Relations between the United States and Russia have always been challenging, even dangerous. Every president in the modern era has sought to form a relationship with his counterpart in Moscow that first and foremost guarantees the safety of the American people, and secondly, brings the two nations to a more trusting and agreeable point.
As important as it is to gain a full understanding of what special counsel Robert Mueller found and thought in his investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, once that is accomplished, we should not lose sight of the much more important issue of whether the president is acting in a way that puts America’s physical and political safety first. President Trump has rightly said that it is “a good thing” if the U.S. and Russia get along. But Trump’s reluctance to call out Vladimir Putin for his brazen attempts to interfere with our electoral process and his unchecked military adventurism make some wonder what Trump’s priorities are.
Protecting America and having good relations with Russia are not mutually exclusive. Never was that more apparent than thirty-one years ago this month, when President Ronald Reagan did what few thought would ever happen: he visited Moscow, where he was very respectfully — some would say warmly — welcomed by the leadership of the Soviet Union.
The trip was widely viewed as a major diplomatic success for both countries, but it did not start off on a very good note. En route from the airport to Spaso House, the Moscow residence of the U.S. ambassador, the Reagans decided to stop for an impromptu visit to the famous Arbat Street, a pedestrian area where ordinary Muscovites, often families with young kids, walk among artists’ stalls and shops. They had heard about it from their son, Ron, and thought it would be nice to interact with Soviet citizens who had not been pre-selected by the government. The U.S. Secret Service objected, but the Reagans insisted. Their motorcade was diverted to Arbat Street, and within seconds of their disembarking from their limousine, chaos ensued.
Startled but obviously delighted citizens surged toward the Reagans, who, in turn, walked toward them with outstretched arms. Secret Service agents formed their usual protective ring around the First Couple, and pool reporters in the presidential motorcade were quickly escorted by White House aides, who tried to get them close enough to the Reagans to observe their interactions with Soviet citizens.
But the Russian security forces — KGB agents — wanted no such thing. They went into action, locking arms and forming a human chain blocking all access to the Reagans. To say they were thug-like gives a bad name to thugs. White House aides and reporters screamed but to no avail, until Nancy Reagan heard and turned to see UPI’s Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House press corps, physically restrained by a burly KGB agent three times her size. She immediately went to Helen and rescued her from what could have been an unfortunate situation. The visit to Arbat Street was quickly concluded.
Here’s how Mrs. Reagan described it in her autobiography, My Turn: “It was all going beautifully until the KGB suddenly arrived and started roughing people up … we soon found ourselves in the middle of a mob scene. Some of the reporters who came with us were punched and kicked.” Once safely inside Spaso House, a visibly irritated Ronald Reagan groused to aides that “not much seems to have changed here after all,” and in his private diary that night wrote of the KGB: “I’ve never seen such brutal manhandling as they did on their own people who were in no way getting out of hand.”
The rest of the Reagans’ visit to Moscow went smoothly. All of the events had been carefully planned, and were designed to convey important messages: A visit to a monastery highlighted the need for greater religious freedom; a luncheon for dissidents called attention to the lack of freedom of expression; meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev and an arms control agreement signing ceremony in the glittering Kremlin Palace showcased the new relationship between the two countries and the progress the two leaders had made on reducing nuclear arsenals; a special performance by the world renowned Bolshoi Ballet allowed the Soviets to show off their culture and the Reagans to be seen admiring the same. One of the more memorable events was when, after one of their meetings, Reagan and Gorbachev strolled through Red Square, where they chatted with “ordinary” citizens. (White House aides suspected that, unlike those on Arbat Street, the citizens who just so happened to be in Red Square then were selected and positioned by Kremlin apparatchiks.) At one point a smiling Gorbachev chummily put his arm around Reagan’s shoulder and introduced him to a young child as “Grandfather Reagan.” So much for an Evil Empire.
The event that meant the most to Reagan was his address to students at Moscow State University, Gorbachev’s alma mater, where he met his wife, Raisa. In his autobiography, An American Life, Reagan credited Gorbachev for allowing the visit, describing it as “an extraordinary day” — one he “never thought possible,” and something he “never dreamed” he would be able to do. In his remarks, he did not lecture the students on why the American system was better than the Soviets’, but rather spoke eloquently and passionately about why freedom matters to us, and why the words “We the people” are so fundamental to our way of life. Standing beneath a large bust of Vladimir Lenin, Ronald Reagan concluded his remarks to the Soviet Union’s future leaders with these words:
Three decades later, Reagan’s hope remains unfulfilled because of Vladimir’s Putin’s corrupt, oppressive and dictatorial policies. It is now Trump’s turn to try to bring Reagan’s vision to reality. Whether he is able or willing remains an open question. The world will be looking for the answer when Trump and Putin meet in Japan next month.
Mark Weinberg, a communications consultant and executive speechwriter, served as Special Assistant to the President and Assistant Press Secretary in the Reagan White House. He is the author of Movie Nights with the Reagans (Simon & Schuster.)
