Podcast: Josef Stalin and the Soviet Great Purge

After the death of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, the infamous Josef Stalin came to powerful Premier of the Soviet Union.  In the late 1930s, Stalin began a ruthless campaign known as The Great Purge, referred to by the people of Russia as The Great Terror. Any person or group perceived in Stalin’s twisted mind as a threat to his power was arrested, given a sham trial, and either executed on the spot, or sent to the notorious Siberian Gulags. 

The 1945 Yalta BIG THREE Conference – Russia, US and UK

The Yalta (Crimea) Conference was the second World War II meeting by the “Big Three,“ President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Premier Joseph Stalin, heads of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union.

A Diver’s Defection, Summer Love and the Montreal Olympics

[Prefer an Audio Podcast?  CLICK HERE] In July of 1976, at the Montreal Summer Olympic Games, 17 year old Russian diver Sergei Nemtsanov makes the gut wrenching decision to defect to Canada from Communist Soviet Union. He had won numerous Soviet diving competitions and was brought to Montreal with medal expectations. He finished only 9thContinue reading “A Diver’s Defection, Summer Love and the Montreal Olympics”

Welcome to the Gates of Hell – the Darvaza Fire Crater

There are some places on earth, whether natural or man-made, that simply defy description.  This is certainly one of them.  Deep in the heart of Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert, there lives a large, fiery crater that glows hellish-red, both day and night.  Known locally as the Gates of Hell, it is NOT volcanic.  This man-made disasterContinue reading “Welcome to the Gates of Hell – the Darvaza Fire Crater”

Podcast: A Diver’s Defection, Summer Love and the Montreal Olympics

In July of 1976 at the Montreal Olympic Games, 17 year old Russian diver Sergei Nemtsanov finished 9th in the Men’s 10 meter Platform diving competition.  As punishment for not earning a medal, his Soviet coaches told him he’d be banned from further international competitions. His Soviet coaches, wary of defectors among their athletes withContinue reading “Podcast: A Diver’s Defection, Summer Love and the Montreal Olympics”