• Russia's war on Ukraine has deepened a divide between the former Soviet nation and Europe.
• Before the end of the Cold War, the Iron Curtain cut off the Soviet Union from the rest of Europe.
• Life there was restricted, but as its leaders changed, Western influence began to reach residents.

The US and Russia might be trying to strengthen relations as President Donald Trump aims to end the war in Ukraine, but there was once a time when the two nations couldn't be further apart.

During the Cold War, the Iron Curtain was a figurative and ideological wall — and eventually a physical one — that separated the Soviet Union from Western Europe after World War II.

Vintage photos provide a peek behind the curtain and show that, while members of the Soviet Union worked tirelessly to prove its power to the rest of the world, there was also time for music, shopping, and vacations in the sun.

Ahead of the meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, take a look back at how the Soviet Union once tried to distance itself from the US and its citizens from the influence of American culture.

The Iron Curtain was a figurative and political barrier that divided Europe.

The name, widely attributed to Winston Churchill, hinted that life in the USSR was secretive and very different from other Western, capitalist countries.

It sealed off the Soviet Union from Western countries.

The Iron Curtain separated the Soviet Union from the US, Europe, and other Western states between the end of World War II and the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Life in the Soviet Union looked different before and after Joseph Stalin's death.

The Soviet Union was believed to be brutally restrictive, but after Joseph Stalin died in 1953, there were changes to everyday life.

After the building of the Berlin Wall, some Soviet citizens became more curious about American culture.

In 1961, the Berlin Wall was built, and a combination of curiosity and fascination with American culture began to build throughout the '60s, '70s, and '80s, as reported by History.com

The US government used that curiosity as a tool.

Some of this fascination was fueled by the US State Department, which sent popular American music to Eastern Europe.

American cultural exports offered new forms of entertainment.

Music like jazz gave people a chance to experiment with a new form of entertainment.

Shortly after, Soviet leaders began efforts to prevent Western culture from spreading.

Soviet leaders banned rock 'n' roll music in efforts to keep Western culture from "culturally corrupting" Soviet citizens, as reported by Smithsonian Magazine.

Some pushed back on the bans, smuggling Western music into the Soviet Union.

"Style hunters" were basically the Soviet version of today's hipsters. They would listen to smuggled music and dance in hidden discotheques before the police busted them.

Punk subcultures soon became popular.

Fascination with punk style took the youth by storm, and punks would do anything to get their hands on even just a few seconds of rock 'n' roll, as reported by The Guardian.

Methods for smuggling music were innovative and unexpected.

In the 1950s, "bone records" were old X-rays printed on flimsy vinyl sheets that were used to share American rock music. The sound quality was awful, but it provided the taste of rebellion they were after.

Sports gained cultural prevalence during the Soviet years.

Sports, and particularly soccer, were popular in the Soviet Union. When the soccer team won the European Championship in 1960, there were huge celebrations.

Soviet leaders used sports teams as tools to establish and maintain cultural control.

In the earlier years of the Soviet Union, Stalin's leadership had organized teams as a way for the state to maintain control.

While the government was no longer in complete control by the 1960s, they still used victories as a propaganda tool and claimed success whenever there was a big win.

Older generations pushed back against young people's embrace of Western culture.

As younger citizens stirred up trouble, members of the older generation continued to represent Soviet culture and abide by the communist lifestyle.

Well-kept public transport was used as a way to showcase successful socialist governance.

Public transport was a crucial tool to keep the republics connected. The Moscow Metro system was known to be the best-kept to flaunt socialist success, as reported by Foreign Policy Magazine.

While the metro system was seen as a crown jewel of the regime, buses were still more common.

Public buses were the predominant means of transportation.

Daily life didn't look all that different in the Soviet Union.

On a normal day, adults would head off to work and occasionally browse a store.

Soviet products, however, looked different from Western ones by design.

