Foreign Relations of the United States, 1917–1972, Volume VIII, Public Diplomacy, 1969-1972

93. Memorandum From the Assistant Director, Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, United States Information Agency (Jenkins) to the Director (Shakespeare)¹

Washington, June 26, 1970

SUBJECT

• Neil Armstrong’s Visit to the USSR²

Neil Armstrong phoned me this morning to express his disappointment that he was unable to “deliver” on getting to the US exhibit in Novosibirsk.³ He explained he made a continuing effort with his Soviet hosts to include a visit in his itinerary but they consistently scheduled him around this possibility. He said that it became increasingly apparent that he could only have visited the exhibit by rudely breaking his schedule and making a major issue which he felt would have jeopardized the rest of his visit, and perhaps the value of his trip all together. He said the most important parts of his trip included the long meeting with Kosygin and a series of relatively substantive talks with important Soviet scientists. Another worthwhile aspect of his visit, Neil said, was the genuine camaraderie which developed between himself and his Soviet cosmanaut hosts. Their reaction to his repeated suggestion to stop at the US exhibit would have made a direct confrontation necessary to overcome their objections. He regretted the outcome and hoped that I would understand that he had not forgotten my phone request to him prior to his departure.

Kosygin invited him to return to the Soviet Union and the two Soviet cosmanauts told him categorically that he would receive a formal invitation in the not too distant future. Neil said that he hoped that the invitation would be forthcoming and that he would be able to accept it to permit followup meetings with the Soviet scientists with hopefully less time spent viewing Soviet cultural sites.

1. Source: National Archives, RG 306, Director’s Subject Files, 1968–1972, Entry A1–42, Box 10, Field—Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (IAS) 1970. Limited Official Use. Copies were sent to Loomis, Bourgin, Drechsler, Verner, Dubs, and to Squires and McKinley in Moscow.
2. Armstrong traveled to the Soviet Union at the end of May to attend the International Committee on Space Research conference, held in Leningrad. He also visited Siberia before ending his tour with a stay in Moscow. For additional information, see “Soviets Give Armstrong Big Ovation,” Washington Post, May 26, 1970, p. A17; “Armstrong Ending Tour of Russia,” ibid., June 1, 1970, p. A2; and James F. Clarity, “Armstrong Tells Russian Scientists U.S. and Soviet Should Cooperate in Space Projects,” New York Times, June 4, 1970, p. 25.
3. Presumable reference to “Education USA,” displayed in Leningrad, Kiev, and Moscow in 1969 and Baku, Tashkent, and Novosibirsk in 1970. Shakespeare opened the exhibit in Leningrad in July 1969; see Document 28.