Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: Raising the Iron Curtain

By Yale Richmond

Some fifty thousand Soviets visited the United States under various exchange programs between 1958 and 1988. They came as scholars and students, scientists and engineers, writers and journalists, government and party officials, musicians, dancers, and athletes—and among them were more than a few KGB officers. They came, they saw, they were conquered, and the Soviet Union would never again be the same. Cultural Exchange and the Cold War describes how these exchange programs (which brought an even larger number of Americans to the Soviet Union) raised the Iron Curtain and fostered changes that prepared the way for Gorbachev's glasnost, perestroika, and the end of the Cold War.

This study is based upon interviews with Russian and American participants as well as the personal experiences of the author and others who were involved in or administered such exchanges. Cultural Exchange and the Cold War demonstrates that the best policy to pursue with countries we disagree with is not isolation but engagement.

• Language: English
• Publisher: PSUPress
• Release date: Apr 21, 2003
• ISBN: 9780271031576

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Reviews for Cultural Exchange and the Cold War

[darthdeverell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Cultural Exchange & the Cold War: Raising the Iron Curtain, Yale Richmond draws upon his experience as a diplomat to argue, “The end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism were consequences of Soviet contacts and exchanges with the West, and with the United States in particular, over the thirty-five years that followed the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. Moreover, those exchanges in culture, education, information, science, and technology were conducted by the United States openly, for the most part, under agreements concluded with the Soviet government, and at a cost that was minuscule in comparison with U.S. expenditures for defense and intelligence over the same period of time” (pg. xiii-xiv).Discussing the agreements, Richmond writes, “The two sides were to treat each other as equals, approximate reciprocity was to be sought in the various exchanges, and the benefits to the two sides should be comparable. To maintain these principles, the periodic renegotiations of the cultural agreement and its annexed program of exchanges were often long and laborious” (pg. 19). Richmond writes of Boris Yuzhin, one of the first Soviet students to come to the U.S. on the exchange program, “When Yuzhin heard how Americans openly criticize their government and even their president, when he saw how Americans enter the Capitol building in Washington dressed casually, wearing shorts and sandals without socks, and with infants on their backs, he understood how they felt themselves to be the real masters of their country” (pg. 36). In this way, “As the Cold War continued, and at times heated up, they became a national resource that helped to educate Americans about the realities of Russia and to separate fact from fiction about the Soviet Union” (pg. 48).Richmond writes of scientists on exchange programs, “Despite the small numbers, they served to establish the first postwar linkages between American and Soviet scientists, helped to increase American knowledge of Soviet science, and prepared the way for an expansion of S&T exchanges during the détente years” (pg. 69). Further, “The cooperative agreements also represented a new phase in U.S.-Soviet exchanges. Instead of individual scientists pursuing their own research interests in the other country, American and Soviet scientists would be working together on problems of common interest” (pg. 69). Political exchanges organized by the American Council of Young Political Leaders and the Committee of Youth Organizations had one intended consequence. According to Richmond, “The conservatives in the U.S. delegation found that they had more in common with the Soviets than they had anticipated, while the liberals discovered that they had less” (pg. 114).Richmond writes that the performing arts “were one of the most visible of U.S.-Soviet exchanges. In the United States, few of the cognoscenti failed to hear of, if not see, the Soviet dance groups, symphony orchestras, operas, ice shows, and circuses, as well as the many outstanding, individual artists who visited the United States each year, often on extensive coast-to-coast tours. American ensembles and soloists that went to the Soviet Union in exchange invariably played to full houses and were likewise appreciated by both the intelligentsia and the general public” (pg. 123). Of film, Richmond writes, “Through foreign films Russians were able to see aspects of life in the West that invalidated the negative views promulgated by the Soviet media. Audiences were not so much listening to the sound tracks or reading the subtitles, as watching the doings of people in the films – in their homes, in stores, on the streets, the clothes they wore, and the cars they drove” (pg. 128).Finally, Richmond writes, “One result of U.S.-Soviet exchanges often overlooked was the exposure to everyday American life that was a part of the visits of most Soviets who came to the United States. Their tours of American cities; visits to homes, schools, and farms; a university or small-town experience; and many other ‘extracurricular’ activities were often arranged by local chapters of the National Council for International Visitors, a private organization that mobilizes the services of volunteers who give freely of their time to ensure that foreign visitors to the United States have a productive and pleasant stay in their communities and see the real America” (pg. 179).