The collapse of the U.S.S.R. came in December 1991 after controversial policies introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev and growing internal conflict brought an end to the 74-year rule of the global superpower. A Soviet soldier reads a leaflet calling on people to resist the coup, which started on Aug. 18, 1991, when Communist leaders demanded that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev transfer power to his vice president. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images Soviet Army tanks in Moscow's Red Square. Read More...
These companies made fortunes and grew to what they are today with help from Hitler.Hugo Jaeger/Timepix/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAustrian automobile manufacturer Ferdinand Porsche (left, in dark suit) presents a newly designed convertible Volkswagen car to Adolf Hitler for his 50th birthday. Berlin, Germany. April 20, 1939.
Nowadays, we rightly view the Nazi regime as an evil empire, horrific in their actions and despicable in their ideology. However, Nazi Germany was not always viewed as such. Read More...
The family of gangster Al Capone is auctioning off 174 personal items, including his gun, diamond-monogrammed jewelry, personal letters, and even the last photo of him ever taken. Witherell’sAl Capone’s favorite gun, a 1911 semi-automatic, 0.45-caliber pistol, is expected to fetch up to $150,000.
Suffering from an advanced stage of untreated syphilis, Al Capone spent his final days in a hallucinatory trance and ranting at imaginary guests. Dead at 48 years old, he left behind a family and a Florida mansion full of valuable personal belongings — which his surviving granddaughters are auctioning off in October. Read More...
