Revisiting Russia: Brush Up on the Cold War With 7 Pop Culture Picks

(Shot of vodka optional)
By EW Staff
March 14, 2017 at 06:08 PM EDT
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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) — Movies

Jack English/Focus Features

The star-studded film adaptation of John le Carré's 1974 page-turner is a labyrinth of Iron Curtain espionage. Gary Oldman's spymaster hunts for a Soviet mole in British intelligence, in which everyone is a suspect.

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A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben McIntyre (2014) — Books

Macintyre unspools the shocking, riveting history of an MI6 officer who betrayed his best friends — an MI6 agent and a CIA head — as a Soviet spy.

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Billy Joel's A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia (2014) — Music

Originally released as Концерт, Joel's second live album chronicled his 1987 tour's Soviet leg — just four years before the U.S.S.R. dissolved. This reissue includes additional tracks and a documentary about the jaunt.

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The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (1959-64) — TV

Everett Collection

Pottsylvanian villains Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale's repeated attempts to get one over the titular "Moose and Squirrel" were filled with satirical jokes, topical puns, and plenty of animated high jinks.

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Superman: Red Son By Mark Millar — Books

Millar's exploration of a Soviet-raised Superman presents a story that blends history with the mythos of the comics and infuses a deep rumination on politics and philosophy.

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The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964-68) — TV

Everett Collection

Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) were equally entertaining and relevant as an American and a Soviet spy who foiled baddies on dramatic and zany missions.

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 The Day After (1983) — Movies

ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images

ABC's TV movie depicting heartland nuclear holocaust was a what-if horror flick that chilled 100 million viewers. Sensationalistic agitprop pop and a searing generational marker.

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