Jan 13th, 2006 · Maliha Zulfacar left Afghanistan when the Soviets invaded in 1979. She now splits her time between a teaching post in California and one in Kabul, where she's leading an oral history project that she hopes will help Afghans make sense of the impact of three decades of war.
Dec 21st, 2005 · Russia is threatening to stop supplying natural gas to Ukraine if the former Soviet republic won't pay increased prices. In return, Ukraine says it may shut down a Russian natural gas pipeline that runs through Ukrainian territory and provides one-quarter of Europe's natural gas supply. Madeleine Brand speaks with Stephen Beard of Marketplace about the bitter dispute.
Nov 19th, 2005 · A controversy has grown over plans for a memorial center dedicated to the 12 million Germans who became refugees after World War II. Many were forced to flee the Soviet army or were expelled from homes in Eastern Europe. The planned center has raised questions about whether it's appropriate for Germans to remember their own victims of the war, given the atrocities inflicted by the Nazis on other nations.
Oct 22nd, 2005 · Alexander Yakovlev, who advised Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on glasnost and perestroika, was buried this week. After the Soviet Union collapsed he devoted himself to documenting Soviet repression.
Oct 10th, 2005 · Western consumer culture has spread quickly throughout much of the former Soviet Union since the collapse of communism. But in areas, the old ways of doing business remain.
Oct 5th, 2005 · Skirmishes continue between the warring former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Their common border remains closed and soldiers frequently fire at each other from trenches on both sides. But Lawrence Sheets reports that, despite hostilities, citizens of both countries continue to meet and trade at a Georgian flea market on the border.
Aug 25th, 2005 · Police officers in the former Soviet republic of Georgia used to be known for being corrupt and inefficient. One of the first acts of the new government was to fire nearly 55,000 police. New officers are being paid a wage they can live on and the government has tried to re-fashion the image of the police.
Aug 24th, 2005 · The former Soviet satellite nation of Georgia has had four national anthems in the past 14 years. Practically no one liked, or even knew, the words to the last anthem, which was hard to memorize. But Georgians have enthusiastically embraced the new anthem, adopted after the country's 2003 "Rose Revolution." Lawrence Sheets reports on the song and its chances for survival.