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Martin Sixsmith

Voices of Europe. The War Of Nerves: Inside the Cold War Mind

Martin Sixsmith

Friday, 1 April 2022

4:00pm

1 hour

Weston Lecture Theatre

£7 - £12.50

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Former BBC foreign correspondent Martin Sixsmith says the Cold War was fought on the battlefield of the human mind and its legacy endures in our politics and in our thoughts and fears.

Sixsmith witnessed the end of the Cold War first-hand as he reported from Moscow on the presidencies of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. He goes into the minds of the protagonists to explain the tensions and paranoia behind it and to throw fresh light on events such as the Yalta Conference, the Berlin Airlift, perestroika, and Soviet implosion.

Sixsmith was a BBC correspondent in Moscow, Washington, Brussels, and Warsaw. He is also author of two novels and several non-fiction works including Philomena, which was turned into an acclaimed film starring Steve Coogan and Judi Dench.

Event supported by

European Union
Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize Jewish Book Week Partner of Oxford Literary Festival Oxford University Department for Continuing Education Princeton University Press Prestige publishing partner. Celebrating 25 years in Europe in 2024 Goldmoney Properties Felicity Bryan Associates Voltaire Foundation Confucius Institute Mirabaud Private bank - London Gravita Accountants to the festival Oxford Brookes University Oxford International Centre for Publishing Old Parsonage Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Old Bank Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Pasture to Plate Compassion in World Farming HM Government of Gibraltar Symington Wines of the Douro Valley Blackwell’s Festival on-site and online bookseller Spain Arts and Culture Spanish Embassy The Spanish Embassy: supporters of the programme of Spanish literature and culture Oxford Mathematics Oxford Martin School Festival ideas partner Bodleian Libraries Festival cultural partner European Union University of Oxford The Telegraph Festival media partner Other donors David Isaac Jason and Heidi Smith Martin and Elise Becket Smith Tim and Marion Stevenson Miles Young Jim Mellon Pusey House Founded 1884 Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College founded 1893 Reuben College Reuben College founded in 2019 Magdalen College Magdalen College founded 1458 Trinity College Trinity College founded 1555 Lincoln College Lincoln College founded 1427 Worcester College Worcester College founded 1714 Exeter College Exeter College: college home of the festival. Founded 1314 New College New College founded 1379 Yale University Press London The Oxford Times Windrush Group Science Oxford Schoolreaders The Litmus Partnership CAV Oxford Oxford University Images Oxford University Images Italian Cultural Institute Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies The Sheldonian Theatre University of Oxford Alumni Office Alumni Office Paul Bloomfield Ltd Racalia Olive Oil Olive oil from Sicily Colbenson Festival digital strategy & web design MACROVegan Human Ecology Project New Dutch Writing Conference Oxford BBC Radio Oxford Local radio partner OX magazine Ox in a Box
 

The Oxford Literary Festival sponsors, donors & partners

Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize Jewish Book Week Partner of Oxford Literary Festival Oxford University Department for Continuing Education Princeton University Press Prestige publishing partner. Celebrating 25 years in Europe in 2024 Goldmoney Properties Felicity Bryan Associates Voltaire Foundation Confucius Institute Mirabaud Private bank - London Gravita Accountants to the festival Oxford Brookes University Oxford International Centre for Publishing Old Parsonage Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Old Bank Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Pasture to Plate Compassion in World Farming HM Government of Gibraltar Symington Wines of the Douro Valley Blackwell’s Festival on-site and online bookseller Spain Arts and Culture Spanish Embassy The Spanish Embassy: supporters of the programme of Spanish literature and culture Oxford Mathematics Oxford Martin School Festival ideas partner Bodleian Libraries Festival cultural partner European Union University of Oxford The Telegraph Festival media partner Other donors David Isaac Jason and Heidi Smith Martin and Elise Becket Smith Tim and Marion Stevenson Miles Young Jim Mellon Pusey House Founded 1884 Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College founded 1893 Reuben College Reuben College founded in 2019 Magdalen College Magdalen College founded 1458 Trinity College Trinity College founded 1555 Lincoln College Lincoln College founded 1427 Worcester College Worcester College founded 1714 Exeter College Exeter College: college home of the festival. Founded 1314 New College New College founded 1379 Yale University Press London The Oxford Times Windrush Group Science Oxford Schoolreaders The Litmus Partnership CAV Oxford Oxford University Images Oxford University Images Italian Cultural Institute Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies The Sheldonian Theatre University of Oxford Alumni Office Alumni Office Paul Bloomfield Ltd Racalia Olive Oil Olive oil from Sicily Colbenson Festival digital strategy & web design MACROVegan Human Ecology Project New Dutch Writing Conference Oxford BBC Radio Oxford Local radio partner OX magazine Ox in a Box