Early scenes from the Reagans’ first visit to the Soviet Union.
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt of Bret Baier’s new book, Three Days in Moscow: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire. It appears here with permission.
May 29, 1988
Moscow
In an ornate living room of Spaso House.
It was late in the afternoon of the Reagans’ arrival day in Moscow, and they were staying at the historic yellow mansion, home of U.S. ambassador Jack Matlock. The mood of the staff and officials who stood around Nancy was upbeat and expectant, if not a little awestruck. Here were the president of the United States and the first lady on a first-time visit to the heart of the Soviet Union, the place Reagan had once called the “Evil Empire.” As Nancy wrote a decade later in her memoir, “If someone had told me when Ronnie and I were first married that we would eventually travel to Moscow as president and first lady, and would be the honored guests of the Soviet leadership, I would have suggested that he get his head examined.”
The opening of relations was tentative but hopeful, a romance still in a delicate early stage, marred by tension but buttressed by a genuine chemistry between the two principals, Reagan and Soviet general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The Reagan visit followed a similar trip to the United States by Gorbachev only six months earlier. During his visit, the American people had showered “Gorby” with goodwill. They found him charming and were buoyed by his growing friendship with the president, never before seen from a Soviet leader. Now it was Reagan’s turn.
Whatever noble ideals might have existed in the minds and hearts of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, the Communist system had grown corrupt and unworkable, with a legacy of famine, labor camps for perceived enemies, religious persecution, steady economic decline, and a mad expansionism that was crippling the USSR’s satellite nations and threatening its very existence. Gorbachev shared many of those concerns; they were the impetus for his program of reform called perestroika, which was designed to eliminate corruption and waste and shift the command economy to a more market-based system. But progress was slow, and the sluggish and overbearing state machinery made it impossible to initiate more rapid and widespread changes. The citizens were growing restless.
Flags circled lazily overhead.
‘In the past, Mr. General Secretary, you’ve taken note of my liking for Russian proverbs. And so as not to disappoint anyone on this visit, I thought I would mention a literary saying from your past, another example of your people’s succinct wisdom. Rodilsya, ne toropilsya. It was born, it wasn’t rushed.’
Reagan was relaxed and rested following a four-day stopover in Helsinki, some 500 miles away. The American media speculated that the 77-year-old president needed a break before making what could be the most significant diplomatic trip of his presidency. But one could hardly fault Reagan for the wisdom of that strategy, which allowed him to recover from jet lag (given the eight-hour time difference) before meeting Gorbachev face-to-face on his own turf.
Arriving at the Grand Kremlin Palace, a structure of breathtaking mass and majesty, the Reagans went inside and walked up a long staircase to the second floor. They entered St. George Hall, a chandeliered marble room the size of a football field, lined with 18 columns topped with statues featuring Russian military leaders. As they walked down the long red carpet, Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev appeared at the opposite end, coming toward them. They met in the middle—high symbolism—smiling and shaking hands. Raisa presented Nancy with a bouquet of two dozen pink roses.
When it was his turn to speak, Reagan, who had practiced the pronunciation of a Russian proverb on the plane, said, “In the past, Mr. General Secretary, you’ve taken note of my liking for Russian proverbs. And so as not to disappoint anyone on this visit, I thought I would mention a literary saying from your past, another example of your people’s succinct wisdom. Rodilsya, ne toropilsya. It was born, it wasn’t rushed.” Gorbachev smiled, seeming to approve. It was a moment of mutual understanding.
After the ceremony, Reagan and Gorbachev met privately for a time while Raisa took Nancy on a tour. The two women never had a warm relationship. Nancy disliked Raisa’s imperiousness and penchant for lecturing her on the benefits of Communism. She’d made a point of studying up on Russian culture and the Soviet Union before the visit, hoping to hold her own. The eagle-eyed press was always on the lookout for the slightest chill between the two women, and this trip was no different. Leading up to the visit, many articles were published speculating on the “wives’ summit.” A cartoon by Phoenix Gazette cartoonist Len “Boro” Borozinski depicted Nancy and Raisa arm wrestling while their husbands happily pumped hands.
As they strolled through Assumption Cathedral, the oldest church in Moscow, Raisa talked nonstop as Nancy listened with rigid posture and an expressionless face. When she was finally able to get a word in, the first lady asked if the cathedral was used for religious services. “Nyet,” Raisa replied curtly.
Coincidentally, their husbands were also talking about religion and human rights. The private meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev had not been on the schedule, and as aides hovered outside, eagerly awaiting a report from the translator, they didn’t know that Reagan had decided to directly raise the issue of religious freedom. Referring to the Jews who wanted to emigrate, he asked Gorbachev, “Did it ever occur to you, on this whole question of human rights, that maybe if these Jews were permitted to worship as they want to, to teach their children the Hebrew language, that maybe they wouldn’t want to leave the Soviet Union?”
Gorbachev was briefly taken aback that the president was so quick to bring up such a sensitive topic. But Reagan’s comment foreshadowed a theme he would return to as a core purpose of the visit. He made the point of often bringing up religion. Turning personal, he confided to Gorbachev that there was one thing he had always wanted to do for his son Ron, who was an avowed atheist. He wished to serve him the perfect gourmet dinner, and at the end, after Ron had thoroughly enjoyed the meal, he would ask him if there was a cook. He wondered how his son would answer. Gorbachev replied that the only possible answer was yes.