Anatoly Fyodorovich Dobrynin (, 16 November 1919 – 6 April 2010) was a
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
statesman
A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field.
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,
diplomat
A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
, and
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
. He was the
Soviet ambassador to the United States for more than two decades, from 1962 to 1986.
He attracted notoriety among the American public during and after the
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...
at the beginning of his ambassadorship, when he denied the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. However, he did not know until days later that Soviet Premier
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
had already sent the missiles and that the Americans already had photographs of them. Between 1968 and 1974, he was known as the Soviet end of the
Kissinger–Dobrynin direct communication and negotiation link between the
Nixon administration and the
Soviet Politburo.
Early life and education
Dobrynin was born in the village of Krasnaya Gorka, near
Mozhaisk in the
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...
, on 16 November 1919.
His father was a locksmith. He attended the
Moscow Aviation Institute
Moscow Aviation Institute () is an engineering research university in Moscow, Russia. It is designated a National Research University. Since its inception the institute has been spearheading advances in aerospace technology both within Russia a ...
and after graduation went to work for the
Yakovlev Design Bureau. He entered the Higher Diplomatic School in 1944 and graduated with distinction.
Career

Dobrynin joined the diplomatic service of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
in 1946.
[ He later joined the secretariat of the ministry and worked for ]Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (; – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician, diplomat, and revolutionary who was a leading figure in the government of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s, as one of Joseph Stalin's closest allies. ...
, Dmitri Shepilov, Andrei Gromyko, and Valerian Zorin. He was appointed deputy secretary general at the United Nations in 1957 and returned to Moscow as head of the foreign ministry's department of the United States and Canada in 1960.[ Dobrynin was appointed as Soviet Ambassador to the United States in 1962 and he was the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps from July 1979. His tenure lasted until 1986.][
Dobrynin had the unique experience of serving as Soviet ambassador to the United States during the terms of six presidents ( Kennedy, ]Johnson
Johnson may refer to:
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, Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...
, Ford, Carter and Reagan). The Cold War rivalry made his position one of the key elements in Soviet–American relations, and between the Soviet Ambassador to the United States (in Washington) and the United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (in Moscow), most diplomatic business channeled through the former. Dobrynin's regular contacts with the US State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
resulted in him being granted his own parking spot in the State Department garage. When President Reagan revoked that privilege in 1981, he remarked about Dobrynin, "I couldn't help liking him as a human being."
Dobrynin developed an especially close relationship with Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...
with whom he often met and dined with up to four times a week. They had a direct line to each other's office; they exchanged gifts, shared inside jokes, and even met each other's parents.
In 1971, he was elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
(CPSU).[ After his long term as ambassador to the United States, he returned to ]Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in 1986 and joined the party's Secretariat and led the international department of the CPSU Central Committee for two years. At the end of 1988, he retired from the Central Committee and served as an advisor to the Soviet presidency.[
He attended the December 1989 Malta Summit, which formally marked the end of the ]Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. He was given the honorary rank of Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in 1992.
Works and death
His book, ''In Confidence: Moscow's Ambassador to Six Cold War Presidents'', was published in 1995. (It was last reprinted in 2001 as .)
Dobrynin died in Moscow on 6 April 2010. In a telegram to Dobrynin's family, Russian President
The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...
paid tribute to Dobrynin, stating:
Honours and awards
* Hero of Socialist Labour
The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...
* Five Orders of Lenin
* Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...
* Order of Honour (18 August 2009) – for his great contribution to the foreign policy of the Russian Federation and many years of diplomatic service
* Honored Worker of the Diplomatic Service of the Russian Federation
* Honorary Doctor of the Diplomatic Academy of Russia
See also
* ''The Kennedys'' (miniseries)
References
External links
CNN Cold War – Interviews: Anatoly Dobrynin
- Daily Telegraph obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobrynin, Anatoly
1919 births
2010 deaths
People from Mozhaysky District, Moscow Oblast
People from Mozhaysky Uyezd
Candidates of the Central Committee of the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Committee of the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Committee of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Committee of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Members of the Secretariat of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to the United States
Deans of the Diplomatic Corps to the United States
Cold War diplomats
Moscow Aviation Institute alumni
Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation alumni
Heroes of Socialist Labour
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia)
Honored Employee of the Diplomatic Service (Russia)