Eastern Europe’s innovation breakthroughs

Many of the innovations we take for granted in the United States, from Google to the wristwatch, were developed either in whole or in part by Eastern Europeans.

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This undated photo shows cosmonaut Maj. Yuri Gagarin, the first human to be sent into space, in his space suit. It was the Soviet Union's own giant leap for mankind — one that would spur a humiliated America to race for the moon. Gagarin’s mission happened on April 12, 1961.

/ AP

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, poses for photographs with Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov after presenting him with a commemorative medal to mark the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. The ceremony took place in the Kremlin in Moscow on April 12, 2011. On March 18, 1965, Leonov was the first human to conduct a space walk.

Vladimir Rodionov / AP

Nov. 25, 2011

U.S. astronaut Donald Pettit, from left, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers sit in the Soyuz training module at the Star City space center outside Moscow. The three-man team flew to the International Space Station on Dec. 21.

Sergei Remezov / Reuters

Feb. 2, 2008

Google co-founder Sergey Brin was born in Moscow. In this photo provided by Image Box Inc., Brin, center, trains in zero gravity in airspace above northern California. In 2008, Brin invested $5 million in Space Adventures, a Virginia-based company that sends space tourists into orbit. The company has since sent seven wealthy clients into space, including Cirque du Soleil CEO Guy Laliberte, Ubuntu Project co-founder Mark Shuttleworth and Prodea Systems co-founder Anousheh Ansari.

Steve Boxall / AP

Dennis Gabor, from Hungary, won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing holography, the science of making capturing an image and making it appear three-dimensional. The invention, which is often confused with Lenticular printing (often used to show one image that morphs into another), allowed for the development of holographic scanners used in post offices and large shipping firms. The technology is also used as a security measure on gold bars, credit cards and currency.

Tom Ryan / AP

The popular video game, Tetris, was invented by Russian computer engineer Alexey Pajitnov while working at the Soviet Academy of Sciences Computing Center in 1984. Pajitnov did not retain rights to the game, 35 million units of which were sold for the original Gameboy. The Soviet government retained rights until 1996, when Pajitnov and Henk Rogers created the Tetris Co.

Tetris Holding

This first official picture of the Soviet satellite Sputnik I was issued in Moscow Oct. 9, 1957, showing the four-antennaed satellite resting on a three-legged pedestal.The Soviet satellite was sent into space on Oct. 4, 1957, making it the first man-made object to reach the limits of the earth s gravity. The

Zentralbild Picture Service / AP

Dec. 14, 2010

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and Moscow region Gov. Boris Gromov visit the Skolkovo Innovation Center outside Moscow. The finished center, which is designed to be a small city, is slated to have as many as 850 units of residential housing and classroom capacity for 600 students. It is expected to create 1,000 jobs when completed in 2014.

Dmitry Astakhov / AP

May 24, 2011

Yandex CEO Arkady Volozh, second left, and Yandex Chief Technology Officer, Ilya Segalovich, second right, celebrate the initial public offering at the NASDAQ in New York. The Russian internet search company raised more than $1.3 billion in its IPO.

Mark Lennihan / AP

Oct. 7, 2007

Hungary's Erno Rubik, inventor of the Rubik's cube, follows the finals of the 2007 Rubik's Cube World Championship in Budapest.

Bela Szandelszky / AP

Oct. 7, 2007

Players compete in solving the Rubik's cubes during the final of the 2007 Rubik's Cube World Championships in Budapest. Hundreds of competitors from 32 countries take part in the three-day event, with prizes to be awarded in 17 categories, with experts trying to solve the classic 3x3 cube and its variations while blindfolded, with one hand, or with their feet.

Bela Szandelszky / AP

July 6, 2007

Mikhail Kalashnikov holds his AK-47 Nr.1, a prototype of the famous AK-47 rifle, during a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the worldwide assault rifle's creation in the Russia's Armed Forces Central Museum in Moscow.

Misha Japaridze / AP

Dec. 19, 2011

While Eastern Europe defies stereotype when it comes to innovation, oppressive regimes and widespread corruption still cast a shadow over the region. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index rates Belarus, Russia and Ukraine as among Eastern Europe’s most corrupt countries in 2011. In this photo, Belarus plainclothes policemen detain protesters during an opposition action devoted for anniversary of the presidential election in Minsk. About 30 protesters were arrested.

Sergei Grits / AP

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COVINGTON, LA - MAY 14: Brother Emmanuel Labrise of St. Joseph's Abbey prepares a casket for lining on May 15, 2012 in Covington, Louisiana. Louisiana law forbids those who are not licensed funeral directors from selling caskets. And since Hurricane Katrina leveled the timberlands that once provided the main source of funding for the abbey, the monks have attempted to make a living by building and selling simple cypress caskets. The monks won their first round last year, and have a hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in June. (Photo by Sean Gardner/For the Washington Post)

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