Тема: US DIPLOMATIC MISSION IN MOSCOW DURING THE COLD WAR: STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS AND IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOVIET-AMERICAN RELATIONS

The Soviet-American relations of the Cold War period today are still of great interest both for researchers of international relations and for the world community, primarily Russian and American, since the tense relations between the United States and Russia today require a detailed study of history in order to understand the current events. Moreover in contemporary international relations, the role of personality is far from the last place. Basically, many researchers focus on the heads of states, not paying attention to minor actors such as ministers, advisers and ambassadors. Speaking of the diplomatic mission, the author of this research means exactly the people working in the embassy, especially ambassadors and their advisers, secretaries and deputies. In this research, the author proposes to focus on the study of the personality of American ambassadors and other diplomats of the US embassy in Moscow, working during the Cold War. It is not only about their professional activities, but also about their biography, the history of appointment to a particular post, their thoughts and feelings. This part of history is hidden from us, but it helps to trace the continuity of generations and gives the reasons for actions of many current politicians. By focusing on the study of the role of American ambassadors in the development of Soviet-American relations, we can see that often the subjective assessment of a certain diplomat influences the process of making decisions that formed the international relations within which contemporary Russia exists today. The relevance of this research lies in the fact that the result of current events on the world stage is largely a consequence of the decisions that were made during the Cold War and the diplomats of the American embassy in Moscow directly influenced these decisions. Therefore, the study of the work of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow, and in particular the activities of ambassadors and other diplomats during the Cold War today is more relevant than ever. The relevance of the topic is also increasing for the reason that in many studies of this issue, especially those carried out in the final quarter of the 20th century, there are statements that place all responsibility for the Cold War and its crises on one of the two powers, or rather on specific leaders of the powers responsible for the Cold War. There are similar trends in both American and Russian historiography. This approach is far from historical truth. It reflects simplistic, stereotypical ideas that serve the needs of certain political circles. That is why the author of this study proposes to study this topic in more depth and analyze the degree of influence on Soviet- American relations not only of political leaders, but also of ambassadors, diplomats of the American embassy working in Moscow during a difficult period for the two powers.
The practical significance of the research lies in the fact that a detailed analysis of the personality of American ambassadors and determining the degree of influence of the US diplomatic mission on the development of Soviet-American relations during the Cold War can be useful in a comprehensive and deep study of Soviet-American relations for Americanists and Sovietists. Moreover, this study can be a good impetus for many other researchers to conduct a deeper analysis of the most important events in history in terms of the influence of diplomats on these events.
The scientific novelty of the research results lies in the use of archival documents that have appeared in the public access recently and which contain US diplomatic correspondence, as well as personal notes of ambassadors and other diplomats of diplomatic mission. Due to this, the author analyzes and reveals the topic of Soviet-American relations and the situation in diplomatic circles during the Cold War from a new angle. Moreover, the role of ambassadors is very often underestimated in the context of the foreign policy formation of a particular state, there are very few studies focused specifically on the work of the US diplomatic mission and its heads and their influence on the development of Soviet-American relations. Furthermore, this is the only domestic research that shows how and why the role of US ambassadors in Moscow changed with each new period of the Cold War and how these changes influenced the formation of American foreign policy towards the USSR. In this work, the author seeks to show the importance of studying the role of the personality in the history of international relations and focuses on the study of personal archival data of US ambassadors. The results of the research are qualitatively new and the author's interpretation of the findings contains ideas and assumptions that help to understand not only the causes of historical events, but also the political processes taking place today.
All of the mentioned above prove that diplomats of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow played an important role in the formation of American foreign policy towards the USSR. But how and why did the US diplomatic mission, and especially the heads of the American embassy in Moscow, influence the development of Soviet-American relations during the Cold War? That is the research question of the thesis. In order to determine what structure and functions the US diplomatic mission in Moscow had during different periods of the Cold War, as well as how ambassadors and other diplomats of the US diplomatic mission influenced US foreign policy towards the USSR, the author analyzes memoirs, personal documents of ambassadors and archival US Department of State documents.
Object of the thesis is Soviet-American relations. Subject of the research is the activity of the US diplomatic mission and its heads in the USSR during the period of the Cold War....
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In this thesis, the author revealed the importance of the role of the heads of the US embassy in Moscow in the formation of American foreign policy towards the USSR, as well as the structural features, key functions and high level of influence of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow on Soviet-American relations during the Cold War. Comparing the results of each of the objectives, we can draw the following conclusions.
