Post-Soviet States Interviews

Transcripts and Audio Recordings Curated by the Strauss Center

About the Project

The transition of the Soviet Union into an array of successor states was a pivotal moment in world history. Some aspects of that story are well known, while others are less familiar. The latter is particularly true with respect to the complicated commercial, energy, and financial agreements and transactions that unfolded at that time. In an effort to improve understanding of these matters, and to create new opportunities for scholars of that era, the Strauss Center is undertaking an oral history and document collection project intended to memorialize and make accessible key insights and primary materials. The present collection represents the very beginning of this ongoing endeavor. The Post-Soviet States project is led by the Strauss Center’s Rebecca Adeline Johnston.

Methodology

Transcripts of the oral histories follow the Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2018 style guide. Accordingly, all textual edits align with the center’s guiding philosophy, that the “role of the transcript is to represent, first and foremost, what a speaker intended to say, as clearly as possible, in the text.” Interviewees were given the opportunity to provide additional information or clarification for their statements in the written transcript, which were included in brackets at the editor’s discretion. The transcripts also include annotations with relevant contextual information written by the editor. In some cases, the recorded oral histories were preceded by informational interviews to lay out potential topics for discussion. Some interviews thus include references to previous discussions. Disclosures regarding interviewees who are current or past financial supporters of the Strauss Center are noted in individual biographies when applicable. All oral histories were conducted independent of any financial relationship between interviewees and the Center. While some sections are accompanied by explanatory notes, the transcripts, like all oral histories, should be treated first and foremost as primary documents.

Project Team

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