Real Life of a Soviet Soldier

[@kalle911]

There was this joke about soviet military I heard. It went something like this: When I was little I slept peacefully because I knew that our soldiers are protecting our country When I grew up I couldn't sleep, because I was busy protecting our country Now I can't sleep, because I know who are protecting our country and in which manner..

[@aeroaero5472]

That's true for any country

[@kalle911]

@@aeroaero5472 it's definitely true for most former commie countries, western european and american militaries are more likely to have their shit together.

[@karoltakisobie6638]

@@aeroaero5472 sad truth everywhere.

[@chongli8409]

@@kalle911 haha youve no idea

[@Marinealver]

They fight fiercely as Lions it is a shame they are led by Jackasses.

[@wach9191]

My grandad born in 1947. He served in USSR Army and said he helped building rocket silos as manual labourer. My dad served in Kola peninsula in 1989. Said it was frozen hell, once he got lost in blizzard and almost died.

[@kalle911]

Somebody told me about forgetting his gloves when lining up in the morning. As punishment, nobody got to wear gloves that day. In Murmansk. During winter. That was sometime in 1980s.

[@mariano98ify]

@@kalle911 that somebody might had been the most popular kid on the class, I think

[@4633-c1t]

@@kalle911 lol i had that in the Canadian army in 2014. They made us hold ice and not wear gloves because of one guy. All cold weather nations are fucked like that lol.

[@kalle911]

@@4633-c1t of course they do such a collective punishment in every military. This one book I read, it was about being a SEAL, the name escapes me right now. The author's training took place sometime in 1970s. So the author and his buddy decided to sneak (swim) out of the base, off the island to the nearest town to have some fun in bars. But they were caught by a patrol and they were told to swim back. They decided to go ahead anyway and were caught again. What followed was that every other trainee was woken up and they were PT-d all night long and into the morning. But those guys who were caught had to sit and watch. In the end they were pleading to be allowed to join in. (PT involved getting wet in the sea and rolling around in sand before proceeding with exercises)

[@Legitpenguins99]

@@murderouskitten2577 i dont think the best way to prevent frostbite is to promote it by forcing people not to wear gloves

[@danoarmstrong2597]

I was at Minot AFB in the 80's, when we has some Soviet Military Inspectors show up as part of the START treaty. Among other places, they were given a tour of the Airman's Barracks. One inspector was looking out the window at the parking lot, and asked who's cars were in the lot. The guide said they belongs to the troops living in the barracks. The Russian asked, "You allow them to drive off base?". He was told, "Yes, of course". After starring for a few more moments, the Russian asked, "And they come back?".

[@anthonycamarda736]

Lol that’s awesome

[@brucemace5404]

I was on Johnston Island when Russians chemical weapons inspectors showed up to watch us destroy our stock pile of chemical weapons. Took a female Russian major inside to take a sample from VX or GB nerve agents, can’t remember which, from a 155 shell. Making sure it wasn’t water about to be pumped into the liquid incinerator. Look up The History Guy -Johnston Island Episode. Can’t prove it but my picture is in there in Level B modified. It was one they put in the Houston Chronicle paper my father saved. During a dog and pony show for the press and Congressional hearing.

[@phoenixrivenus9270]

Not even russians trust russians. We should never have either. The only good russian is a dead one.

[@robina.9402]

My coworker showed me his album from mandatory service in Russia during the 70s, but I never realized it was considered part of Soviet culture! My grandfather was a US pilot during the Korean war, and he also had a photo album/scrapbook of his service.

[@TheColdWarTV]

to be honest I had never really heard about these until recently. They are a fascinating subject

[@MASON_99]

It'd be fascinating to compare both to see similarities between both cultures

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

​@@MASON_99 same!

[@cossacktwofive4974]

You forgot that young people are only mostly aware of USSR through video games, specially the one where the Soviets have tesla coils, bears with parachute and Tim Curry being the secretary general.

[@pluckedpickles2725]

Tim Curry is the true general secretary change my mind

[@sld1776]

I would have surrendered to Commander Vera for the right incentive.

[@ArmyGreensTanBoots]

Don't forget the bald psychic.

[@Rybo-Senpai]

SPAAACE!

