I've meant to post this link for a while now, because, well, it's a fascinating site. I'm a nut for space exploration of all stripes, and have a particular interest in the old Soviet space program simply because so little is known about it. If the Russians weren't keeping things under wraps, western media was de-emphasizing it or outright ignoring their exploration results. Understandable considering the Cold War, but still.
The U.S. has comparatively ignored Venus over the years. Most of our efforts have been directed at Mars or the outer planets, with the exception of modest probes such as Magellan. Well, the Russians made Venus a priority way back when, and have even released weather balloons in the planet's atmosphere. Most of the hard data we have regarding the surface and lower atmosphere of that world comes from vintage Russian probes. You can lean a whole heck of a lot more about it here: Soviet Exploration of Venus
Naturally, I have ulterior motives in my interest. I have a Venus story fermenting. I've got some nifty set pieces and settings, plus some interesting applied science and nifty speculative elements, but no plot yet to hang everything on. Give me time--I'll come up with something eventually.
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