by Sherwood Demitz
If you were assigned to the American embassy in Moscow during the Cold War, as I was, you were always aware that this was a focal point for US foreign policy. Moscow was the brain box of the opposing empire, and embassy staffers were proud to represent America and be part of something special. Even better: if your timing was good and you were there for a presidential summit, you would carry the mental images from that event for the rest of your life. I had the good fortune to be there in 1972 for the first US-USSR summit, the one that established detente.
Will They or Won’t They?
Picture this: In the second week in May 1972, the American embassy staff was on edge. After all the complex preparations, the weeks of visits by Washington briefers and the practice flights into the USSR by the pilots of what would become Air Force One (with Soviet navigators on board), it seemed to us that the US-USSR summit was going to be cancelled. “The meeting at the highest level,” in Soviet parlance, was supposed to take place May 22-29, but the Associated Press wire had just informed us that the US had dropped aerial mines in Haiphong harbor, North Vietnam’s biggest supply port for the war. Twelve Soviet cargo ships were trapped in the harbor behind the mine field. President Richard Nixon, who had played the “China card” three months earlier, had just showed the Soviets that he could be every bit as scary and unpredictable as they feared. Would they cancel the summit?
Several days went by, and then the TASS wire carried a bland statement that the summit would proceed. No reference was made to the Haiphong mines. The Soviets had blinked. The summit that was to establish “detente” was on.
Images of the Summit
And what an event it was! Of course, it was both historic and substantive. The world saw massive international press coverage of the centerpiece signings of the SALT I Treaty, the ABM Treaty and the US-USSR Incidents at Sea Treaty.
But the ’72 summit was also rich in visual imagery. Two of my favorites:
- The landing of Air Force One at Vnukovo II airport. The beautiful white-over-blue 707 with “United States of America” on its fuselage was stunning in the mid-day sun.
- The astonishing sight of the Stars and Stripes flying over the Kremlin, where President Nixon was housed during the summit.
President Nixon’s May 26 protocol dinner for Leonid Brezhnev and the Politburo took place at Spaso House, the famous old neo-classical mansion in central Moscow that is the residence of the US ambassador.
At 5 PM May 26, the roadway outside was packed with black Chaika limos and a few Zils, the Soviet-built vehicles favored, at least publicly (Party Chairman Brezhnev reportedly had a garage full of expensive foreign vehicles), by party and government officials. Spaso’s huge central reception room teemed with Russians and American diplomats. All were in dark suits, and all were downing drinks. I was struck by how uniformly short and stocky the Politburo types were. I recognized the main characters—Brezhnev, Kosygin, and Gromyko of course stood out. One man with a fiery red face looked mad enough to spit nails and he stood out from the crowd. This was Petro Shelest, who was unhappy because the Soviet Politburo had that very day removed him as the de facto ruler of Ukraine and kicked him upstairs to a ceremonial Party job in Moscow with no power.
In a room off Spaso’s reception hall, the US Secret Service and the Soviet security types were sharing a meal of giant sturgeon. “Of all the people here, they’re the ones who get along best,” said one of my embassy colleagues. “They have the same job.” I recalled the pre-summit briefing given to the embassy staff: “I’ll bet you think the Secret Service guys are all lawyers and CPAs. Wrong. That’s the FBI. These gentlemen are chosen for one reason only—they can shoot the b***s off a fly at fifteen paces.”
The Most Indelible Moment
My most vivid memory of the Spaso House event was of something no reporters saw. It was time for the seated dinner. Nixon and Brezhnev walked side-by-side, leading the crowd out of the main room, and entered a smallish room serving as a passageway to the dining room. Flanking their route in two lines that defined the way to the dinner were eight Russian-speaking FSOs, of whom I was one. A string trio in tuxes was playing soft baroque music in a corner. They were USAF musicians flown in from Wiesbaden, Germany by the White House. Nixon stopped and grabbed Brezhnev by the arm. He pointed at the trio. “Air Force,” proclaimed the president of the United States to the general secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR. Brezhnev looked mystified. “AIRRRR FORRRRCE,” said Nixon, who apparently subscribed to the notion common to many American tourists abroad that all foreigners will understand English if only it is delivered with sufficient volume. Still a blank look from Brezhnev. Nixon had an inspiration. He extended his arms out wide, tilted his body first one way, then another, and growled an engine noise that might have reminded the Russian leader of a WWII dive-bombing German Stuka. Or perhaps the more recent sound of a US Navy A-6 Intruder laying sea mines over Haiphong harbor: “RRRRRRRRRRRRRR!”
The closest American embassy officer explained the president’s meaning in good Ivy League Russian. Brezhnev nodded. The two most powerful men in the world then continued on to the dinner.
Was President Nixon subtly making the point that the United States was powerful and rich enough to fly a musical trio in from Europe? Or was the point that they were military, and that the US could deploy military assets in both Europe and Asia? Or was he just trying to make interesting chit-chat? I wonder to this day.
Sherwood Demitz’s career in public diplomacy spanned 37 years and combined foreign service, international broadcasting, audience/media research and strategic planning. As an FSO, Demitz served in Ankara, Moscow, and The Hague. He was USIA’s Soviet affairs desk officer (1976-78). As an international broadcasting manager, he directed VOA’s USSR division (1979-81), VOA’s Russian service (1993-94) and VOA’s Eurasia division (1994-97). Demitz created and then directed the communications media research branch of USIA’s office of research (1985-93). He retired in 2004 as the planning and research coordinator for the US Broadcasting Board of Governors (now called the USAGM). Demitz has an AB in Political Science from St. Louis University, attended George Washington University as a USIA Jefferson Fellow, and has a Certificate in Financial Planning from Florida State University. He served in the US Army from 1961-64 and learned Russian at the Presidio of Monterey. His other foreign languages are Turkish and Dutch.