Photographer David Hlynsky told Fast Company in 2015 that "very few products were branded with anything like the legendary trademarks of the West."

Stores sold generic products rather than name brands.

"These were generic products devoid of any accompanying mythology," Hlynsky told Fast Company.

Supermarkets also looked different from Western ones.

Nikita Khrushchev, a former Soviet statesman, visited the US in the 1960s and tried to bring the concept of the Western supermarket to the Soviet Union, but it didn't catch on, Geohistory reported.

While some cities had general supermarkets, they weren't a popular option.

The production and distribution systems at these shops just couldn't keep up with demand, and most Soviet citizens continued to shop at small mom-and-pop stores.

Shopping was minimized during the winter months.

Winter in Eastern Europe is known for its extremely cold temperatures, making daily commutes and grocery runs even harder.

But summers were a time for communal gatherings in outdoor spaces.

During the summertime, there were trips to beaches, like those along the Black Sea Coast.

Extreme weather didn't stop military parades.

Even during the harsh winters, the Soviet government put on large displays of military power.

The Soviet Union's anniversary was celebrated grandly.

Every November, thousands would gather in below-freezing weather to celebrate the Soviet Union's anniversary in front of the Red Square.

Missiles were often displayed during these parades.

Missiles were displayed to show the Soviet Union's military power and capabilities during the Cold War.

Metinee Kingpayome arrived in Bangkok on her 20th birthday.

Born in Maryland and raised in New York City by Thai immigrant parents, Kingpayome had only visited Thailand twice as a child.

That trip back to Thailand in 1992 marked more than just a birthday milestone; it marked the beginning of her new life.

"It was something special," Kingpayome, now 53, told Business Insider. "Something that would change my life forever."

Troubled teenage years

Raised in a working-class neighborhood in Queens, Kingpayome was around 9 when her parents separated. As the oldest of four — and the only daughter — she often took on the responsibility of looking after the house.

"My brothers were still quite young, so I had to help my mom at a very young age," Kingpayome said.

She spent her childhood in a tight-knit Thai-American community, and her mother enrolled her in Sunday school to help her learn Thai.

At home, her mom spoke to her in their native language.

"She was very traditional, and she tried to raise me in that way," Kingpayome said. "We clashed a lot. You spend 16 hours a day speaking English, living the Western life, and then you come home, and your mom is super strict."

Her teenage years were especially rough. By 14, she was getting into trouble and clashing with her mother. She barely made it through high school.

A wake-up call came when the boy she was dating in her late teens got arrested. Working a dead-end job as a waitress in a Thai restaurant, she knew something had to change.

"I just felt like, OK, this is not working out. There's got to be more," Kingpayome said.

She'd always been drawn to fashion and decided to try modeling. But in the early '90s, the industry favored blonde hair and blue eyes — a beauty standard that she didn't fit.

Determined not to give up, she decided to give Thailand a whirl. Just for six months, she told herself.

She booked a one-way ticket, moved in with an aunt, and entered a beauty pageant. Several months later, she won Miss Thailand World 1992.

An unexpected beauty queen

Kingpayome says she didn't intend to be a beauty queen, but modeling was competitive.

"I thought that would be a very good stepping stone," she said. "Pageantry was huge back in the '80s and '90s. So I entered a beauty pageant, not expecting to win, but then won."

Winning the crown changed everything. She was thrust into the spotlight and, at the end of the year, represented Thailand at Miss World 1992, where she was crowned Continental Queen of Asia and Oceania.

The transition from being unknown to a recognizable face was tough to navigate, especially for someone still finding her footing in a new country.

Thai society was more conservative at the time, and women were generally expected to be more reserved, she said.

"All of a sudden, I have to be this very proper, polite woman, and I struggled with that for a year," Kingpayome said. "Being born and growing up in the States, I was very, very vocal."

Once her pageant contract was up, she started modeling.

In the late '90s, Kingpayome was featured in advertising campaigns for brands such as Lux Soap and Sony. Since then, she's also appeared on the covers of the Thai editions of Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar, among many others.

