In mid-July 1977, Nathaniel Davis, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, was contacted by representatives of the Central Studio of Documentary Films in Moscow about sitting for an interview about “détente.” Ambassador Davis reported the contact in a telegram to the Department of State, copied to the U.S. embassy in Moscow for information. In discussing the … Continue reading Let’s Talk About Détente, 1977
This April 10th marks the 60th Anniversary of the loss of the USS Thresher (SSN 593). The Thresher was the first of two nuclear submarines lost during the Cold War, the other being the USS Scorpion (SSN 589) in 1968. Bow View of the Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593), July 24, 1961 (Local ID: … Continue reading A Modern Submarine on Eternal Patrol – A Tribute to the USS Thresher (SSN 593)
Robert C. Toth during the "William Reilly at the LA Times Roundtable" discussion on C-SPAN, Oct 17, 1989 Noted journalist Robert C. Toth died on December 12, 2022. He was 93 years old. Toth was a reporter and foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. He covered many important stories and won many awards for … Continue reading Interrogated! Robert Toth in Moscow, June 1977
To many, Mikhail Gorbachev seemed to come out of nowhere in 1985 to become the leader of the USSR. In some ways, his example supports the “great person” view of history, which is deeply ironic since he came out of the Marxist-Leninist milieu with its emphasis on the impersonal forces of history. Mikhail Gorbachev, 1987 … Continue reading Mikhail Gorbachev, 1931-2022
Many factors enter into the world of diplomacy and international relations. Appearances count. One need only note the imposing edifices erected by some countries to house their embassies overseas. Something as mundane as the cars in which diplomats ride at their posts can also affect how people in other countries see them. In a July … Continue reading Automobile Diplomacy, 1961
This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the motion picture The Godfather. Even before that movie saw its release, the studio began work on the sequel – The Godfather Part II. Photography began in October 1973, and the picture came out in December 1974. Some of the action in Part II takes place in … Continue reading The Godfather Shoots Abroad
[NOTE: This post was drafted before the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine.] Chernobyl. Today, the name of the city in present-day war-torn Ukraine conjures visions of a nuclear disaster of previously-unseen proportions. On April 26, 1986, technicians at the nuclear power plant near Chernobyl lost control of one of the four reactors on the site … Continue reading Chernobyl Before It Was CHERNOBYL!
Previous posts, described some of the Department of State’s actions relating to the publication of the “Pentagon Papers.” One key point in the government’s argument against publication was that it would provide aid and comfort to America’s overseas opponents. As the Department’s June 17 telegram about the repercussions of the publication of the documents predicted, … Continue reading The Pentagon Papers, 1971: Use By American Adversaries
Today’s post was written by Lynn Nashorn, textual processing and accessioning archivist at the National Archives at College Park. In 2020, the United States marked the 40th anniversary of the Mariel boatlift that brought approximately 125,000 Cubans to the United States in the course of just over six months. The journey to this mass exodus … Continue reading Castro, Cuba, and a Fleet of Fishing Boats: The Causes and Effects of the Mariel Boatlift
Today's post was written by Christen Brown, Archives Technician in the Special Media Division at the National Archives in College Park, MD. April 17 to April 20, 2021 marks the 60th Anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion when Cuban refugees banded together to invade Cuba and overthrow the Castro regime. When the Cuban Revolution … Continue reading The Ex-Men Did It: 60th Anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion
