The Eastern Border

Greetings, Comrades! We continue our series on the penal system of the USSR, this time exploring KGB. History of the institution, how it operated, who benefited…who suffered. It’s weird like that. And deeply personal. 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 our multi-part series about GULAGs and the Soviet prisons, punishments and other...non-human activities, that turned people into subjects. A hard theme, if there ever was one. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! Sorry that we’re a bit slacking off this month, but this is due to wedding and everything. We’ll return in our full might in October, with Gulag survivor stories. But for now – for now, we’re doing something that was requested by one of our listeners. Soviet/Russian Mafiya and their KGB connections and comparison to the USA Italian Mafia. With very competent guests – Rob from...

Greetings, Comrades! In this episode, which was created during the marriage process…and before…and slightly after, we talk about various stories that just didn’t make it in other episodes. Most of which are about art, alcohol, propaganda and theater. Because some things just cannot be separated from each other. Today’s picture: Actor Uldis Pūcītis Again, it will make more sense once you listen to...

Greetings, Comrades! First things first – I’m just married, so that is why the episodes have been a bit late. Sorry for that, but we’re working hard to make sure everything’s on time and properly done. Secondly – this episode is all about Soviet history textbooks. And…as it was very funny, and I wanted to know what exactly to talk about, and didn’t have that much time before the wedding – this is...

Yes, yes – I said only two PDRP episodes here, and the rest go to that feed. BUT…it’s my birthday, and I can give you this…well, present, actually. Hello, listeners of the People’s Democratic Republic of Podcast! Our episode about Denmark is in the works – the recording got a bit delayed, and this was supposed to be aired after that, BUT…it’s my birthday, and thus, I bring this to you. Here, Glen...

Greetings, Comrades! I didn’t even know how much I can be motivated, when I get really angry. And this time, for a good reason – as Russian propagandists decided to desecrate one of, if not the, most important tragedies in the Baltics – the Vilnius massacre. So in this episode, we expose some very tragic events of the past, looking at the newspaper articles of the time and compare them with what P...

Greetings, Comrades! Our wedding tradition episode is here. Wedding traditions in these parts of the woods, starting from the 12th century, up to modern day. Listener questions are being answered too, and there’s a plethora of crazy stories from my dad, who played in a Soviet wedding band as a side job for years. As mentioned, this one’s a fundraiser so that we (me and Alice) could get married, so...

Greetings, Comrades! Today’s episode is dedicated to Sports in the Soviet Union. We gathered what interesting stories we could about the subject, that show the spirit of the times, and put them here. This episode, although a bit short, is still one of the funniest I’ve made. And slightly depressing as usual, but…in the end, it’s about real people stories – and athletes have some of the best one’s...

Greetings, Comrades! Sorry for posting another PDRP show on this feed again – but I want to popularise that show, and you know, you actually [...] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . 
  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! While we’re preparing for wedding here, and preparing new episodes, here’s a surprise for you. It’s an episode that we did for the paid feed of the Lesser Bonapartes, about the Baltic/Northern Crusade. You know – the piece of history that we’re asked to cover but that kind of can’t find a place. It’s also very, very long. Normally, you’d have to be a supporter of the Lesser Bo...

Greetings, comrades! This is a preview, that is the first episode, of our spin-off show, People’s Democratic Republic of Podcast that we just launched. It can be found here:  http://pdrp.lv/  obviously, everything is brand new and under construction there, but we’re working. This is a podcast about the comparison of parliaments in various countries, taking a look at the inner workings of the syste...

Greetings, Comrades! In our special anniversary episode, we do indeed deliver something special. This episode looks at a conspiracy theory that Putin might actually be dead…and what is uncovered, truly, is strange and weird. It shocked us, even – as this theory has way too much legitimacy behind it than it should have, and so, a thing that was supposed to be a fun anniversary episode, turned out t...