Kingpayome says she stood out in the industry because of her bold fashion choices, such as taking part in photoshoots while wearing swimsuits.

"I felt I was part of the movement where things were starting to shift from conservative to modern," Kingpayome said.

'I was always professional'

Unlike the "sabai sabai" Thai way of life, where locals often adopt a relaxed, go-with-the-flow attitude, Kingpayome said her work ethic set her apart.

"If the call time's eight. I'm there at seven-thirty. It doesn't matter how hungover I am. I might look like crap, but I was there," she said. "I was always professional."

Still, it took time to convince her family of her career choices, as they struggled to understand the nature of her work.

It was only years later, when her mother eventually relocated to Bangkok from the US, that she began to understand, especially once Kingpayome started bringing her along to photoshoots.

"She's like, oh, OK. You're not actually taking off your clothes," Kingpayome said, recalling her mother's reaction.

Trading covers and catwalks for motherhood and a slower life

Young, independent, and suddenly in demand, Kingpayome's life in Thailand took off.

"I worked hard, but I played harder because, as a teenager, I never had that kind of life. When I left New York, I was only starting to be legal to go clubbing and stuff," she said.

Everything in Thailand felt so different and new, she added.

"I kind of got lost in the party scene, and my career was taking off. I was in every fashion show. I was on every cover of every magazine. It was just like, wow, oh my God, I love this life," she said

In addition to modeling, she also built a successful career in show business, working as a TV presenter and appearing in numerous Thai movies and TV shows.

Her fast-paced lifestyle lasted nearly a decade before she began to feel burned out and decided to slow down.

In her mid-thirties, she got married and later had her son, who is now 16 and a competitive swimmer. The marriage ended in a divorce, but she still co-parents with her ex.

In recent years, she's served as a mentor and judge on modeling reality shows and has coached contestants in the Miss Universe Thailand pageant.

In 2021, she established a modeling academy with her brother called Muse by Metinee.

"We use runway modeling as a tool to help people gain confidence. So our youngest student is 4 years old, and my oldest student, who is still with us, is 59," Kingpayome said.

Many of her students are kids who have been bullied or who have low self-esteem, and seeing them break out of their shells and become more confident has been rewarding, she added.

Since pageantry is still big in Thailand, she also coaches men, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community who aspire to compete. The academy has since expanded to include a modeling agency.

Jack Titus, the winner of Mister Model International 2025, who also grew up straddling both American and Thai cultures, told BI that his training at the academy was "the backbone" of his performance in the pageant.

"From the way we walked to the way we spoke, every moment was designed to prepare us for the world stage," Titus said. "The discipline, presence, and emotional resilience I gained at Muse played a massive role in that win."

Thailand, always

Over three decades later, Kingpayome is still one of Thailand's biggest stars.

Parisa Pichitmarn, a millennial journalist based in Bangkok, told BI that she has always admired Kingpayome.

"She comes across as a strong woman who's professional and also doesn't take any crap," Pichitmarn said.

Manorat Sangsuk, a Thai Gen X finance specialist, told BI that in the '90s, a lot of the models were half Western and half Thai, and having someone who "just looked Thai" was refreshing. "She's pretty cool in her own way — you know, not like sweet, gentle, traditional Thai type."

It's hard to say whether Kingpayome would have enjoyed the same level of success if she had stayed in the US.

"Because you're a tiny fish in a big pond, whereas in Thailand, I was a big fish in a tiny pond. So it was very different," she said.

These days, Kingpayome lives in Bangkok and considers herself to be more Thai than American.

"When I go back to America, I feel I'm visiting. I don't feel like it's home," she said.

She used to visit the US more often, especially when her son was younger. But now, with her mother and two of her brothers living in Thailand, there's less reason to return. Only one brother remains in New York, still living in the Queens apartment they all grew up in.