Studying the topic of the influence of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow on the development of Soviet-American relations, it was impossible not to touch upon the period of establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and the USSR in order to trace how the work of the diplomatic mission began and what start the first US ambassador in Moscow gave to the entire embassy and diplomatic staff for many years to come. With the advent of F. Roosevelt to the White House, the course for diplomatic recognition of the USSR was immediately outlined. Roosevelt hoped that recognition of the Soviet Union would serve US strategic interests, and that full diplomatic recognition would serve US commercial interests in the Soviet Union. The period of establishment of diplomatic relations between the USA and the USSR was not easy. Of course, in the United States there were both supporters and opponents of the diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union. However, nevertheless, there was an understanding that this would happen soon. As a result of the research, the author identified the key reasons for the diplomatic recognition of the USSR by the United States. The United States realized that it was wrong to deprive their country of the opportunity to exchange views with such an important actor as the USSR on various issues, which in itself is important in world politics. Under conditions of economic depression, American business wanted to increase exports to the USSR and was afraid of losing the Soviet market. Diplomatic recognition of the USSR was necessary for the United States in order to strengthen its foreign policy positions, mainly in relation to Germany and Japan. Also, the natural wealth of the USSR surpassed the resources of all the countries of Europe taken together, and the United States wanted to be involved in the development of this wealth within the framework of continuous and ever­expanding business relations. It is important to conclude that William Bullitt (1933-1936), who had not yet received the post of US ambassador to the USSR, had already contributed to Roosevelt's foreign policy decisions in relation to the USSR. William Bullitt was a significant and iconic person who was in the thick of the events and intellectual disputes of his time. The future first US ambassador in Moscow wanted to open a new era in world history, by establishing diplomatic relations between the US and the USSR, and by all means created a
positive image of the USSR in US political circles and, first of all, for President Roosevelt, since being his close friend, the president listened to his opinion. Thus, in this research, the author revealed that the first US ambassador in Moscow had a lot of influence on the decision to recognize the USSR by the US, as well as on accelerating this process. Upon arrival in Moscow, Bullitt formed an excellent US embassy and invited professional diplomats with good experience and understanding of the Russians. The ambassador believed that wars are waged by soldiers, but they are ended by civilians, who, at the negotiating table, crown or, on the contrary, cross out the work of soldiers. Bullitt gave a good start to the work of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow and made a big bet on the development of friendly diplomatic relations between the two powers. However, having become better acquainted with the Soviet leadership and realizing that some issues that hung between the powers, such as the unpaid debt of Russia, remained unresolved due to the unwillingness of the USSR to make concessions and compromises, Bullitt became disillusioned with the Soviet Union and began to speak unflatteringly about the country and its government, both inside the American embassy and in their reports to Washington. It was at this moment that a spirit of confrontation and mistrust began to form in the diplomatic circles of the US embassy in Moscow, which was reflected in the work of the diplomatic mission in subsequent years.
From the very beginning, the main functions of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow were to represent US national interests on the territory of the USSR, to strengthen bilateral relations with the USSR through negotiations, the search for compromises, and the transfer of information to Washington and back to Moscow. At first, the structure of the diplomatic mission was not numerous, but the diplomatic staff included outstanding and promising diplomats. Over the years, the composition of the US diplomatic mission expanded with the advent of new tasks, as well as new directions, services and departments were opened. However, the role of the head of the American embassy, as the most important and key figure in the entire US diplomatic mission, remained unchanged throughout the entire time, with a few exceptions, when this post was occupied by ambassadors who did not make an important contribution to the history of Soviet-American relations. In the process of research, the author determined and described in detail the period of activity of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow in the initial period of the Cold War. At that time, the American embassy was headed by one of the most prominent US ambassadors, Averell Harriman (1943-1946). On the example of Averell Harriman, we saw that the heads of two states in the person of Stalin, Roosevelt and then Truman listened to him, thought about his advice and personal opinion. Not every US ambassador in Moscow succeeded in this, but Harriman brilliantly coped with the duties 63
assigned to him and at the same time, did not try to look in the best light for someone alone, he always remained himself and had his own opinion. Harriman played a huge role in the formation of the US foreign policy towards the Soviet Union. The ambassador reorganized the work of the diplomatic mission in his own way; he independently dealt with all the important issues relating to Soviet-American relations in the postwar period. However, the romanticism of the allied relations between the two powers quickly dried up, as did the positive policy of the head of the diplomatic mission. As a result, the United States, and consequently the diplomats of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow, entered the era of the Cold War with the USSR and the functions of the US diplomatic mission were replaced by the search for compromising information about the Soviet leadership, intelligence work, as well as the containment of communist politics in negotiations and the protection of dissidents....
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