[@SarimDeLaurec]

My dad was stationed for hist last year in Mongolia. The rations were way better if you were abroad, even if it was in Mongolia. When he tells stories from his military service, it is really strange to think such things were common plance. When there was a scandal in the treatment of Bundeswehr recruits about 15 or 20 years ago, he just commented "If only that were our biggest problems when I served...". In some areas you were nearly 100% guaranteed to get beat up if one found out you were a conscript. Why? Because they got beat up when they themselves were doing their service.

[@BygoneChina]

I love how you incorporated the photo album, really adds to the immersion!

[@SebastianvonGrunf]

This brought back some fond memories.. Even tough i served in mid 2000s, and my country was a part of non aligned Yugoslavia, the customs and traditions seem pretty much the same. Especially those parties we threw for each other before deployment

[@TheColdWarTV]

seemingly, some traditions are universal!

[@Sleepery22]

I served Yugoslav Army (JNA). Yes, the parties before deployment existed, but it's older tradition, nothing to do with Soviets. And there was nothing like these albums in JNA. Just a pocket calendar.

[@Zorglub1966]

I did my time in 87-89 in Berlin, to go there, we had to cross the DDR in special military train (TMFB Train Militaire Français de Berlin). During transit we often seen trains of soviet troops, they were in cattle cars. EDIT : Despite the formal interdiction of any kind of communication with anyybody outside the train, when we waved at them, they always answered friendly, and massively, it was impressive and touching.

[@JohnDoe-pv2iu]

Young men are all people and most will meet a greeting with a greeting or a threat with a threat. Take Care and Thank you for your service, John

[@ste2442]

Ex British infantry man here mate , from one old soldier to another good luck and take care 👍

[@Zorglub1966]

@@ste2442 Thank you (i was conscript)

[@thunderbird1921]

From what I've read, the North Korean soldiers have it pretty darn bad too. The South Korean surgeon who saved the life of the 2017 defector shot crossing the DMZ said IIRC that he had been fed a diet of raw corn in a gruel and that his guts were full of parasites that they removed. What an absolutely miserable existence this fellow must have had.

[@kgbfiles5713]

I'm glad to work together! We need to think about the topic for the next episode .

[@TheColdWarTV]

It is always a pleasure and we look forward to many more collaborations! In Kyiv, maybe, if we are ever allowed to travel again!

[@patricksputnick5094]

@@TheColdWarTV I wish you would do an episode about the Vietnamese DMZ.

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

Make one on K-3 Accident

[@EMan-cf8lv]

I would love to see you guys collaborate on the Assyrians who at one point helped by the Czarist Russia and when the Bolshevik took power, they threw us to the wolfs surrounded by a crumbling Ottoman Empire, Persia, and Arabs and Kurdish people. And then it was the British who created the RAF Assyrian Levies who were used to police Iraq and even saw action during both world wars. But even if you guys are to backed up to tackle such a task, I still enjoy every episode! Keep up the great work!

[@emilianopaz3805]

yess

[@brucemace5404]

As a Marine 80’ to 84’ I got to see glimpses of Soviet sailors Airmen and a solder once Migs , Bear recon bombers, a attack sub , destroyer and a Embassy guard. Always wondered what they were like and thought

[@Chiboza]

They were pretty much like you

[@AlexSaysHi2013]

2017-2021 I feel the same way, I've always been curious how the Chinese feel about us

[@juancana457]

U.S. Navy corpsman during the same period, I admonished, "Never talk to the freakin' Rooskies"!

[@brucemace5404]

@@juancana457 I did finally meet a Russian Major in the ‘90’s. Was working at a demilitarized chemical weapons plant on Johnston Island. Escorted her inside the plant to take a sample from a VX 155 shells about to be destroyed by Incineration. We were in Level A chemical suits. She was very nervous like I was my first time. Got to know her a little. Took her snorkeling and scuba diving to help entertain the international inspectors. She loved her country like I loved the USA. So I guess I did finally meet and talk to one After the fall of the USSR

[@juancana457]

@@brucemace5404 Thanks for sharing, that was unique 🙂.

[@VangelisKontogeorgakos]

Served 18 months in the Greek Army, and I feel that I have so much in common with those soldiers. One way to celebrate the 100 days remaining till demobilization, was to take an 100 drachma note and paint on it the days remaining. Brilliant video.

