A Simple Soldier

A gripping journey through seven decades of sexual ignorance, oppression, and suffering, brought to life through the words and experiences of the first Soviet sexologist. Ukrainian survivors of the regime courageously recount the harsh realities they endured, from the pervasive suppression of sexual expression to the rampant exploitation and abuse that plagued Soviet society.

Pulitzer Prize-winning conflict photojournalist Lynsey Addario reflects on a career working in some of the world's most dangerous war zones, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As his country is gripped by revolution and war, a Ukrainian victim of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life and play his part in the revolution by revealing it.

The first Soviet sexologist is sent to the gulag and is haunted by stories of fellow inmates. They provide unforgettable vignettes of Soviet sexual brutality, from the utopian ideals of the 1920s, to gay life in the 1930s, the rape of women by those in power, and the use of sexpionage to entrap enemies of the State. A visually compelling exploration of how totalitarianism ultimately destroys all forms of human intimacy. Part 1 of the trilogy "Sex in the Soviet Union."