The American‐Soviet Walks: Large‐Scale Citizen Diplomacy at Glasnost’s Outset

Abstract

Nineteen eighty‐seven was a watershed year in the Soviet Union, as Premier Gorbachev’s glasnost and perestroika initiatives began to change the face of this closed society. On the citizen diplomacy front, the year featured one of the largest‐ever initiatives between American and Soviet citizens, the American–Soviet Walk, the first of numerous walks of that scale to take place in the ensuing years. The five‐week walk not only pushed the limits of this fledgling openness and democratization but also tread well beyond the traditional, safe conventions of small‐scale citizen exchange. This article explores what made these walks unique, from an unexpectedly large peace rally in Novgorod, to an illegal peace demonstration in Red Square, to public meetings with dissidents. It concludes by exploring the deep cultural differences among the citizen representatives from both countries and whether the walks provide a model for future citizen diplomacy when tensions are high between rival countries.