Investigating the doctored memories of an old Soviet communist
As a young journalist, Tomas Sniegon had fantastic material – more than one hundred hours of interviews with the former KGB chairman Vladimir Semichastny. It was intended for a memoir, but time moved on and the market was suddenly saturated with Soviet confessions. Twenty years later, the winds have changed. There is renewed interest in looking back to understand both Russia and President Putin, who also has roots in the KGB. So there will be a book after all, although not a memoir but an analysis of memory – as the author is now a middle-aged history researcher.