Translating History
@translatinghistory.bsky.social
Finding and translating freshly declassified Russian-language documents, with a concentration on World War II, Cold War, and various Soviet/Russian misdeeds.
translatinghistory.org
translatinghistory.org
Timing is everything. We're currently working on these documents and hope to get them published today.
3/3 The documents in question, now declassified, are currently being translated from Russian and will be published to translatinghistory.org, an independent website that publishes translations of declassified Russian-language documents from the past 100 years. @translatinghistory.bsky.social
Translating History
Unpublished Declassified Soviet Archives
translatinghistory.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Timing is everything. We're currently working on these documents and hope to get them published today.
An opportunity lost: Good will between the US and USSR following the assassination of JFK can be felt in this collection of Top Secret reports and correspondence. Hopes ran high for common ground, and then came LBJ and intensified operations in Vietnam. Cancel the Christmas cards.
1963: A Cold War Stand-Down: Top Secret Documents on Kremlin Response to JFK Assassination
On November 22, 1963, US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The event shocked the entire world and elicited waves of sympathy on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The genera…
translatinghistory.org
November 10, 2025 at 7:42 PM
An opportunity lost: Good will between the US and USSR following the assassination of JFK can be felt in this collection of Top Secret reports and correspondence. Hopes ran high for common ground, and then came LBJ and intensified operations in Vietnam. Cancel the Christmas cards.
1963: A Cold War Stand-Down: Top Secret Documents on Kremlin Response to JFK Assassination
On November 22, 1963, US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The event shocked the entire world and elicited waves of sympathy on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The generally…
On November 22, 1963, US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The event shocked the entire world and elicited waves of sympathy on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The generally…
1963: A Cold War Stand-Down: Top Secret Documents on Kremlin Response to JFK Assassination
On November 22, 1963, US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The event shocked the entire world and elicited waves of sympathy on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The generally positive attitude in the USSR towards the young American president was finally solidified after the publication in Pravda on June 11, 1963, of his keynote speech "Reconsidering Our Attitude Towards Peace." His openly expressed sympathies for the Russian nation and culture, and his firm conviction that it was possible and necessary to reach an agreement with the Communists on peace and cooperation, despite the ideological divide – all this seemed to open a new page in world history.
translatinghistory.org
November 10, 2025 at 7:40 PM
1963: A Cold War Stand-Down: Top Secret Documents on Kremlin Response to JFK Assassination
On November 22, 1963, US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The event shocked the entire world and elicited waves of sympathy on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The generally…
On November 22, 1963, US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The event shocked the entire world and elicited waves of sympathy on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The generally…
Top Secret 1962 KGB document shows a Kremlin not so worried about the thousands of illegal executions committed during Stalin's reign of terror, but being caught lying about them is a bridge too far.
1962: Lies about Stalin-Era Illegal Executions Come Back to Haunt the KGB
On 6 March 1953, a massive warm front struck otherwise icy northern Europe, and wound its way east- and westward, eventually circling the globe. The reason for the warmer than normal air temperatur…
translatinghistory.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Top Secret 1962 KGB document shows a Kremlin not so worried about the thousands of illegal executions committed during Stalin's reign of terror, but being caught lying about them is a bridge too far.
1962: Lies about Stalin-Era Illegal Executions Come Back to Haunt the KGB
On 6 March 1953, a massive warm front struck otherwise icy northern Europe, and wound its way east- and westward, eventually circling the globe. The reason for the warmer than normal air temperatures was the massive sigh of…
On 6 March 1953, a massive warm front struck otherwise icy northern Europe, and wound its way east- and westward, eventually circling the globe. The reason for the warmer than normal air temperatures was the massive sigh of…
1962: Lies about Stalin-Era Illegal Executions Come Back to Haunt the KGB
On 6 March 1953, a massive warm front struck otherwise icy northern Europe, and wound its way east- and westward, eventually circling the globe. The reason for the warmer than normal air temperatures was the massive sigh of relief simultaneously exhaled from the entire population of the Soviet Union upon learning that Josef Stalin was dead. And not only merely dead, but clearly most sincerely dead.