[@MaxGogleMogle]

Lol =) Probably, this tradition in Soviet Army coming out from Greece, cuz almost all that we have in the so-called 'deep-cultural' aspects comes to us from Greece... even our Russian alphabet is a gift from Greece. Greetings from Western Siberia, Russia.

[@ΔημητριοςΡουτσολιας]

A view days before breaking the “katostara” (hundred days to dismissal) we used to throw hundred Drachma coins on the ground and looked if the coin broke (it did not). On the hundred day we threw it once again on the ground with force (and although it never broke) everybody screamed “it broke, it broke its one bazillion peaces” and everybody played along.

[@mjstbnsn6294]

Great episode! Especially since I served in the US Army in the 80's to see how the other side served. As a matter of fact we were given a film on life of a Soviet soldier but that was filmed in the 60's.

[@mishapurser4439]

Whatever side of the front you're on, everyone is a human being.

[@FDNY101202]

Except the SS... Fuck those guys.

[@liveforever141]

@@FDNY101202 kgb were wayyyyyy worse, but well, ussr won the war and secret files are not declassified and maybe they will be never declassiefied. no one judges the winner and everyone demonise the loser. it is easier to kick the horse when it is down.

[@Liberater4589]

Except for wojtek

[@dimboolabladeworks7927]

i'm a Cambodian veteran , i can change your mind easy

[@Emperroroffire]

@@liveforever141 If you think that KGB was worse than SS you are an idiot. Perhaps you don't understand what SS and nazi troops in general did. This was the worst thing ever happened to the humanity. Here in Russia we understand it quite well.

[@Neversa]

My uncles are twins, but due to one of them being sick child and some weird bureaucracy they were registered to be born on different days. So when they were conscripted, one of them was sent to Sakhalin, and second was sent to Crimea. Twins almost always served in the army together. Btw, my grandpa fought the Chinese in 1968 in Zhalanashköl.

[@CaseyMcKinky]

Here in Singapore we also have a 2 year mandatory conscription in either the military, police force or civil defence, followed by 10 years as a reservist. The feelings of the slow months towards the end of your 2 years of active service are very relatable.

[@Joshua_N-A]

I thougt SG police is all volunteer due to its civilian LE nature and same goes to bomba and rescue as well.

[@fakedungeonmaster5740]

@@CR-rm4iy china?

[@rezajafari6395]

@@CR-rm4iy It's a small rich country, next to it is Malaysia (with whom they often had bad relations - in fact Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia) as well as Indonesia (a huge country with a history of being aggressive to its neighbors - see the Konfrontasi and the West Papua debacle) Though most likely it's just that the government has conservative brain worms

[@chaitanyasaagar9895]

Could You also do a video on the Sino Indian war of 1962 and the role of the USSR and USA in the conflict.

[@darnit1944]

All i know is India is probably using British tanks while Pakistan uses US tanks

[@yashvardhanojha6796]

@@darnit1944 that was in 65

[@aravindvenk]

There is an Indian Airforce base near Chennai that houses Soviet era fighters though now modernized. Possibly guests there I guess.

[@hankw69]

Great show! I worked F-16's from 1990-97. We called them lawn darts too. Lost three due to faulty engines in Korea in less than two years during my tour over there.

[@joelmalone7922]

These albums are truly unique. Some of them are also oddly beautiful with their fascinating illustrations of feelings, often abstract, that they experienced. They are very, very cool and I had no idea such things existed. If I were a family member who had come into posession of one I'd consider it an heirloom or a treasure, if you will.

[@andyreynolds6194]

This is a brilliant episode - fantastic to get such a human take on the Soviet conscript. They were just boys serving their State in their own world order.

