Relations between ZAPU and the USSR, 1960s-1970s: A Personal View

This article is one of a pair of unusual contributions to this special issue offered by Dumiso Dabengwa and Vladimir Shubin. They are unusual, in that they offer personal views and interpretations, shaped by the authors' own involvement in the southern African struggles of liberation. Dabengwa and Shubin were key participants in ZAPU and in Soviet support respectively, and they at times interacted directly with one another. Based on presentations originally made to the Journal of Southern African Studies' Conference, titled 'Southern Africa Beyond the West', held in Livingstone, Zambia in August 2015, their accounts explore the relationship between the USSR and ZAPU in particular, reflect on personal encounters and careers, and also range much more widely. Accounts such as these provide an important resource for developing new insights into the transnational histories of liberation movements.