Origins of the Cold War: The Novikov, Kennan, and Roberts 'Long Telegrams' of 1946 [Paperback]

Kenneth M. Jensen (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1878379275 | ISBN-13: 978-1878379276 | Publication Date: December 1, 1993 | Edition: Revised Edition

In September 1946, the Soviet ambassador to the United States, Nikolai Novikov, sent a 19-page cable to Foreign Minister Molotov describing the likely direction of U.S. foreign policy in the postwar period. Recently discovered in the Soviet archives, the Novikov telegram parallels the famous "Long Telegram" of U.S. diplomat George Kennan.

Published here for the first time in English, Novikov's telegram is presented alongside Kennan's cable and a similar telegram by British diplomat Frank Roberts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Collected here for side-by-side comparison are three foreign ministry cables, all written in 1946 and all providing an assessment of the emerging cold war.We know the influence of the U.S. and British missives; did Novikov's cable influence Soviet policies? If so, how?" -- Orbis

About the Author

Kenneth M. Jensen is currently Executive Director of The American Committees on Foreign Relations. Previously he was the director of special programs at the United States Institute of Peace.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: United States Institute of Peace; Revised Edition edition (December 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878379275
• ISBN-13: 978-1878379276
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Limits of Diplomatic Reporting, May 16, 2007

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This review is from: Origins of the Cold War: The Novikov, Kennan, and Roberts 'Long Telegrams' of 1946 (Paperback)

This interesting but limited book reprints three diplomatic cables from 1946 that analyzed the collapse of the Anglo-American-Soviet alliance of World War II and the outbreak of the Cold War: George Kennan's famous "long telegram" from Moscow; a cable from Soviet Ambassador Novikov in Washington; and a cable sent by the British charge in Moscow. Unlike most diplomatic reports, these cables dealt with huge questions of policy and were read by top officials of the home governments. They underscore how differently London, Washington and Moscow saw the world.

The British analysis was the most nuanced and non-apocalyptic; it still instructs and reads well in 2007. In contrast, Kennan's report was surprisingly shallow, even though it had a big impact in Washington; it came close to reducing Soviet foreign policy to neurotic anxiety, as if Moscow had no legitimate interest in secure borders. The analysis sent by the Soviet embassy was a curious document, mixing paranoia about American military preparations with shrewd observations of global politics. None of the cables displayed a deep understanding of the inner workings of the host government. Each served mainly to reinforce inclinations already prevalent in foreign policy circles back home.

Connoisseurs of diplomatic reporting will enjoy this book, but there's little reason for others to bother with it. The short commentaries do not -- contrary to the title -- add up to a history of the origins of the Cold War, though they do serve as good examples of how historians analyze documents. For specialists only.