[@pavloskoropadsky1448]

My father died May 3rd 2021 in Madrid, Spain. This video was published 2 days before his leaving. He served in an undisclosed PVO(Air Defence Forces) unit in Ashjabad(Turkmenistan SSR), though he was originally from Ivanno-Frankivsk(Ukrainian SSR) during the 80s and even into the 90s in a logistics base in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He spoke to me about how their nuclear attack drills were done, wearing the NBC suit at the Summer. About how his Air Defence battalion was half-Slavic half-Turk, with Muslim and Orthodox cultural backgrounds. About how one night, in an improvised field cinema there weren't enough chairs for everyone so Slavs and Turks would literally fight one another to get a chair. About how the "Dedovschina" was thankfully not a tradition in his unit and never had to see such situations. About how, weirdly, food at his unit was from other countries; Yugoslavia, East Germany, even from France and served to the whole battalion. About how one winter, while playing football in the snow, he striked the lt colonel's office window, broke it, the lt colonel was in fact drunk and tried to shoot my father with a hunting rifle. About the delicious rices people cooked in Central Asia. About how funny it was for him to teach Russian to the fresh Turk recruits. About how in a single night because of heat strokes four servicemen perished while sleeping... I didn't really have a close relationship with him, something I will DEEPLY and FOREVER regret until my very final breath. My last conversation with him, January 23rd 2021, while finishing the Paratrooper Course in Spain to officialy become part of the Spanish Airborne forces. How many things he told me once I got into the Army, soo many things I wouldn't have understood before joining... Thanks to this channel for giving me the opportunity to dive into the world my father was part of. Oleksandr Mikolaiovich Yakymchuk 12-12-1961 3-5-2021

[@TheSunderingSea]

How'd your family end up in Spain? What's the Spanish army like? I have an American friend who was deployed for a time in southern Spain and he had a very high opinion of the Spanish soldiers. Are you of mixed Spanish/Slav background or are both your parents Ukrainian?

[@pavloskoropadsky1448]

@@TheSunderingSea Both my parents ended up in Spain during the 90s, they met here and so I was born in Madrid. I would however have the Ukrainian citizenship until the age of 13. The Spanish Army is quite the European average actually. You can compare it to Italian, Portuguese, Austrian and German armies.

[@Shinzon23]

This was very touching to hear stories from behind the Iron Curtain from the perspective of a lowly conscript.

[@ggsay1687]

My dad have "dem'bel' al'bom", he served in GDR as private in aviation, it was mainly photos of him and his comrades, and only one photo with snow in eastern Germany, he served there for 1,5 years and only once he saw a snow, in comparison to weather in southern Ural mountains, it is warm climate.

[@keksimusultimus4257]

military service...trully a blessing in my eyes for those that still live in countries that have it. It's a unique experience, even today. You meet all kind of people, live with them and for the duration of the service, you don't care about anything. You're fed, you got a bunk to sleep and that's all you cared about. eating and sleeping lol. Some call it "the last true holidays before adulthood". Comon jokes, fears, and feelings everywhere. Loved this video. Where i am, we are used to drill small holes in our hats, making the months passing by. The hat also changed position (although this heavily depends on how harsh and strict the place you are is), so for example at the begining it would be very close to your eyes, like it should, but towards the end, it would be further away, almost to your neck. As for pictures, well, we all sneaked some with heavy equipment, but i think the most comon one is by far holding 2 rifles "rambo" style.

[@MrHeavy466]

Well it seems that all troops from all countries have one thing in common: their fear and hatred of Jody.

[@stefanodadamo6809]

My brother served in the Italian Amry AND Air Force (three months among the Alpini than he was taken as an officer in the ground airport guard services) in the Nineties, he got out with a group album which was absolutely hilarious. It seems his comrades were a natural band of comedians. (I... well, was rejected out for being psychically and phisically unfit, to my relief)

[@trizvanov]

At 8:20 mark. I grew up in Turkmenistan, but don't remember seeing plates with "-ВШ" in them. Also, surprised to only see 2 letters on the plates of that Volga, as opposed to 3. That makes me think that parents of the kid who drove it, most likely had connections on the military side, i.e. friends with one of the colonels or generals.

[@percamihai-marco7157]

Great video! I hope that you will collaborate more often with Eduard and KGB Files.

[@jayman7752]

As an Afghan Vet I’ve always been interest in the Soviet Invasion of Afghan. There are plenty of videos from the 1000 foot overview but none from the Private Soldiers prospective.

[@zainmudassir2964]

They generally fought well. Cold war era propaganda notwithstanding

[@jayman7752]

@@zainmudassir2964 were only Russians sent to Afghanistan or where the troops drawn from all over

[@l.dailyda6044]

@@jayman7752 The Soviet Army was comprised of troops from all corners of the Union. For example, many Muslims and non-Russian people from Central Asian republics like Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan served in the 40th Army and Special Operations Detachments 154 and 177.

