Noble Blood: "How a Texas Grocery Store Ended the Cold War" [Very Special Episodes]

Host: Dana Schwartz
Guests: Jason English, Zarin Burnett, Evan Mack, Yelena Biberman
Episode Date: November 15, 2025

Episode Overview

In this special episode of "Noble Blood," host Dana Schwartz and her panel peel back one of the Cold War’s strangest turning points: Boris Yeltsin's 1989 visit to a Texas grocery store. Through insightful conversation, personal anecdotes, and theatrical flair, the episode explores how Yeltsin’s exposure to American supermarket abundance brought home the stark failures of Soviet communism—and may have catalyzed the end of the Soviet Union itself.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Life in the USSR (08:34–11:26)

• Contrast in Grocery Experiences:
  • Yelena Biberman, who grew up in Soviet Belarus, shares visceral memories of never-ending food lines, rationing, and the everyday hunger that defined Soviet life.
  • Yelena (08:34): “Let’s say you’re walking down the street, you see a line, you immediately join. You don’t know what it’s for, but if it’s a line, it means it’s something good.”
• First Impressions of America:
  • Upon immigrating, Yelena describes overwhelming awe at the sheer scale and luxury of American supermarkets: “Here in the US, it’s like, please buy as much as you can. … But the most important was bananas. Oh my God. That was the Holy Grail.” (11:07)

2. Boris Yeltsin’s Rise and Reformist Zeal (12:25–16:45)

• Yeltsin’s Early Years:
  • Born into poverty, witnessed Stalinist repression, always retained a populist, anti-elite streak.
• Challenging the Party:
  • Yeltsin’s anti-corruption actions and willingness to criticize the slow pace of reforms marked him as a bold, sometimes reckless figure.
  • According to Yelena, the Chernobyl disaster and government cover-ups fueled public hunger for new leaders like Yeltsin. (15:00)

3. The Fateful US Tour and the Grocery Store Visit (18:47–29:18)

• Boris Yeltsin in America:
  • The US tour was meant to show Yeltsin American achievements.
  • Comedic Missteps:
    • New York’s major attractions “didn’t impress” Yeltsin.
    • After sleep deprivation and whisky, Yeltsin was "visibly intoxicated" at a Baltimore speech (20:38).
• The Randall’s Visit:
  • Yeltsin’s spontaneous request brings him to a Houston supermarket.
  • Store manager Paul Yirga, with minutes’ notice, welcomes Yeltsin and his entourage.
  • Lev Sukhanov, Yeltsin's aide, recalls being dazzled: “It felt like we were descending into the depths of a kaleidoscope. … Some of us started counting the types of ham, but we lost count.” (23:50)

4. The Impact: Sensory Overload and Political Revelation (25:16–34:04)

• Disbelief and Suspicion:
  • Yeltsin initially suspects an American “Potemkin village,” a staged façade, but is repeatedly assured the store is utterly normal (25:16–25:55).
• Astonishment:
  • He quizzes workers about their qualifications, interrogates shoppers about their budgets, and marvels at the possibilities for ordinary Americans.
  • Freezer Aisle Moment:
    • “There’s a photo of Yeltsin looking down at a freezer case full of ice cream. He has a big smile on his face… the subject of his fascination is a box of Jell-O Pudding Pops.” (26:55)
  • Produce Revelation:
    • Lev Sukhanov, on the vegetables: “A radish the size of a large potato was illuminated by bright light … Radishes were literally dazzling.” (27:48)
  • Yeltsin’s verdict (via Houston Chronicle): “If the Soviet people who wait in line every day for a meager selection of goods ever saw a US supermarket, there would be a revolution.” (29:18)

5. Aftermath: The Collapse of Communism (34:04–40:51)

• Profound Impact:
  • On the plane, Yeltsin sits silently, “his head in his hands,” reportedly consumed by the realization of Soviet failure (35:07).
  • Yelena Biberman: “He becomes sort of the face of change, standing up to the Communist Party, speaking differently, not using the usual jargon, speaking like a normal person would speak.” (35:58)
• Chain of Events:
  • Yeltsin wins elections, survives a military coup attempt, and, with two other leaders, decides to dissolve the Soviet Union.
  • Yelena’s Insight: “Once you see that another way is possible, another reality is possible, you can’t unsee it. So that experience in the supermarket … influenced his decision to dissolve the Soviet Union.” (39:57)