Years from now, Kingpayome says she might end up living by the beach, running a small bed-and-breakfast. Or she might move to wherever her son decides to live when he gets older.

"But I think my life is in Thailand," she added.

Do you have a story about moving to Asia that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor: [email protected].

• Dawn Choo took a 40% pay cut to pivot from finance to a tech job at Amazon.
• Choo's transition involved moving from a quant role at Bank of America to a business analyst role.
• Her career shift eventually led to her dream job at Meta, after applying around seven times.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dawn Choo, the 34-year-old founder of Interview Master, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her identity, employment history, and salary have been verified by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I interned at Facebook in college, and my dream was to get a data scientist job at Instagram — but I didn't get an offer.

I took the first offer I got in college because I had interviewed so many times at so many different places. Finally, I got a finance offer from Bank of America, and I took it because I needed a job to stay in the country, even if it wasn't exactly the industry I wanted.

It was a quant role, but it wasn't very data-heavy. I did backend work, like building models to help predict if companies that took a loan from us were going to default on the loan. I was there for three and a half years, but I started applying for tech jobs about a year and a half into the job.

Again, I tried so many times. I was not the best at interviewing. I applied to about 100 places, interviewed at maybe 10, and then finally I got an Amazon offer in 2017.

I took a roughly 40% pay cut and a step back in my career

The Amazon job was for a business analyst role, and it was a really big pivot.

When I applied, I knew I was taking a step back in my career given the scope of work, but I didn't realize I would be taking a roughly 40% pay cut.

I was living in New York City in a one-bedroom with a roommate, so that 40% really made a big difference.

Despite what felt like moving backward, I could see the upsides of taking the job. Amazon's a big company, and I knew it was a step toward where I wanted to go. I had to make some adjustments, like eating at home more. But I also felt like it was a step back in my career because I suddenly stepped into a service-desk role.

I didn't love the work I did at Bank of America either, but at least I was building models and writing extensive documentation. At Amazon, I felt like I wasn't really learning much, and many times, I wondered, "Why did I take this pay cut? Why did I make this transition? Should I just go back?"

At times, it didn't feel like the right move, but I recognized that I had agency over that decision. I chose to be there, and it was a privilege for me to be able to make that choice.

Things got better

The upside of the work being very repetitive and simple was that I could automate it. The automation project started as a pet project — I randomly came up with the idea and pitched it to an executive. He loved it so much and kept pushing me to do it that eventually, I did.

I was promoted from business analyst to business intelligence engineer. What was initially my site tech project became a full-staff team of five business intelligence engineers.

I worked for Amazon for two years before getting my dream job as a data scientist at Instagram.

I interviewed at Meta so many times previously. After my internship, I applied about seven times and interviewed maybe four or five times. I almost canceled my final round of interviews because I couldn't get rejected again.

I think my experience working in tech and product changed my application. I also had a lot more leadership experience since I spearheaded a project. Plus, I matured around interviewing and presenting myself.

I worked at Instagram for about three years and three months. The office was beautiful. The people I worked with were incredible and made me feel challenged. I made a lot of good friends, and we went through COVID together. They were part of my pod.

Bets take time to pay off

For others thinking about making a career transition, I would say take the pay cut if you have to. I've always feared regret more than failure. I knew if I didn't take the Amazon job, I would be upset for not betting on myself.

It's also important to recognize that some of these bets take a long time to pay out. It took me two years, which wasn't that long, but I know other people where it took longer to get that payout.

Sometimes, even after the payout, you see other people in your situation and you think, "Wow, this person got this data science job at Facebook right out of college." So, at that point, I was about eight years older than this person doing the exact same thing. And it didn't feel great. So, maybe don't compare yourself to other people.

I will always say take the bet on yourself — and I'm doing it again. I pretty much took a 100% pay cut this time. I went from my comfy corporate job with insurance, travel perks, and stability to work for myself, and I hope the payout will come soon.

