To Russia, With Love - Radio Free Europe and the Cold War

To Russia, With Love - Radio Free Europe and the Cold War

That the Cold War did not end in blood and tears was Radio Free Europe's ultimate victory. "To Russia with Love" tells how it won the hearts and minds of the people behind the Iron Curtain and brought down the Communist rule over Eastern Europe. The story of Radio Free Europe has not been told on film so far.  

The documentary retells the story of Radio Free Europe from the point of view of the RFE journalists and their audience. It addresses topics like: What did it mean for a dissident to broadcast to the country they still called home, to fight against a government, which had forced them to leave? How much was their everyday life ruled by fear for the family members they had left behind, knowing that their own actions could possibly threaten their relatives in the East? "To Russia with Love" also pictures how communist regimes fought the station. There were bomb attacks and mysterious murders, like the case of the poisoned umbrella.  Interview partners from the different language services give further insight into the various RFE sections and show the highlights of their career - the moments in which they felt they influenced history or even witnessed the long awaited end of the communist regime in Eastern Europe.

also available:

52 min (German)

52 min (English)