Author: Miss Cellania / Source: Neatorama The year 1963 was at the height of the Cold War. The US and the Soviet Union were in a space race and a nuclear arms race. Most of Eastern Europe was behind the Iron Curtain. Then on July 26, an earthquake hit. The city of Skopje, Macedonia, then a part

Source: Atlas Obscura One sorry journalist described the sauna room experience at the Russian Banya as akin to being “render[ed] like a brisket.” But the high-heat exertion in the banya’s “Russian room,” which is heated to 200°F by a wood-burning stove, came with a delectable reward: the option

Author: Maria Popova / Source: Brain Pickings What a disorienting feeling to wake up one hot early-August morning and realize that exactly fifteen early-August mornings earlier, I had awakened to face my first day on American soil, having arrived alone as a teenage immigrant from Eastern Europe

Source: Atlas Obscura Depending on the person you ask and what part of Eastern Europe he hails from, kissel is either a thick juice, a dessert soup, or even a gelatinous porridge. No matter where you find it, one thing is certain: Kissel is a veritable medley of forest-born ingredients and a

As North Korea vociferously condemns the US and the United Nations after the Security Council passed yet another round of sanctions against the restive regime, Russia is continuing to test ICBMs in preparation for a violent conflict on the neighboring Korean Peninsula while simultaneous calling for