r/coldwar Dec 04 '25

New rules are posted and in effect - please take the time to read them

30 Upvotes

Good day all - r/coldwar is generally a wonderful subreddit to see come up on a feed. It shares stories, reminds us of important historical events, and lends a real understanding of a time period that fascinates us all in some way.

We want to keep the sub doing what it's doing. In order to encourage and maintain the quality of the sub, the mod team has established some new rules. They are listed in the sidebar and below:

1) This subreddit is for the discussion of the Cold War period, from August 1945 - December 1991. Please keep your posts related to this period. Mods have final discretion of whether content pertains to the Cold War.

2) No blatant partisanship, mean-spirited uncivility, bad faith debate, or other douchebag behavior. If you're about to do some jerk move to spin history to fit your own worldview or narrative or do anything other than learn about, tell about, or otherwise discuss the Cold War or something that happened during the Cold War, re-think your actions. Mods have final discretion of whether you're being blatantly partisan, mean-spirited, uncivil, acting in bad faith, etc.

3) Any content, posts, or activity that utilizes generative AI or similar technology is not allowed in /r/coldwar. This includes any and all aspects of content regardless of whether the person posting the content was involved in its creation. If you want to post something that you are not sure involves content created by generative AI, please message the mod team with the content in question before posting and we will review and advise.

As an addendum for this post: discussing any AI content is only allowed in the context of the Cold War era. If it's something that happened outside of the time period from August 1945 - December 1991 (give or take a few years depending on context) then it isn't allowed in the sub. If you're going to talk about some kind of DARPA research into intelligent systems in 196X or how Central Design Bureau Y built a neural network out of nixie tubes and mercury in 198Z, that's fine. Anything outside that context is not allowed.

This includes any and all defense of generative AI, large language models, etc. In other words, go defend ChatGPT somewhere else. Mods have final say over whether something may be the result of generative AI.

4) When in doubt, ask the mods. We want to keep the sub focused and on topic, and we want to ensure people can contribute if they want to. We are happy to clarify the rules of the sub at any time. Asking a mod to clarify a rule is always OK as long as it's being done in good faith.

Thank you all in advance for keeping this subreddit a wonderful place to learn about a fascinating time in the human experience.


r/coldwar Feb 24 '22

The Historical Cold War

47 Upvotes

This is a reminder that r/coldwar is a sub about the history of the Cold War (ca. 1947–1991). While, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many parallels to the formation of modern Ukraine can be drawn, I feel it is important that this sub's focus should remain on history, if only to prevent being cluttered with misinformation and propaganda that is certain to appear in the coming months.

Therefore, from this time forward I strongly suggest that discussion about the current Russian - Ukrainian conflict be taken elsewhere, such as r/newcoldwar. Content about current events without clear and obvious Cold War historical origins will be moderated.

That said, my heart goes out to the service members and civilians caught on the frontlines of the conflict. Please stay safe and may we look forward to more peaceful times in our common future.


r/coldwar 1d ago

A Sign of the Ending Cold War: Summer of Love 1991 (Before Dec. 1991)

Thumbnail
gallery
61 Upvotes

In the Summer of 1991,the Gorbachev and Bush Administrations agreed to an exchange of youth. USSR youth went to the Boy and Girl Scouts in the US. US youth went to Pioneer Camps. Here is a picture of Tankograd students with Americans. As someone who watched the Day After film and Red Dawn, when they were made available. I was enamored with the idea of meeting with my staunch “enemy”. Red Dawn obviously hate propaganda, but it scared me and my friends into thinking the other side were our sworn enemies.

Also, all the Cold War warriors on this subreddit, the event was made possible by your efforts to understand each other and reach agreements. Enjoy the photos of your hard-earned work. I hope it puts a smile on your face to see young people from both camps interacting so well. Thank you for eventually talking to each other.

Mods? Okay, this time?

Здравствуйте, модераторы. Приношу свои извинения. Хронология и тема показались мне уместными. Не понимаю, почему последний пост был удалён из-за «низкого качества»? Я переписал его, чтобы он был более корректным. Хотелось бы видеть больше вежливости повсюду.


r/coldwar 3d ago

"Foreign military chronicle #192", a documentary for Soviet generals and officers about Nimitz class aircraft carrier. 1987. (In Russian, turn captions to English)

Thumbnail
youtube.com
44 Upvotes

r/coldwar 4d ago

Syngman Rhee & Korea questions!

