Construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal (Belomorkanal). The canal was constructed between 1931 and 1933 by forced labor of Gulag inmates. According to official records and accounts in the works of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, between 12,000 and 240,000 laborers died during the construction of the canal, Russia, 1933.

Argentinian-born Marxist revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara (1928 - 1967), Cuban Minister of Industry, dressed in military fatigues, smokes a cigar and appears on the CBS current affairs program 'Face the Nation,' New York, New York, December 14, 1964. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

A portrait of Stalin, 1933. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Singer Frank Sinatra posing for a mug shot after being arrested and charged with "carrying on with a married woman" in 1938 in Bergen County, New Jersey. A scan of this mugshot was included in Sinatra's FBI file.

A Beijing demonstrator blocks the path of a tank convoy along the Avenue of Eternal Peace near Tiananmen Square during protests for freedom of speech and of press from the Chinese government. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Communism

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HISTORY

1848

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

The continent of Asia, home to the majority of the world's population and countries as diverse as China, South Korea and India, has thousands of years of rich history.

Asian History

Latin America encompasses Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, including all of South America as well as Mexico, Central America, and islands of the Caribbean. Latin American history saw colonization by the Spaniards and Portuguese, from the 15th through the 18th century, as well as independence movements in the early 19th century.

Latin American History

The 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. The era was marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging "generation gap."

1960s

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.

U.S. Government and Politics

South America is a large continent with a rich history including fascinating people and places like the Inca, Machu Picchu, Che Guevara, Augusto Pinochet, Easter Island and more.

South American History

1952

1935

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.

19th Century

1950

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

Cold War

1963

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

Communism

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Che Guevara

Reichstag Fire

Gulag

Great Terror

Stories

How George H.W. Bush Finished What Reagan Started in Ending the Cold War

Why Were the Rosenbergs Executed?

Who Was the Tank Man of Tiananmen Square?

Frank Sinatra’s Mob Ties and Other Secrets from His FBI File

This Day in History

Tito is made president of Yugoslavia for life

Karl Marx publishes Communist Manifesto

Mao’s Long March concludes

The Long March

Joseph McCarthy charges that Owen Lattimore is a Soviet spy

McCarran-Walter Act goes into effect, revising immigration laws