Suzanne Liselotte Marguerite Massie (née Rohrbach; January 8, 1931 – January 26, 2025) was an American scholar of Russian history who played an important role in the relations between

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and the

Soviet Union 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 ...

in the final years 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 ...

. In 2021 she was awarded Russian citizenship.

Background

Suzanne Liselotte Marguerite Rohrbach was born in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York, on January 8, 1931, the daughter of a Swiss diplomat, and grew up in Philadelphia. She graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

, but also studied at the Sorbonne and the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. She married Robert K. Massie in 1952.

Career

Massie began her career as a magazine journalist, working at ''

Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...

'', ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', and ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. In 1975, Suzanne and Robert Massie chronicled their experiences as the parents of a haemophiliac child, Robert Kinloch Massie IV, and the significant differences between the American and French health-care systems in their jointly written book, ''Journey.'' ''Journey'' followed her husband's 1967 book, ''

Nicholas and Alexandra ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' is a 1971 British epic historical drama film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, from a screenplay by James Goldman and Edward Bond based on Robert K. Massie's 1967 book of the same name. It tells the story of the l ...

,'' a biography of the last Emperor and Empress of Russia, whose son Alexei also was born with haemophilia. Reagan first became interested in Massie when he read her book ''Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia''. She visited the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

, where she became an informal messenger between the President and

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

and his administration. She explained to Reagan about the importance of religion in Russia and this gave him a new insight. She also asked Reagan to learn the now famous Russian phrase ''" Doveryai, no proveryai"'', which translates as "Trust, but verify". The proverb rhymes in Russian and under Reagan the phrase became a White House policy. They met sixteen times and her importance in contributing to Reagan's understanding of the Russian people, assisting in reaching a peaceful end to the

. This was described in detail in a number of documentary films. She applied for the job of US Ambassador to Russia via a letter to Reagan but was rejected, as the post had already been filled. A fellow of the Harvard Russian Research Center (now the Davis Center) from 1985 to 1997, Massie also served on the board of the

International League for Human Rights The International League for Human Rights (ILHR) is a human rights organization with headquarters in New York City. Claiming to be the oldest human rights organization in the United States, the ILHR defines its mission as "defending human righ ...

. In 1991, she was appointed the only lay member of the Permanent Episcopal-Orthodox Coordinating Committee, which has conducted bi-annual discussions in Russia and the United States with hierarchs of the church, including Patriarch Aleksy II. She was the fourth wife of Professor

Seymour Papert Seymour Aubrey Papert (; 29 February 1928 – 31 July 2016) was a South African-born American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, who spent most of his career teaching and researching at MIT. He was one of the pioneers of artif ...

and together they worked on a project called ''the Learning Barn'' in Maine. In 2021, Massie travelled to Moscow to attend

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

celebrations, and in an interview with Russian broadcaster NTV, she asked President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

for a Russian passport, saying that the country's citizenship would be "an honor". Her request was granted on December 30, 2021.

Personal life and death

From 1954 to 1990, she was married to Robert Massie; they had three children. She remarried to

, a researcher of artificial intelligence and education theory associated with the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, in 1992. She was a longtime resident of

Blue Hill, Maine Blue Hill is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States, located on Blue Hill Bay. The population was 2,792 at the 2020 census. It is home to the Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, George Stevens Academy, the Blue Hill ...

, but moved to a retirement home in Kentucky at the end of her life to be closer to family. Suzanne Massie died from vascular dementia at a care facility in

Harrodsburg, Kentucky Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census. Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the Virginia House of Burgesses after Boo ...

, on January 26, 2025, at the age of 94.

Books

* Massie, Suzanne, ''Trust but Verify: Reagan, Russia and Me,'' Maine Authors Publishing, 2013: Paperback and Hardcover. * Massie, Suzanne, ''Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia,'' Simon & Schuster 1980: Paperback; Touchstone 1982. * Massie, Suzanne, ''Pavlovsk: The Life of a Russian Palace,'' Little Brown & Co. 1990: Paperback; HeartTree Press 1999. * Massie, Suzanne, ''The Living Mirror,'' Doubleday & Co. Garden City New York 1972: Paperback: Anchor 1972. * Massie, Suzanne & Robert Massie, ''Journey,'' Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1975: Paperback: Warner's 1976; Ballantine Books 1984.

References

External links

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Suzanne Liselotte Massie (Rohrbach)
Geni.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Massie, Suzanne 1931 births 2025 deaths 20th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American Episcopalians 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers American magazine editors American people of Swiss descent Deaths from dementia in Kentucky Deaths from vascular dementia Harvard Fellows Historians of Russia Life (magazine) people Memoirists from Maine Naturalized citizens of Russia People from Blue Hill, Maine People of the Cold War Ronald Reagan Soviet Union–United States relations Time (magazine) people Vassar College alumni Writers from Philadelphia Writers from Queens, New York