The Lasting Legacy of the Cold War

Portraits from the Détente Era

– Nathan Farb and Izabella Tabarovsky

Nathan Farb traveled to Novosibirsk with the United States Information Agency’s (USIA) Photography USA exhibit in 1977 and returned with several hundred studio portraits – a unique collection of images from a country that was United States’ greatest enemy.

The Hesitant U.S. Rescue of the Soviet Economy

– Diana Villiers Negroponte

As the Soviet Union crumbled, Mikhail Gorbachev sought foreign grants and loans to enable the transition to a free market economy. Only in December 1991, when he resigned and the Soviet Union morphed into 12 republics, did President George H.W. Bush send a major economic support package to Congress.

The Price of Silence: Family Memory of Stalin's Repressions

– Izabella Tabarovsky

The discovery of her great-grandfather’s name in an online database of Stalin's victims led Izabella Tabarovsky on a journey to explore and honor his life, while considering the personal and national consequences of the silence that continues to envelop repressions in Russia.

Interactive Timeline: Events of the End of the Cold War

– Spencer E. Cohen

An interactive timeline of the events that marked the end of the Cold War.

Boris Yeltsin, the Soviet Union, the CIS, and Me

– Andrei Kozyrev

As the Soviet Union disintegrated, the region stood on the brink of chaos, and it took legendary feats of statesmanship to keep the peace. As Russia's foreign minister under Boris Yeltsin, I was there every step of the way.

The Communist Domino That Would Not Fall: China’s Resilience at the End of the Cold War

– J. Stapleton Roy and Charles Kraus

As the communist world was crumbling, China stood alone. Stapleton Roy, former US Ambassador to China, gives insight into his post to Beijing 25 years ago and the global geopolitical currents that were roiling at the time.

Cuba and America, the Next Generation

– Vanessa Garcia

Their parents and grandparents fought Castro for half a century. Now these young Americans are helping bring United States-Cuba relations out of the Cold War’s long, dark shadow.

Walking in Each Other’s Shoes, Through the Iron Curtain and Back

– Izabella Tabarovsky

July 2017 marks exactly 40 years since the Photography USA exhibit came to my hometown of Novosibirsk, in what was then the USSR. It was part of one of the most successful hearts-and-minds campaigns the United States has ever undertaken.

“A Tribe of Exhibit People”: American Guides Recall Soviet Journey

– Izabella Tabarovsky

Forty years ago, a group of young Americans traveled to the Soviet Union to serve as guides for the Photography USA exhibit, one of dozens of traveling shows organized by the U.S. during the Cold War. Here are their recollections, in their own words, of those eye-opening days.