Soviet spy gadgets to go under hammer in Beverly Hills

This week, France 24 commemorates the 30 years of the dissolution of the USSR. We continue our journey through former Soviet republics in Georgia, where the Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys considerable power and influence. After 70 years of communist oppression, it turned into a driving force to achieve independence and rebuild the country. Today, its position is threatened by the country’s pro-European liberal youth.

Since its independence, Ukraine has been concerned with performing a balancing act between East and West. That changed with 2014's pro-Western revolution, which ushered in a policy of "decommunisation": condemning Soviet leaders for their crimes and removing all monuments to them. These measures have been wildly popular with some but less so with others, especially in Eastern regions that suffered from the capitalist transition. Gulliver Cragg reports from the Donbass.

We bring you a special edition of the FRANCE 24 Debate marking the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Growing up, it seemed as if the zero-sum game of the Cold War would last forever. What did we see coming? And what did we miss as supplies ran low, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant broke down, the Red Army suffered setbacks in Afghanistan and the Communist Party's grip started to loosen, in the far reaches of an empire that stretched over 11 time zones?

This is our fourth episode on the fall of the Soviet Union. Today we go to Estonia... the former Soviet republic which has undergone the fastest and most radical modernisation. The country is now a digital powerhouse where almost everything can be done from a smartphone. France 24's Sylvain Rousseau and Achraf Abid report from Tallinn.

Russia's Supreme Court has ordered the closure of the human rights group Memorial International that documents Soviet-era repression. DW correspondent Juri Rescheto spoke to a woman whose family experienced persecution by the Stalin regime.

The Soviet bloc officially collapsed in late December of 1991, leaving 14 independent republics in its wake in addition to the newly named Russian Federation. Three decades on, FRANCE 24's James André, Achraf Abid, Gulliver Cragg, Sylvain Rousseau and Elena Volochine bring us a series of reports from Russia, Estonia, Ukraine and Georgia on what remains of the Soviet era – and the relationship that these countries have with Moscow today.

The new year began in Kazakhstan with the government lifting its price cap on fuel, virtually doubling the cost for people to fill up their cars. Protests spread across the nation of 19 million inhabitants and soon transformed into violent unrest and a bloody crackdown. Over 100 people were killed and thousands were arrested. At the request of Kazakhstan's president, Russia sent paratroopers to help "stabilise" the country. We take a closer look at the former Soviet republic.

Order has been restored in Kazakhstan after protests turned to open revolt in clashes last week. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev calls it an attempted coup, blaming foreign terror networks, but he's also arrested the former head of security left over from his once all-powerful predecessor. At 81, Nursultan Nazarbayev is out as head of the country's ruling supreme council. We ask about his whereabouts and his exit from the limelight. From Angola to Uzbekistan, controlling your legacy is tricky when you run an oil-rich oligarchy.

Order has been restored in Kazakhstan after protests turned to open revolt in clashes last week. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev calls it an attempted coup, blaming foreign terror networks, but he's also arrested the former head of security left over from his once all-powerful predecessor. At 81, Nursultan Nazarbayev is out as head of the country's ruling supreme council. We ask about his whereabouts and his exit from the limelight. From Angola to Uzbekistan, controlling your legacy is tricky when you run an oil-rich oligarchy.

Slovakia will have Polish and Czech fighter jets protect its airspace as it gives up its old Soviet-made MiGs. The NATO allies are chiming in to uphold the eastern flank until Slovakia receives new jets in 2024.

Can a single person change the world? Yes, is the consensus after the passing of Mikhail Gorbachev. And change it for the better, claims the West: the last Soviet leader boldly brought the USSR in from the cold: reforming and agreeing to independence for satellite states, all without bloodshed.

Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the most influential political figures of the 20th century, was laid to rest in a relatively low-key ceremony and without the presence of the current Russian leader Vladimir Putin.