2003 Articles

Averell Harriman's Mission to Moscow

Pechatnov, V. O.

Averell Harriman holds a special place in the ranks of important American diplomats of the twentieth century who represented the U.S. in Moscow, not only thanks to his personal qualities, but also because the years of his ambassadorship coincide with what was perhaps the most critical period in Soviet-American relations: the conception of a military and political alliance that came into being in the monumental fight against a deadly enemy. Harriman, Roosevelt’s trusted emissary, highly esteemed by both the Kremlin and Whitehall, became an eyewitness and active participant in political decisions that were to affect the fate of millions of people. Although Harriman’s Moscow mission has been thoroughly chronicled by the ambassador himself, and has also been studied by several Russian and American historians, the release of new archival documents in Russia and the U.S. occasions a new reading of many pages from this historic diplomatic mission.