701.6111/971
Memorandum by the Adviser on Political Affairs (Dunn)
Mr. Oumansky, the Soviet Ambassador, came in by appointment this morning to present the new Counselor of the Soviet Embassy, Mr. Gromyko.
Mr. Oumansky said that several times before he left Moscow, Mr. Steinhardt had told him that he was very pleased with the manner in which the Soviet Foreign Office and Government were cooperating with the American Embassy in the carrying out of its duties.
Mr. Oumansky then went on to say that he had been greatly surprised upon his arrival in this country at the antagonistic attitude of the press toward the Soviet Government, and particularly toward himself as Ambassador of that country. He went on to state in a general manner of complaint that this antagonistic attitude was contrary to usual international practice, and that it would undoubtedly have its effect on the good relations between Soviet Russia and the United States, both of which, according to the Ambassador, had the same primary objective of preserving peace.
The Ambassador’s tone and manner of complaint indicated clearly that he felt more deeply the antagonistic attitude which had been expressed in the press toward himself than toward his country.
I told the Ambassador that I felt sure he had been in this country long enough to know, and his experience as a journalist2 would also help him to understand, that this country had absolute freedom of [Page 797] expression, and that neither the State Department nor this Government had any authority or jurisdiction over the press or public utterances. I said, furthermore, that the Ambassador should look to the relationship between his Embassy and the Department of State, and our Embassy in Moscow and his Foreign Office as the criterion of the relationships between the two countries, that if anything came up at any time which we desired to bring to the attention of his Government, we would do so quite fully and frankly, as we had in the past. I said that as far as the press or public expression was concerned, this Government had no jurisdiction whatever and that was a matter which he must understand was beyond the control of this Department.
The Ambassador said that he wished our conversation to be considered as entirely informal and while he, himself, could understand the form of Government under which we carried on in this country, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the officials of his Government to understand why such an antagonistic press campaign should be permitted in the United States when we are supposedly carrying on friendly relations with the Soviet Government. I remarked that as the Ambassador had been here for some time now and thoroughly understood our system of Government, it was his responsibility to explain it to his own Government.
While it was very clear that the Ambassador was personally annoyed at the attacks which have been made upon him since his arrival, he took particular pains to express himself with politeness and restraint.
- Previous to becoming Counselor of the Soviet Embassy in the United States on April 13, 1936, Umansky had been Chief of the Press Section of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (chief censor).↩