Customer Reviews

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

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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.