[@jayman7752]

@@l.dailyda6044 I understand that the entire force was but I had heard that only Russian Troops were used in Afghanistan.

[@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5]

@@jayman7752 The Soviet troops in Afghanistan were multinational - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarussians, Lithuanians, Chechen, and others. If one knew Arabic, Dari, or Pashto his chances to serve there were much greater.

[@ChazMcGutter]

The perfect video for May Day

[@andyreznick]

Good catch. Hadn't thought of that.

[@MayheM_72]

I work with a Ukrainian who was a member of the Soviet army. He was serving in East Germany when the Soviet Union collapsed. When he tried to go home to Ukraine, he was told that wherever he was when he was released from service would be his new home country. In other words, he would be an East German citizen instead of Ukrainian. He was like "Forget about THAT!" and he went home! I'm thinking of asking if he made an album like this.

[@filipeamaral216]

As for tensions between ethnicities, Viktor Suvorov (Wladmir Rezun) wrote in his book "Inside the Soviet Army" not only about infighting but also about especific ethnicities being chose to especific jobs, citing the Tartars as being heartless and brutal, thus being handpicked for NCO billets. As for actual fighting, Artyom Borovik in his "The Hidden War" describes ugly situations of ethnicities ganging up on isolated people and brutally beating them. In one occasion, a young Russian sergeant kept being beaten into submission by two Kazakhs until he crawled under a table for the ordeal to stop.

[@KiraC-q8g]

In Post-Soviet countries, the Dembelsky Albom tradition is still very much alive, but now it often comes in form of a VKontakte (Russian Facebook knockoff) album or recently even a TikTok video.

[@JCDenton3]

Ugh that's sad. VK, Facebook, and TikTok will fade away. As this video demonstrates, a real album will last several lifetimes when handled and passed down with care.

[@PYRESATVARANASI]

Great episode 💪🏼🔥

[@andyreznick]

Never knew about this. Thanks for a very interesting topic! Spasibo vam bol'shoe!

[@TheColdWarTV]

Glad you liked it!

[@M3chUpN8y]

Thank you for producing this video on the human side of the average Soviet soldier.

[@jackncoke8527]

15:20 a story as old as time itself across every military.

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

Really enjoyable episode!

[@nikov82]

They posted photos of towns, cars, girls, alcohol, travels, family and friends. Also custom made stories decorated with badges. It's paper Instagram.

[@deepalib3096]

Nice episode!

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Very interesting. It's clear that the Soviet soldier and seaman were no different than those of the US, Canada or any other country around the world. Now I'm imagining a bunch of drunk Soviet soldiers roaming the streets of Dresden, just like my friends and I did in Frankfurt-am-Main in the late 80s. Hehehe...

[@justchannel1568]

I know and talked to several people who served in East Germany. Most of the conscripts weren't allowed to go out to the towns, except for drivers and other specific positions. The officers had flats in the towns and had a relative freedom of movement. Unfortunately, any interaction with Germans was not allowed. :( But some soldiers did go to the local shops to buy something, when no one sees. :) Or they might've asked someone with the permission to go out of the base to buy something.

[@pyatig]

Imagine that, they were human

[@KiraC-q8g]

Wow, I had no idea the albums used to be this cool, thank you for this video! The culture of waiting for demobilization order has somewhate evolved in the post-Soviet armies, there are now apps that allow you to count days, hours, minutes and seconds till dembel, and the soldiers' girfriends often dedicate their social media accounts to memes about waiting for their loved ones back from the army.

[@FernandoG1942]

Fascinating! Thanks for the super interesting episode.

[@AlexVanChezlaw]

A photo of an F-104 flying and not buried in the ground? That's lucky as hell. Nice photo too

[@MaxGogleMogle]

F-104 was a well-known symbol of 'imperialism" after Vietnam War. For example, archaic hummer & sickle together are a symbol of Communism. It's a SYMBOL!

