We interrupt less than intense vacation coverage to bring to you a Soviet cartoon I recently found in the 1955 issue of the satirical magazine Krokodil.
Category: Behind the Iron Curtain
That’s How It’s Protected, The Soviet Sacred Border, And No Evil Bastard Will Ever Get Inside!
As the news of an American spy being arrested in Russia with an entire Maxwell Smart spy kit in his possession filled the Russian and American airwaves, I realized that sadly the CIA doesn’t read this blog. Just a few weeks ago I provided a set of instructions for the spy to survive in Russia…
Behind The Iron Curtain: How To Recognize a Foreign Spy
Recently an old Soviet spy-identification aid has come to my attention. I don’t know if it’s authentic, but it looks, feels and reads as such. The surprising part is that according to this memo I would now be easily outed as a spy. Not because of quality work (god forbid!), good posture and neat clothes,…
Behind The Iron Curtain: Music Downloading
In the olden days of analog recordings and heavy electronics, music downloading required physical strength, dedication, time, know-how and, most importantly, the source. That’s why when my cousin V. received a record of the Saturday Night Fever from our overseas relatives, I knew I had to have a copy.
Soviet Newspaper On Goldwater and The Beatles
Beetles-drummers and Beetle the Candidate. British quartet The Beatles which can be approximately translated as the beetles-drummers, was returning to New York from a tour in Washington. A Pullman car carrying the artists was also filled with music critics, photographers and TV correspondents. During the train trip the artists were expected to discuss their views…