Soviet Union

I was a deep cover KGB spy – Part 1

  If you’ve seen the TV drama series, “The Americans” you’ll be fascinated by this episode. Albrecht Dittrich was an East German graduate student and a true believer in the Communist cause when he was recruited by the KGB in 1970. He spent ten years as an undercover KGB agent in the United States. He … Read more

In Cold War Skies – NATO & Soviet airpower 1948-89 (142)

  Today’s episode is brought to you by Osprey publishing and we’re speaking with Michael Napier, the author of “In Cold War Skies – NATO and Soviet airpower 1949-89”. Michael also flew the Tornado during the Cold War and served during the 1980s at 14 Sqn and 31 Sqn at RAF Brüggen in  West Germany … Read more

Robert – The anti Cold War activist

Robert Perschmann describes himself as an anti-Cold War activist. His political views started to form while serving in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War period where he saw first hand the toll on the US military and the racism prevalent in the American South. An interview with a Soviet journalist which was broadcast … Read more

The KGB tried to recruit me

Hans de Vreij is a Dutch journalist who has worked in Berlin , Brussels, Geneva and Prague. Whilst working at the United Nations in Geneva Hans was the subject of attempted recruitment by the KGB to develop an ‘agent of influence’ to disseminate Soviet points of view. In addition, they analysed the ‘targeted journalist’ in … Read more

A UK Journalist in the Soviet Union & the GDR

  Mark Brayne studied in Moscow 71-72, travelling the country with fellow UK students and spending silly amounts of time in the bathhouses with salted fish and very poor quality beer. He returned in 1974-75 as Reuters trainee journalist where he became very close to Andrei Sakharov, the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb and … Read more

Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher, and the End of the Cold War

  The Cold War got colder in the early 1980s and the relationship between the two military superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, each of whom had the capacity to annihilate the other, was tense. By the end of the decade, East-West relations had been utterly transformed, with most of the dividing lines -including … Read more

Alan – Working in the GDR & The USSR

  Welcome to Cold War Conversations – if you’re new here, you’ve come the right place to listen to firsthand Cold War history accounts. Do make sure you subscribe in your podcast app so you don’t miss out on future episodes. Alan Baker worked and studied in the GDR and the USSR from the 1970s … Read more

Alexander – A Conscript in the Soviet Navy

  Alexander ‘Sasha’ Goncharov was born in Leningrad but early in this life moved to Ukraine.  After leaving school he was drafted into the Soviet Military and was based in Sevastopol where he worked in Naval Aviation servicing anti-ship weapons systems.  At the end of this period, Sasha decided to stay in the military to … Read more

Dean Reed, the Red Elvis, a US music star behind the Iron Curtain – Episode 2

Ramona Reed continues the story of her father who was Dean Reed an American actor, singer and songwriter, director, and Socialist who became a huge star in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc. The previous episode is available here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode97/ Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts Now if you like the podcast … Read more