On February 15, 1957, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR appointed Andrei Gromyko Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union.

He held this position for 28 years, longer than any other Foreign Minister in the history of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

"Volitional character"

Andrei Gromyko was born on July 18, 1909 in the village of Starye Gromyki, Mogilev province (today it is the territory of the Gomel region of Belarus) in a poor family.

His father was a semi-peasant, semi-worker, a participant in the Russo-Japanese and World War I.

From the age of 13 Andrei helped his father to float the timber.

After graduating from a seven-year school, Gromyko continued his education at a Gomel vocational school, then at a technical school, and then at an institute, choosing the profession of an economist for himself.

During his second year, he became a teacher, and then the director of a school near Minsk, so he received a diploma of higher education as an external student.

“Gromyko was distinguished by his strong-willed character and strong desire to study from his youth,” Andrey Gorbunov, a researcher at the Victory Museum, said in a conversation with RT.

Shortly before graduating from the institute, Gromyko was offered to enter graduate school.

He agreed and first studied in Minsk, and then was transferred to Moscow.

In 1936, he defended his Ph.D. thesis on US agriculture, and soon became a senior researcher at the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

According to historians, Gromyko learned English while working on his dissertation.

The young scientist combined scientific and practical work with teaching political economy at the Moscow Institute of Municipal Construction Engineers.

In 1938, he began to act as scientific secretary of the Institute of Economics and was soon to become scientific secretary of the Far Eastern Branch of the Academy of Sciences, but an unexpected turn took place in his fate.

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“By the standards of the 1930s, Gromyko, with a Ph.D. and knowledge of English, was considered a very highly educated specialist and attracted attention.

In 1939, the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (NKID) felt a severe shortage of personnel, and Gromyko became one of the employees selected to work in the NKID, thanks to his education, knowledge of English and peasant origin, ”said Gorbunov.

According to the expert, Gromyko's career developed rapidly.

Almost immediately after his transfer to the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, at less than 30 years old, he was appointed head of the department of American countries.

Soon Gromyko was summoned to Joseph Stalin, who, against the backdrop of the aggravation of the international situation, needed up-to-date information on US foreign policy.

“At the meeting, Stalin asked what Gromyko was reading now.

He replied that the book was in English about the agrarian problems of the United States.

During the conversation, Stalin said that Gromyko is a good name for a diplomat, ”historian and writer Svyatoslav Rybas told RT.

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According to Andrei Gorbunov, Gromyko made such a favorable impression on Stalin that he immediately decided to approve him as an adviser at the plenipotentiary representation (embassy) of the USSR in the United States.

According to experts, Gromyko immediately found himself in the midst of the most difficult foreign policy events: Soviet diplomacy had to defend the interests of its country, maneuvering among the Western powers that clashed with each other. 

In 1943, Gromyko was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and at the same time to Cuba.

The most important tasks facing him were to strengthen the Anti-Hitler coalition and persuade the Western powers to open a Second Front. 

Gromyko established a trusting relationship with US President Franklin Roosevelt and representatives of his team.

The Soviet ambassador played an important role in preparing international conferences in Yalta and Potsdam (he was a member of the Soviet delegation), as well as in Dumbarton Oaks and San Francisco (where he headed the Soviet delegation).

It was Gromyko who signed the UN Charter on behalf of the USSR, and he also became the first representative of the Soviet Union to this international organization.

“Gromyko was one of the main sponsors of the first post-war international negotiations on disarmament issues.

The negotiations turned out to be fruitless, but the Soviet state already then demonstrated its readiness to compromise on nuclear issues, ”said RT Doctor of History, Associate Professor of Moscow State University.

M.V.

Lomonosov Alexey Fenenko.

  • Andrei Gromyko signs the UN Charter

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According to Andrei Gorbunov, even at the dawn of his diplomatic career, Gromyko was distinguished by the fact that he could negotiate for hours without using notes and pre-prepared speeches.

Gromyko combined the post of USSR representative to the UN with the post of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union.

And in 1949, a new promotion awaited him - Gromyko became the first deputy head of the Soviet foreign policy department.