Greetings Comrades! Our episode about 1989 in the eastern bloc is out! Within: Baltic Way, interview about the Berlin Wall, soap operas, revolutions and more. As today is the largest Latvian national celebration of the year, I can’t provide more explanations right now, I have to jump over a fire, while drinking a beer! Līgo! Pictures for today’s episode: These are from the Baltic Way. They might s...

EDIT: We-re uploaded this episode, as some people had troubles with it, due to unexpected, terrible side effects of the recording software that we used. [...] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . 
  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings, Comrades! This is the extra episode I promised you in the previous regular episode. Feel free to skip if you’re not into historical humour, a bit of awkwardness and/or have already listened to this. In short, the introduction of me, as a co-host to the Lesser Bonapartes show. Just so that you’d get a feel, and hey – maybe you’ll enjoy that one as well. Next regular episode is June 15, b...

Greetings, Comrades! In this episode we take a look at how childhood looked like in the USSR. A fair warning, as this episode might not be suitable to children. Not because it’s explicit – but because they might get some ideas about misbehaving. Then again, that’s the Soviet way. Today’s picture – Soviet Pioneers, giving the traditional salute, in a ceremony. And don’t forget to check out Dark Myt...

Greetings, Comrades! After all of our editing issues which you know about already, if you follow us on social media, this episode is finally out. (Alice is far away and Andrew’s PC died at the last moment) This one ended up focusing on Marriage, Family and Everyday life. I had an unprecedented amount of people, giving me their stories and they were so good that I didn’t want to throw any of them o...

Greetings, Comrades! You might find that this episode is not as epic as the previous one – but that’s because we’re overworked. Anyway, we tried our best, and here it is. It’s very patriotic, however. And also – we’re on google podcasts now. For other news, listen to the show. Also, Ieva Akurātere is awesome. Today’s picture is a photo from the October 7th manifestation for a just state. And here’...

Greetings, Comrades! In this episode, we talk about the Soviet side of the Space Race. It is a bit fun, a bit dark humor, a bit looking from the people side, but…it gets dark. Really, really dark. This episode includes discussing some of the most tragic deaths ever, and is definitely NOT recommended for children. It will get lighter in the future, but for now…enjoy what we can bring you. As much a...

Greetings, Comrades! If you didn’t know, we took over The Lesser Bonapartes podcast this week, by sending Glen & Daniel to Siberia, turned into a Greater Bolshevik show and spoke about weird foods and DIY vodka. (you can listen to it here:  Greater Bolsheviks  ) But, our reign didn’t last long, as they seem to have escaped. Curses. But, before that, the KGB investigators sent us their work – about...

And here’s our collaboration work with Strange Matters podcast. Please, do check them out. Also, I’m a bit tipsy and depressed due to personal deaths in the first part, hope you won’t mind. But two episodes at the cost of one? Who wouldn’t want that. Enjoy the show, and forgive our mistakes. And check the guys out, please! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder . Hosted on A...

Greetings, Comrades! This episode covers more of Gorbachev, including his recent interviews – and historically, the events in 1986 – 1987, and how Glasnost and Perestroika influenced the Soviet culture. We’re trying something new this time, so there’s a bit of a change in format this time – we’re still trying to find that perfect recipe, so all of your comments are very appreciated. We have two im...

Greetings, Comrades! We’ve had a rough February – and we didn’t manage to fix all of our errors in the previous podcasts, but…here we are nonetheless. This show was one of the hardest ever to make, and I really hope you’ll not only enjoy it, but will also take some time to understand the depth of the tragedy. Today’s picture is – Pripyat. Empty, irradiated and ghastly, it stands there to remind us...

Greetings, Comrades! This time, we have something special for you – about an hour-long conversation (recorded through Skype) with Scott and Forrest from the Astonishing Legends podcast, about mysteries, USSR, podcasting, strange experiences, media, a bit of politics and other random things. We did edit some things out, as to not spoil their next show, though. It is an extra for you, while we’re ma...