Global Connections Television Podcast

Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack: “Swimming the Volga”

July 10, 2022 Bill Miller Season 3 Episode 26
Global Connections Television Podcast
Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack: “Swimming the Volga”
Show Notes

“Swimming the Volga” is a distinctly personal account written by Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack {Ret.} that begins in 1989 (in the waning years of the Cold War) when as a young army Captain, he received both a Soviet visa and US approval to study Russian at a regional university in Kalinin. This occurred in Russia over the turbulent 1990s just before the rise of Vladimir Putin. General Zwack also highlights how the Russian “state of mind” has changed from 1989 to today, whether the US and Russia are moving to a new Cold War, unexpected consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, revitalization of NATO, red lines to avoid World War 3, and how—even with the UN Security Council being semi-paralyzed-- several United Nations agencies are playing a vital role in Ukraine, such as the UN World Food Program (WFP) , UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UN Children’s’ Fund (UNICEF), as well as his suggestions for ending the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.