translatinghistory.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:24 AM
1962: Lies about Stalin-Era Illegal Executions Come Back to Haunt the KGB
On 6 March 1953, a massive warm front struck otherwise icy northern Europe, and wound its way east- and westward, eventually circling the globe. The reason for the warmer than normal air temperatures was the massive sigh of…
On 6 March 1953, a massive warm front struck otherwise icy northern Europe, and wound its way east- and westward, eventually circling the globe. The reason for the warmer than normal air temperatures was the massive sigh of…
Documents declassified by Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) show that proving the Soviet state-supported famine #Holodomor through the census was a crime punishable by death. An incredible tale. #Ukraine #USSR
Census Takers Executed by Soviet Authorities in 1938 for Unwittingly Revealing Millions of Ukrainians Were Lost to the Holdomor
Hopes were certainly high when Stalin declared a census be taken in 1937 across the entire Soviet Union. As the illustration above shows, gigantic success was anticipated for socialism in the USSR.…
translatinghistory.org
November 3, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Documents declassified by Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) show that proving the Soviet state-supported famine #Holodomor through the census was a crime punishable by death. An incredible tale. #Ukraine #USSR
Census Takers Executed by Soviet Authorities in 1938 for Unwittingly Revealing Millions of Ukrainians Were Lost to the Holdomor
Hopes were certainly high when Stalin declared a census be taken in 1937 across the entire Soviet Union. As the illustration above shows, gigantic success was anticipated…
Hopes were certainly high when Stalin declared a census be taken in 1937 across the entire Soviet Union. As the illustration above shows, gigantic success was anticipated…
Census Takers Executed by Soviet Authorities in 1938 for Unwittingly Revealing Millions of Ukrainians Were Lost to the Holdomor
Hopes were certainly high when Stalin declared a census be taken in 1937 across the entire Soviet Union. As the illustration above shows, gigantic success was anticipated for socialism in the USSR. But as the results started rolling in, Soviet leadership was in for a few surprises. One of the questions asked was whether or not the individuals being polled felt they were religious.
translatinghistory.org
November 3, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Census Takers Executed by Soviet Authorities in 1938 for Unwittingly Revealing Millions of Ukrainians Were Lost to the Holdomor
Hopes were certainly high when Stalin declared a census be taken in 1937 across the entire Soviet Union. As the illustration above shows, gigantic success was anticipated…
Hopes were certainly high when Stalin declared a census be taken in 1937 across the entire Soviet Union. As the illustration above shows, gigantic success was anticipated…
The last of the series of classified reports on Soviet handling of deserting American servicemen. The CPSU is briefed by the KGB on the new additions arriving from Japan, and efforts to turn these into Soviet wins before they depart for such "neutral" countries as North Korea and Cuba.
The Intrepid Four: Wrap-Up of the Soviet Propaganda Program to Exploit More US Vietnam War Deserters
This wraps up (for now, pending additional document releases) our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For furt…
translatinghistory.org
November 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM
The last of the series of classified reports on Soviet handling of deserting American servicemen. The CPSU is briefed by the KGB on the new additions arriving from Japan, and efforts to turn these into Soviet wins before they depart for such "neutral" countries as North Korea and Cuba.
The Intrepid Four: Wrap-Up of the Soviet Propaganda Program to Exploit More US Vietnam War Deserters
This wraps up (for now, pending additional document releases) our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For…
This wraps up (for now, pending additional document releases) our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For…
The Intrepid Four: Wrap-Up of the Soviet Propaganda Program to Exploit More US Vietnam War Deserters
This wraps up (for now, pending additional document releases) our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here. Document 8: Memorandum from KGB Chairman Yu.V. Andropov to the CPSU Central Committee, 26 April 1968: TOP SECRET…
translatinghistory.org
November 3, 2025 at 5:04 PM
The Intrepid Four: Wrap-Up of the Soviet Propaganda Program to Exploit More US Vietnam War Deserters
This wraps up (for now, pending additional document releases) our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For…
This wraps up (for now, pending additional document releases) our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For…
Top Secret documents continue to expose the network of cooperation to bring deserting US servicemen into the Soviet Union for propaganda exploitation "to the advantage of the USSR". Also includes a nice link to an excellent declassified US document that provides additional Western context.
The Intrepid Four: More US Servicemen Fall into the Soviet Propaganda Machine
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first repo…
translatinghistory.org
November 3, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Top Secret documents continue to expose the network of cooperation to bring deserting US servicemen into the Soviet Union for propaganda exploitation "to the advantage of the USSR". Also includes a nice link to an excellent declassified US document that provides additional Western context.
