Stalin planned 15 giant battleships and the Soviet Union never finished one

historyWikipedia1938–1940s · Soviet Union

Stalin planned 15 giant battleships and the Soviet Union never finished one

the gist

The Soviet Union planned fifteen Sovetsky Soyuz-class battleships in the late 1930s, designed to rival Germany's Bismarck class and in size the Japanese Yamato and planned American Montana classes. They would have carried nine 406 mm guns. But Soviet industry couldn't make the thick armour or build such large ships, and construction of the first four was plagued with problems. One was cancelled in October 1940 after serious flaws were found, and the other three were suspended after Germany invaded in June 1941. All three surviving hulls were scrapped in the late 1940s. None was ever completed.

so what

The failed programme shows the limits of industrial capacity and ambition under Stalin, and that the age of the battleship ended with aircraft carriers rising to dominance.

fun fact

The battleship era effectively ended in World War II, when aircraft carriers proved more important at sea.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