An Interview With Vika Drees
Interviewed by: Jordan Busits, May 11, 2014
Interviewed by: Jordan Busits, May 11, 2014
What you are about to read is an interview with a woman who grew up in Europe ( primarily under the control of the Soviet Union) during the years of the Cold War and witnessed a first-hand experience of the event. This interview was created to show the opinions of the communist side of the conflict and express the many effects of growing up during this time period.
Q. What were you told about the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union when it was going on? Were you or your family on any country’s side during it?
A. I lived in Kiev (Ukraine) between 1960 and 1973. At that time, Kiev (Ukraine) was part of the USSR. The television, the movies, the newspapers were all controlled by the government. No Western tourists were allowed in Kiev. The everyday people had almost no interaction with the West. Therefore, the only thing they knew was the propaganda that they were exposed to. TV only had five channels and the only thing the people ever saw of the West was sports events like the Olympics. Everyone was hungry for Western products and culture, but it was not allowed in the USSR. The people had almost no information of anything outside of the USSR, so it was hard to have any kind of opinion.
Q. Do you remember anything about the Vietnam War or have seen any footage of it when it was going on? What were you told about it?
A. I remember photos of the atom bomb and that the U.S. was going to Vietnam. The U.S. was always made to be the bad guys in the Vietnam war. The Ukranian people were told that the U.S. fire bombed innocent people and hurt them. Most of the Ukranians did not know why America was in the war, other than just to hurt innocent people.
Q. What kind of propaganda did you see regarding communist nations and how did it compare to capitalist propaganda?
A. Everything was propaganda. All of the news, the TV, magazines and newspapers was all Soviet propaganda. The Soviet people were told that America was all super-rich or super-poor. The Soviet people had no idea that there was a middle class in America. Capitalist propaganda is different. It is really just marketing. The Soviets love fashion products and like capitalist marketing - propaganda. Most of the super models in the world are Russians. Russians love to see their people in advertisements.
Q. Did you or your family live under any fear of nuclear warfare at one point during the Cold War?
A. Yes, the government told the people that the American's had nuclear bombs and wanted to kill everybody. We were all afraid we were going to die.
Q. When you were living in Finland, was there any Soviet or American involvement within the country? If so, do you know which country was more favored by the country’s citizens?
A. The Finns hated the Russians and had two wars with them. The Finns love Americans and the way that they fight for their freedom (just like the Finns).
Q. Did you know anything about the space race between the Soviets and the Americans? How did you view the space race?
A. Yes, the space race was big news! The Soviets viewed themselves as superior to the Americans. The people were told that the Soviets were first and the Americans were second.
Q. Do you remember the collapse of the Berlin Wall? How big of an event was this in the country you were living in?
A. I was living in Finland when the Berlin Wall came down. All of the Europeans were happy to see the wall come down. The Russian people were the most excited because they knew that they would be able to leave Russia / USSR soon.
Q. Do you remember exactly how the Cold War ended? If so, how did it affect you personally?
A. Not really. The Berlin wall came down and everyone was happy! It did not effect me personally, because I was already in Finland. But many of my friends from Russia and Ukraine left the USSR for the west as soon as they could!
A. I lived in Kiev (Ukraine) between 1960 and 1973. At that time, Kiev (Ukraine) was part of the USSR. The television, the movies, the newspapers were all controlled by the government. No Western tourists were allowed in Kiev. The everyday people had almost no interaction with the West. Therefore, the only thing they knew was the propaganda that they were exposed to. TV only had five channels and the only thing the people ever saw of the West was sports events like the Olympics. Everyone was hungry for Western products and culture, but it was not allowed in the USSR. The people had almost no information of anything outside of the USSR, so it was hard to have any kind of opinion.
Q. Do you remember anything about the Vietnam War or have seen any footage of it when it was going on? What were you told about it?
A. I remember photos of the atom bomb and that the U.S. was going to Vietnam. The U.S. was always made to be the bad guys in the Vietnam war. The Ukranian people were told that the U.S. fire bombed innocent people and hurt them. Most of the Ukranians did not know why America was in the war, other than just to hurt innocent people.
Q. What kind of propaganda did you see regarding communist nations and how did it compare to capitalist propaganda?
A. Everything was propaganda. All of the news, the TV, magazines and newspapers was all Soviet propaganda. The Soviet people were told that America was all super-rich or super-poor. The Soviet people had no idea that there was a middle class in America. Capitalist propaganda is different. It is really just marketing. The Soviets love fashion products and like capitalist marketing - propaganda. Most of the super models in the world are Russians. Russians love to see their people in advertisements.
Q. Did you or your family live under any fear of nuclear warfare at one point during the Cold War?
A. Yes, the government told the people that the American's had nuclear bombs and wanted to kill everybody. We were all afraid we were going to die.
Q. When you were living in Finland, was there any Soviet or American involvement within the country? If so, do you know which country was more favored by the country’s citizens?
A. The Finns hated the Russians and had two wars with them. The Finns love Americans and the way that they fight for their freedom (just like the Finns).
Q. Did you know anything about the space race between the Soviets and the Americans? How did you view the space race?
A. Yes, the space race was big news! The Soviets viewed themselves as superior to the Americans. The people were told that the Soviets were first and the Americans were second.
Q. Do you remember the collapse of the Berlin Wall? How big of an event was this in the country you were living in?
A. I was living in Finland when the Berlin Wall came down. All of the Europeans were happy to see the wall come down. The Russian people were the most excited because they knew that they would be able to leave Russia / USSR soon.
Q. Do you remember exactly how the Cold War ended? If so, how did it affect you personally?
A. Not really. The Berlin wall came down and everyone was happy! It did not effect me personally, because I was already in Finland. But many of my friends from Russia and Ukraine left the USSR for the west as soon as they could!