Twilight of the Soviet Union – Memoirs of a British Journalist in Moscow (325)

Cold War Conversations Podcast

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 758 Ratings

🗓️ 30 December 2023

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Kate is sent to Moscow in 1985 to write articles for The Morning Star, a left-wing British daily newspaper founded in 1930 as the Daily Worker by the Communist Party of Great Britain. She lives in a block of flats alongside Soviet citizens and enrols her 3 children in Soviet schools. Three weeks after Kate arrives Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power and she finds herself having to cover the disorientating number of rapid reforms and attacks on the Soviet system by its leadership for a newspaper, that had always supported the Soviet Union. Kate is fluent in Russian, speaks with Soviet citizens on the bus or at the shops, and visits every Soviet republic bar one of the then-largest countries on Earth. In 1986 she reported on the Chernobyl disaster and was one of the first journalists to arrive in the area. Buy the book here https://www.bannisterpublications.com/product-page/twilight-of-the-soviet-union The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a 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 also 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 0:00 Introduction and background of Kate Clark 1:32 Journey to becoming a Moscow correspondent and life in Soviet Union 11:09 Placing Ket's children in Soviet schools and their adaptation 15:10 Bureaucratic challenges 18:08 Shopping habits and emergence of supermarkets in Soviet Union 21:00 Impact of Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership and his policies 33:34 Cultural accessibility, promotion and diversity in the Soviet Union 44:36 Covering the Chernobyl disaster and its aftermath 57:17 Relations with the British embassy and dealings with Soviet security services 1:04:47 Visit to Afghanistan and reflections on its political challenges 1:09:31 Reflections on the collapse of the Soviet Union and the role of Yeltsin 1:15:30 Kate's book, "Twilight of the Soviet Union", and closing remarks Chapters powered by PodcastAI✨ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:54.8	Kate is sent to Moscow in 1985 to write articles for the Morning Star,
1:00.7	a left-wing British Daily newspaper founded in 1930 as the Daily Worker
1:05.6	by the Communist Party of Great Britain.
1:08.5	Kate is the author of Twilight of the Soviet Union, memoirs of a Moscow correspondent.
1:15.2	She lives in a block of flats alongside Soviet citizens and enrolls her three children in Soviet
1:20.9	schools. Three weeks after Kate arrives, Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power, and she finds herself having to cover the disorientating
1:30.2	number of rapid reforms and attacks on the Soviet system by its leadership for a newspaper
1:36.0	that had always supported the Soviet Union. Kate is fluent in Russian, speaks with Soviet citizens
1:43.0	on the bus or at the shops, and visits every
1:45.8	Soviet Republic bar one in the then largest country on earth. In 1986, she reported on the
1:54.1	Chernobyl disaster and was one of the first journalists to arrive in the area. I'm delighted
	...

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