However, according to historians, in 1952 he aroused Stalin's dissatisfaction with the fact that, without the consent of the state leadership, he endorsed an economic agreement with China.

For such a "fault" Gromyko was removed from his post and sent as an ambassador to London.

"Responsibility and discipline"

In 1953, Vyacheslav Molotov returned to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, who appointed Andrei Gromyko as his first deputy.

And on February 15, 1957, Gromyko himself was appointed head of the USSR Foreign Ministry.

“A period of detente in relations with the United States is associated with the tenure of Andrei Gromyko as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR,” said Alexei Fenenko.

For objective reasons, relations between the Soviet Union and the United States repeatedly heated up, but each time, thanks to diplomacy, the tension was reduced.

Direct military clashes between Moscow and Washington were avoided during the Berlin and Caribbean crises, as well as against the backdrop of conflicts in Vietnam, Angola, and the Middle East. 

The most important aspects of the policy of detente, in which Gromyko was directly involved, Aleksey Fenenko calls the signing of international agreements aimed at limiting armaments.

In 1963, Gromyko initiated the signing of the Treaty on the Ban on Tests of Nuclear Weapons in the Atmosphere, Outer Space and Under Water; in 1968, he facilitated the signing of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons; nuclear war and two Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties.

“After the appointment of Gromyko, the USSR took, perhaps, the strongest position in the world in its entire history.

There was a strengthening of the socialist camp, many countries of the world, including those in distant Africa and Latin America, found themselves in the sphere of Soviet influence.

Even among those who did not like the Soviet Union, many considered Gromyko the number one diplomat in the world,” Andrey Gorbunov emphasized.

  • Andrei Gromyko with John F. Kennedy

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According to experts, in the West, Gromyko was nicknamed "Mr. No" - there were myths about the special intransigence of the head of the Soviet foreign policy department.

However, they were not entirely true.

As Aleksey Fenenko noted, the political leadership of the USSR was determined to find reasonable compromises with the West, but for Gromyko, who put this policy into practice, the interests of his country always came first.

“However, when Gromyko said “no”, this did not mean a refusal to compromise, but that he was waiting for some alternative option to be offered to him.

He had such an approach,” said Svyatoslav Rybas.

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According to Andrei Gorbunov, steadfastness in defending the interests of the USSR could greatly anger Moscow's opponents in the international arena, but it is pointless to blame the diplomat for serving his country well.

“Responsibility and discipline in work were characteristic features of Gromyko as a diplomat,” Rybas emphasized.

An important aspect of the activity of the head of the Soviet foreign policy department was the international legal consolidation of the results of the Second World War, in particular the official recognition of post-war borders, the strengthening of peace, stability and security.

But when there were no other options left, Gromyko also participated in making difficult decisions, including the introduction of Soviet troops into the territory of Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan. 

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“Under the late Brezhnev, Gromyko, along with Andropov and Ustinov, was part of the so-called Big Three that determined the policy of the USSR,” Rybas noted.

Since 1973, Gromyko was officially a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, and in 1983 he was appointed First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers.

According to historians, in 1985 Gromyko's candidacy was considered for the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee, but he refused the post due to his advanced age and health, suggesting Mikhail Gorbachev for the post of General Secretary.

“Then Gromyko regretted his action and said that he needed to become general secretary for several years and prepare a worthy successor,” Rybas said.

  • Andrey Ivanovich Gromyko - Minister of Foreign Affairs speaks at an extraordinary session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the eleventh convocation

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Nevertheless, in 1985 Gromyko became the formal leader of the state - chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Three years later, in October 1988, he retired, but less than a year later, on July 2, 1989, he died.

“Thanks to Andrei Gromyko, a new face appeared in the foreign policy of the USSR - an intelligent, literate person, creator, scientist.

Western propaganda stories about "bloody commissars" began to look ridiculous.

Gromyko played a crucial role in the formation of the post-war USSR on the world stage: instead of a rogue country, the world saw a victorious country, a liberating country, and most importantly, a creator country, ”summed up Andrei Gorbunov.