#SOVIET UNION

Lithuanians commemorate those who were killed by the Soviet soldiers at the dawn of their country’s reemerging independence by lighting bonfires. Photo: PAP/Valdemar Doveiko

Lithuanians honor those who gave their life for independence from the Soviet Union

Bonfires were lit in front of Vilnius’ iconic television tower and the house of Lithuanian parliament on Sunday evening, where 34 years ago unarmed civilians stood up the Soviet Red Army soldiers attempting to crack down on the independence movement.

A court hears the appeal case of Josef Skála (C), Juraj Václavík (R) and Vladimír Kapal (L) in Prague, June 7, 2023. Photo: Michal Kamaryt/ PAP

Court rejects appeal by trio who questioned Soviet role in WWII massacre of Poles

The Czech Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal by a Communist politician who was convicted for questioning Soviet responsibility in the murder of Polish officers during a World War II massacre.

Thousands gathered at the memorial to students who were attacked by communist riot police in 1989, marking the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Prague, Czech Republic, November 17, 2024. Photo: PAP/EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK

Czechs celebrate 35-year anniversary of protests that brought communist rule to an end

Thousands of Czechs celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which jumpstarted a wave of protests against the communist regime, ultimately resulting in the end of communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

The ‘Parajanov - I Want to Outrun My Shadow’ exhibition runs until January 12. Photo: Cinema foundation

Warsaw gallery explores work of subversive filmmaking icon

More than 500 people gathered at Warsaw’s Zachęta National Gallery of Art for the opening of an exhibition earlier this week on visionary queer filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, whose subversive works continue to captivate audiences 100 years after his birth.

Columns of Soviet tanks advancing through the Polish territory on September 17, 1939. Photo: PAP/ CAF

Poland marks 85th anniversary of Soviet invasion

A host of ceremonies are planned across Poland on Tuesday to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s invasion at the start of World War II as part of the notorious Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany.

Deputy Mayor of Gdańsk Emilia Lodzińska at the commemorations of the 87th anniversary of the NKVD’s “Polish Operation”. Behind her, memorials to the victims of the “Polish Operation” (L) and those deported to Siberia in the aftermath of the Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland between 1939 and 1956. Łostowicki Cemetery, Gdańsk, Poland, August 11, 2024. PAP/Marcin Gadomski

Gdańsk commemorates victims of 1937-38 genocide perpetrated on Poles in USSR

Victims of the 1937-1938 “Polish Operation” were commemorated in Gdańsk on Sunday, August 11, the 87th anniversary of the signing of the order that precipitated the genocide of ethnic Poles living in the Soviet Union.

Deportation of Crimean Tatars, 1944. Photo: coe.mfa.gov.ua

Sürgünlik means ‘exile’. 80th anniversary of the Soviet deportation of Crimean Tatars

Independent Ukraine commemorates the deportation of Tatars from the Crimean Peninsula by Soviet authorities. Nowadays, Crimea is occupied by Russia, and its Tatar population faces persecution by the Kremlin yet again.

Lauri Hussar, President of Estonian Parliament. Photo: TVP World

TVP World exclusive: President of Estonian Parliament on Soviet deportations

75 years ago, the Soviets deported more than 90,000 Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians to the depths of the USSR.

Republics of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic highlighted in red. Image: Milenioscuro, own work, Wikimedia Commons

The dissolution of the Soviet Union concluded 32 years ago

On December 26, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR voted to dissolve itself. This effectively meant that 15 of the Soviet Union’s constituent republics gained independence, although many of them had already declared their independence by that point, with Estonia being the first country to have done so as early as November 16, 1988.