A Short Thaw in the Cold War

The article analyzes the reaction of the Soviet leadership to the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in November 1963 and its impact on Soviet-American relations in the short-term period of 1963—1964. The research is based on a wide range of previously inaccessible archival documents, including materials from the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, diplomatic correspondence, and intelligence reports, which helps to overcome the long-existing imbalance in historiography in favor of American sources. The author examines in detail the initial shock and concern in the Kremlin, caused not only by the tragedy itself but also by the potential for accusations of Soviet involvement through the figure of Lee Harvey Oswald. The promptness of decision-making is emphasized: Nikita Khrushchev’s personal expression of condolences and the dispatch of Anastas Mikoyan to Washington as a special representative to attend the funeral. It is shown that Mikoyan's mission, including his meetings with the new President Lyndon B. Johnson and Secretary of State Dean Rusk, was successful and contributed to a temporary stabilization of relations. Particular attention is paid to the unprecedented cooperation of the Soviet authorities with the American investigation (the Warren Commission), manifested in the handing over of documents related to Oswald. The conclusion is made that Kennedy’s death abruptly interrupted the positive dynamic that had emerged after the Cuban Missile Crisis and the signing of the Moscow Treaty, shattering hopes for a genuine détente. This brief episode became a “thaw” in the Cold War, which, however, never evolved into a long-term warming

Cold war · Historiography · Missile · Global Political and Economic Relations · Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics · History, Medicine, and Leadership