My father, the KGB spy (225)

My father, the KGB spy (225)

In 1978, Ieva Lesinska was a university student in Soviet Latvia with dreams of becoming a writer. She had just spent a heady month in New York visiting her father, Imants Lesinskis, a Soviet translator working at the United Nations. However, he was an employee of the KGB and a member of the Communist Party. During her trip to the US, Ieva’s father informed her that he and his wife Rasma were about to defect. He offered her a blunt choice: take a taxi to the Soviet Embassy and denounce him as a traitor, or stay with him and never see her mother or her homeland of Latvia again. She chose to stay. The new family officially became East German immigrants with new identities: Peter and Linda Dorn, and their daughter Evelyn. They were citizens of nowhere who possessed re-entry permits but no passports. In 1985, soon after Mr Lesinskis publicly disclosed confidential items on various KGB operations in Latvia, he died under mysterious circumstances. Watch the film about Ieva story here: UK https://amzn.to/3In12Ra US https://amzn.to/3xRZsBX 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 donations Just 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. I am delighted to welcome Ieva Lesinska to our Cold War conversation… There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode225/ 0:00 Introduction and story of Ieva Lesinska's parents as sleeper agents 2:26 Ieva Lesinska on her childhood and family history in Soviet Latvia 17:03 Revelation of Ieva's father's KGB affiliation and defection plans 23:02 Ieva Lesinska's journey to the United States and her decision to stay 39:13 Ieva Lesinska's adjustment to new life and identity in the US 50:13 Ieva's academic journey in the US, from Ohio State University to University of Colorado 57:42 Maintaining contact with her mother and dealing with homesickness 1:00:39 Ieva's father's mysterious death and his double life as a CIA and KGB agent 1:08:17 Reunion with her mother and her life after liberation in Latvia 1:14:04 Her story being adapted into a film and rejection of the victim narrative 1:17:41 Ieva Lesinska's current life as a journalist and translator 1:19:13 Acknowledging and thanking patrons Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(443)

Korea: War Without End (412)

Korea: War Without End (412)

The Korean War is often called "the forgotten war"—a brutal, complex conflict that claimed millions of lives but has largely faded from public memory, particularly in the West. Yet its consequences ar...

18 Jul 20251h 11min

The Night a Nuclear Missile Exploded: A Firsthand Account of Survival (411)

The Night a Nuclear Missile Exploded: A Firsthand Account of Survival (411)

In this gripping episode, we hear the harrowing account of Greg Devlin, a former US Air Force technician who barely survived a catastrophic explosion at a Titan II nuclear missile silo in 1980. He sh...

11 Jul 20251h 16min

The Cold War Origins of the War in Ukraine (410)

The Cold War Origins of the War in Ukraine (410)

The legacy of the Cold War in Europe continues to impact present day events, most notably in Ukraine. In this episode I speak with author Stephan Kieninger about his new book Securing Peace in Euro...

4 Jul 202555min

The End of  East Germany: A Communist Family’s Journey Through Change (409)

The End of East Germany: A Communist Family’s Journey Through Change (409)

This is the story of a Communist family in East Germany whose world was turned upside down by the implosion of the GDR. The story is told by Katja Hesse, whose father was a Vice Admiral in the Volk...

27 Jun 20251h 4min

The Spy in the KGB  Archive (408)

The Spy in the KGB Archive (408)

The story of how one man—a librarian for the KGB—became a traitor to the intelligence agency, stealing the most prized Soviet-era archives and smuggling them to the West. Historian and journalist Gor...

20 Jun 202557min

Memories of an East German Naval Officer's Family (407)

Memories of an East German Naval Officer's Family (407)

Katja Hesse, daughter of Vice Admiral Gustav Hesse of the East German Navy, shares her deeply personal story of growing up behind the Iron Curtain. In this fascinating conversation, Katja provides...

13 Jun 20251h 13min

Gorbachev - The Man Who Ended An Empire (406)

Gorbachev - The Man Who Ended An Empire (406)

In the annals of history, few leaders have faced the monumental challenges that Mikhail Gorbachev encountered when he rose to power in the Soviet Union in 1985. His ascent came at a time when the na...

6 Jun 20251h 8min

Policing the Berlin Wall with the Royal Military Police (405)

Policing the Berlin Wall with the Royal Military Police (405)

Simon Wood served in the British Army’s Royal Military Police in Berlin during the1980s. He describes the unique challenges he faced patrolling the Berlin Wall and policing British troops in the divid...

30 Mai 20251h 22min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
konspirasjonspodden
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
popradet
wolfgang-wee-uncut
alt-fortalt
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
grenselos
synnve-og-vanessa
fladseth
rss-dannet-uten-piano
frokostshowet-pa-p5
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-frekvens-med-anine-olsen
den-politiske-situasjonen