Cold War Correspondents and the Possibilities of Convergence: American Journalists in the Soviet Union, 1968–1979

Abstract

This article examines the writings of six American journalists who were stationed in the Soviet Union during the crucial period of détente in 1968–1979. All of them took their role as integrated observers of Soviet society seriously and published book length accounts of their experiences in Russia. They claimed that inside knowledge of Russian history and the Russian people was important for trying to understand the possibilities for change in the Soviet Union. In the process of getting to know the Soviet Union, however, they also revealed the importance of their own cultural background and expectations. They reached the conclusion that while change was possible in the consumer sphere, Russian history and Soviet ideology stood in the way of political convergence.