Greetings again, comrades!
Sorry for being so late with this episode, but as you’ll hear in it, I’ve run into some issues with my life. Some of you wrote me e-mails asking me, if I’ll be making any new episodes – and yes, I will. This is Eastern Border, we love it here, and we don’t intend to stop anytime soon. Huge “thank you” to everyone who donates, writes comments, sends e-mails or just listens to our show. You’re all awesome.
Now, about this episode a bit: this one is a more serious, more emotional episode than usual. It was also a bit harder for me to make, due to having to do some quote translations on the fly, as I would have taken an eternity more, if I’d scripted everything – so, I apologize for some parts of the show, that might sound a bit worse than you would expect. Otherwise, I’m actually really happy about how this turned out, especially considering my situation – so I hope you’ll enjoy it.
The picture, for this time, is one of the infamous Zinc coffins – in which the soldiers were sent home during the Afghanistan war.
Also, don’t forget to check out this episodes podcast recommendation – the Historical Intentions podcast, by Joseph Newton!
Edit: Also, for those who like the accent – I don’t really notice it, that’s just how I speak in English. I imagine it sounds a bit weird for you. 🙂
Very good work. Hearing first hand account (even if second hand) is so important.
Thanks, that was interesting. I agree that this conflict shouldn’t be forgotten.
I was amused by your use of the term “place of dislocation”. It’s obviously a Soviet term, I’ve seen it used in Hungarian, too. It makes me think of something like “I dislocated my shoulder”. So, no wonder they had such a hard time!!
Cheers!
You said that The Gulag Archipelago was written by Sakharov. It was actually Solzhenitsyn. Nonetheless, a very enjoyable and informative podcast!
I will have to re-listen to this, because I’m pretty sure that I said Solzhenitsyn – reading his “200 years together”…anyhow – thank you! I’m fixing my errors in February, and I probably would have missed this, if not for your comment. Thanks!
Hmm perhaps I misheard. It might be worth checking. 🙂 Either way, a great podcast that I quite enjoy. Thank you!
Maybe you’re right, most of us project things in one way or another. Wouldn’t it make more sense though to point out these distortions, that you claim I have about this article, and perhaps discuss the different points?
Thank you very much for this podcast. As an American I knew of this war but honestly during this time period 78-87 I was in my 20’s and was not interested in war. You made this conflict very real to me, and “the Russians” place in it. I am learning so much from this podcast I really cannot express it. America has a powerful propaganda machine as well. I must “relearn or just simply learn the history I was taught in a Christian school environment that dates back to the 60’s for me. Thank you again.
I’m an American, 53, who grew up in a large city near an Air Force base, and surrounded by about 18 Titan-II ICBMs, pointed mostly at the USSR and/or China. We figured out by high school that we probably had at least one warhead for the base, one for the city, and one each for the ICBMs. We laughed at fallout shelters, Tucson, AZ was going to be a couple hundred square miles of radioactive glass when war came. Fortunately, it never happened. Tucson is even larger now, the Air Force base is operational, and all of the ICBM silos were decommissioned. One made it into a movie “Star Trek: First Contact”, have you seen it?
In the US, the Viet Nam era soldiers reputations have been rehabilitated, no longer called “baby burners” but given their due honors and applauded on Veteran’s Day, parades, etc. What about the veterans of the Afghanistan War you mentioned? Are they being ignored or has their status improved in the decades since the war ended?
Love the podcast! Too bad I only discovered you in the last few days. I would have loved to enter the contest you had in December, written a great question, and been awarded the Lenin Prize of Literature. Thanks, and keep up the good work!
I just discovered the podcast (thanks to your interview on the Astonishing Legends podcast), and am listening to the old episodes. I found this one fascinating, because I remember hearing about this during my high school and college years. I’m sorry to hear that the men who were there are so forgotten. It makes the trauma of the war seem so much worse!
What was the name of the movie referenced in the beginning?
It was “Is it easy to be young” – sadly, it’s not available in English. Even though, my next idea for patrons is to try and make English subs for Soviet movies.
I have yet to watch it, so I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBuD45btXxU
It is weird hearing you mispronounce the surname of Dainis Turlais (not Turls) who later became the Interior minister of Latvia.
This was my first ep, which i see as good. I was still SUPER worried back when I recorded this! 😀
The atrocities committed against the Soviet soldiers and airmen were extremely brutal. Remember the people who found the basis of Al-Qaida and ISIS were trained in Afghanistan. They committed unspeakable brutality and filmed these sessions, showing them to the ‘faithful’ in Pakistan in special sessions organized by Islami Jamiat E Tulaba. That war and the sacrifices of Soviet fighting forces should not be forgotten. Cheers and thanks for bringing this amazing podcast to us.