Russia milestones | Good News for Humankind

Crane bird in the snow, for article on Siberian crane recovery

Critically endangered Siberian crane populations have increased by nearly 50% over last decade

By / January 9, 2025 / Good News For Humankind

Siberian crane numbers in the eastern flyway have nearly doubled over the past decade, climbing to an estimated 7,000 birds today. That’s a remarkable turnaround for a Critically Endangered species whose other migratory populations have already vanished. The recovery comes from patient, cross-border work between conservationists in Russia and China to protect the wetland stopovers these cranes rely on, including Lake Poyang, which hosts nearly the entire wintering population. Local partnerships, school programs, and careful habitat management all played a role. It’s a hopeful reminder that saving a long-distance migratory bird means protecting the whole chain of places it touches — a lesson that resonates far beyond one species, for flyways and ecosystems everywhere.

Twitter launches privacy-protected site on the dark web to bypass Russia’s block

By Peter Schulte / March 10, 2022 / Good news links

Russia has blocked access to Facebook and has limited Twitter in an attempt to try to restrict the flow of information about its war in Ukraine.

Moscow gets its 500th electric bus

By Peter Schulte / November 20, 2020 / Good news links

Mosgortrans, a public transit company for the Moscow metro area, has reportedly put its 500th electric bus into service. This electric bus was produced by Kamaz, a Russian truck and engine (and apparently electric bus) manufacturer.

Toxic sulfur dioxide emissions fell across India, Russia, and China last year– dropping 6% globally

By Peter Schulte / October 30, 2020 / Good news links

In 2019, the levels of anthropogenic SO2 emissions fell worldwide by 6%. In only the second time ever, SO2 emissions fell in all three of the countries most responsible for emitting it: China, India, and Russia.

All-female crew embarks on Black Sea patrol in first for Russian Navy

By Peter Schulte / July 13, 2020 / Good news links

The voyage marks a symbolic step in Russian women’s quest to play a more active role in the armed forces, an institution dominated by men. The navy still holds barriers to entry for women.

Azerbaijan flag|b f fbf z, for article on Azerbaijan independence referendum

Azerbaijani voters confirm independence in a nationwide referendum

By Peter Schulte / December 29, 1991 / Archive of Human Genius

Azerbaijan’s independence referendum on December 29, 1991 drew an overwhelming yes from voters, confirming a break from Soviet rule just days before the USSR itself dissolved. The result gave democratic weight to a declaration parliament had passed four months earlier, closing seven decades of Soviet control over a land with deep, layered roots in the Caucasus.

Fall of the Berlin Wall 1989, for article on Berlin Wall fall

East Germans breach the Berlin Wall after decades of division

By Peter Schulte / November 9, 1989 / Archive of Human Genius

The Berlin Wall began to open on November 9, 1989, when a muddled government announcement sent East Germans streaming toward checkpoints guards no longer tried to hold. What followed was stranger and more human than any single night: teachers, border officers, and ordinary citizens quietly negotiating a new reality, day by day, for weeks.

Approach view of the Mir Space Station viewed from Space Shuttle Endeavour during the STS-89 rendezvous., for article on Mir space station

USSR launches Mir, the world’s first modular space station

By Peter Schulte / February 19, 1986 / Archive of Human Genius

Mir launched on 19 February 1986, when a Proton-K rocket carried the core module of humanity’s first modular space station into orbit above Kazakhstan. Over the next decade, Soviet and later Russian engineers added six more modules piece by piece, hosting visitors from more than a dozen countries. Mir proved people could live and work in space for months at a time.

Mikhail Gorbachev, for article on glasnost and perestroika

Gorbachev’s glasnost and perestroika reforms help end the Cold War

By Peter Schulte / May 1, 1985 / Archive of Human Genius

Perestroika began in the spring of 1985, when new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev admitted publicly what no Communist Party chief had before: the Soviet economy wasn’t working. What followed was extraordinary — competitive elections, a freer press, and the 1987 INF Treaty with Reagan, the first ever to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons.

Salyut, for article on Salyut space station

Soviet Union launches Salyut 1, humanity’s first crewed space station

By Peter Schulte / April 19, 1971 / Archive of Human Genius

Salyut 1 reached orbit on April 19, 1971, becoming the first crewed space station and opening the door to actually living in space, not just visiting. That June, the Soyuz 11 crew spent 23 days aboard — a breakthrough shadowed by their deaths on reentry. Every station since, from Mir to the ISS, traces its lineage here.