Visual mementos of the Moscow summit between US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev May 29-June 3, 1988
Justin Lifflander
The world will be watching carefully as US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have their first meeting, set to take place in Geneva on 16 June. The context and accessories of such meetings are often as exciting as the content itself. And maybe this will be the start to a gradual improvement in relations.
As a driver-mechanic at the US Embassy in Moscow, I was fortunate to be present at a previous summit that resulted from a sea-change in the relationship between the countries. When I arrived in Moscow in October of 1987, it was only a year after the expulsions by Reagan of Soviet diplomatic staff in the US and Gorbachev’s ending of “support services” by Soviet citizens to the US Embassy and Consulate. By the time I left for Votkinsk in December 1988, the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty had been signed, ratified and implementation had begun. And Reagan had come to Moscow for his historic summit.
(all photos are mine, unless otherwise indicated)
Some American propaganda. With Reagan’s accidental on-line joke, “I’ve outlawed the Soviet Union. We begin bombing in five minutes…” tensions reached all time highs.
My best friend Solomon’s artistic rendition of what my life at the embassy would look like. Not far from the truth.
My embassy badge. Probably I was supposed to return this before departing, but it seems I didn’t. Its pleasant to see my youthful appearance, but more significant are the scotch tape marks on the back of the badge. As a joke, some support staff kept a kernel of popcorn taped to the back of their badge. We learned that the Sovs were bombarding us with microwaves from the bell tower of the church (which was nicknamed “Our Holy Lady of Constant Surveillance”) across from the entrance to the new embassy compound. Probably it had something to do with activating the listening devices they’d embedded in the structure of the new embassy that was under construction. We had no “Havana Syndrome” victims as far as I recall.
Reagan and Gorbachev signing the historic INF treaty in Washington, December 1987.
My “hi-tech” summit access badge.
A US Airforce C-5 Galaxy cargo plane arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Hundreds of US officials arrived in Moscow to support and participate in the summit. They and their cargo began arriving several weeks before the event took place.
Two Winnebagos operated by the White House Communications Agency (aka “WHACA”) were disgorged by the C-5, and immediately surrounded by the “Men in Black”. They were responsible for making sure that the leader of the free world could stay in contact while visiting the Evil Empire. Hard to imagine that Reagan would have called in a nuclear strike on Russia while he was visiting. But anything is possible. The person in the lower right corner in the baseball cap was my boss and head of the motor pool. He would later be PNG’d by Germany for spying on them.
The Winnebagos were parked in the basement garage at the new embassy compound (where years later, when the new 100 dollar bills were put into circulation by the Department of Treasury, large amounts of cash was stored in advance to facilitate a smooth integration into the then heavily dollarized Russian banking system). The president’s motorcade also arrived. His limousine, the “Beast” was parked in our garage and serviced by its own mechanics. I got a tingle every time I walked past it.
Prior to the start of the summit, someone with a mischievous sense of humor (I swear it was not me!) posted this photoshop rendition of the seemingly merging leaders on a corridor wall at the embassy. It was quickly removed.
It seemed that the few American products distributed and, in the case of Coca-Cola, actually made in Russia were more readily available in the run-up to the summit.
The official program for the summit, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Embossed gold lettering = respect!
A street banner on the motorcade route “advertising” perestroika – Gorbachev & Co’s attempt to restructure the economy. I can’t remember if it was being put up or if it was, symbolically, falling down.
The VIP building at Vnukovo-3, where Air Force One was to land.
Even then, bandits drove Mercedes (traffic police escort vehicles waiting to set up the motorcade).
Embassy staff and families waiting on the tarmac.
Reagan receiving and giving honor. On his right is Andrei Gromyko, the titular head of the Soviet State. “Grim Grom,” an icon of Soviet politics for more than 40 years, had been moved aside by Gorbachev shortly after the latter took power.
Reagan and Gorbachev exchanging the ratified INF treaties, while Pavel Palzhchenko, Gorbachev’s then interpreter (and to this day still with him at the Gorbachev Foundation), looks on. (Photo from “On-Site Inspections Under the INF Treaty”, US DOD)
A commemorative stamp issued by the USSR in honor of the summit.