Post-War Soviet Union as Two American Diplomats Saw It
The article discusses the perception of life in the post-war USSR by two American diplomats - George F. Kennan and John P. Davies. It is based on Kennan's diary published in the USA in 2014 and Davies's correspondence with relatives. Heretofore, these documents have been unknown to the Russian audience: only excerpts from Kennan's diary were included in his memoirs, and Davies's letters have never been published. Both Kennan’s diary and Davies’s letters represent invaluable historical documents as they contain their descriptions of life and habits of Soviet people, various ridiculous episodes and street sketches, impressions by Joseph Stalin and the Communist party and its leaders, reflections on the fate of the Russian people, prospects of Soviet-American relations. It is noteworthy, that Davies and Kennan ultimately came to the same conclusions about both the realities of the post-war USSR and the prospects for its further development. It should be also observed that the description of casual, unofficial life in the post-war Soviet Union can be found only in these two American diplomats’ writings. In Russian historiography, especially in the works of the Cold War period and latest research, Kennan is often presented as cruel, merciless, uncompromising, and anti-Soviet. In his works, Igor Orlik maintains a completely different position, based on a personal acquaintance with G. Kennan. His position is also shared by Viktor Malkov and Nikolay Bolkhovitinov. These scholars, recognizing Kennan's openly negative attitude towards the Soviet Union in the 1940s - 1950s, perceive him not only as the author of the containment doctrine, but also as a brilliantly educated person, scholar, and genuine specialist in Russian affairs. Kennan's diary notes support their opinion.