Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini descending the stairs of a chartered Air France Boeing 747 upon his arrival at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on February 1, 1979, marking his return from exile to lead the Islamic Revolution…
In February 1979, Iran changed forever when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from more than 14 years in exile and became the face of a revolution against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Khomeini had been forced out of Iran in the 1960s, spending time in Turkey, Iraq, and eventually France. From abroad, his speeches and messages were copied onto cassette tapes, smuggled into Iran, and passed from hand to hand. By late 1978, strikes and mass demonstrations had brought the country to a standstill, including Iran’s oil industry, which collapsed from nearly 6 million barrels a day to a tiny fraction of its usual output.
Just days after Khomeini returned, the Shah’s government fell apart. The Shah had already fled the country, the military declared neutrality, and Iran soon voted to abolish the monarchy. In April 1979, the country became the Islamic Republic of Iran, with religious authority built directly into the state through the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, or guardianship of the jurist.
While Khomeini was in France, foreign reporters had unusually open access to him. That openness disappeared after the revolution, making those final months abroad one of the last truly free media windows around Iran for decades.
Crowds greeting him in Tehran were estimated at 3 to 5 million people.
— @archeohistories Oct 18, 2026
The historical photograph depicts a severely disabled Soviet WWII veteran paying his respects at an Eternal Flame memorial (Moloch of War) during the Victory Day commemorations in 1966. Captured by Anatoly Grakhov, a photojournalist for TASS. The photo (titled “Memory” or “Pamyat”) won an international award in Amsterdam…
A severely wounded veteran—who lost his legs and used a small wheeled platform and homemade supports to move around—bowing before the flame to remember fallen comrades.
Moloch of War, referencing the ancient Canaanite deity associated with sacrificial offerings. Over time, the name came to symbolize anything that demands terrible human sacrifice.
The Soviet Union suffered the greatest losses of any country in World War II, an estimated 27 million dead, soldiers and civilians combined. Millions more came home wounded, including hundreds of thousands of amputees.
For many disabled veterans, life after the war was hard. Prosthetics were scarce, pensions were small, and some were removed from big cities and sent to remote institutions, out of public view.
Victory Day, celebrated on May 9, honors the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. It became an official day off again in 1965, after nearly two decades as a regular working day, and grew into one of the most important holidays in the country.
Moscow’s best-known Eternal Flame, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin, was lit in 1967, a year after this photo was reportedly taken.
— @archeohistories Oct 18, 2026
Marilyn Monroe visiting an injured U.S. soldier at the Tokyo Army Hospital in Japan on February 5, 1954…
This iconic photo was taken on February 5, 1954, at the Tokyo Army Hospital in Japan. Monroe knelt beside the soldier’s bed to greet him face to face, since he was lying on his stomach while recovering.
At the time, Monroe was on her honeymoon. She had married baseball legend Joe DiMaggio just a few weeks earlier, in January 1954, and traveled with him to Japan, where he had business tied to baseball.
The Korean War had ended in an armistice the summer before, and many wounded American servicemen were still being treated at military hospitals in Japan. During the trip, Monroe visited patients, chatted with them and signed autographs, including on casts.
She was 27 and already one of the biggest movie stars in the world, after hits like “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “How to Marry a Millionaire.”
During the same trip, Monroe flew to Korea and performed 10 shows for more than 100,000 U.S. troops in freezing weather. She later said it was the first time she truly felt like a star.
— @archeohistories Oct 18, 2026
#Patrushev
Context of the 2026 #Espionage Scandal
Following his retirement from public service in 2009, #Hanning entered the private sector and oversaw the Russia division for the British corporate intelligence firm G3, while also chairing other consultancies. [1, 2, 3]
German prosecutors suspect that financial pressure—specifically a €4 million debt liability stemming from the 2019 collapse of the Latvian lender PNB Banka—may have driven Hanning to monetize his access to classified materials. While security circles indicate that Russia may not have been the direct recipient of the 2026 leaked files, Hanning’s persistent relationship with Patrushev and other Kremlin-linked figures (like former Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin) continues to be a central focal point for intelligence agencies assessing the full extent of the security breach. [1, 2]
Hanning and Patrushev – Google Search google.com/search?q=Hanning+…
Context of the 2026 #Espionage Scandal
Following his retirement from public service in 2009, #Hanning entered the private sector and oversaw the Russia division for the British corporate intelligence firm G3, while also chairing other consultancies. [1, 2, 3]
German prosecutors suspect that financial pressure—specifically a €4 million debt liability stemming from the 2019 collapse of the Latvian lender PNB Banka—may have driven Hanning to monetize his access to classified materials. While security circles indicate that Russia may not have been the direct recipient of the 2026 leaked files, Hanning’s persistent relationship with Patrushev and other Kremlin-linked figures (like former Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin) continues to be a central focal point for intelligence agencies assessing the full extent of the security breach. [1, 2]
Hanning and Patrushev – Google Search google.com/search?q=Hanning+…
#Patrushev
Context of the 2026 #Espionage Scandal
Following his retirement from public service in 2009, #Hanning entered the private sector and oversaw the Russia division for the British corporate intelligence firm G3, while also chairing other consultancies. [1, 2, 3]
German prosecutors suspect that financial pressure—specifically a €4 million debt liability stemming from the 2019 collapse of the Latvian lender PNB Banka—may have driven Hanning to monetize his access to classified materials. While security circles indicate that Russia may not have been the direct recipient of the 2026 leaked files, Hanning’s persistent relationship with Patrushev and other Kremlin-linked figures (like former Russian Railways chief Vladimir Yakunin) continues to be a central focal point for intelligence agencies assessing the full extent of the security breach. [1, 2]
Hanning and Patrushev – Google Search google.com/search?q=Hanning+…— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Oct 18, 2026
#otd 1989: East Germany’s communist leader Erich Honecker is forced from power after 18 years.
Official reason: ill health.
Real reason: mass protests and a regime losing control.
Egon Krenz, his successor promises change. Just 22 days later, the Berlin Wall
#otd 1989: East Germany’s communist leader Erich Honecker is forced from power after 18 years.
Official reason: ill health.
Real reason: mass protests and a regime losing control.Egon Krenz, his successor promises change. Just 22 days later, the Berlin Wall
— @ColdWarPod Oct 18, 2026
Today in 1944, the Nazis give the late Erwin Rommel a lavish state funeral. Although the famed ‘Desert Fox’ chose to take poison after being implicated in the failed July 20 bomb plot against Hitler, propagandists opt to make the popular field marshal out to be a national hero.
— @MilHistNow Oct 18, 2026
The Wagner Group heir is making a killing in guns, drugs and gold. After his father died aboard an exploding plane, Pavel Prigozhin, 28, took command of the world’s most notorious mercenary force. on.wsj.com/4saD2aY
The Wagner Group heir is making a killing in guns, drugs and gold. After his father died aboard an exploding plane, Pavel Prigozhin, 28, took command of the world’s most notorious mercenary force. on.wsj.com/4saD2aY
— @WSJ Oct 18, 2026