Free Republic

Vitalij Kuprij, a member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra and a highly regarded Ukrainian-American pianist and keyboardist, died on Tuesday (Feb. 20) at 49, according to his friend and musical colleague Lars Eric Mattsson, a Finnish guitarist and producer. Kuprij performed with Trans-Siberian Orchestra on their latest seasonal tour throughout November and December 2023. And before rejoining the symphonic heavy metal band in 2021, he was also included in their lineup from 2009 to 2019. Indeed, the keyboardist was part of the group for 17 winter tours in total, where Trans-Siberian Orchestra are known for their holiday-driven stage show based on their...

A nuclear weapons command exercise by NATO in November 1983 prompted fear in the leadership of the Soviet Union that the maneuvers were a cover for a nuclear surprise attack by the United States, triggering a series of unparalleled Soviet military re­sponses, according to a top-secret U.S. intelligence review that has just been declassified. “In 1983, we may have inadvertently placed our relations with the Soviet Union on a hair trigger,” the review concluded.

Russia offers a bridge across history to connect Tokyo to the Trans-Siberian railway By The Siberian Times reporter 07 September 2017 Scheme would allow epic journeys from London to the Japanese capital with major international crossing between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. Project of the bridge between mainland and Sakhalin. Picture: Giprostroymost The ambitious plan gave a welcome dose of optimism to a region engulfed by tension over the North Korean nuclear tests. Such a road and rail bridge would tie together two countries - Russia and Japan - that have not signed a formal peace agreement ending the Second World War...

December 26, 2002 Trans-Siberian goes fully electric     By Anatoly Medetsky At a ceremony in a frozen village of the Russian Far East officials on Wednesday celebrated the end of electrification of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, an upgrade hoped to boost competitiveness of the world's longest rail track. The railroad has been advertising itself as the principal alternative to the sea route across the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal that most businesses now use to ship their containers from Asia to Europe. Russia has been negotiating to extend the route across North Korea to the port of Pusan in...