Inside the Kremlin During the Yom Kippur War

Description

Victor Israelyan was a senior ambassador in the Soviet Foreign Ministry when the armies of Egypt and Syria invaded Israeli-occupied territory on October 6, 1973. Critical to the outcome of this conflict were the Soviet Union and the United States, whose diplomatic maneuverings behind the scenes eventually ended what came to be known as the Yom Kippur War. During the crisis, however, tensions between the superpowers nearly escalated into nuclear war. Israelyan is the first Soviet official to give us a firsthand account of what actually happened inside the Kremlin during these three important weeks in 1973. Israelyan's account is a fascinating mixture of memoir, anecdotes, and historical reporting. As a member of Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko's staff, he was assigned to a four-man task force that attended the many Politburo meetings held during the war. The job of this task force was to take notes and prepare drafts of letters and other documents for the Politburo. In remarkable detail, made possible by his sharp memory and the notes and documents he saved, Israelyan chronicles the day-by-day activities of Kremlin leaders as they confronted the crisis. For the first time we can see how the cumbersome Soviet policy-making mechanism, headed by the Politburo, functioned in a tense international situation. We see how the actions of Henry Kissinger, Anwar Sadat, Hafiz al-Assad, and other participants in the crisis were interpreted in Moscow. From his own experience Israelyan gives us intimate portraits of top Soviet officials including Brezhnev, Gromyko, and Andropov. His access to important documents-including letters from Richard Nixon to Leonid Brezhnev, never officially released in the U.S.-provide a much-needed corrective to assertions made by Kissinger, Nixon, and Sadat about the war. Supplemented by rare photographs and interviews with other Soviet officials, Inside the Kremlin During the Yom Kippur War is more than a record of the past. Israelyan offers a unique vantage point on the continuing Middle East conflict, and his candid assessment of the mindset of Russian leaders is instructive for understanding how the present leadership of Russia faces its new role in the post-Cold War world. CONTENTS FOREWORD BY ALVIN Z. RUBINSTEIN INTRODUCTION KEY SOVIET OFFICIALS NAMED IN THE BOOK CHAPTER 1 ON THE EVE OF THE WAR THE WAR WILL START AT 2:00 P.M., OCTOBER 6 DID THE AMERICANS KNOW OF THE ARAB PLANS? MOSCOW’S CONTACTS WITH CAIRO BREZHNEV’S MESSAGE TO SADAT MOSCOW’S CONTACTS WITH DAMASCUS ASSAD EXPLAINS SYRIA’S STRATEGY THE NO WAR, NO PEACE POLICY CHAPTER 2 SEARCHING FOR AN EARLY CEASE-FIRE THE BAD NEWS THE POLITBURO IN FALL 1973 KREMLIN LEADERS’ MEETINGS ASK: WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? THE SOVIET-AMERICAN DIALOGUE BEGINS VINOGRADOV TALKS WITH SADAT THE KREMLIN SPEAKS ASSAD’S APPEAL FOR A CEASE-FIRE THE LAST ATTEMPT AT AN EARLY CEASE-FIRE HEADACHES FROM THE DISCUSSIONS IN NEW YORK CHAPTER 3 “WE HAVE TO HELP OUR ARAB BROTHERS” “CAN THE ARABS WIN THE WAR THE WAY THEY’RE WAGING IT?” THE DECISION TO RESUPPLY THE ARABS “ARABS ALL OVER THE WORLD UNITE!” “THE SOVIET UNION WILL NOT TOLERATE ISRAELI CRIMINAL ACTS” EXPANDING MILITARY ASSISTANCE “WE SHOULD NOT BE FOOLED” THE DIPLOMATIC GAME OVER A CEASE-FIRE CONTINUES BOUMEDIENNE’S VISIT TO MOSCOW CHAPTER 4 KOSYGIN’S VISIT TO CAIRO “THE SOVIET UNION DOES NOT SEEK ANYTHING FOR ITSELF IN THE REGION” ANOTHER NIGHT MEETING IN THE KREMLIN THE MAIN TASK OF KOSYGIN’S VISIT “THE PROPAGANDA INSURANCE’’ THE “SECRET’ MISSION STARTS WHO IS GOING TO GUARANTEE THE CEASE-FIRE? THE INGLORIOUS RETURN TO MOSCOW CHAPTER 5 KISSINGER IN MOSCOW BREZHNEV’S MESSAGE TO NIXON WHO INITIATED KISSINGER’S INVITATION TO MOSCOW? “NIXON FEELS DEEP RESPECT FOR ALL SOVIET LEADERS AND FOR ME PERSONALLY” BREZHNEV’S SECOND MEETING WITH KISSINGER “LEONID ILYICH IS TOO TIRED” WHAT DOES “UNDER APPROPRIATE AUSPICES” MEAN? “GO THE HELL AHEAD AND FIRE IT!” KISSINGER’S VISIT AS MOSCOW SAW IT CHAPTER 6 THE ESCALATION THE TWO-SUPERPOWERS-DOMINATING-THE-WORLD MENTALITY NEW PROBLEMS WITH SADAT AND ASSAD ANOTHER JOINT SOVIET-AMERICAN ACTION IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL THE CLOUDS THICKEN THE BUSIEST DAY “THE HONOR AND DIGNITY OF... MR. KISSINGER ARE NOW BEING SUBJECTED TO SEARCHING SCRUTINY” WASHINGTON'S OVERREACTION CHAPTER 7 THE DE-ESCALATION A QUIET DAY IN MOSCOW ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY “OUR CONSCIENCE IS CLEAR” “SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE AMERICAN LOGIC” WAS THE SOVIET UNION READY TO INTERVENE? BUSINESS AS USUAL FRIENDSHIP AS USUAL HOW THE SECURITY COUNCIL DEALT WITH THE NUCLEAR ALERT A RESPONSE TO THE ALERT BECOMES NECESSARY THE TRIUMPHANT BREZHNEV CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSION NOTES CHAPTER 1: ON THE EVE OF THE WAR CHAPTER 2: SEARCHING FOR AN EARLY CEASE-FIRE CHAPTER 3: “WE HAVE TO HELP OUR ARAB BROTHERS" CHAPTER 4. KOSYGIN’S VISIT TO CAIRO CHAPTER 5: KISSINGER IN MOSCOW CHAPTER 6: THE ESCALATION CHAPTER 7: THE DE-ESCALATION CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION INDEX ABOUT THE AUTHOR