67. Message From the Soviet Government to President Johnson

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163. Top Secret. Attached to a November 3 covering memorandum from Thompson to Bundy that reads: “Ambassador came in to see me this morning at 10:15 and left the attached.” In recalling handing the message to Thompson on Election Day, Dobrynin commented in his memoirs, “Brezhnev was so pleased by Johnson’s favorable reaction to his accession to power that the Politburo then decided to send Johnson a detailed reply even before his election.” (In Confidence, p. 133) Rusk told the President during a telephone conversation on November 3 that there was “nothing very significant about it except that it was a thoughtful message from the new team about a number of subjects.” Rusk then briefly summarized its points about military budget reductions and troop pullbacks in Europe, concluding, “in other words they were exploring a little bit to see how much movement there is and the possibilities. But I was on the whole encouraged with it.” (Johnson Library, Recordings and Transcripts, Recording of a Telephone Conversation between the President and Rusk, Tape 6411.01, PNO 10)

68. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL 2–3 USSR. Confidential. Drafted and initialed by Thompson and approved in S/AL on November 6. Dr. Sergo A. Mikoyan, the son of Anastas I. Mikoyan, was in the United States for a month-long stay under the auspices of the Social Science Research Council.

69. Information Memorandum From the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Davis) to Secretary of State Rusk

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, AV 4 US–USSR. Secret. Drafted by Henry and Jenkins and cleared by Harriman, Thompson, H, and E/OA. A notation on the memorandum indicates that Rusk saw it.

70. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL 7 US–USSR. Confidential; Priority; Limdis. Repeated to London, Paris, and USUN.

71. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL US–USSR. Confidential. Drafted and approved by Harriman on November 17. The conversation was held during a luncheon at the Harriman residence.

72. Memorandum of Conversation Between Secretary of State Rusk and the Soviet Ambassador (Dobrynin)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 65 D 330. Secret; Limited Distribution. Drafted by Rusk on November 19. Copies were sent only to Thompson, Ball, and Tyler.

73. Letter From Secretary of State Rusk to Acting Attorney General Katzenbach

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL 23–6 USSR. Confidential. Drafted by the Acting Legal Adviser, Leonard C. Meeker, and cleared with Thompson and Davis.

74. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL 15 USSR. Confidential. Repeated to London, Paris, and Bonn.

75. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, FT US–USSR. Confidential. Drafted by Akalovsky and approved in S on December 8. The conversation took place in Rusk’s suite at a luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria and the memorandum is Part IV of VI. Part V, concerning Article 19, is scheduled for publication in Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, volume XXXIII. Memoranda of the other parts, dealing with the UN Charter, the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on November 28, the Consular Convention, and disarmament, are in the National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 65 D 330. The Embassy in Moscow described the attack by 400–500 people and its protest to the Foreign Ministry in telegrams 1654 and 1659 from Moscow, November 28. (Ibid., Central Files 1964–66, POL 23–8 USSR)

76. Telegram From Secretary of State Rusk to the Department of State

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL 1 US–USSR. Secret; Priority; Limdis.

77. Action Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Tyler) to the Ambassador at Large (Thompson)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, S/AL Files: Lot 67 D 2, Staff Memos. Secret. Drafted by Jenkins on December 3 and cleared by Henry, Jones, and USIA.

78. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, USSR, Gromyko Conversations, Vol. I. Confidential. Drafted by Akalovsky and approved in S on December 15 and by the White House on December 16. The conversation took place at the White House.

79. Memorandum for the Record

Source: Central Intelligence Agency, DCI (McCone) Files: Job 80–B01285A, DCI Meetings with the President. Secret; Eyes Only. Drafted by McCone) on December 17. The time of the meeting is from the President’s Daily Diary. (Johnson Library)

80. Memorandum for the Files

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL US–USSR. Confidential. Copies were sent to S/S, EUR, H, SOV, E, EE, and the Embassy in Moscow. A note from Assistant Secretary Tyler to Secretary Rusk transmitting Kohler’s memorandum is marked with the notation “Sec saw.”

81. Editorial Note

82. Memorandum From the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy) to President Johnson

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, USSR, Dobrynin Conversations, Vol. I. Confidential. An “L” on the memorandum indicates the President saw it.

83. Memorandum From David Klein of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, USSR, Vol. VII. Secret.

84. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, USSR, Vol. VII. Limited Official Use. Drafted by Jenkins, cleared by Henry and Vedeler (EUR), and approved by Thompson. Repeated to London, Paris, and Bonn.

85. Message From President Johnson to the Soviet Government

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163. Top Secret; Sensitive. The original of the message was handed to Dobrynin by Thompson at 4 p.m. on January 14. A memorandum of their conversation at that time is ibid. The draft approved by the President on January 12 included the salutation, “Dear Mr. Chairman,” but the source text does not. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Head of State Correspondence, Pen Pal Correspondence, Kosygin) Thompson indicated to Bundy in a January 14 memorandum that he omitted the salutation in the retyped version passed to Dobrynin; Thompson later referred to the message as “the President’s message to the Soviet Government” (see Document 89). Dobrynin discusses the message in his memoirs, In Confidence, emphasizing that Johnson addressed his suggestion of a visit broadly to the Soviet leadership and not to Brezhnev or Kosygin personally (pp. 133–134).

86. Telegram From the Embassy in the Soviet Union to the Department of State

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL US–USSR. Secret; Immediate; Exdis. According to another copy, this telegram was drafted by Toon and initialed by Kohler. (Department of State, Kohler Files: Lot 71 D 460, Exdis Cables)

87. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163. Top Secret; Sensitive. Drafted and initialed by Thompson and approved in S/AL on January 16. The conversation took place in Thompson’s office.

88. National Intelligence Estimate

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, National Intelligence Estimates. Secret. A cover sheet noting that the estimate had been prepared by the CIA and concurred in by the U.S. Intelligence Board is not printed.

89. Memorandum From the Ambassador at Large (Thompson) to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)

Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, USSR, Vol. VII. Top Secret; Sensitive. According to another copy, this memorandum was drafted by Thompson. (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163)

90. Message From the Soviet Government to President Johnson

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 77 D 163. No classification marking. According to a typed notation on the message it was an oral message given to Thompson by Dobrynin on February 1. A Russian-language text is attached. Bundy forwarded the message to the President on February 2, commenting in his covering memorandum that it was “cordial in tone, and none of the positions taken is surprising. The tone is perhaps a shade harder on Southeast Asia.” (Johnson Library, National Security File, Head of State Correspondence, Pen Pal Correspondence, Kosygin)