Ask the Scholar
Page 3 of 6
I can add historical knowledge about this page.
Page image
OCR
UNIT OF AMERICA
American Embassy,
Moscow, U.S.S.R.,
August 11, 1952.
Dear Mr. President:
When I called on you before coming to Moscow you were
good enough to say that you would be glad if I would write
you from time to time about my impressions here.
I have now been here three months and I have had a
chance to pick up something of the atmosphere of the place
again and to make comparisons with the times when I was
here before, and I thought it might interest you to have
a word from me about the main impressions I have gathered.
The thing that strikes me hardest here is the extent
to which the Soviet Government has lost contact with the
west. There simply is no real channel for any exchange
of views; and while we maintain a big embassy here in the
middle of Moscow, we are so cut off and hemmed in with re-
strictions and ignored by the Soviet Government that it
is as though no diplomatic relations existed at all.
In
three months service here I have not yet had a single bit
of business to take up with the Soviet Government, except
minor housekeeping matters surrounding our attempt to
operate an embassy in this city, and the Soviets have
shown no inclination to discuss anything with me or to
take advantage of my presence in any way.
I attribute this state of affairs primarily to a mood
of arrogance and over-confidence which I think came over
these people about five years ago and has caused them to
feel that they had no need to pay any attention to the
views or the feelings of the western governments-- belief
that the development of the international situation was
going to bring them out on top and in a position to dic-
tate their terms to other people. What they were depending
The President,
ARCHIVES "NATIONAL AND
RECORDS
The White House.
DECLASSIFIED
= SERVICE
STATE LTR 6-12-79
E.0.12065
By NLT-He NARS, Date 8779
Page data
- Page
- 3
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- e2f2cc3424513c94
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 213875650
- Core
- doc
- Type
- document
DTO data
{
"id": "213875650",
"sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875650",
"contentType": "document",
"title": "Correspondence Between President Harry S. Truman and George Kennan, with Note",
"citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875650",
"collections": [
"President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
"Subject Files"
],
"iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750370/750370-37-001.jpg",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750370/750370-37-001.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750370/750370-37-001.jpg",
"imageCount": 6,
"hasImages": true,
"source": "import",
"hasTranscription": false
}
Context sent to Scholar
Document identity
{
"localId": "213875650",
"label": "Correspondence Between President Harry S. Truman and George Kennan, with Note",
"core": "doc",
"dtoType": "document",
"citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875650"
}
Document source metadata
{
"id": "213875650",
"sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875650",
"contentType": "document",
"title": "Correspondence Between President Harry S. Truman and George Kennan, with Note",
"citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875650",
"collections": [
"President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
"Subject Files"
],
"iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750370/750370-37-001.jpg",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750370/750370-37-001.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750370/750370-37-001.jpg",
"imageCount": 6,
"hasImages": true,
"source": "import",
"hasTranscription": false
}
Document source extras
{
"url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875650",
"naId": 213875650,
"levelOfDescription": "item",
"productionDates": [
{
"logicalDate": "1952-01-01",
"year": 1952
}
],
"recordType": "description",
"ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}
Page context
{
"seq": 3,
"pageIndex": 0,
"type": "photo",
"url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750370/750370-37-003.jpg",
"mediaId": "e2f2cc3424513c94",
"ocrText": "UNIT OF AMERICA\nAmerican Embassy,\nMoscow, U.S.S.R.,\nAugust 11, 1952.\nDear Mr. President:\nWhen I called on you before coming to Moscow you were\ngood enough to say that you would be glad if I would write\nyou from time to time about my impressions here.\nI have now been here three months and I have had a\nchance to pick up something of the atmosphere of the place\nagain and to make comparisons with the times when I was\nhere before, and I thought it might interest you to have\na word from me about the main impressions I have gathered.\nThe thing that strikes me hardest here is the extent\nto which the Soviet Government has lost contact with the\nwest. There simply is no real channel for any exchange\nof views; and while we maintain a big embassy here in the\nmiddle of Moscow, we are so cut off and hemmed in with re-\nstrictions and ignored by the Soviet Government that it\nis as though no diplomatic relations existed at all.\nIn\nthree months service here I have not yet had a single bit\nof business to take up with the Soviet Government, except\nminor housekeeping matters surrounding our attempt to\noperate an embassy in this city, and the Soviets have\nshown no inclination to discuss anything with me or to\ntake advantage of my presence in any way.\nI attribute this state of affairs primarily to a mood\nof arrogance and over-confidence which I think came over\nthese people about five years ago and has caused them to\nfeel that they had no need to pay any attention to the\nviews or the feelings of the western governments-- belief\nthat the development of the international situation was\ngoing to bring them out on top and in a position to dic-\ntate their terms to other people. What they were depending\nThe President,\nARCHIVES \"NATIONAL AND\nRECORDS\nThe White House.\nDECLASSIFIED\n= SERVICE\nSTATE LTR 6-12-79\nE.0.12065\nBy NLT-He NARS, Date 8779"
}