The Eastern Border

Greetings, Comrades! In this episode, I look at the reasons why and how the Soviet union collapsed – and why it is especially important to look at these reasons today. Because things are brewing in Russia, to which there might not be easy answers. Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! By popular demand, in this episode, we analyze what the awesome HBO series got right, what they got wrong, why the mistakes were made and does it impact the show in any meaningful way. Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! This time, I bring You an interview with the lead writer of an amazing Soviet-themed post-apocalyptic RPG game in the style of Fallout 1 & 2! And we also have a contest where you can win the game. It’s a genuine experience of how Soviet union would be like after a nuclear war, which I greatly enjoyed and I think that You should too! Support this show http://supporter.acast...

Greetings, Comrades! This is a political episode, and as by now is usual in Russia, a depressing one. Because it’s august, and everything that can go wrong, does go wrong in this month there. Also, which wasn’t mentioed, as it happened after the recording, a nuclear missille detonated and leaked its radioactive contents near a Russian submarine base in the nothern parts of the country, where all t...

So, by request of the nice folks who granted me a free tattoo…yeah, here comes a weird episode where I look at the Soviet depictions in video games, how accurate they are, why they are that way and…why stereotypes are sometimes necessary. Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! This is the part 2 of when we were on the glorious Atomic Hobo show! Please, enjoy and subscribe to them too! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! I’m sort of ok. But in this dark time of mine, I want to bring you one of the most impactful episodes out there. Moreso even than Chernobyl, the stuff that’s happening in the now-drying Aral sea, specifically in the ressurection/rebirth island…yeah. Wanted to do this for a while, and my illness allowed me to do it. Picture: Aral sea with the island. Support this show http://su...

Greetings, Comrades! I’ve been dealing with a lot of serious health issues lately, my heart’s acting up bad, so that is why ep’s have been late. However, I was interviewed in the glorious Atomic Hobo podcast about the survival in the atomic age. And as that was an amazing discussion, with their permission, I upload it here. And am back to making content! Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.a...

Greetings, Comrades! In this episode, I talk about how Putin’s decisions and squabbles between Russia and Georgia have now directly impacted the show once again. And it’s our birthday! Yay! So this, for once, is a cheerful episode. A bit chaotic, but hey…partying never killed anyone, right? Also, the episode’s featured art on our home page this time is literal fan art of Lenin from 1934. Not propa...

Greetings, Comrades! In this part of my Ukraine visit, I want to tell you about Donetsk. And normalcy. Shame that it’s really hard to get a DonMac anywhere else. And…maybe a good thing too. Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! This is the part two of our Ukraine series. And probably, one of the saddest, heaviest episodes that I’ve made. This is the tale of Igor and Oleksandr, and…how war is never a pleasant business. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! This is part 1 of my Ukraine adventures, about Kyiv and a crazy 18h train ride. Made after said ride, so kind of audio bloggy, but I wanted to get this out, to have my head clear for what’s about to come. Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! Before going to Ukraine, I’m obviously doing research on what’s going on there, with Russia, giving out passports to Donetsk and Luhansk inhabitants…but then I struck a story. A really heartfelt one. About the refugees who went to Russia, during last year’s world cup using the FAN ID cards…and stayed there. Their stories are terrifying and heart-wrenching, and I hope that we’l...

Greetings, Comrades! Our proper new episode is out now! This time, we re-visit the GDR (as did I) and look at how Stasi impacted everyday lives of people, how it changed their culture and compare the East German political jokes with the Soviet one's.  Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! I went to Germany for this one. Europarliament elections are coming. They’re practically here even – so this time, we’re teaming up with Ciaran of Previously in Europe fame, to explain what they are, and why they are especially important for the Eastern Border part of the planet. Historical episode coming soon, with new DDR material, but I wanted to get this out there asap. Su...

Greetings, Comrades! This episode is with Matt from Nooks and Crannies podcast, where we talk about drug policies, the way Canada differs from the US, and how you, colonials, differ from us on the motherland, and why does it all matter. It’s a very neat conversation, and I hope you’ll like it. Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

Greetings, Comrades. Due to popular request, here’s our review of Imperator: Rome and an introduction to Paradox grand strategy games to the rest of you. This does’t replace my standard episodes and patrons will not be charged for it, but if you’d like more content like this one, please do click that donate button. Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Ac...

Greetings, Comrades!  The 26th of April was the 33rd anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. And since the last time we did the Chernobyl episode a few years ago, new documentation - namely KGB reports about the whole thing, have been declassified. And...well, they make one wonder, why it happened so late, and why it was the only one such tragedy of it's kind. So, in this episode, we revisit C...

Greetings, Comrades! This episode is about the Russian swearword culture – and why it matters, how it formed the society and why is it so important to us all. There’s a poem by Pushkin inside there too. But, obviously, an episode about swearwords and their massive cultural meaning contains, well, you know, swearwords. And they're used extremely liberally throughout the show too. So, obviously, do...

Greetings, Comrades! This one's important. Russia's Gosduma just passed a law, that would in effect allow the Russian government to isolate their internet from the rest of the planet at will, and would basically serve as an extra layer of internet censorship there. What better time to contrast and compare that to an in-depth look at how censorship worked in the Soviet Union. Enjoy, think about it,...

Greetings, Comrades! Posting this episode just a few hours before flying back home to Latvia. In this episode, me and Stephen from the glorious and highly recommended Baked and Awake podcast ( http://bakedandawake.com/ ) discuss a peculiar released CIA document from 1957, called "National Cultural Development Under Communism" which you can find here:  https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/d...

Greetings, Comrades! I’m posting this from Vancouver, Canada. How crazy is that. And I spent a while in the US, and will be spending some more and…well, it’s pretty crazy. You’ll hear about them in the episode. But yeah, had a long vacation, but woah…there’s plenty of stuff to talk about. Back to the regular schedule again. Enjoy! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hos...

Geetings, Comrades! This time, we bring you a special. A very important special, as we’re trying to offend the most dangerous man in Russia here, and are being god at it. Enjoy! Audio Player Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! This is the second part of Anete’s experiences in Cuba, this time, with a more political twist. I think you’ll find it highly enjoyable. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! Today we bring you Anete’s accounts on how it’s like in Cuba. As you heard in the last episode, she was there for about two weeks or so, and recorded two episodes about her experiences. And I hope some nice Soviet nostalgia as well. While I’m packing up and dealing with personal stuff, please enjoy what our talented and glorious soundmaster Anete has to offer. This one’s a bit...