Use this tag for claims which apply to the country of Russia or the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Questions tagged [russia]
137 questions
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Was the 2010 Polish presidential Tu-154 plane crash set up?
In 2010, a plane crash killed many top Polish officials. It occurred over Russian soil, and involved an aircraft carrying many politicians and military officials with a strong opposition towards the Russian government, which is known to be dishonest…
Jules
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Did Yuri Gagarin eat a lemon out a cup of tea when dining with the English Queen?
There is an anecdote, popular in Russia, about Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, who was served tea with lemon when dining with the English Queen.
After he had had the tea, he reached into the cup with a spoon (or, in some sources, even with his…
Quassnoi
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17
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Has Trump exonerated Russia for the downing of flight MH-17?
In an interview with the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, according to the NOS (Dutch Public Broadcasting), he said the following about the relations with the USA, in light of the recent elections in the USA and the coming elections in The…
SQB
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Was very little or no new medication developed in the USSR?
Prof. Robert (Haim) Belmaker, head of the Israeli Psychiatric Association, spoke today (2018-01-05) on the סדר יום / Daily Agenda radio program (Note this is a program in Hebrew).
At some point in the conversation he claimed that "during the USSR's…
einpoklum
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In the USSR's legal system, was everything illegal unless specifically allowed?
Alan Dershowitz was recently interviewed by Michael Tracey on the latter's podcast. At 09:20 into the interview, Dershowitz makes the following claim regarding the USSR legal system:
... unlike in the Soviet Union, where everything you did was [a]…
einpoklum
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14
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Did Stalin's son hide the death of a whole hockey team after a plane crash?
According to World Heritage Encyclopedia, in the Sverdlovsk air disaster of 5 January 1950 almost the entire national ice hockey team (VVS Moscow) died, which was covered up by Vasily Stalin (born Dzhugashvili):
According to a recent news article,…
Joaquin Barañao
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14
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Did Tsar Nicholas II write “1916 was cursed, 1917 will surely be better”?
Chess legend and political activist Gary Kasparov tweeted this New Year a claimed quote from Tsar Nicholas II’s diary: “The year 1916 was cursed; 1917 will surely be better!” (For those not versed in Russian history, 1917 was about as much worse as…
PLL
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Did Gen. Patton say "We defeated the wrong enemy?"
I've seen this quote in various far-right memes. Supposedly, Gen. George S. Patton, upon taking control of Berlin in 1945, said "We defeated the wrong enemy." The Communists, one supposes, were the right enemy. Is it an authentic quotation?
stackexchanger
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14
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Is the RS-28 Sarmat missile capable of destroying an area the size of France?
The Daily Mail claims
Russia has unveiled chilling pictures of its largest ever nuclear missile, capable of destroying an area the size of France.
Who estimated this level of destructive power? Based on what evidence? A weapon capable of…
Sklivvz
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14
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Was Aeroflot SU2074 intended target in MH17 shooting?
In recently published video and press release SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) claims that intended target for the SA-11 operated by Russian separatists was Russian Aeroflot flight SU2074 (aka AFL-2074) from Moscow to Larnaca, Cyrpus. They claim…
vartec
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Is Turkey trading oil with Islamic State?
Russia claims Turkey is trading oil with Islamic State:
Syria conflict: Russia accuses Erdogan of trading oil with IS (BBC News, 2 December 2015)
Russia presents proof of Turkey’s role in ISIS oil trade (Russia Today, 2 December 2015).
Does the…
gerrit
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13
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Does or did Russia support the Donbass People's Militia?
Many (western) sources claim that Putin (actively) supports the rebels in eastern Ukraine, more specifically the Donbass People's Militia. For example, BBC News writes:
Russia was obviously supporting the militants in the Donbass region, while…
gerrit
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13
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Is this graph of life expectancy pre and post Chernobyl accurate?
Is the following graph of male life expectancy of ex-Soviet states spanning Chernobyl accurate?
The source of the graph is a blog post (チェルノブイリ事故後の平均寿命), which according to google translate means "Life expectancy after the Chernobyl…
Andrew Grimm
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12
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Is there a Russian social media game called "Blue Whale" that incites self-violence and suicide?
According to the Daily Mail:
Police in Russia are investigating a rush of teenage suicide attempts amid fears that they may have been manipulated by sinister social media groups.
Two schoolgirls fell to their deaths from a building on the weekend…
Sakib Arifin
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Is Russia generations ahead in hypersonic missile development?
According to a news article on Russia Today, Russia is leading the US in hypersonic missile development by generations:
The bottom line is that Russia – in terms of hypersonic missile development – is about four generations ahead of the US, if we…
Levon
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