Lysenko’s position wins state-backed dominance over Soviet genetics

The Soviet foreign minister withdrew from European discussions about U.S. recovery aid, following Stalin’s opposition to a program viewed as extending American influence. The decision contributed to...

Representatives of communist parties met in Szklarska Poręba, Poland, and established the Communist Information Bureau. The organization coordinated parties in Europe and strengthened Moscow’s...

The Communist Information Bureau coordinated several European communist parties and strengthened Moscow’s influence over the postwar movement. Its creation came amid the hardening Cold War and...

A Central Committee resolution denounced Vano Muradeli’s opera and condemned prominent composers including Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev. It made artistic work answerable to political...

The organization expelled Yugoslavia’s Communist Party after its leadership resisted Soviet control. The split showed that anti-fascist and socialist movements could face pressure to subordinate...

The Soviet Union and allied governments created Comecon to coordinate economic relations in the emerging Eastern Bloc. It offered a framework for trade and planning but also reinforced Moscow’s...

The successful test ended the U.S. monopoly on nuclear weapons and intensified the arms race. Soviet scientific work and industrial mobilization occurred in a state system marked by secrecy, forced...

The meeting opened negotiations over the relationship between the Soviet Union and the newly founded People’s Republic of China. Their talks revealed both revolutionary solidarity and bargaining...

The treaty established a formal alliance and economic cooperation between the two states, replacing an earlier agreement tied to the Nationalist government. The relationship was consequential for...

North Korean forces invaded South Korea. Newly available Soviet records show Stalin approved Kim Il Sung’s plan after seeking assurances about Soviet and Chinese involvement. The war devastated Korean...