USSR: The 1944 Football Victory – When the Soviet Red Army Beat Arsenal! (8.7.2018)

This was the 131st Motorized Rifle Regiment, composed of elite (Soviet) NKVD troops. This regiment required very fit young men to guard the communications channels through which Lend-Lease cargo was delivered to the Soviet Union, and to support public order in the capital of Iran; eventually participating in ensuring the security of the meeting between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin in Tehran. Among the soldiers and officers of this regiment, there were many athletes from different sports – including football, volleyball, wrestling, track events and weightlifting. Sports continued in Iran, in particular, the football team of the 131st Regiment held regular matches with Iranian teams. In total, in 1944-1945 there were 34 such meetings, of which our players won 30, drew two, and lost two.

Spain: Flag of the International Brigades – Explained! (22.6.2018)

The flag of the International Brigades represents those foreigners who volunteered to fight for the democratically elected (Socialist) government of Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The International Brigades were funded by the ‘Comintern’, or ‘Communist International’, with its headquarters in the Soviet Union, administered throughout the various international Branches of the Communist Party. Around 40,000 non-Spanish people volunteered, drawn from a broadly leftist political spectrum. As the fascist General Franco (supported as he was by the Catholic Church, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy) neared victory in 1938, the International Brigades were withdrawn from Spain, with the Republic being finally defeated a year later.

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