United States-Soviet Relations
Documents on the often adversarial relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The majority of the documents are reports, telegrams, and memorandums that come from Russian archives. Many topics are covered, including the "German Question," the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Ethiopian Civil War, Jimmy Carter's presidency, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. (Image, Reagan Gorbachev on Governor's Island, 1988, Reagan Presidential Library, C50846-27)
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June 06, 1944
Telegram from Nikishov to Beria - Henry A. Wallace’s visit to the city of Magadan
Telegram from Ivan Nikishov, to NKVD Commissar Beria. Nikishov reports on a visit by US Vice President Henry A. Wallace, who toured the Soviet Far East in May 1944. Nikishov was the Head of Dalstroi, the "Far North Construction Trust," part of the Soviet Gulag system which oversaw mining using forced labor in the Russian Far East. Nikishov quotes a number of positive comments from Wallace, as well as questions he had about Dalstroi's operations, such as the total quantity of gold mined.
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September 27, 1946
Telegram from Nikolai Novikov, Soviet Ambassador to the US, to the Soviet Leadership
Soviet Ambassador to the US, Nikolai Novikov, describes the advent of a more assertive US foreign policy. Novikov cautions the Soviet leadership that the Truman administration is bent on imposing US political, military and economic domination around the world. This telegram has, since its discovery in the Russian archives, been labelled the Soviet equivalent of US Ambassador to the Soviet Union George Kennan's "Long telegram."
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March 18, 1953
Draft Instructions for General Vasilii Chuikov and Vladimir Semyonov regarding GDR Control of Borders
Draft instructions of the Soviet leadership to its representatives in East Germany, advising that the SED requests for East German control of the border with West Germany are "unacceptable and grossly simplistic."
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April 18, 1953
Memorandum from Ivan Turginov, 'On the Western Powers’ Policy regarding the German Question'
Ivan Turginov reports on the policies of the Western powers on the German Question. Special emphasis is given to the public opinion in western countries with regard to Western and Soviet policies towards occupied Germany.
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April 24, 1953
Protocol No 6 of the Meeting of the Presidium of the CC CPSU about the MVD Note on the Results of the Investigations into the Reports of Former Advisers to the Ministry of State Security and DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cdes. Glukhov and Smirnov
Response of USSR to false allegations that Americans used biological weapons in North Korea calls for both dismissal of V.N. Razuvaev from his posts as Ambassador of the USSR to the DPRK and military adviser and the commission of Molotov to address the allegations and send his resultant report to Mao Zedong and Kim II Sung. This protocol also authorizes the removal of Ignatiev from the CC CPSU.
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September 25, 1953
Draft Instructions to Chuikov and Semyonov
In March 1953, Moscow had declined Ulbricht’s request for tightening up the sector border in Berlin, then the major loophole in the SED leadership’s efforts to seal off East Germany. In the aftermath of the demonstrations and unrest in Berlin, the SED leadership apparently tried to reintroduce the idea of increased “border security” in Berlin. Eager to salvage whatever was left of its political position as a champion of German unity, Moscow again held such measures as politically “disadvantageous” and “unacceptable.” Certainly, the Kremlin was also aware of the continued widespread resentment among the Berlin and GDR population which made any more restrictive measures a risky undertaking. Instead, the Soviets urged the SED to increase its “fight against hostile elements” in West Berlin—an issue that would become more and more the focus of Soviet attitude on Berlin.
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July 12, 1955
Central Committee Plenum of the CPSU Ninth Session, Concluding Word by Com. N. S. Krushchev, 12 July 1955
Khrushchev responds to the accusations raised by Cde. Molotov about the state of Soviet foreign policy. He discusses the Soviet relationship with the Yugoslav leadership, the Austrian treaty, Soviet-US relations.
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December 28, 1956
Third World Reaction to Hungary and Suez, 1956: A Soviet Foreign Ministry Analysis
Tugarinov wrote this overview of reactions to the events in Hungary and Suez by third world nations. Tugarinov reports that the events in Hungary and the Near East increased the prestige of the United States.
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June 24, 1957
Minutes of the Meeting of the CPSU CC Plenum on the State of Soviet Foreign Policy
The Soviet leadership discusses the state of Soviet foreign policy after the Hungarian crisis and Khrushchev’s visit to the US. Molotov criticizes Khrushchev for recklessness in foreign policy direction. Soviet inroads in the Middle East and the Third World are analyzed. The effects of the crises in Eastern Europe are placed in the context of the struggle against US imperialism.
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August 03, 1960
Note from USSR Embassy to the USA Relayed by Gromyko to Khrushchev, 'John Fitzgerald Kennedy - Political Character Sketch'
Andrei Gromyko forwards to Premier Khrushchev a political profile, prepared by the USSR Embassy in Washington, of the recently-nominated Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John F. Kennedy.
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October 10, 1960
Dictated by Cde. N. S. Khrushchev on 10 October 1960
Khrushchev reports on the proceedings at the United Nations in New York and his delegation's travel plans for returning to Moscow. He mentions his approval of plans to purchase buildings in New York for Ukrainian and Belorussian missions to the UN. He also suggests that they purchase an American car to bring back for the benefit of Soviet auto designers. He concludes with criticisms of the United States and New York.
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October 04, 1962
Telegram from Soviet Ambassador to the USA Anatoly F. Dobrynin to the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dobrynin sends the results of a meeting between Rusk, himself and the Foreign Ministers of Latin American countries where they discussed questions of security, trade, and the question of the Cuban government in exile.