Russian Revolution, October 1917. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (Ulyanov - 1870-1924). Undated Communist poster.

Russia

A short history of quarantine. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A line-up of girls ready to play football, somewhere in England during the First World War, c1917. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

First World War

10 facts you (probably) didn't know about the First World War

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler watch a Nazi parade staged for the Italian dictators's visit to Germany. (Photo by Getty Images)

Dictators explained. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Burglar Looks In, Picture Post 1950. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Burglary: a modern history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Youths salute Adolf Hitler

Second World War

Hitler Youth: how the Third Reich used children’s organisations to wage war

From Allies to enemies. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A statue of Leif Eriksson, Erik the Red's son, who sailed to North America, c1000 AD. (Image by RF/Getty Images)

Russia, North America and the Middle East: where did the Vikings visit to trade and raid?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sir Anthony Blunt, British art historian and Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures

Who was Sir Anthony Blunt and the Cambridge Five? Plus 4 others who spied for the Soviets

Black and white image of Russian soldiers using a canon

Trial by fire: how a fortress siege changed the course of World War One. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Fortress: An epic battle of World War I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen of hearts: When Catherine's husband Tsar Peter III alienated his people, they instead turned to his wife, and she was proclaimed the rightful ruler.

General Early Modern

Catherine the Great: your guide to the famed Empress of Russia

Illustration by Davide Bonazzi.

The WW2 obsession: why the world can't move on from 1945. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

In pictures: Soviet cosmonauts and the birth of the space age

Catherine the Great: fact and fiction. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The siege of Sevastopol

Q&AWhy did Britain fight the Crimean War?

(Photo by Westend61/Roman Märzinger/Getty Images)

The Zinoviev Letter conspiracy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

9 notable ambassadors in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The last Russian royal family, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra and their five children, were shot and bayonetted to death by their Bolshevik guards in the early hours of 17 July 1918. (Photo by Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

The legacy of the Romanovs: how is the last Russian royal family remembered in Russia?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Your guide to Karl Marx: who was he, what was the Communist Manifesto and why is he important?

A colour illustration of First World War allies, the German Reich and Austria-Hungary, featuring soldiers shaking hands, their troops and national flags, c1915. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

First World War

Q&AWho was involved in the First World War? Who was on each side?

Russian troops hoist the red banner of the Soviet Army after Stalingrad

Stalingrad: the crushing of the Reich. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration by Davide Bonazzi.

Did the Cold War ever really end?

Lady Sybil Grey, an indomitable Englishwoman who, as a nurse in Russia, led a field hospital and had a grandstand view of the February 1917 revolution that toppled the tsar. (Illustration by Sue Gent for BBC History Magazine)

The LibraryLady Sybil Grey: a lady in the line of fire. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Romanovs, 1913: Nicholas II with his wife and children. (Photo by Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

QuizThe Romanovs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

St Basil's Cathdral, Moscow. (Photo by Dreamstime)

The spy who changed the Cold War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The murder of the Romanovs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

People approach the VI Lenin Stadium, now known as the Luzhniki Stadium, in Moscow, in 1956. (Photo by James Whitmore/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)

The history of Luzhniki Stadium, home of the 2018 football World Cup final. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The mystery of Donald Maclean. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

1983: the Cold War almost goes nuclear. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Marshall Plan and the Cold War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.