[@Josh-hr5mc]

I don't know why but I found this video more interesting than any other soviet topic. I guess because there aren't many videos on this topic. Love the content

[@adsads196]

This is a great episode. I did not look away from the screen for even 1 second. I would love more episodes about ordinary people in Warsaw Pact countries.

[@JohnDoe-pv2iu]

I would love an 'inside look' at the life of career Soviet servicemen, Officers and NCOs. It must have been hard to be dedicated to your country's military and command conscripts. The first few months they don't know what they are doing, maybe a year of good service and 6 months of trying to lay low to go home. Sounds like America in Vietnam but the US still had some committed Servicemen... Nice video! Take Care and be safe, John

[@softakgames]

Very romantic description of army service in USSR. Touching only few points.

[@astronglackofcreativity3774]

Fantastic video.

[@TheColdWarTV]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@astronglackofcreativity3774]

@@TheColdWarTV

[@gusjeazer]

There were a lot of Soviet soldiers stationed in eastern Germany during the cold war. Everyone I talked to that had contact with them says the same: Das waren arme Schweine... Bekamen mehr Schlägen als Essen. Those poor bastards... Got more beatings than food. And that's from people who were no fan of the Soviets and the DDR.

[@fredsieber2676]

I am a retired U.S. Marine. In the early 90s, I had a Marine in my platoon who had been in the Soviet Army. The stories he told were wild...especially how horrible the chow was. He was one of the best Marines I ever knew.

[@thunderbird1921]

Just how did a former Soviet soldier manage to get into the United States Marines? That is truly bewildering.

[@fredsieber2676]

@@thunderbird1921 He immigrated when the Berlin Wall fell. He was an awesome Marine!

[@Willstangv6]

Excellent content, thoroughly enjoyed this one.

[@Krondon-SSR]

My dad has 1 such album, he is 51 right now (Estonian)

[@TheColdWarTV]

Did he serve in the Soviet Army then or in the Estonian armed forces? I assume based on his age, it was right at the end of the 80s or the start of the 90s?

[@Krondon-SSR]

@@TheColdWarTV Don't remember the year right now but yeah he served in the Soviet army for 2 years. He learned most of his russian language there.

[@nikolaipotapenkov8823]

I was serving 1981-83. Back to that time i finished College and not so post to be drafted in Army. Never hesitate and without Draft notice I joined USSR army. My dear father was a soldier of Great Patriotic war. Fight with Nazis and survive all 4 years of war. When I was ready to depart He came with my mom.. She was crying.. Dad looked me...then said You know where you going. You going protect Mather land.. If anything happened Dont place shame on yourself.. Die with pride as Russian soldier.. Well so many years past by. No one alive.. I live in a different Planet USA.. But remember father words .. Proud to be a soldier and son of a soldier of Red Army. All my ancestors served to Mother Russia.

[@ElCap1van]

Much honor you have my friend

[@mitchellstadnik752]

Great content,it home for me as a American submarine sailor in the 80s ,although we were entirely all volunteers, there are some parallels experiences with our adversary, one example was the two digit midget

[@Tuupoification]

@7.50 From what I heard and read, Soviet military tended to place conscripts quite far away from their origins. For example, people drafted from Baltics were send to serve in middle Asian soviet states (like my estonian friend, he served in Uzbekistan). So that would explain the diversity.

[@fredericculmann7048]

I wonder if that's not the case of most conscription armies - it certainly was in my case (France) : they sent me as far as possible from my geographic area. In the past - before ww1 actually - I guess the rational was that the army was used in case of civilian disorders and the army wanted to be sure the conscripts wouldn't face relatives. Afterwards, I don't know... Habits maybe.

[@Keefan1978]

