New documentary from Uni High explores life behind the Iron Curtain

A new two-part audio history series created by students at University Laboratory High School captures the voices of central Illinois community members with ties to the former Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries. Over the Wall: Remembering Life Behind the Iron Curtain will have its broadcast premiere Sunday (Jan. 26) at 8 pm on WILL-AM 580. 

“In February 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominated the news, and Uni students became interested in learning more about the relationship between Russia and Ukraine,” said Melissa Schoeplein, an 8th grade social studies teacher at Uni High and project director. “For students today, the Cold War and the ideas of communism, socialism, and authoritarianism are hazy.”

Through interviews with local individuals, Over the Wall: Remembering Life Behind the Iron Curtain examines life under communism, Cold War fears, and misperceptions about “the other side” as experienced by interviewees. Outside of the broadcast premiere, the program is available to stream in two parts on the Illinois Youth Media website and across various podcast platforms under the show title “Illinois Youth Media.”

In part one of the docuseries, “Back in the USSR: Daily Life in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc Nations,” takes listeners back to daily life in the former Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries to explores communist government control of housing, the economy, and education. Part two, “East meets West: Bomb Drills and Pirated Monopoly,” dives into Eastern bloc countries’ relationship with the West, exploring security measures, travel, and hearsay about what life was like on the other side to better understand the beliefs that the United States and Soviet Union had about each other. 

“Uni High students and their social studies teacher, Melissa Schoeplein, have produced a compelling documentary about the legacy of the Cold War, and its relevance to today’s politics,” said Moss Bresnahan, executive director of Illinois Public Media.

Most of the 12 people that are featured came of age in the Soviet Union or Eastern Bloc countries in the 1970s and 1980s. Through their life stories, the documentary provides a better understanding of this time in history.

“I have heard stories from the Soviet Union from my dad my whole life, but I had never fully recognized the connections to larger-scale Soviet experiences,” said Diza Baryshnikov, now a Uni High Junior who co-produced part one, “Back in the USSR: Daily Life in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc Nations”. Her father Yuliy Baryshnikov, now a professor of mathematics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, grew up in Soviet Moscow.

“For 30 years now, WILL has been able to provide a platform to share these fascinating stories with our audience, and it’s a wonderful opportunity for members of the Illinois Public Media staff to teach students about audio production and how it can be a powerful medium for storytelling,” Bresnahan said. “Over the Wall: Remembering Life Behind the Iron Curtain affords these students the opportunity to tell their family’s stories of life in the Soviet Union.”

“During the creation of this podcast, I was able to see my dad’s life through a bigger picture and learn from stories that were made right beside his,” Baryshnikov continued.

Since 1995, Uni High and Illinois Public Media have partnered on the Oral History Project with students producing audio documentaries from interviews as part of the eighth-grade social studies curriculum. The students’ roles include team leaders, interviewers, technicians, and scribes.

“I feel like putting the podcasts together has been a very long and rewarding journey,” said Krishna Jaswal, now a Uni High sophomore who is also a co-producer of part one. “Even before the production of the podcasts, I was a part of the subbie grade which worked on the actual interviews two years ago. So, I personally feel like I have seen this project evolve first-hand, and I am so proud of how it turned out.”

In addition, Maya Viswanathan (Uni High class of 2024, now a freshman at Yale University) was the producer for part two of the docuseries, “East Meets West: Bomb Drills and Pirated Monopoly.” All interviewers for Over the Wall: Remembering Life Behind the Iron Curtain were from the Uni High Class of 2027 (completed when they were 8th graders in spring 2023).

Kimberlie Kranich, former director of engagement and educational outreach for Illinois Public Media (who retired in December of 2023) mentored the students through the first year of the project. Illinois Public Media’s Jason Croft, digital media production manager, and Steve Morck, senior digital producer, provided in-studio recording training and production support throughout the project’s life cycle.