There’s a legend that, by opening up the tomb of Timur in Samarkand, Soviet archaeologists let loose a terrible curse. And that’s why the USSR was attacked by the Nazis.

Which countries does the museum still cooperate with, what will it put on display to replace canceled shows in Moscow, and will contemporary art be shown at the New Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val? Zelfira Tregulova, director of the State Tretyakov Gallery, answers these questions for Russia Beyond.

Heroic city defenders, talented Red Army commanders and even patriotic mice helped to defeat the Germans in Stalingrad. Find out just how they did it in our guide to the most important battle of World War II.

From iconic and philosophical to obscure and moronic - what did these trippy Soviet cartoons of the late USSR look like?

How does the harsh Siberian climate affect the underground transport and which Arctic ghost town can be seen on the walls of the Novosibirsk Metro?