Personality and Politics: U.S.-Soviet Negotiations in the ’70s
When he speaks to audiences about his experience, Vavilov said that most people are primarily interested in Nixon’s personal life. But what Vavilov discussed during his lecture was how each leader handled himself during these encounters and what the Soviet people were or were not concerned about when it came to the leader of the free world. “The Nixon you saw in the U.S. was quite different when he came to the U.S.S.R.,” Vavilov said. “Nixon felt very secure in the U.S.S.R. … The Watergate issue was a non-issue.” The Watergate controversy was the subject least discussed during the meetings. He said Brezhnev could not relate to the American people’s obsession with Watergate. Instead, Brezhnev was more concerned about Nixon’s dealings
in Vietnam and his support of Chile at the time. Even the Soviet press rarely inquired about Watergate.
Guest lecturer Dr. Andrey Vavilov with Dr. Pamela Chasek, assistant professor of government, and Tatiana Avdeeva, a diplomat at the Russian Mission to the United Nations.
Overall, the experience sitting in on those high-profile meetings taught Vavilov that foreign policy had as much to do with personalities as it had to do with understanding politics. Dr. Pamela Chasek, assistant professor of government and director of the College’s international studies program, hoped that he would convey this exact point to her students. “I hope that students would see that history involves personalities and that Nixon, Kissinger and Brezhnev were not just names in a history book but real people with their own idiosyncrasies,” Chasek says. “Making foreign policy is as much a personal endeavor as it as a national one.” At the end of the lecture, an audience member asked Vavilov what his advice would be to current leaders. He responded, “It’s very dangerous to be a lone superpower … a healthy situation is a balanced situation.” And when asked to comment on U.S.Russia relations today, Vavilov said that it is simply not the same, and that it’s not driven by personalities as it had
been in the past. He mentioned that the Russian people at the moment have lost faith in their government and that President Vladimir Putin does not have a strong country behind him. Vavilov is currently a senior researcher at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow. He also serves as a consultant to the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
on campus
During Soviet and United States foreign relations in the 1970s – a critical period in politics – Dr. Andrey M. Vavilov served as the official interpreter and note-taker for Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev and was present at negotiation meetings with United States President Richard Nixon. When Vavilov spoke at the College this past April, he took the audience on a journey through SovietU.S. negotiations, a chaotic but exciting time for both superpowers.
After entering the Russian Foreign Service, Vavilov served in diplomatic posts in Delhi, London, Geneva and Nairobi. His major interests continue to be U.N. affairs and multilateral negotiations on arms control, security and the environment. For several years, he served as head of external relations for the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development. He has received numerous government decorations, including the Meritorious Service Award from the Russian president. Vavilov, who graduated from the Moscow Institute of International Relations and holds a doctorate in history, writes on arms control and sustainable development issues and has contributed to several books on these topics.
Protecting Human Rights Workers: An Unarmed Bodyguard in Mexico In March, the Manhattan College community welcomed Mona Bricke to campus to share her experiences as a nonviolent protector of human rights activists in Mexico. Bricke, a German citizen who is salaried by the German government, spoke about her work as an unarmed bodyguard with faculty and students. Bricke is a volunteer with Peace Brigades International (PBI), an international nongovernment organization that provides unarmed, nonviolent accompaniment to human rights workers who are at risk for reprisals from political groups, corrupt police officials and drug traffickers who oppose their work. The organization,
which only begins a project where it has been invited by local groups, currently operates in Columbia, Indonesia and Mexico, as well as a joint project with other organizations in Chiapas, Mexico and a restarted project in Guatemala. Past project sites include Haiti, the Balkans and North America. The presence of PBI volunteers, Bricke believes, lessens the chances of the local human rights workers from coming to harm – not only because the workers aren’t alone but also because as representatives of an international organization, PBI volunteers are proof that any violence won’t go unnoticed in the rest of the world.
According to Dr. Margaret Groarke, director of the peace studies program, which sponsored the lecture, Bricke’s talk gave a “colorful example of what a very small group of people can to do protect human rights and to protect peace.” The work of PBI volunteers, Groarke says, “allows other people to stand up for their human rights.” Those interested in supporting the work of PBI, Bricke said, can volunteer here in the United States or can be financial supports of the largely volunteer operation. Volunteers must be 25 years old or older and must know, or be willing and able to learn, the language of their assigned country. manhattan.edu
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