What are some questions about Cold War?

Question

I am interviewing someone about the Cold War. The person lived in Russia at the time. What are some questions I could ask about the main parts of the war?

Answer 1

Have you read about Russia's part in the cold war?
http://countrystudies.us/russia/12.htm
http://www.historyguide.org/europe/lecture14.html
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/documents.html
Different views on the Cold War?
http://www.thecorner.org/hist/europe/coldwar.htm

If you read you can ask this person that I assume is knowledgeable about the Cold War and not just a citizen who had no idea what was going on, about his feelings listening to the Radio or reading the newspapers how was the USA or the west portrayed. How much did he know about what went on, and more questions can arise if you read about the tensions that arose from time to time between the two great powers.

Answer 2

it might be interesting to ask him about cold war propaganda. if you are from the us, i'm sure you've seen examples of anti-communist and anti-russia propaganda. It would be worth hearing about the other side of all that. Also, was he/she in Russia during the collapse of the USSR? If so, you can ask the usual questions about how life changed, and what it was like during the transition. Depending on the person's history, it is unlikely he would have been privy to much of the "big stuff" (nuclear weapons, foreign policy) and would have been informed about such things only through government sanctioned propaganda. Although, it might be worth asking if he had any experience with samizdat and the dissident movement during the 1970s.

Answer 3

You should ask unbiased questions and questions that don't offend him/her. Don't listen to that guy about the berlin wall falling down. Ask they way of life, what anti-capitalist propaganda they have seen and what is their point of view about the west.

I agree to the other poster that you must ask a person who knows about "current events" at his/her cold war days.

Answer 4

Just board a plane to Russia and buy some newspapers at the nearest stall .
But some people just refuse to get out of their cosy cold-war bunkers. ...mrx

Answer 5

Ask the Russian lady or gentleman if they have heard the miraculous story about the American President Ronald Reagan at the Berlin Wall. All he had to say was "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall", and lo and behold, the wall came a-tumbling down!