As a 24-year-old Kieran Williams was in Moscow staying with Soviet friends when the 1991 Moscow Coup occurred.

He is a Professor at Drake University in the United States and previously he taught for nine years at University College London's School of Slavonic and East European Studies, where he was an associate professor in politics as well as a frequent consultant to the UK Foreign Office. He is a specialist in the politics of Central and Eastern Europe, he has authored or co-authored four books, including a prize-winning account of the 1968 events in Czechoslovakia and a biography of the writer-statesman Václav Havel.

Now as I’m sure you know some of our fans who are helping the podcast financially, so if you’d like to join this select band? Then sign up to Patreon. For the price of a couple of coffees a month you help to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus you get the sought after CWC coaster too.

Just go to Patreon.com/coldwarpod

Back to today’s episode, Kieran gives a rich eyewitness account of those edgy days with vivid descriptions of what he saw and felt during those tumultuous days. 

I’m delighted to welcome Kieran Williams to Cold War Conversations

Do visit our show notes at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode81 These include Kieran's photos of the Coup and some amazing audio he recorded in the streets of Moscow at the time - well worth a look!

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