Documents / FOIA release

Soviet Public Treatment of President Reagan Since November 1980

Central Intelligence Agency · 1984-02-03 · 36 pages · text by GLM-OCR

This Central Intelligence Agency report, dated 3 February 1984, reviews how Soviet leaders, well-connected commentators and routine media treated President Reagan from November 1980 onward. It finds that Moscow twice softened its line: once after the 1980 election and again when Andropov came to power. After the Korean airliner was shot down, Soviet treatment of Reagan became the most abusive in years. Attached excerpts include a Yakovlev article claiming Reagan believes in flying saucers.

  • p. 2 …in Soviet expectations for U.S.-Soviet cooperation were most clearly registered. 11. o Routine commentary…
  • p. 4 …one reasonable road--peaceful coexistence, mutually advantageous cooperation. 29. But there are also such statesmen in…
  • p. 6 …on confrontation; not on peaceful mutually beneficial cooperation, but on the use of trade to military…
  • p. 11 …They wish lasting peace and mutually beneficial cooperation. 86. Andropov, speech at CPSU Central Committee plenum…
  • p. 19 …to a policy of peace and international cooperation. ## 148. Andropov interview (PRAVDA, 25 Jan 84) 149…
  • p. 25 …agreements in trade and scientific-technical cooperation, agreements signed by the Government of the United States…
  • p. 29 …Are we not overestimating our own strength? Can international security and international cooperation seriously be expected…
  • p. 31 …climate of mutual trust, mutual understanding and cooperation in the world. 245. His Holiness Pimen, Patriarch…
  • p. 33 …rapid demolition of the structure of international cooperation built by the efforts of many countries on…

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with hypocritical homilies about morality and human rights, with the White House incumbent himself setting the tone.

265. If we are to believe Reagan, America is ruled by "the most noble," "the most magnanimous," and "the most philanthropic" gentlemen. But there is no mention of the fact that each of these gentlemen possesses heaps of dollars in his bank account, acquired from the drudgery of modern-day slaves, taken from widows and orphans, and collected from the corpses of soldiers who have perished in the dirty wars and criminal adventures of the United States.

266. Commentator Oleg Kolesnikov (TASS report in English, 26 Oct 83)

267. The crude act of international terrorism elevated by Washington to the status of government policy is the assessment given by the world public of the occupation of Grenada by the U.S. Marines. The statements by President Reagan about the "peace-making" mission of the U.S. Marines sent by him to that tiny island in the Caribbean strike one as monstrous cynicism. . . .

268. Reagan's statements are mendacious from beginning to end, and even officials of the American Administration are forced to admit it.

269. Bovin (OTECHESTVEN FRONT, 1 Dec 84)

270. When the Americans agreed to detente and when they held constructive talks with us, this was an attempt to adapt their policy to the changes in life and in the world that had emerged. Now the reverse process is occurring--Reagan is trying to adapt the whole world to the interests of the United States as he understands them. Such an approach, however, again undermines the realistic basis for any constructive agreements. Evidence of this is the failure of the Geneva talks.

271. The dominance of a conservative, reactionary, and archaic ideology in the United States, an ideology which is being transformed to politics, is the main obstacle for regulating disputed problems. I think that Reagan cannot change himself. Romain Rolland has actually said that one can begin to understand something of life only when one comes upon its sharp corners. Reagan has already come upon such sharp corners but having in mind the way he understands life, I have not noticed that he has changed himself. Since Reagan will probably stay in the White House for another four years, it is my belief that for that period of time we will not succeed in reaching an agreement on anything meaningful. We will, of course, conduct negotiations, we will try to sign agreements and we will probably even succeed somewhere on the political fringes. However, I think that concerning the main and basic issues we will have to face a game of nerves, confrontation, and conflicts for another four years. This

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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 36 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.