30, 1980. More than 450 athletes and coaches attended the event. In response, the Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 summer Olympic games held in Los Angeles, California.The Medal that Time ForgotDespite Representative Shumway’s hope that the 1980 Congressional Gold Medal would stand as a reminder of America’s commitment to freedom and democracy, the medal and the story behind it largely disappeared from popular memory.In 2007, the office of Representative Todd Tiahrt of Kansas contacted the Office of the Historian on behalf of a former Olympian asking about the status of the 1980 medal and its authorizing legislation. After discovering that the medal had, for decades, been omitted from the list of Congressional Gold Medals, historians added the 1980 medal alongside the nearly 200 other gold medals America’s lawmakers have awarded since 1776. Why the medal had been overlooked remains a mystery, but it is likely that earlier generations of recordkeepers saw that the 1980 medal was gold-plated and did not include it with the other solid gold medals.In December 2007, Representative Tiahrt inserted into the Congressional Record the names of 480 Olympic athletes awarded the gold medal in 1980. “This group has waited a long time for this recognition, and I believe that the individual athletes that made up this team deserve to be recognized,” he said.“As we all know, these games occur only once every 4 years,” Representative Tiahrt observed. “The investment of time and effort required of an Olympic caliber athlete is extraordinary. Because of this investment, many of these athletes sacrificed a once in a lifetime dream of competing on this world stage.” But, he pointed out, the sacrifice was not made in vain. “The 1980 Summer U.S. Olympic Team is now officially recognized as a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.”Sources: Congressional Record, House, 74th Cong., 1st sess. (19 August 1935): 13747–13749; Congressional Record, House, 74th Cong., 2nd sess. (3 June 1936): 8991–8992; Congressional Record, House, 96th Cong., 2nd sess. (13 June 1980): 14656; Congressional Record, House, 96th Cong., 2nd sess. (30 June 1980): 17734–17736; Congressional Record, House, Extension of Remarks, 110th Cong., 1st sess. (13 December 2007): HE2579; A Concurrent Resolution Urging the United States Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee, and the Olympic Committees of Other Countries to Take Certain Actions with Respect to the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, in Accordance with the Requests of the President, H. Con. Res. 249, 96th Cong. (1980); An Act to Authorize the President of the United States to Present on Behalf of Congress A Specially Struck Gold-Plated Medal to the United States Summer Olympic Team of 1980, Public Law 96-306, 94 Stat. 937; Hearings before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. Participation in the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, 96th Cong., 2nd sess. (1980); New York Times, March 9, 1980; U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, “The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. Response, 1978–1980,” accessed 18 July 2024, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan; U.S. Department of State, archive, “The Olympic Boycott, 1980,” accessed 18 July 2024, https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/qfp/104481.htm.
Hammer & Sickle: Why Is It a Symbol of The Soviet Union And Communism? | HistoryExtra
The hammer and sickle is one of the modern world’s most recognisable symbols. It instantly evokes the former Soviet Union and communism. For some people around the globe, it remains a beacon of hope for a better tomorrow. But for others it is a painful reminder of totalitarian oppression and terror. What’s the history behind this revolutionary symbol?
Going for the Gold: Uncovering the Lost History of the 1980 Olympics | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
More than four decades ago, Congress made the unprecedented decision to support a national boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Athletes who had trained their whole lives to enter the games soon found themselves unable to compete. To recognize the sacrifice these Olympians made, the 96th Congress (1979–1981) honored them with a Congressional Gold Medal.Congress ordered medals to be minted and distributed to the 650 Team USA athletes and coaches. But for many years, official congressional records did not include this medal alongside the more than 200 other instances in which lawmakers conferred such an honor, dating to the medal George Washington received in 1776. The reason? For 27 years, an administrative quirk had separated gold medals from gold-plated medals. Today, however, thanks to dogged research and the support from a now former U.S. Representative, the gold-plated medal awarded to Team USA in 1980 is recorded alongside every other medal Congress has commissioned.This blog provides a behind-the-scenes look at the method and sources used to restore the 1980 gold-plated medal to its rightful place alongside the hundreds of other Congressional Gold Medals and to help readers learn more about that period in U.S. history. Those sources include congressional hearings, remarks made on the floor, and newspaper and archival research. This blog is intended to inspire and assist aspiring congressional researchers.Congress InvestigatesCommittee hearings help Congress gather information on policy issues, legislation, and oversight needs. These meetings usually focus on current events and feature expert witness testimony before a full committee or subcommittee. Committee hearing transcripts can be located through the Federal Depository Libraries.On January 23, 1980, and February 4, 1980, Clement Zablocki of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, held hearings to “consider the issue of U.S. participation in the 1980 summer Olympic games in Moscow.” The hearings also reviewed additional legislation connected to the boycott: House Concurrent Resolution 249 and House Resolution 547.H. Con. Res. 249 requested that various Olympic governing bodies work with the U.S. President to move the 1980 summer games out of the Soviet Union. The resolution went to committee and returned to the House Floor where lawmakers approved it. H. Con. Res. 249 then passed the Senate after it added its own provisions.H. Res. 547 supported an alternative Olympic games held in the United States if the U.S. athletes did not participate in the Moscow games. