Richard Lyntton’s life has taken him from Cold War Moscow to the deserts of the Gulf War and the shattered streets of Sarajevo.

In this powerful episode, he recalls studying in the Soviet Union during the hopeful Gorbachev years, travelling across Russia by train, and later serving as a tank commander during the First Gulf War.

At the heart of this conversation is Bosnia, where Richard witnessed the siege of Sarajevo, came face to face with Bosnian Serb war criminal Radovan Karadžić, and narrowly escaped trouble after secretly filming General Ratko Mladić.

Richard also describes documenting the aftermath of ethnic cleansing, filming evidence of war crimes, and later testifying at The Hague.

He shares his extraordinary journey from North London schoolboy and Russian-language student to British Army officer, UN observer, filmmaker, actor and thriller writer. His new book, Crown Deception, is out now.

It is a story of danger, moral complexity and survival — but also of humanity, resilience and the strange absurdities of war.

Check out Richard's books here https://amzn.to/4vh5fgx

Curated episode extras https://coldwarconversations.com/episode464/

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