The Intrepid Four: More US Servicemen Fall into the Soviet Propaganda Machine
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here.…
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here.…
The Intrepid Four: More US Servicemen Fall into the Soviet Propaganda Machine
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here. Additional information on the Intrepid sailors is easily found throughout the Internet. One declassified report that offers a bit of the American point of view (from diplomatic and covert sources) …
translatinghistory.org
November 3, 2025 at 1:40 PM
The Intrepid Four: More US Servicemen Fall into the Soviet Propaganda Machine
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here.…
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here.…
The series of classified documents from 1967 on the USS Intrepid's deserting sailors continues. Brezhnev's name makes an appearance as in favor of the measures introduced to exploit the young men during the 5-7 days over which they will be staying in the USSR.
The Intrepid Four: US Navy Deserters Begin to Feel Moscow’s Pressure
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first repo…
translatinghistory.org
November 2, 2025 at 11:04 PM
The series of classified documents from 1967 on the USS Intrepid's deserting sailors continues. Brezhnev's name makes an appearance as in favor of the measures introduced to exploit the young men during the 5-7 days over which they will be staying in the USSR.
The Intrepid Four: US Navy Deserters Begin to Feel Moscow’s Pressure
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here. Document…
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here. Document…
The Intrepid Four: US Navy Deserters Begin to Feel Moscow’s Pressure
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here. Document 4: A paper (from G.V. Shumeyko, head of the International Department of the CPSU Central Committee, November 22, 1967): "On the exchange of opinions in the department (November 21, 1967) on the implementation of measures in interviews with correspondents from the magazines Novoye Vremya, Sovetskiy Soyuz, Paris Match, and the newspaper Moscow News, for the meeting with Moscow State University students and Vietnamese correspondents (with the consent of the sailors), organizing material assistance, and transferring them to the West"
translatinghistory.org
November 2, 2025 at 11:01 PM
The Intrepid Four: US Navy Deserters Begin to Feel Moscow’s Pressure
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here. Document…
This continues our short series of translations relating to the Intrepid Four and their handling for propaganda purposes by the Soviet Union. For further information, please refer to our first report in the series here. Document…
Four US sailors from the aircraft carrier provide the Soviets an opportunity to apply a master class in propaganda in this series of ten translated Top Secret documents.
The Intrepid Four: The Soviet Propaganda Campaign Exploiting US Navy Deserters During Vietnam
Desertion from war is as old as war itself. The US involvement in Vietnam saw desertion reach its newest heights, with more than half a million US service members fleeing its ranks, but it can be a…
translatinghistory.org
November 2, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Four US sailors from the aircraft carrier provide the Soviets an opportunity to apply a master class in propaganda in this series of ten translated Top Secret documents.
The Intrepid Four: The Soviet Propaganda Campaign Exploiting US Navy Deserters During Vietnam
Desertion from war is as old as war itself. The US involvement in Vietnam saw desertion reach its newest heights, with more than half a million US service members fleeing its ranks, but it can be argued…
Desertion from war is as old as war itself. The US involvement in Vietnam saw desertion reach its newest heights, with more than half a million US service members fleeing its ranks, but it can be argued…
The Intrepid Four: The Soviet Propaganda Campaign Exploiting US Navy Deserters During Vietnam
Desertion from war is as old as war itself. The US involvement in Vietnam saw desertion reach its newest heights, with more than half a million US service members fleeing its ranks, but it can be argued that none were so public or pronounced as that of the so-called "Intrepid Four." On 23 October 1967, four US sailors (Richard D.
translatinghistory.org
November 2, 2025 at 12:50 AM
The Intrepid Four: The Soviet Propaganda Campaign Exploiting US Navy Deserters During Vietnam
Desertion from war is as old as war itself. The US involvement in Vietnam saw desertion reach its newest heights, with more than half a million US service members fleeing its ranks, but it can be argued…
Desertion from war is as old as war itself. The US involvement in Vietnam saw desertion reach its newest heights, with more than half a million US service members fleeing its ranks, but it can be argued…
1940: Top Secret document outlining plan for widespread Soviet repressions in Lithuania, giving rise to Lithuanian freedom fighters who will come to side with Nazi Germany after the USSR is invaded, because why the hell wouldn't they?