6. Legacy and the Power of Small Moments (40:51–48:38)

• Personal and Cultural Repercussions:
  • The episode reflects on Yeltsin’s complicated legacy—how a brief encounter with Texas abundance may have tipped the scales of history.
  • Evan Mack on the story’s obscurity: “I thought this is the greatest story that nobody knows about. It was really earth-changing stuff that no one knows about.” (42:06)
• From Opera to Broadway:
  • Composer Evan Mack created an opera and then a musical based on Yeltsin’s supermarket epiphany—transforming global history into song and dance.
    • The musical number “Make Your Move” features Randalls cashiers teaching Yeltsin their “rock and roll moves”—later echoed as Yeltsin stands defiantly on a tank during the 1991 coup attempt (43:07).

7. Reflection and Appreciation (44:20–48:34)

• Dana on Gratitude:
  • “One takeaway I think I had from this episode was after it, I went to the grocery store and everything seemed more wonderful. I kind of realized how much I had taken for granted at the grocery store.” (44:37)
• Panel on Irony and Pop Culture:
  • Zarin Burnett quips about the power of “a Jell-O Pudding Pop” toppling communism (45:04); Dana observes the relatable, firebrand side of young Yeltsin.
• Imaginary Casting Game:
  • The panel imagines the episode as a film or Muppet musical—with Jesse Plemons (or the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) as Yeltsin, Anya Taylor-Joy as Yelena, and Tom Holland as the hip cashier (46:03–47:23).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Yelena Biberman on food shortages:
  “I remember just not having food at home. … So I would eat bread and salt. And had it not been for the bread, I don’t know what I would have done.” (10:04)
• On American supermarkets:
  “Sometimes my mother says the reason why we left the Soviet Union was so my kids could eat bananas.” (11:07)
• Lev Sukhanov, Yeltsin’s aide:
  “What I saw in this supermarket was no less amazing than America itself.” (23:50)
• Yeltsin, on seeing ordinary abundance:
  “If the Soviet people who wait in line every day for a meager selection of goods ever saw a US supermarket, there would be a revolution.” (29:18)
• Sukhanov, at checkout:
  “Girl sitting at cash register didn’t have to count anything. … Well, what else could be simpler than smarters in such a system?” (32:06)
• After visiting Randall’s, Yeltsin (summarized):
  "What have they done to our poor people? I think we have committed a crime against our people by making their standard of living so incomparably lower than that of the Americans." (35:07)
• Dana Schwartz, reflection:
  “Everything seemed more wonderful. I kind of realized how much I had taken for granted at the grocery store.” (44:37)
• Zarin Burnett:
  “Isn’t it wild that communism could be felled by the power of a Jell O Pudding Pop?” (45:04)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [08:34] – Soviet breadlines and childhood memories with Yelena Biberman
• [10:40] – Emigrating and experiencing an American supermarket for the first time
• [15:00] – Public anger post-Chernobyl and political hunger for change
• [18:47] – Evan Mack discovers Yeltsin’s story for his opera/musical
• [22:44] – Yeltsin arrives at Randall’s in Houston
• [23:50] – Lev Sukhanov’s kaleidoscopic description of American grocery stores
• [25:16] – Yeltsin thinks it’s a trick (“Potemkin village”) and is proven otherwise
• [27:48] – Awe over American produce (radishes the size of potatoes)
• [29:18] – Yeltsin predicts a revolution if Soviets saw American supermarkets
• [32:06] – Laser price scanners blow Yeltsin and aides away
• [35:07] – Yeltsin’s transformation: the trip’s emotional aftermath
• [39:57] – Yelena on the supermarket’s pivotal influence on Yeltsin’s choices
• [42:06] – Evan Mack’s musical and opera inspiration
• [44:37] – Dana’s personal takeaways on gratitude

Conclusion

The episode weaves together history, humor, and heart in showing how an ordinary Texas grocery store became a stage for extraordinary global change. Through Boris Yeltsin’s wide-eyed amazement, listeners experience the profound, personal break between ideology and lived reality—a moment summed up, delightfully, by a box of Jell-O pudding pops.

Want more?

• Listen for a clip from "The World Still Needs You, Boris Yeltsin" at [43:54].
• For a blast of perspective, try your next grocery run through Boris Yeltsin’s eyes.