138 Items Tagged

Communism

Tirana, Albania

Postbllok Memorial

A memorial to the atrocities of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Phare, the Cambodian Circus

A Guinness World Record-holding social enterprise whose shows don't shy away from heavy themes.

Chen with children in a radish field.

'Joyce Chen’s China': How a Film Used Food to Bridge a Cold-War Divide

The 1972 documentary cast a warm light on a vilified country.

Sam Lin-Sommer May 10, 2024

Nuclear Bunkers of Nowa Huta

An underground city beneath Krakow's postwar socialist utopia.

Bunk’Art 2

Tirana, Albania

Bunk’Art 2

In the heart of Tirana, this underground nuclear bunker has been transformed into a museum.

Printed in a communist youth magazine in the 1930s, Towards Soviet America visits all of capitalist America’s social injustices on the way to “Soviet America” in the center.

objects of intrigue

The Anti-Monopoly Board Game That Promoted a 'Soviet America'

In 1934, American Communists translated a Stalinist book about revolution into a children’s game. Curiously, it didn't catch on.

Frank Jacobs August 18, 2023

Yermo, California

Liberty Sculpture Park

A collection of anti-communist sculptures stands watch in the Mojave Desert.

One of the earliest works of botanical horror, written by H.G. Wells in 1894, featured a fictional orchid with a taste for human blood.

What Stories of Scary Plants and Other Botanical Horrors Say About Us

From bloodthirsty orchids to body-snatching pods, fictional flora are often symbols of societal fears.

Kate Golembiewski May 4, 2023

The cover of this Red Haggadah from the National Library of Russia, features a search for leavened bread, which is forbidden on Passover.

The Soviet 'Red Passovers' Where Jews Gave Thanks for Communism

Instead of celebrating freedom from Egypt, people celebrated liberation from capitalism.

Sam Lin-Sommer March 28, 2023

Choijin Lama

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Choijin Lama Monastery

The monastery survived the Communist revolution in Mongolia as a religious museum.

Imre Nagy

Budapest, Hungary

Statue of Imre Nagy

A much-loved sculpture depicting the hero of a 1956 anti-Soviet uprising.

Văcărești Natural Park

Bucharest, Romania

Văcărești Natural Park

After sitting unused for decades, this abandoned communist infrastructure became a wildlife utopia.

Communist officials from the ruling Albanian Party of Labour including Enver Hoxha, 2nd from left, wave and clap during national celebrations, 1973.

How Albania's Government Kneaded Secret Documents Into Dough

Records reveal half-baked methods of destruction.

Naomi Tomky August 24, 2022

Site of the First Congress of the Russian Communist Party

Site of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' First Congress

The secret meeting held in this building would forever change the world.

Many escape tunnels were dug under the Berlin Wall in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, including the famous Tunnel 57.

Remembering a Daring Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall

Nearly 60 years after he fled East Berlin, Andreas Springer shares a story of risk, freedom, and the deepest tunnel beneath the Cold War's most infamous border.

Jordan Todorov September 29, 2021

Communist door.

Guadalajara, Mexico

Casa José Guadalupe Zuno Door

This door in the old residential area of Guadalajara hides several communist motifs.

Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram and his signature dish: pad Thai.

The Dictators Who Ruled Their Countries’ Cuisines

Authoritarian food obsessions can have a lasting legacy.

Alex Mayyasi July 7, 2021

Podcast: Communist Mummies

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team April 19, 2021