1940: Kickoff of Soviet Country-Wide Repressions Against Lithuanian Opposition Leaders
The following is a translation of the four-page Top Secret covert activity plan of the Lithuanian Department of State Security, dated 7 July 1940, calling for the arrest and elimination of the lead…
translatinghistory.org
October 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM
1940: Top Secret document outlining plan for widespread Soviet repressions in Lithuania, giving rise to Lithuanian freedom fighters who will come to side with Nazi Germany after the USSR is invaded, because why the hell wouldn't they?
1940: Kickoff of Soviet Country-Wide Repressions Against Lithuanian Opposition Leaders
The following is a translation of the four-page Top Secret covert activity plan of the Lithuanian Department of State Security, dated 7 July 1940, calling for the arrest and elimination of the leadership of…
The following is a translation of the four-page Top Secret covert activity plan of the Lithuanian Department of State Security, dated 7 July 1940, calling for the arrest and elimination of the leadership of…
1940: Kickoff of Soviet Country-Wide Repressions Against Lithuanian Opposition Leaders
The following is a translation of the four-page Top Secret covert activity plan of the Lithuanian Department of State Security, dated 7 July 1940, calling for the arrest and elimination of the leadership of "anti-state" parties. This would be the first of a series of repressive activities by Soviet internal affairs and state security agencies in Lithuania which led to the creation in the autumn of 1940 of the Lithuanian Activist Front (Lietuvių Aktyvistų Frontas, LAF), an underground nationalist organization closely linked to German intelligence services.
translatinghistory.org
October 22, 2025 at 4:27 PM
1940: Kickoff of Soviet Country-Wide Repressions Against Lithuanian Opposition Leaders
The following is a translation of the four-page Top Secret covert activity plan of the Lithuanian Department of State Security, dated 7 July 1940, calling for the arrest and elimination of the leadership of…
The following is a translation of the four-page Top Secret covert activity plan of the Lithuanian Department of State Security, dated 7 July 1940, calling for the arrest and elimination of the leadership of…
Top Secret document: Soviet physicists develop an airborne radioactive particle sampler by flying a hydroplane through the radioactive cloud from Bikini Atoll nuke testing, 1946.
Soviet Scientists Develop Experiment to Conduct Air Sampling near US ‘Operation Crossroads’ Nuclear Test Sites
In 1946, the head of the KGB First Directorate, Boris Vannikov, sent Lavrentiy Beria an appeal from Soviet Academy of Science physicists to help them conduct airborne experiments that would allow t…
translatinghistory.org
October 20, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Top Secret document: Soviet physicists develop an airborne radioactive particle sampler by flying a hydroplane through the radioactive cloud from Bikini Atoll nuke testing, 1946.
Soviet Scientists Develop Experiment to Conduct Air Sampling near US ‘Operation Crossroads’ Nuclear Test Sites
In 1946, the head of the KGB First Directorate, Boris Vannikov, sent Lavrentiy Beria an appeal from Soviet Academy of Science physicists to help them conduct airborne experiments that…
In 1946, the head of the KGB First Directorate, Boris Vannikov, sent Lavrentiy Beria an appeal from Soviet Academy of Science physicists to help them conduct airborne experiments that…
Soviet Scientists Develop Experiment to Conduct Air Sampling near US ‘Operation Crossroads’ Nuclear Test Sites
In 1946, the head of the KGB First Directorate, Boris Vannikov, sent Lavrentiy Beria an appeal from Soviet Academy of Science physicists to help them conduct airborne experiments that would allow them to collect radioactive particles near nuclear testing sites associated with the US 'Operation Crossroads'. The concept would have Beria instruct Commander in Chief of the Soviet Navy, Admiral…
translatinghistory.org
October 20, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Soviet Scientists Develop Experiment to Conduct Air Sampling near US ‘Operation Crossroads’ Nuclear Test Sites
In 1946, the head of the KGB First Directorate, Boris Vannikov, sent Lavrentiy Beria an appeal from Soviet Academy of Science physicists to help them conduct airborne experiments that…
In 1946, the head of the KGB First Directorate, Boris Vannikov, sent Lavrentiy Beria an appeal from Soviet Academy of Science physicists to help them conduct airborne experiments that…
Bottom line in November 1941: Japan needs oil, and it isn't going to find them close to home. Under threat are the Dutch East Indies, China, and yes, perhaps the Soviet Union. Sources in this report suggest that Japan's oil requirements may putting the country's back against the wall.
translatinghistory.org
October 13, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Bottom line in November 1941: Japan needs oil, and it isn't going to find them close to home. Under threat are the Dutch East Indies, China, and yes, perhaps the Soviet Union. Sources in this report suggest that Japan's oil requirements may putting the country's back against the wall.