• Apple is investing $500 million in MP Materials, a US producer of rare earth magnets.
• News of the deal sent MP Materials' stock price soaring more than 25% Tuesday.
• The move also sends a message to President Donald Trump, who has pressured Apple to build in the US.

American manufacturing is getting a half-billion-dollar boost from Apple.

The Cupertino-based iPhone maker said Tuesday it has reached a $500 million deal with MP Materials to buy US-made rare earth magnets.

"Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

Rare earths are used in the production of high-powered magnets that enable a wide range of electronic functions, ranging from electric motors and generators to wireless charging and haptic touch responses in mobile devices.

While new supplies of rare earths continue to be mined, Apple's initiative with MP Materials focuses on reclaiming and recycling neodymium magnets specifically for Apple devices from used consumer electronics and post-industrial scrap.

News of the deal sent MP Materials' stock price soaring more than 25% on Tuesday morning, topping a prior price high reached in April 2022.

The gains extend a run that started last week when MP Materials inked a multibillion-dollar deal with the US Department of Defense that guarantees a price floor for two of the most popular rare earth metals that is nearly twice as high as the Chinese market level, Reuters reported.

The move also sends a message to President Donald Trump, who has pressured Apple to make more of its products in the US.

"I said to Tim, I said, 'Tim, look, we treated you really good, we put up with all the plants that you build in China for years, now you got build us," Trump said in May.

Apple said in its release that this purchase commitment is part of a larger pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the US over the next four years.

The company also said that MP Materials will provide "extensive" training at its new factory in Texas to build a new specialized workforce for magnet manufacturing.

• Banks are racing to deploy generative AI tools to their employees.
• Business Insider has reported on how some of finance's biggest banks are approaching the technology.
• Citi is 'accelerating' its strategy, while JPMorgan detailed AI wins at its latest investor day.

Wall Street bank leaders say generative AI is here to stay, and they're weaving the technology throughout the fabric of their banks to make sure.

From trading to payments to marketing, it's hard to find a corner of the banking industry that isn't claiming to use AI.

In fact, the technology's impact, made mainstream by OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022, is becoming cultural. Generative AI is changing what it takes to be a software developer and how to stand out as a junior banker, especially as banks mull over how to roll out autonomous AI agents. The technology is even changing roles in the C-suite. But it's also presented new challenges — bank leaders say they are struggling to keep up with AI-powered cyberattacks.

From supercharging productivity via AI-boosted search engines to figuring out the best way banks can realize a return on their AI investments, here's what we know about how Wall Street banks are embracing AI.

JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan has a technology budget of $18 billion, with much of it going toward making sure it's a leader and early mover in AI.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is a "tremendous" user of the bank's generative AI suite. While its private bankers were some of the first to be equipped with a generative AI "copilot" last May, they've rolled out its proprietary genAI platform to over 200,000 employees. And with about 100 more tools in the pipeline, JPMorgan is seeking to reengineer workflows for everyone from coders to portfolio managers.

Executives at America's largest bank gave an inside look at how it's scaling tools and delivering measurable results at its Investor Day in May.

• AI is core to JPMorgan's $18 billion tech investment. Here's what its execs revealed about how it's reshaping the bank.

Dimon has previously said he's out to win the AI arms race.

• Meet who he's put in charge of this critical mission.
• JPMorgan's Lori Beer just added 2 new tech leaders to her ranks. Meet the team behind the bank's AI future.

Mary Erdoes, the boss of JPM's asset and wealth-management business, used these slides to outline how she wants to prepare her people for the "AI of the future."

• Here's how JPM boss Mary Erdoes wants to use AI to eliminate "no joy" work

Citi

Citigroup is doubling down on its AI ambitions with new leadership at the helm of its tech transformation. In a memo obtained by BI, the three new strategy leaders outlined the firm's progress and ambitions as CEO Jane Fraser continues her mission to modernize the firm.

