Miscellaneous
Today’s episode is different. Brett Elliott died earlier this year and I was contacted by his ex-wife Polly who offered me a cassette tape. Polly and Brett had met in college and got to know each other in Russian Club at Oklahoma State. In the summer of 1991, they went to Moscow to pursue Polly’s goal of being a reporter in Russia and Brett’s goal of further studying Russia. They both worked together covering the Bush Gorbachev summit, with Polly as a reporter and Brett as an interpreter. Polly left Russia early, but Brett stayed a few weeks more and witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union, August 19-21, 1991. During a rare phone call, Polly begged him to be careful, and he famously said she was worse than the coup leaders if she wanted to deny him getting out to witness history…Polly's book is available on the links belowUS Listeners https://amzn.to/3mEuPMaUK listeners https://amzn.to/3CLuHjyWe have photos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode214/This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one-off or monthly donationsJust go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.This episode is the audio from the cassette of Brett describing his experiences just two weeks after the coup. Being on cassette the sound quality is not great, but I am delighted and honoured to welcome Brett Elliott to our Cold War conversation…Ever wanted to ask a nuclear missile submarine commander some questions? This Sunday 13th February at 8 pm GMT I’m speaking live on YouTube with Rob Forsyth a former Commander of HMS Repulse. Viewers will be able to ask questions online in this unique interactive interview. Set a reminder or view the interview here https://youtu.be/01YkC5ha58o Have a look at our store and find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life? Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)