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Mr. S. describes his early years, how his dissident views formed, his first arrest under Article 70 of the Criminal Code, his expert psychiatric evaluation at the Serbsky Institute, and the judicial procedure that followed. He describes his subsequent commitment in an 'ordinary' psychiatric hospital and shares insights about the internal regulations, regime, and the release procedure. He also talks about his next arrest and the legal aspects of it. Mr. S. shares his views about whether Soviet psychiatrists seriously believed that 'failure to adapt to the society' was a sign of mental illness and whether they can be blamed for presumably following the orders from above. Mr. S. proceedes to describe his transfer to a special psychiatric hospital, the mass release of political prisoners in 1987, the reasons for such a drastic change of the political course in the Soviet Union, and gives an overview of the U.S. – U.S.S.R. relationship in the second half of the twentieth century. He then talks about how the 1989 U.S. State Department psychiatric mission to the U.S.S.R. fit into the broader human rights negotiations in the CSCE. Mr. S. tells how he taken off the psychiatric register and legally rehabilitated; he talks about the destiny of the Criminal Code 'political' articles 70 and 190-1 and current political articles in Russian Criminal Code used to suppress dissent. Mr. S. shares about his life and political activity after 1989, his subsequent arrests, and his assessment of the evolution of civil and political freedom in Russia after 1989. He then talks about the future of Russia, his own future as a dissident in Russia, and his views about the Russian war in Ukraine.

Ambassador Farrand talks about his long successful career in the U.S. State Department, the importance of the Soviet psychiatric abuse to the U.S. government and the larger context of the U.S. - U.S.S.R. relationships. As a person who worked closely with Ambassador Richard Schifter for many years, Mr. Farrand describes Schifter's goals and vision of the 1989 psychiatric mission to the U.S.S.R.

Mr. Kovalev tells about the role of various domestic and international actors in the process of democratization of the U.S.S.R. in the late 1980s and bringing human rights into the Soviet Union. He also assesses the political factors of the early 1980s that allowed Gorbachev come to power and retain it. Mr. Kovalev shares his insights about the Soviet foreign policy of the second half of 1980s-early 1990s and the U.S. - U.S.S.R. relationships. He shares his knowledge about the history of abuse of psychiatry and the reasons for resorting to it; the Soviet psychiatric register and the consequences of being on a register; the sealed instruction on involuntary commitment that existed but was not available to the public. Mr. Kovalev talks about the chain of decision making in ensuring that the American visit will actually happen and the key events on that road. He also comments on the internal tensions between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) as well as the resistance put up by the M.O.H. in organizing the American visit. He also shares his views about the "system dissidents" in the U.S.S.R.

Ms. Smith shares her memories about interpreting for both 1989 U.S. State Department delegation and the 1991 WPA delegation to the Soviet Union. She explains how this experience compares to the other interesting projects she has been involved in throughout her career. She describes her most prominent memories about this job as well as the Soviet Union as of 1989.

The interview with Dr. Regier is of critical importance for the comprehensive retrospective evaluation of the long-term impact of the 1989 State Department investigative mission to the U.S.S.R. Dr. Regier not only played a key role in the preparation and implementation of the mission, but also successfully continued to help develop the quality and accessibility of mental health services in Russia after the U.S.S.R. collapse. Dr. Regier also continued to tackle the issue of psychiatric abuse in China. In his interview, Dr. Regier gives a historical overview of the development of diagnostic criteria that was subsequently used during the U.S. State Department investigative mission to the U.S.S.R. relating to psychiatric abuse. This interview provides a great description of the methodology used during the interviews. Dr. Regier also describes the NIMH goals, unique role and contribution to the 1989 mission and shares his insights about the factors that made it possible to weaponize psychiatry against dissidents in the Soviet Union. Dr. Regier also tells about his role in the work of Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission in the area on mental health care in Russia post the Soviet Union breakup.

Ms. Mercer talks about her career at the APA and the role that the APA played in advocating for the rights of the persons committed to psychiatric hospitals for non-medical reasons in the USSR. She then discusses the historical context for the 1989 State Department psychiatric delegation to the Soviet Union, including the 1977 Declaration of Hawaii and the All-Union Society's walking out of the WPA in 1983 in the face of an almost certain expulsion. Being a part of the November 1988 negotiation team to the Soviet Union, Ms. Mercer shares her thoughts about the negotiation process and the Soviet's compliance with the terms agreed upon. Ms. Mercer describes the field visit to Soviet psychiatric hospitals and then talks about the Soviet's readmission to the WPA, the role the 1989 U.S. State Department played in this process, the APA's and Ms. Mercer's personal stance with regard to the readmission. Ms. Mercer concludes by discussing the difference the American visit made in the big picture.

Dr. Kleyman is a great source of knowledge about the ins and outs of the Soviet mental health care system as the person who had about 10 years of professional experience on the ground. He talked about the uniqueness of his role during the American psychiatric mission to the U.S.S.R. that resulted from him being a native Russian speaker and being well familiar with life in the Soviet Union. Dr. Kleyman discusses the social and political context that surrounded the 1989 U.S. State Department visit and made it possible in the first place; the doctor patient relationship in the U.S.S.R.; Soviet diagnostic approaches and the role of Soviet psychiatrists during the American visit. Dr. Kleyman recalls his unique trip to Moscow Psychiatric Hospital # 5 to briefly speak with the patient who was claimed by the Soviets to have refused examination. He also talks about his experience as a member of the 1991 W.P.A. mission to the U.S.S.R.

Dr. Monahan talks about his professional training and the highlights of his career, his memories from the 1989 American visit to the Soviet Union, including the goals of the visit, its organizational aspects, and its media coverage. Dr. Monahan then focuses on the forensic evaluation methods and results, the rights of psychiatric patients in the Soviet Union, conditions of their hospitalization, treatment, and hospital staffing. Dr. Monahan concludes by describing his general impressions of Moscow and Leningrad and the conclusions the American team made as a result of the visit.

In the interview Dr. Bloom discusses his career, his interest in the topic of abuse of psychiatry and his involvement in the 1989 U.S. State Department psychiatric delegation to the U.S.S.R. He talks about the U.S. and Soviet (both Soviet professionals and Soviet interviewees) understanding of the purpose of the visit and the Soviet's compliance with the terms negotiated for the visit. He also talks about psychiatric hospitalization, detention and commitment process in the U.S.S.R., conditions of hospitalization in Soviet psychiatric hospitals and the legal rights of persons with mental disorders in the U.S.S.R. Dr. Bloom's explains his impressions from the trip to the Soviet Union and the conclusions made by the American delegation.

Mr. Borissow shares his life story and describes his career. He talks about getting involved in the 1989 State Department trip to the Soviet Union, his previous trips to the U.S.S.R., and the social and political context that surrounded the visit and made it possible in the first place. Mr. Borissow describes his experience of interpreting in one of the psychiatric hospitals in Moscow as a part of the 1989 American mission as well as the work that Mr. Borissow's sub-team #3 did in Leningrad. He shares very interesting anecdotes that happened during the trip and talks about the lessons he learned during this trip.