Eisenhower Library, Eisenhower papers, Whitman file
No. 617
The Ambassador to the Soviet Union
(Bohlen) to
the President
My Dear Mr. President: It is characteristic of you to find the time to write me so kind and thoughtful a letter.1 I am deeply touched and I appreciate more than I can possibly tell you not only the fact of your writing but, more particularly, the things you have to say.
I must, in simple honesty, say that I have not found the job in Moscow especially difficult, given the limitations imposed by the Soviet system and policies on any really constructive work. While life there does contain its inconveniences and frustrations, neither my wife nor I have found it unduly difficult, and in my case these have been more than compensated by my intense interest in the present phase of Soviet development. In any event, I shall return to Moscow greatly heartened by your letter.
[Page 1227]As Cy Sulzberger may possibly have told you, one of the effects of life in Moscow has been a further deterioration in my already badly impaired game of golf.
My wife has asked me to thank you most sincerely for your kind message to her.
Faithfully yours,