Robert - The anti Cold War activist (131)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2020

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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 on PBS radio (the US equivalent of the BBC) was the catalyst for an almost one-man campaign to reduce tensions between the two superpowers. At this point, Robert was working as a US Mailman where he financed numerous visits to the Soviet Union to foster a better understanding between the two systems and became friends with many Soviet personalities including Dean Reed and legendary Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner. If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Thanks to our latest supporters including Greg Collins, Derek Worthington, Craig Donald, Janet Kelley, David O’Leary, STepwolf, Paul Hatzer, Chris Cock, Jon Forsyth, & James Roberts Back to today's episode, we welcome Robert Perschmann to our Cold War conversation… There’s further information on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode131/ If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook. Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations 0:00 Introduction and Robert Pershman's unexpected call from FBI 2:26 Sponsor: Fundraising plea for the podcast 3:16 Robert's experience in the US Air Force and his exposure to racism 8:42 Experiences of racism in the American South and impact of Martin Luther King on Robert's life 15:35 Robert's transition from military to civilian life and anti-cold war activism 20:07 First impressions of Aeroflot and the Soviet Union, meeting and connecting with Vitali Chirkin 28:40 Robert's perspective on living conditions and work in the Soviet Union 35:36 Dealing with the FBI due to Soviet connections, encounters with the KGB 43:56 Activism efforts during the Cold War, meeting Dean Reed 51:55 Changing family dynamics due to Soviet connections, meeting Svetlana Starodubtseva 1:00:57 Discussion about the Soviet Union's role in World War II, Robert's views on the Soviet Union's post-war actions 1:06:31 Closing remarks and acknowledgements Chapters powered by PodcastAI✨ 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.
0:05.9	I got a call one day at work, and it was the FBI. They wanted to talk to me about my connection to the Soviet Union.
0:16.5	This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts. Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app or join our emailing list at Cold Warconversations.com.
0:35.5	Robert Pershman describes himself as an anti-Cold War activist.
0:40.8	His political views started to be formed while serving in the US Air Force during the Vietnam
0:47.1	War period where he saw firsthand the toll of casualties in the US military, as well as racism that was prevalent in the American
0:56.0	South. An interview with a Soviet journalist which was broadcast on PBS radio, the US
1:02.2	equivalent of the BBC, was the catalyst for almost a one-man campaign to reduce tensions
1:08.5	between the two superpowers. At this point, Robert was working as a
1:12.8	US mailman where he financed numerous visits to the Soviet Union to foster a better
1:18.8	understanding between the two systems. He became friends with many Soviet personalities,
1:24.0	including Dean Reed and legendary Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner.
1:29.5	If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave a written review in Apple Podcasts or share us on social media.
1:37.2	And if you can spare it, I'm asking listeners to contribute at least three US dollars per month to help keep us on the air.
1:45.4	Larger amounts are welcome too.
1:47.7	Plus, you get a sought-after Cold War Conversations drinks coaster as a monthly financial
1:54.2	supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing that you are helping preserve Cold War
2:00.3	history.
2:01.5	Just go to Cold Warconversations.com slash donate.
2:06.5	So back to today's episode, we welcome Robert Pershman to our Cold War conversation.
2:13.8	My father was a pharmaceutical salesman, and when I learned to drive when I was 15, he set me out on Saturdays to deliver drugs.
2:24.3	And that's where I was listening to the radio when I heard about the given missile crisis and kind of jolted me and I don't think it's ever been out of my mind
	...

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