An economic and cultural iron curtain is descending on Russia as President Vladimir Putin proceeds with his invasion of Ukraine, reversing decades of integration with Western economies and ...

For those behind the world’s iron curtains, the urge is stronger. Their fears are seldom without foundation and their path of escape is clear: it lies just over the border.

None of the curtains draped over windows in Stately Willard Manor are made of iron (would be too heavy for the rods in place). The answer lies in the origin of the term.

Iron Curtains Are Older Than the Cold War. Winston Churchill made the term famous, but ideological rivalries have driven geopolitics since Athens and Sparta. By . Amanda Foreman. Share.