Reagan and Gorbachev

Abstract

On September 12, 2017, Vladimir Putin surpassed Leonid Brezhnev’s tenure of 6,601 days as the top leader of Russia.1 Although he was not actually standing nearby Ronald Reagan in Red Square in May 1988, as the American photographer of that iconic image has since contended, he witnessed the collapse of Soviet power in Eastern and Central Europe as a KGB operative in Dresden.2 Sixty-four years old, Putin is now five years younger than Reagan was on January 20, 1981, and is certainly in better physical shape than was Brezhnev as he sat in the Kremlin on that day. Putin may yet match Joseph Stalin’s longevity. Occupants of the Oval Office, present and future, should not make the mistake of waiting for an improvement in Russian leadership. Ronald Reagan refused to wait. There is a common misconception that Reagan focused entirely on building up United States and Allied strength during his first term in office and deferred negotiations until a new type of Soviet leader emerged. In fact, Reagan attempted to engage with Brezhnev, writing him empathetic letters almost from the start of his presidency, and—to the frustration of hardline U.S. advisors—seeking face-to-face meetings not only with Brezhnev, but also with his successors.3 “In thinking through this letter, I have reflected at some length on the tragedy and scale of Soviet losses in warfare through the ages,” Reagan wrote Konstantin Chernenko in February 1984. “Surely those losses which are beyond description must affect your thinking today. I want you to know that neither I nor the American people hold any offensive intentions toward you or the Soviet people.”4