A very well made video. Again. Yet it is worth pointing out, that not everyone made these dembel albums. At least I know from the stories of Estonians who had to serve in the Soviet armed forces, that it was a rarity for an Estonian to do it - the Estonian conscripts associated the whole dembel subculture (the album, the decoration of one's uniform beyond the borders of ridiculousness etc) with Russian culture and indeed, as the source base of this video also shows, the Slavic conscripts (but also Central Asian ones) where especially keen in making them. That said, it doesn't mean many Estonians would not have wanted to record the time spent in the service or weren't interested in keeping in touch with their fellow servicemen. I have heard and read countless stories of the servicetime - some funny, some tragic, but almost always in a way melancholic as all the stories about one's youth tend to be - and I also know men how have, out of nostalgia, visited the places where they were stationed. Be it in neighboring Latvia or Lithuania or as fas out as on the Chinese border. And some men also keep in touch until this day with their fellow servicemen from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and othe former Soviet republics. And almost everyone had some photos. I have as well quite funny looking photos of my own father who, as a student, did not have to spend 2 years in the service but was instead forced to become an officer and spent regularly some weeks at a training camp in Lithuania. But yeah, dembel albums are basically nonexistent in Estonia. Yet our museums have publicly asked the former conscripts of the Soviet armed forces to send them photos and written memories of these times and as far as I know, people have reacted vigorously.

[@sabflash]

Really interesting thank you

[@TheColdWarTV]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Artur_M.]

Great collaboration!

[@deanbuss1678]

You out did yourself again David. This was really COOL 😎!

[@mohammadjuma4757]

I really enjoyed this episode! Very interesting subject indeed :)

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks

[@lucaliberale49]

I'm from Italy and I can say that the conscription experience in my country, at least for what I have heard, was very similar. With a party at the start and another at the end, the time between, wich was just one year, was spent waiting for the return home. Today in italy this topic is seen as controversial as conscription brought 'nonnismo', the very common situation in wich conscripts that were forward in their year of service basically bullied the last arrived ones. Hearing what many who served have to say about the mandatory service I got just that one year was very long for them and they felt the loss of time from their normal life. But then they allways say that they made a lot of frends, with some of wich are possibly still in touch today and they tell about the time spent together with some nostalgia, So I don't really know what to think about it...

[@pineapplethief4418]

Post-service nostalgia sounds a lot like Stockholm Syndrome. You are thrown into situation against your will with no option to exit said situation, fun times

[@joaoonda]

Great video! Very very interesting!

[@wilberteric]

I look forward to your videos every week.

[@TheColdWarTV]

thank you!

[@ciripa]

great episode!!

[@kentkirkland7230]

Excellent job, Dave and company. Especially valuable to me, as I do not speak Russian.

[@ReaperCH90]

I love this channel, because it shows how despite living in different places st different times, we homo sapiens are still so similar. Most of the stuff these sowjet soldiers did could slso have been me snd my comrades in 201X in the Swiss Armee Forces

[@mysticonthehill]

Interesting and its own way touching

[@ehh7100]

Highly recommend the movie 9та Рота (9th Company) for a somewhat good representation VDV infantrymens daily life during training and the Soviet-Afghan War

[@GeorgeSemel]

That is a very very very good movie.

[@ciripa]

totally agree!! good movie...good recomandation!!

[@seymourhiney3651]

Extremely gifted historian. Just wanted to drop in and spread some positive feedback. God Bless 🙏🏽

[@thechatteringmagpie]

This is a truly fascinating insight into the 'normal' life of the serviceman. It has reminded me of my father's album, he served as RAF ground radar in Burma during WWII. His album is full of pictures of India, Malaya and Burma, including civilians, famous landmarks, other personal and even a picture of a Japanese general surrendering in 45. I have passed the album on to one of my nieces.

[@SA2004YG]

My dad served in the 80's, he also had one of those albums. Liked to show it off to me

[@BradSchmor]

This was absolutely fascinating. I had never heard of anything like this, and now I wish I still knew my old friend Yuri who I know served in the soviet army in the early 1980s, to ask him if he had one.

[@amanchaudhary742]

What a fantastic story 🙏

[@VoreAxalon]

That was really amazing to watch. Growing up for me in 1990 Minnesota, the old Soviets were always shown as some 2D construct. But of course, the older I got, the more I knew better. This video showed me a very intimate side of those fellas and I find this kind of thing very enlightening. Id love to see more.

[@mitch8226]

Very interesting, as a sub veteran of the same era as many of the journals

[@mbarnlund]

13:19 Totally cool! Well done comrade.

[@IronHorse1854]

13:19 that is so cool, I want a print of that!

[@Mondo762]

I love the French Horns at the end of each video. Don't ever lose them.

[@luisfelipegoncalves4977]

Could you do an episode about religion and religious life in the USSR?

