Chernenko is Soviet leader, 1984

Misgivings over Gorbachev's liberalisation proposals as observers fear further splits from satellite nations.This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to ...  Show more

Yasser Arafat's speech at the UN, the denial of his visa by US secretary of state George Schultz, and the view that Palestinians are moving towards reconciliation with Israel. 

New Soviet leader Chernenko described as in poor health even as he assumes office.This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by th ...  Show more

With power finally in Bolshevik hands, state terror arrives in Russia. The Soviet Union is born. But, installed in Red Square, Lenin’s health is ailing. Will his creation live on beyond his death? And which of his lieutenants, jostling for position, will take up the baton? A Nois ...  Show more

Belarus’s exiled opposition leader speaks to Monocle’s Tomos Lewis about the state of the resistance movement and her hopes for the country’s future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

As a new premier takes charge in Moscow, Hoxha makes a new friend in China. The Albanian dictator tasks an entire media industry with maintaining his image. But as his country sinks into an economic mire and his own health deteriorates, Hoxha and Albania’s isolation will be compl ...  Show more