• Citi's 'accelerating' its AI strategy with new leaders. Here's how they're readying the firm for a new future.

Meet the new exec in charge of giving an AI facelift to Citi's lagging wealth business.

• Citi snags AI leader from Morgan Stanley to help turn around its wealth tech

Citi's top tech executive, Shadman Zafar, outlined the bank's four-phased AI strategy and how it will "change how we work for decades to come."

• A top Citi tech exec breaks down the 4 phases of the bank's AI strategy that will impact everyone from operations to wealth and product

Goldman Sachs

Is Goldman in its AI era? These real-world stories about employees using AI (in some cases daily) make it seem so. Take a look at how AI is being tested across the bank and seniority levels, from C-suites to analysts.

• 7 Goldman Sachs insiders explain how the bank's new AI sidekick is helping them crush it at work
• Goldman is assembling a growing arsenal of AI tools. Here's everything we know about 5.
• AI is doing 95% of the work on an IPO prospectus, Goldman Sachs CEO says

Goldman's top partners and CEO David Solomon are eager to see AI rev up their businesses. From realizing internal productivity gains to capturing more business as clients look to raise money in anticipation of AI development and acquisitions, here's what the top echelon is expecting.

• How AI will shake up Goldman Sachs, according to top partners and CEO David Solomon
• Inside Goldman Sachs' plans for AI, from helping non-tech workers do more with software to streamlining how code is documented

There is no AI without data, and there is no data strategy at Goldman without its chief data officer, Neema Raphael. Raphael gave BI an inside look at how his roughly 500-person team melds with the rest of the bank to get the most out of its data.

• Meet Neema Raphael, the data whiz key to Goldman's AI ambitions who's overseeing the bank's army of engineers and scientists

AI's impact has ripple effects that go far beyond technology. Goldman's chief information officer, Marco Argenti, predicts that cultural change will be critical to getting the bank to 100% adoption.

• Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti says Wall Street's 'next big wave' in AI will come down to culture, not just technology

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley wants to turn employees' AI ideas into a reality. Here's an exclusive look at that process.

• Morgan Stanley has 30 AI projects in the pipeline. Here's how the bank sources employees' ideas for inspiration.

See how AI is transforming Morgan Stanley's wealth division and the jobs of its 16,000 financial advisors.

• Morgan Stanley is betting on AI to free up advisors' time to be 'more human.' Nearly 100% of advisor teams use it, and here's how.

Thanks to its partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Morgan Stanley has ramped up its AI efforts. The exec in charge of tech partnerships and firmwide innovation opened up about how it all started.

• Morgan Stanley's new innovation head lays out his plan for more OpenAI-type partnerships
• A Morgan Stanley exec breaks down how the bank courts tech partners like OpenAI

Bank of America

Bank of America's chief experience officer, Rob Pascal, details how the bank's internal-facing AI assistant helps bankers collect, record, and review client data. Here are all the ways it's helping employees be more effective and efficient.

How Bank of America is using an AI-powered tool to help its bankers prep for client meetings more efficiently

It's well-established that, on the whole, Americans die younger than people in most other high-income countries. For instance, an analysis from 2022 found that the average life expectancy of someone born in Switzerland or Spain in 2019 was 84 years. Meanwhile, the average US life expectancy was 78.8, lower than nearly all other high-income countries, including Canada's, which was 82.3 years. And this was before the pandemic, which only made things worse for the US.

Perhaps some Americans may think that this lower overall life-expectancy doesn't really apply to them if they're middle- or upper-class. After all, wealth inequality and health disparities are huge problems in the US. Those with more money simply have better access to health care and better health outcomes. Well-off Americans live longer, with lifespans on par with their peers in high-income countries, some may think.

It is true that money buys you a longer life in the US. In fact, the link between wealth and mortality may be stronger in the US than in any other high-income country. But, if you think American wealth will put life expectancy in league with Switzerland, you're dead wrong, according to a study in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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