The Transnistria region in Moldova is a Cold War relic. Along with Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenian-controlled Azerbaijan and South Ossetia in Georgia, it is…
An Affair to Remember and a Job to Forget: Falling for a Communist during the Height of McCarthyism
In 1953, the Department of State removed John F. Melby from the Foreign Service because of his affair with acclaimed…
Today in History
Find articles about diplomatic events from each day of the year Here’s a handy calendar of events linked to Moments…
Soldiers, Please do not Touch the Ukrainian Women
Every November 10th, the United States Marine Corps celebrates its birthday with a traditional ball and cake-cutting ceremony. The first formal ball was…
Radio Free Europe: An Insider’s View
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy Radio Free Europe: An Insider’s View Veteran RFE insider J. F. Brown’s story of the…
The Fall of the Berlin Wall — November 9, 1989
At the end of World War II, Germany was partitioned into four separate areas, each controlled by the four allied…
Dissidents, Spies, and Attack Cartoons — Life at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana
Diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba were frozen in time for more than 50 years. After the U.S. formally severed…
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956
The early 1950s witnessed a thaw in the Communist monolith. Stalin’s death in 1953 led to Khrushchev’s “secret speech” in…
Establishing Ties with Pakistan — 1947
It was the end of one era and the beginning of another. In August 1947 the British Empire, which had…
The Birth of the Chemical Weapons Convention (and the OPCW)
Recent events in Syria have once again spotlighted the dangers of chemical weapons and international efforts to catalog and destroy…