# An officer in The Internal Troops of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs (448) Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119/an-officer-in-the-internal-troops-of-the-soviet-ministry-of-internal-affairs-448 Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119/an-officer-in-the-internal-troops-of-the-soviet-ministry-of-internal-affairs-448.md Podcast: [Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times](https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119) Published: 2026-03-21T00:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://coldwarconversations.com/episode448 Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR6353662671.mp3?updated=1773615962 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119/episodes/an-officer-in-the-internal-troops-of-the-soviet-ministry-of-internal-affairs-448 Duration seconds: 2931 ## Resource Ihor reflects on his time serving as an officer in the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Interior troops. After volunteering for military service, he found himself travelling from Lviv to Lithuania to begin officer training in communications and field operations. The training program brought together recruits from across the Soviet Union and beyond communications; these troops had a wide range of responsibilities—from guarding strategic facilities to responding to hostage crises and public disturbances. This is a rare opportunity to hear the everyday realities of military service inside the Soviet security structure. Listen to Ihor's first episode here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode447/ Episode extras here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode448/ Linked episodes Moscow Coup - Brett, a US student's account Moscow Coup - Kieran, a UK student's account Moscow Coup - How the BBC announced the coup Training to be a US Army Tank Commander Defending the Fulda Gap Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://surfshark.com/coldwardeal⁠⁠⁠⁠ or use code COLDWARDEAL at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Help me preserve Cold War history via a simple monthly donation, You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, and receive a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank-you, and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, we also welcome one-off donations via the same link. Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/store/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONTINUE THE COLD WAR CONVERSATION BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarpod.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119/episodes/an-officer-in-the-internal-troops-of-the-soviet-ministry-of-internal-affairs-448/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/cold-war-conversations-vivid-compelling-the-ny-times-1014119/an-officer-in-the-internal-troops-of-the-soviet-ministry-of-internal-affairs-448.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.