Emily Padula Cold War interview questions

3-12-12 Block 3

Do you know what the Cold War is? It has to do with the history of the relationship between Russia and the United States.

So you have been to Russia? Yes, in 1983/1984 for four months and two months in 1987.

What was the experience like for you? Well, there was a great difference in the political climate and in the cultural climate when I compare my first trip to my second trip.

Who were the political leaders when you lived there? In 1983/1984 Andropov was the President followed by Chernenko. I remember seeing Communist Party parades with giant banners with the presidents' faces on them. Then, in 1987, Gorbachev was president.

You mentioned earlier about the political and cultural climate, can you elaborate? In 1983/1984, when I was on the SUNY' Moscow Exchange Program, we were instructed to avoid political discussions. The Russian people did not openly discuss societal issues and problems in their country. In 1987 there was a great increase in the openness of Russian society. I remember seeing posters about alcoholism and I bought a poster depicting the dangers of drug addiction. Under Gorbachev's leadership, there was a Perestroika, which translates as Rebuilding.

Do you know about Perestroika and Glasnost? Gorbachev supported free enterprise, which totally went against the original ideas of Communism. Prior to this, the government kept prices on products the same throughout the

country. Glasnost literally means Openness. An example of this was mentioned above when I spoke about people openly talking about problems in Russian society. So, you met Gorbachev? Yes, in 1987 I was on a Russian teacher exchange and our group of teachers was invited to the Communist Party Headquarters. He was very friendly and enthusiastic when he spoke. He shook each of our hands and we even got a bottle of Pepsi, written in Cyrillic on the bottle, of course. I still have the bottle cap. How did Russians react to Americans during this Cold War period? They were respectful and several people asked me to tell the American people that the Russian people don't want war. Russia lost so many people in war, many Americans can't even understand the depth of suffering the Russian people have experienced. Could you talk more about the changes Gorbachev made happen? He wanted more contact and trade with America. On my second trip, I was shocked to see an American credit card advertisement on the window of a Russian store. Do you think Americans appreciate their freedom? I think many Americans take their freedom for granted. When I was in Communist Russia, we were watched very carefully and our group even had a Stukach, an informer from our Russian host university. We saw guards in many places with machine guns. I even had to wait three hours in line just to buy toilet paper. They didn't have hundreds of brands of cereals on the store shelves. When I got home and went to the grocery store, I was in culture shock. I will never forget the new appreciation I felt for my country when I saw our flag displayed on the American Embassy.