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In “Another Russia: Khrushchev and Kennedy on a collision trajectory” (Bookbaby), the veteran journalist Marvin Kalb writes on the 1963 Cold War Summit between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev (whom he covered for CBS New then, even with regard to ” another Russia ”.
Read an extract below, and Do not miss the comments of Marvin Kalb on a potential summit of Trump-Putin on “CBS Sunday morning” February 16!
“Different Russia” by Marvin Kalb
Kennedy turned out to be Khrushchev’s last chance for a significant boost in Soviet-American relations. They met for a summit in Vienna in June 1961. After two days in the Austrian capital, Mory replaced their previous hopes for a radically improved relationship. The suspicions were deepened, the two leaders stumbled on false dangerous calculations about Berlin and Cuba. Soon, an ugly wall would cross the divided German capital and, little too many months later, Khrushchev would stupidly decide to try to slide missiles and nuclear tip troops in Cuba.
Kennedy had once called Khrushchev as a real partner for peace. He saw in the young president an opponent with whom he thought he could do business. For a brief period, a month on the 1963 calendar, shortly after having signed the historic atmospheric nuclear test agreement with the United States, he allowed himself to live in a beautiful bubble of hope. From time to time, with the closest advisers or family members, he would imagine six years of other major American Soviet agreements which would control, among other things, the spread of nuclear weapons, settle the Berlin crisis and lead to A period of true peace.
Why six years? We asked him.
Well, he would respond, Kennedy has two more years in his current mandate, then four others to his next mandate, that Khrushchev was certain that he would win.
What Khrushchev did not know – could not know – was in less than a month, Kennedy would have died and in a year, he would be ousted from power.
When Khrushchev heard that Kennedy had been shot, he cried. His dreams for a new and glorious era in Soviet-American relations had just taken a tragic end.
According to “another Russia: Khrushchev and Kennedy on a collision trajectory” by Marvin Kalb. Copyright 2025 by Marvin Kalb. Reprinted with permission.
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“Different Russia” by Marvin Kalb
