A Surprisingly Candid Chat Between Nixon and Brezhnev

Robert Coalson, The Atlantic — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 16:32:50 -0400

Outwardly, Cold War summits between leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union could seem stiff and formal affairs.

But a tape released on August 21 by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration shows a different side of relations between then-U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev.

Nixon and Brezhnev met one-on-one (with just translator Viktor Sukhodrev) in the White House on June 18, 1973, the day before the Washington summit officially began.

Nixon had an automatic taping system installed in the White House, and some 3,700 hours of tapes exist from his 1969-74 presidency. All but 700 hours have now been released to the public.

Government Executive - Authors - Robert Coalson

A Surprisingly Candid Chat Between Nixon and Brezhnev