Mark Brayne studied in Moscow 71-72, travelling the country with fellow UK students and spending silly amounts of time in the bathhouses with salted fish and very poor quality beer. He returned in 1974-75 as Reuters trainee journalist where he became very close to Andrei Sakharov, the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb and Soviet-era dissident.

East Berlin was his first solo posting for Reuters, where he and his wife Jutta both sang in the East Berlin Cathedral choir for four years, including two as BBC Berlin, with the honorary status of Lieut Col.

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Back to today’s episode, part 1 of three episodes with Mark and I’m sure you will find his story as equally interesting as I did... 

 We welcome Mark to our Cold War conversation…

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0:00 Introduction and guest Mark Brayne's relationship with Andre Sakharov

8:18 Discussion on Mark Brayne's first visit to East Berlin and rowing with the Karl Marx University rowing club

14:33 Mark Brayne's experiences singing in the East Berlin Cathedral choir

22:14 Mark Brayne's sources of information in East Germany and interactions with other expatriates

28:10 Mark Brayne's scoop about East Germany purchasing VW Golfs from West Germany

31:04 Mark Brayne's memorable interview in East Germany and an incident in 1977

33:56 Transition from East Berlin to West Berlin and reflection on radio reporting

40:37 Mark Brayne's honorary status in the British military government in West Berlin

44:57 Mark Brayne's experiences with Western secret services and favourite Cold War story

51:00 Discussion on border dynamics and Mark Brayne's admiration for Germany's post-Cold War recovery

57:08 The lasting psychological impact of East Germany's Cold War experience

59:22 Episode wrap-up and thanks to listeners

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