On the Streets of Cold War Estonia fighting for Independence (334)

Cold War Conversations

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 758 Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Timo takes us on a journey through the tumultuous events of the 1991 Soviet coup attempt, as experienced from the streets of the Baltic States. As the coup unfolds, Timo finds himself in Lithuania, planning to covertly visit the closed city of Kaliningrad. He shares the tension sharing a dining table with a Soviet officer, unknowingly on the eve of the coup. As the coup escalates, Timo's narrative becomes a vivid street-level account of the Estonian people's defiance. He describes the formation of human walls against Soviet tanks, the strategic significance of the TV tower, and the Estonians' ingenious methods of maintaining communication despite Russian interference. Timo's reflections on the morality of his curiosity, the fear of violence, and the spirit of resistance that pervaded Estonia during those critical hours are a testament to the resilience of a nation on the brink of reclaiming its freedom. Timo’s book “Tanks & Roaches” is only currently available in Finnish, Estonian and Slovak and can be purchased on the links here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode334/ Timo can be contacted at [email protected] The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and viaa simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, and get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, we welcome one-off donations via the same link. Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Love history? Check out Into History at this link https://intohistory.com/coldwarpod 00:00 Introduction 01:38 Timo’s summer in Estonia during the Cold War 09:52 The 1991 Soviet Coup and its impact on Estonia 20:34 Tom joins a demonstration 29:47 The confrontation between Estonian and Russian troops near the occupied TV tower 40:36 Estonians switched off the TV signal to calm down the Russians 41:57 The bravery of the four Estonian men who were locked inside the tv tower during the Soviet invasion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
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0:33.5	slash setup. I remember so well the moment when I heard in the radio that they were talking about Garapachov in past tense.
0:45.3	And I was thinking, has he died?
0:48.9	What has happened?
0:52.0	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:55.3	If you're new here, you've come to the right place for first-hand Cold War history accounts.
1:00.8	And thanks to financial supporter Jack Wieselak for providing today's intro.
1:05.6	Make sure you hit that follow button in your podcast app so you don't miss out on future episodes. Timo takes us on his journey
1:14.1	through the tumultuous events of the 1991 Soviet coup attempt as experienced from the streets
1:20.6	of the Baltic states. As the coup unfolds, Timo finds himself in Lithuania planning to
1:27.0	covertly visit the closed Soviet
1:29.0	city of Kaliningrad. As the coup escalates, Timo's narrative becomes a vivid street-level account
1:35.3	of the Baltic people's defiance. He describes the formation of human walls against Soviet tanks,
1:41.3	the strategic significance of the Tallinn TV tower, and the Estonian's
1:46.6	ingenious methods of maintaining communication despite Russian interference. Timo's reflections on the
1:53.1	fear of violence and spirit of resistance that pervaded Estonia during those critical hours
	...

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