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The article presents a discussion on the history of the Soviet Union after World War II. Particular attention is paid to the persecution of National Socialists as part of political cleansing efforts by the Soviet government. Statistics are given regarding the placement of Germans in Soviet camps between 1945 and 1950. Further note is taken of Soviet deportations, forced labor arrangements, and attempts at reintegrating Germans into society. The article also discusses alternate Soviet punishments for war crimes committed by National Socialists during World War II.

The article discusses the development of the political and economic movement of socialism in the Soviet Union. It is noted that socialism in the Soviet Union was connected to the notion of revolution, but that reforms were rarely propagated since they were perceived as a means to repair capitalistic systems. However, the article suggests, economic and ideological system reforms were indeed consistent with socialism in the Soviet Union, although they were not called reforms. Further comments are made regarding the relations between Soviet government philosophies and the viewpoints of Soviet civilians.

The article presents a report on a workshop on the integration of territories gained during World War II into the postwar Soviet Union, organized by the Graduiertenschule für Ost- und Südosteuropastudien (Graduate School of Eastern and Southeastern European Studies) at the University of Munich, Germany, on July 4, 2014. The history of several places was discussed, including Lviv, Ukraine, Sakhalin, Russia, and Vilnius, Lithuania.

The article presents the summary of a workshop that focused on the legacy and memory of Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin that was held April 15-16, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. Topics under discussion included Gagarin's visit to Erfuhrt, Germany in 1963 for the German Democratic Republic elections, the representation of Yuri Gagarin and other Russian cosmonauts in Russian newspaper articles, as well as an analysis of his transmissions from outer space in the 1960s.