[@MaxGogleMogle]

I can tell a story like this. During the Soviet era, always, the Communists did not celebrate Easter, but they did not prevent those who wanted to celebrate it. For example, every year for Easter, a real Russian traditional so-called 'Easter cake' was on sale in state stores, only it was called NOT "Easter cake", but "Spring cake" =) And so on ... including Christmas and other religious holidays.

[@pbosustow]

Very interesting episode, thanks for posting. One common theme about soldiers, they're usually no more than boys. I'm sure these albums are treasured.

[@bigblue6917]

It is interesting how many people who served their various countries kept a record of it. And in many cases this was probably the only time in there lives that they did so.

[@ralfis1234]

Dembil albums are awesome. Each is very unique and handcrafted. I remember when i was a kid we use to show to our friends our relatives dembel albums. It was sort of competition whos relatives album is cooler.

[@edwardloomis887]

Zero mention of individuals' service in Afghanistan, 1979-1989? Over a half million Soviet Soldiers and border troops cycled through Afghanistan during that ten-year period. Given that is part of the period this video examined, it's a pretty glaring omission.

[@TheSunderingSea]

IIRC the USSR avoided sending conscripts and non-volunteers to Afghanistan, and most of these Albums are from conscripts.

[@simonjester0074]

Thanks 😎

[@aquilarossa5191]

From the mid 1990s to 2010 I worked at sea with a lot of former USSR citizens mostly from Sevastopol. Most of them stayed In the military and became specialists in the naval infantry, which was their version of the marines. I know of two who went further and served in Ethiopia. which was a covert operation. Nobody in port dared mess with them. Their Soviet passports were prized possessions, although they were no longer valid. They said things like "USA is so much bullsh!t about us". They resented the vodka and Cossack dancing stereotype too. Very patriotic and proud of the USSR. That surprised me a lot. I thought they all hated it and were all about being like the West. Not at all. They liked visiting it, but did not want to be like it. I also worked with lots of Norwegians. They also did compulsory military service. Very professional mariners, but a much lower alcohol tolerance than the Soviet crew. I saw them a few times singing and falling over each other drunk walking around in port. No matter where crew is from, in port after seven weeks at sea the objective is the same. Party. Even the Indonesians who are Muslim partied hard (apart from the fasting month where they were like saints).

[@beachboy0505]

Brilliant video, the enemy was only a human being..

[@jamieshields9521]

This most interesting vid in War history especially from other side👍

[@DrTruffaldino]

I used to make (draw) those albums during my military service for my superiors (sergeants). Due to my drawing skills I have been exempt (unofficially) from some hard labour and exercices.

[@farhatmuhmmed604]

I liked it so much.

[@jjt1881]

Excellent! Very engaging and informative video about a totally unknown aspect of soviet life, at least in the West. KUDOS

[@PariahEarth]

a lot of this art is pretty good

[@jamesbodnarchuk3322]

Very interesting!

[@TheColdWarTV]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@brokenbridge6316]

A nicely informative video. Maybe we can get a few more soldier's perspectives. As in the perspectives of soldiers on both side of the Vietnam conflict or maybe even the War in Afghanistan. Now that could be some very informative video's. My compliments to all those who made this video a reality.

[@張理-d8d]

Very glad to watch this video. In Taiwan, all males who are qualified in healthy condition are also required to do military service when they are 18 to 22 years old. The term varies from 2 to 3 years. Surprisingly, the daily life of these Soviet soldiers was so similar to that of Taiwanese soldiers, especially : wow, finally, it's about time to go home as a civilian ! 很高興看到這個主題. 在台灣, 所有體位合格的男性, 在18歲到22歲時也要到部隊服兵役. 期限是2年到3年不等. 令人驚訝的是, 這些蘇聯士兵的日常生活, 與台灣士兵的日常生活是如此相似, 特別是, 終於到了可以回家再當老百姓的日子了 !

[@beltigussin81]

Only a person with a cool head a warm heart and clean hands can be a security officer. Can't accuse the KGB and Dzherzhinsky of lacking a knack for irony.

[@valentinstoyanov304]

Quite interesting indeed! I am almost 100% sure that such albums did not exist in Bulgaria where however the so called "lexicons" of high school graduates were very popular.

[@mirk5144]

can you do life in yugoslavija plz!