Original version

BBC World Service Online

Witness History

Podcasts

Factual: Life Stories

Factual: History

History as told by the people who were there

History as told by the people who were there.

irina pic cropped.jpg

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

Witness History: Mikhail Gorbachev: Release of Irina Ratushinskaya

Documentaries

Mikhail Gorbachev - The Imprisonment of Irina Ratushinskaya

02/09/2022 GMT

Mikhail Gorbachev: Release of Irina Ratushinskaya

BBC World Service - Witness History, Mikhail Gorbachev: Release of Irina Ratushinskaya

The imprisonment and release of dissident poet Irina Ratushinskaya

On 9 October 1986 the dissident poet Irina Ratushinskaya was released from a prison camp on the eve of a US-Soviet nuclear summit between Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan.

Mikhail Gorbachev - the last leader of the Soviet Union - has died aged 91. On the eve of an important summit on nuclear disarmament between the Soviet Union and America in October 1986, Gorbachev ordered the release of a dissident poet called Irina Ratushinskaya.

In 2012, Louise Hidalgo spoke to Irina about her imprisonment, her poetry, and the day she was set free.

(Photo: Irina and her husband Igor, arriving in London in December 1986. Credit: Topfoto)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Witness History

Mikhail Gorbachev: Release of Irina Ratushinskaya

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service