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From Compromise to Envy: The Rise and Fall of the First Triumvirate

The First Triumvirate, an informal alliance agreed in 60 BC, was an agreement between the three powerful men of the late Roman Republic, Gauius Julius Caesar, Gnaeius Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The three men didn’t have equal political beliefs and values. All of them entered the alliance for their own personal interests.

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Did the Soviets Avoid the Early Collapse of the Iron Curtain?

In the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet influence in Romania was very strong. The USSR controlled the country’s economy and political life. That was completely expected since the new government after the end of the Cold war was pro-Soviet. The first serious efforts to bring back sovereignty appeared in the 1960s. The communist government of Romania wanted to become economically independent and release the country from the covert and overt Soviet actions that made this country a satellite state under the strong control of the USSR. Therefore, regarding international relations, these two countries weren’t in equal position. The USSR had the power over Romania. And Romania wanted to make its own decisions. So, Soviet informal controls needed to be stopped.

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Down the Avenue News

Two German Resistance Groups That Made Hitler Afraid

During WWII, resistance was something that posed a serious threat to the Nazi regime. Members of the resistance groups were of different socioeconomic backgrounds, but also had different political affiliations. They were from the extreme left to extreme right of the political spectrum. They also spanned a wide spectrum of age – from youth to elderly. Their fighting activities posed a serious threat to the Nazis, but only two groups strengthened their position. In other words, they developed a strategy that helped them to become a truly serious opponent to the regime. The first was the Beck- Goerdeler Group, named after Carl Goerdeler and Ludwig Beck. The second group was Kreisau Circle with Helmuth James von Moltke. This group was named after von Moltke’s estate in Silesia.

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Operation RYAN: The Man Without a Face in an Elusive Program

During the early 80s, the world was again on the brink. The diplomatic relations between the East and the West were very unstable. There were a few factors. The Soviets believed the United States was going to start a nuclear attack. A personal element was present, too. Yury Andropov was haunted by the events in Hungary in the 1950s and how the once powerful Communist state began to crumble. Therefore, he justified operation RYAN, or Raketno Yadernoe Napadenie (Nuclear Missile Attack). The whole purpose of the operation was to collect intelligence to prevent a possible attack. In other words, the project was a sort of intelligence operation among the countries of the Iron Curtain, primarily the (former) Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic as their close ally. The program was initiated in May 1981.

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Down the Avenue News

[Gallery] Art Nouveau Posters Around the World

Art Nouveau is an international style of art, most popular between 1890 and 1910. The style breaks down the traditional distinction between fine arts and applied arts. The new technologies of printing made the graphic arts flourish in the Art Nouveau period. Therefore, take a look at the glamour, modernity, and beauty in our gallery…

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