American tourists expected few chances to meet Soviet people. You’d only see what Soviet officials wanted to show you. Touring the USSR, many assumed, was nothing more than a front row seat at a big show. And real Soviet life was hidden under layers upon layers of propaganda. So, if you wanted to see the truth of Soviet life—avoid officials and seek out “regular people.” Teddy wanted to seek out “regular” Soviet people. And he had a few chances to visit people’s homes. What did Teddy discover about “regular Soviet life and people” as a result? And what did it say about the Soviet system as a lived experience?

Teddy Goes to the USSR is written, edited and produced by Sean Guillory.

Thanks to Dina Fainberg, Alexey Golubev, Robert Hornsby, and Donald Raliegh for their participation. Special thanks to Teddy Roe for sharing his story, diary, and photographs.

Music is by Blue Dot Sessions and Eliot Holmes.

Funding for Teddy Goes to the USSR was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and monthly patrons of the SRB Podcast.

If you want to learn more about Teddy’s trip and the Soviet Union go to the series website teddytoussr.com.

And if you’re enjoying Teddy Goes to the USSR, please consider becoming a patron of the SRB podcast so we can do more narrative audio. You can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/seansrussiablog

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