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, but no further action was taken.Congress DebatesSince 1873, the Congressional Record has documented debate in the House nearly word-for-word. Unlike the House Journal, which details procedural activity but not debate, the Congressional Record provides a full transcript of legislative activity. The Congressional Record can be located through Congress.gov as well as Government Publishing Office’s GovInfo digital resource database.Leading up to the 1980 games, Congress regularly discussed America’s participation and whether to boycott the summer Olympics. In this example from January 24, 1980, the House of Representatives met to debate H. Res. 534 urging USA Olympics and the International Olympic Committee to consider House Concurrent Resolution 249 to postpone, transfer, or cancel the summer games. During the proceedings, Representative John James Duncan of Tennessee announced his intention to introduce a resolution to give Team USA athletes who would be prevented from participating the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Duncan’s legislation, House Concurrent Resolution 258, gained little traction.Congressional Record Extension of RemarksIn the House, if lawmakers want to revise or make additional comments on a particular topic, House Rules allows them to submit material to the Extension of Remarks section in the Congressional Record. On December 13, 2007, Representative Todd Tiahrt of Kansas entered into the Extension of Remarks the names of 480 summer Olympians who had been slated to compete in 1980. Representative Tiahrt had earlier been contacted by a constituent named Ron Neugent from Wichita, Kansas, who had been a swimmer on the 1980 team, and who had helped compile the list of athletes. Neugent had also directed Representative Tiahrt’s attention to the fact that Team USA’s 1980 Congressional Gold Medal was not included in the official list of gold medals. Wanting more information, Representative Tiahrt’s office contacted the Office of the Historian within the Office of the Clerk seeking more information on the 1980 Congressional Gold Medal.Public LawsAfter being contacted by Representative Tiahrt’s office, the House Historian’s Office looked through the legislation authorizing Team USA’s gold medal. First introduced by Representative Frank Annunzio of Illinois on June 4, 1980, the gold medal legislation, House Resolution 7482, quickly made its way through the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs before going up for a vote in the full House on July 1, 1980, where it passed. The Senate approved the measure on July 2, 1980. The title of the bill made clear that it would be unlike a typical Congressional Gold Medal, in that Team USA’s were to be gold-plated rather than solid gold: “To authorize the President of the United States to present on behalf of Congress a specially struck gold-plated medal to the United States Summer Olympic Team of 1980.”The bill became Public Law 96-306 when President Jimmy Carter signed it on July 8, 1980. The Library of Congress’s website, congress.gov, has a large amount of legislation accessible to research, but a Federal Depository Library may also be of assistance.Photographic EvidenceThe House Photography Office (now House Creative Services) photographed the July 30, 1980, ceremony at the Capitol to award Team USA’s gold medals. By the time of the event, Levi Strauss & Company had already prepared the team uniform, and the athletes were encouraged to wear the western-inspired outfit to Capitol Hill.Historical NewspapersHistorical newspapers are a vital research tool. Many libraries, including the Library of Congress, have a periodical room or database subscriptions to assist in research.In the case of the 1980 medal, newspapers covered the initial boycott and a year later, on July 26, 1981, the Washington Post ran a retrospective piece about the boycotted games from the perspectives of the athletes, reminding readers of their sacrifice.Additional ResearchThe Presidential Libraries system of the National Archives and Records Administration, as well as the individual research collections for Members of Congress, can be useful sources of information. The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, for instance, has the full speech of President Carter’s address to the Olympic athletes on March 21, 1980.Recently, the Historian’s Office also reached out to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library for additional information on the gold medal ceremony on July 30, 1980. The Carter Library provided a detailed itinerary for President Carter’s attendance at the ceremony, which included information on the President’s escort to the event as well as plans for where the President would stand as he was introduced by Speaker of the House Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr. of Massachusetts.The Carter Library also supplied information about the reception at the White House for the athletes on the same day. Interestingly, the Team USA athletes received a separate medal to honor their achievements from Tiffany & Co.Additional House Research ResourcesThese resources also offer users a chance to explore the history of the House: House Records: Records SearchResearching the House: BibliographiesHistory, Art & Archives Offices PublicationsBlog Posts: Edition for EducatorsDigital Copies of Congressional Publications: GovInfo, Government Publishing OfficeHouse Committee Records: Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records AdministrationResearching Legislation: Congress.gov, Library of CongressCongressional history can encompass a broad range of topics, from foreign relations to sports. Uncovering a story may require detective skills and perseverance. Casting a wide net for resources is crucial since materials related to a topic can be located across a variety of sources.