Countdown to Pearl Harbor: November 1941 Encrypted Telegram Explains Japan’s Next Actions if US Negotiations Break Down
The following is a translation of a Top Secret encrypted telegram dated 25 November 1941 from unidentified Soviet agents in Tokyo regarding the potential for Japan being "forced…
The following is a translation of a Top Secret encrypted telegram dated 25 November 1941 from unidentified Soviet agents in Tokyo regarding the potential for Japan being "forced…
Countdown to Pearl Harbor: November 1941 Encrypted Telegram Explains Japan’s Next Actions if US Negotiations Break Down
The following is a translation of a Top Secret encrypted telegram dated 25 November 1941 from unidentified Soviet agents in Tokyo regarding the potential for Japan being "forced to" seize the Dutch East Indies in the event of failure of Japanese-American negotiations. Note that, while the telegram was transmitted on 25 November, it wasn’t received until the 28th and deciphered on the 29th.
translatinghistory.org
October 13, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Countdown to Pearl Harbor: November 1941 Encrypted Telegram Explains Japan’s Next Actions if US Negotiations Break Down
The following is a translation of a Top Secret encrypted telegram dated 25 November 1941 from unidentified Soviet agents in Tokyo regarding the potential for Japan being "forced…
The following is a translation of a Top Secret encrypted telegram dated 25 November 1941 from unidentified Soviet agents in Tokyo regarding the potential for Japan being "forced…
Curious ad campaigns have been popping up across Russia promoting mental health support for Ukraine veterans. Official military publications are lackluster in their forced effort.
Russian Ministry of Defense Promotes Mental Health Support for Soldiers Returning from Ukraine
As early as 1 October, official Russian Federation Ministry of Defense publications began publishing information promoting an Armed Forces Mental Health Support Hotline. Specifically aimed at soldi…
translatinghistory.org
October 8, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Curious ad campaigns have been popping up across Russia promoting mental health support for Ukraine veterans. Official military publications are lackluster in their forced effort.
Russian Ministry of Defense Promotes Mental Health Support for Soldiers Returning from Ukraine
As early as 1 October, official Russian Federation Ministry of Defense publications began publishing information promoting an Armed Forces Mental Health Support Hotline. Specifically aimed at soldiers…
As early as 1 October, official Russian Federation Ministry of Defense publications began publishing information promoting an Armed Forces Mental Health Support Hotline. Specifically aimed at soldiers…
Russian Ministry of Defense Promotes Mental Health Support for Soldiers Returning from Ukraine
As early as 1 October, official Russian Federation Ministry of Defense publications began publishing information promoting an Armed Forces Mental Health Support Hotline. Specifically aimed at soldiers returning from the so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine and their families, the announcement states that hotline operators will provide cost-free, around-the-clock mental health assistance and informational psychological support to all returning service members and their families.
translatinghistory.org
October 8, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Russian Ministry of Defense Promotes Mental Health Support for Soldiers Returning from Ukraine
As early as 1 October, official Russian Federation Ministry of Defense publications began publishing information promoting an Armed Forces Mental Health Support Hotline. Specifically aimed at soldiers…
As early as 1 October, official Russian Federation Ministry of Defense publications began publishing information promoting an Armed Forces Mental Health Support Hotline. Specifically aimed at soldiers…
Reposted by Translating History
Russia has suspended the right of innocent passage of foreign vessels along the Kaliningrad coast for the rest of the year, and it is far more than simply much ado about nothing. Read why.
Russia Suspends Right of Innocent Passage in Baltic Sea Along Coast of Kaliningrad For Remainder of 2025
On 8 October 2025, the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense published notification of “the suspension of right of innocent passage through the territorial waters of the Russian Federation&#…
translatinghistory.org
October 8, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Russia has suspended the right of innocent passage of foreign vessels along the Kaliningrad coast for the rest of the year, and it is far more than simply much ado about nothing. Read why.