Soviet Union: Did you mean...?

The long-term goal of the Bolsheviks, who took power by force in Russia in November 1917, was a fairer society where workers and peasants were not exploited by wealthy capitalists. The more immediate consequences, though, of the Bolshevik...

A photograph of Soviet Red Army troops moving forward during the battle of Stalingrad (July 1942 - February 1943) during the Second World War (1939-45). (Imperial War Museums)

A photograph showing Soviet civilians at Velizh hanged by Axis forces after the battle of Smolensk in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa in the Second World War (1939-45). (Imperial War Museums)

A July 1941 photograph showing lines of Soviet prisoners following the battle of Białystok-Minsk in Jun-Jul 1941 during Operation Barbarossa of the Second World War (1939-45). In the battle, the USSR's Red Army was defeated by Axis forces...

A May 1942 photograph of Soviet anti-aircraft gunners of the Zheleznyakov armored train used during the Siege of Sevastopol in 1941-2 in the Second World War (1939-45).

The leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) ordered the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Hitler's refusal to withdraw brought a declaration of war from Britain and France on 3 September, and so began the Second World War (1939-45...

The Battle of the Wilderness (5-6 May 1864) was the opening engagement of the Overland Campaign, a major Union offensive conducted during the final year of the American Civil War (1861-1865). It saw the Union Army of the Potomac, under Ulysses...

The Russian Civil War (1917-22) began shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917. The Bolsheviks (the Reds) immediately found themselves in conflict with various opposition forces who disagreed with Bolshevik policies like abolishing...

Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) was the most prominent Confederate general of the American Civil War (1861-1865), who commanded the Army of Northern Virginia for much of the war and was named general-in-chief of all Confederate forces in 1865...

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (8-21 May 1864) was a pivotal engagement in the Overland Campaign, a major Union offensive during the final year of the American Civil War (1861-1865). The battle saw some of the most intense fighting...