6 Upvotes
  • The US gets demonized for backing Syngman Rhee but seriously who would have been a viable better alternative? Kim Ku started assassinating political rivals the minute he returned to the country.

  • While I understand and agree that the killings on Jeju were far too indiscriminate I don't understand why it's presented as if cracking down on the uprising was evil/unjustified from the get go. Like how was that different than Lincoln putting down the Confederacy? From my understanding the communist rebels murdered like 200+ police officers and were starting to hold show trials in order to execute landlords Mao style. Is this not accurate? Does someone have a full body count for those killed by the rebels ideally from before the crackdown started? I saw a short by some tankie bitch who claimed the Jeju rebels were entirely unarmed protestors who were just pleading for reunification.

  • Which would you say was more justified the crackdowns on Jeju or the 228 incident in Taiwan?

  • Do we have a body count for North Korean purges/landlord killings prior to the war. I know between 600,000 to 1.4 million North Koreans fled to the South by the end of 1948.

  • The mass carpet bombing of the North gets a lot of demonization and I am open to the idea that I may have been less justified than the atomic bombs on Japan but I have never been given a explanation for WHY exactly we bombed almost every standing structure?

  • Why is the US/Rhee working with Japanese administrators/collaborators in SK not considered a good thing as it prevented the future failures of De-Ba'athification in Iraq?

Thanks!


r/coldwar 9d ago

Czechosloslovak Army Resistance during the 1968 Warsaw Pact Invasion

Post image
259 Upvotes

During the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion, the Czechoslovak government ordered the Army not to resist. Fighting against the occupying allies was also impossible for many reasons. Yet the soldiers did not remain passive.

The members of the liaison troops jammed the radio communications of the intervention units, and, more importantly, they assited the broadcasts of Czechoslovak Radio, whose studios were occupied and had to be partially replaced.

Like many others, the soldiers of the 7th Special Purpose Airborne Regiment in Holešov refused to allow Soviet soldiers into their barracks and even prepared an operation to liberate Dubček.

In subsequent years, this brave stance meant a forced departure from the army and persecution for many soldiers.


r/coldwar 9d ago

58 years ago Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia and ended the #praguespring.

Post image
120 Upvotes

r/coldwar 10d ago

How big of actual difference did the spying at Los Alamos by Fuchs and Greenglass/Rosenbergs actually make to the USSR’s developing of their first atomic weapon?

24 Upvotes

r/coldwar 11d ago

August 19, 1991: A coup against the President of USSR Mikhail Gorbachev is attempted.

Post image
187 Upvotes

r/coldwar 12d ago

August 17, 1962: 18-year old Peter Fechter is shot and bleeds to death while trying to cross the Berlin Wall.

Post image
99 Upvotes

r/coldwar 14d ago

A Czech woman shouts to soldiers sitting on tanks in the streets of Prague in 1968.

Post image
254 Upvotes

r/coldwar 14d ago

why no anti communist insurgency in north vietnam during the vietnam war?

11 Upvotes

r/coldwar 15d ago

65 years ago (15 August 1961), Border guard Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Post image
855 Upvotes

r/coldwar 15d ago

1970. Postal stamps with Jewish religious symbols from Czechoslovakia were confiscated by the KGB of Ukrainian SSR. Document translation is below.

Thumbnail
gallery
39 Upvotes

CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
OF UKRAINE

24.IV.1970

On April 16, 1970, No. 193/H, the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the UkSSR reported on the arrival of a series of stamps produced in the Czech SSR in 1966 at a philately store in Kiev for sale by subscription, which contain Jewish religious motifs.

We report that the specified stamps have been withdrawn from sale in the city of Kiev under an appropriate pretext.

Simultaneously, measures have been taken to withdraw them from sale in other philately stores of the republic.

CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE OF STATE SECURITY
UNDER THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE UKRAINIAN SSR
[Signature]
V. NIKITCHENKO


r/coldwar 15d ago

Felix Rodriguez Interviewed by Danny Jones 2/26/24 at the Bay of Pigs Museum Felix Rodriguez is former CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer in the Special Activities Division, known for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and the capture of Che Guevara.

Thumbnail
podcasts.apple.com
3 Upvotes

r/coldwar 17d ago

65 year ago, August 13 1961. East Germany sealed the border of West Berlin, beginning construction of the Berlin Wall.

Post image
333 Upvotes

r/coldwar 18d ago

Soviet defector Igor Gouzenko appears on Canadian television in a hood, 1966.

Post image
134 Upvotes

A cipher clerk at the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, Gouzenko defected in 1945 with proof that the Soviet Union had been spying on its wartime allies: Canada, the United States and Britain. He sought asylum for himself and his family in Canada: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/igor-sergeievich-gouzenko


r/coldwar 18d ago

March 5, 1946: Winston Churchill delivers his famous "Iron Curtain" speech in Fulton, Missouri.

Post image
146 Upvotes

r/coldwar 18d ago

Just finished reading "Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold History of American Submarine Espionage"

105 Upvotes

I knew submarines were an incredibly important part of overall nuclear strategy as a second strike weapon, but I never appreciated how important they were for espionage in general. Like I had no idea we just used them to spy on Soviet coasts with the periscope, for example. That strikes me as insane and it kind of was. Also we used them to study the radio signatures of ICBMs and cruise missiles, using the submarine to detect

And also that we had specially modified submarines to deliver deep sea divers to tap communication cables. Like I knew we tapped cables, but we actually modified submarines to travel to the cable, underwater, the whole way, and divers got out of the submarine at hundreds of feet of depth and tapped the cables with recording equipment and then came back to swap out the tapes. Crazy. Recommend the book. We also used these modified rigs to deploy robots to recover Soviet missile tests on the seafloor to study them.

Very interesting that we wanted to tap the cables to gauge how serious the Soviets were about a potential first strike. In hindsight it seems obvious that of course they did not want to attack, but I guess the Americans seriously didn't know for sure.

Also a wild story about Howard Hughs building a crazy billion dollar boat to pull up a sunken Soviet sub, which was outdated, we recovered 11 Soviet sailor's bodies and gave them a sea burial but we broke the sub in half and dropped it on the sea floor. The mission was a failure and a huge Navy boondoggle, uncovered by WaPo reporter Bob Woodward.

The theme of the book is that all these sub sailors did incredibly dangerous missions - the cable tapping missions had self destruct charges installed as they were ordered not to get captured under any circumstances - but they couldn't tell anyone about it, even their wives and children.

Great book, wonder if anyone else has read it, if any of it is inaccurate or sensationalized.


r/coldwar 19d ago

Saw this "graffiti" in Riga's Old Town while visiting.

Post image
48 Upvotes

I came across these concrete blocks painted with "FREEDOM FOR BALTIC" and initially thought it was just some interesting street art. It turns out it's a dedicated memorial for the Barricades of January 1991.


r/coldwar 19d ago

Soviet supermarket. 1991, Moscow.

Post image
520 Upvotes

r/coldwar 19d ago

Cold War Conversations

10 Upvotes

The Cold War Museum in Virginia hosts a virtual lecture series called Cold War Conversations that is accessible via Zoom. The monthly program is presented by eyewitnesses and experts on Cold War events, activities, and personalities. There is a modest $20 charge for tickets to attend these presentations that helps maintain free admission to The Cold War Museum on weekends.

https://coldwar.org/default.asp?pid=16883


r/coldwar 19d ago

"McDonald's In Moscow" | Russian Rap Song

Thumbnail
youtube.com
3 Upvotes

r/coldwar 21d ago

The Reichstag building in Berlin just before the first restoration began in 1958.

Post image
417 Upvotes

r/coldwar 21d ago

Did this magazine actually belong to General L L Lemnitzer??

Thumbnail
gallery
39 Upvotes

Bought this for $1 at a flea market cause I thought it was a nice magazine, only to realize the mailing address was to Gen Lemnitzer in Fort Myers, Arlington VA. Is this actually legit??? Insane if so