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Georgy Arkadyevich Arbatov (russian: Гео́ргий Арка́дьевич Арба́тов, 19 May 1923,
Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...
– 1 October 2010,
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
) was a Soviet and Russian political scientist who served as an adviser to five General Secretaries of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was best known in the West during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
era as a representative for the policies of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, where his fluent English helped make him a frequent guest on American television. He was the founding director and later emeritus director of the Institute of USA and Canada of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (ISKRAN), the Soviet and Russian think tank for the study of US and Canada.


Early career

Arbatov was born the son of a prominent
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
, Arkady Arbatov, who was part of several Soviet trade missions in the 1930s. Arbatov fought in the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, taking part in the Revolution Day parade on
Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...
on 7 November 1941 and heading from there to the front lines. Arbatov finished the war as chief of staff of the 17th Guards mortar regiment and was awarded the
Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...
in 1943. While recuperating from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
in 1944, Arbatov was in a hospital and read an item in a newspaper report stating that a state institute of international relations was being created in Moscow.Babich, Dmitry
"Obituary - Georgy Arbatov, master of compromise"
RIA Novosti RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asse ...
, October 4, 2010. Accessed October 4, 2010.
He applied to attend the school and graduated from the
Moscow State Institute of International Relations Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) (russian: Московский государственный институт международных отношений (МГИМО), also known as MGIMO University) is an institute of ...
in 1949, he was awarded a Ph.D. from the same institute in 1954.АРБАТОВ Георгий Аркадьевич
Institute for US and Canadian Studies Institute for US and Canadian Studies (Russian: Институт США и Канады РАН, ''Institut SShA i Kanadi RAN'') is a Russian think tank which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, specializing on the comprehensive studies of ...
. Accessed October 4, 2010. (Russian Language).
He worked as a journalist and commentator on foreign affairs between 1953 and 1963 at ''
Kommunist ''Kommunist'' (Russian: Коммунист), named ''Bolshevik'' (Большевик) until 1952, was a Soviet journal. The journal was started in 1924. The founders were Nikolai Bukharin, Georgy Pyatakov, and Yevgenia Bosch. It was the official ...
'' and the English language publication '' The New Times''.


Political scientist

Arbatov worked at the institute of global economics of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1963-64. He was founder director of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies (ISKRAN) from 1965 to 1995. He was appointed director emeritus of the ISKRAN in 1995. He was appointed adviser to the Central Committee of the CPSU on US matters in 1964-67. He was elected to the Central Committee in 1990 and served in the Supreme Soviet. As an adviser to five General Secretaries of the Communist Party, Arbatov was a frequent participant in arms control negotiations conducted between the US and USSR. According to the CIA, Arbatov was an intermediary between the Politburo and the KGB. Arbatov became the face of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in the West, where he used his strong, though heavily accented, command of the English language to help foster ties with American officials and to present Soviet views to the American public, sparring on American television with such individuals as General
Bernard Rogers Bernard Rogers (4 February 1893 – 24 May 1968) was an American composer. His best known work is ''The Passion'', an oratorio written in 1942. Life and career Rogers was born in New York City. He studied with Arthur Farwell, Ernest Bloc ...
, the former commander of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
regarding the military deterrent in Western Europe to Soviet forces.Corry, John
"TV REVIEW; Speaking for, and Speaking to, the Russians"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', December 10, 1987. Accessed October 4, 2010.
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
, who had called communism "satanic", said that he had "met a very wonderful official here" after spending three hours together during Graham's 1982 visit to Moscow. Arbatov expressed sharp criticism of the
Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...
, saying that it conducted a "campaign of demonization, of dehumanization of the other side", remarks that led to difficulties for Arbatov in obtaining visas to enter the United States during that period.Levy, Clifford J
"Georgi A. Arbatov, a Bridge Between Cold War Superpowers, Is Dead at 87"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', October 2, 2010. Accessed October 4, 2010.
In his 1992 autobiography ''The System: An Insider's Life in Soviet Politics'', Arbatov credited himself as one of those individuals who had worked to implement reform "from the inside, and not from the outside, of the system" that laid the groundwork for the reforms implemented in the 1980s by
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
.
Sergey Rogov Sergey Rogov is a Russian political scientist, member of Russian Academy of Sciences, and since 1995 director of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies. Following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, Arbatov was an adviser to the
State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
and a member of the foreign policy council of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation between 1991 and 1996. He was a supporter of the transfer of the southern Kuril Islands to Japan. Arbatov was a critic of the economic reforms implemented by
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
, saying that they placed too much economic and political power in the hands of an unelected few at the expense of the middle class in Russia. He also was a critic of
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
's efforts to suppress the democratic movement in Russia. Arbatov was a participant in the
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an international organization that brings together scholars and public figures to work toward reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats. It was f ...
.


Personal life and recognition

Arbatov was awarded two
Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
, an
Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...
, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour and other medals. Arbatov died at age 87 on 1 October 2010 in Moscow due to cancer. He was survived by his wife, Svetlana, as well as by his son Aleksei, who also became involved with arms control issues and became a Duma member.


Published work

Arbatov was the author of over 100 published works: * Идеологическая борьба в современных международных отношениях. Доктрина, методы и организация внешнеполитической пропаганды империализма, Moscow 1970; (''Ideological conflict in Modern International Relations, Doctrine, Methods and Organisation of the Foreign Policy Propaganda of Imperialism'')
English edition
* Глобальная стратегия США в условиях научно-технической революции (''The Global strategy of the USA in Conditions of the Scientific/ Technical Revolution''), Moscow 1979 * (with Willem L. Oltmans): Der sowjetische Standpunkt. Über die Westpolitik der UDSSR, München 1981 () *Свидетельство современника (Testimony of a Contemporary Man), Moscow 1991; ''published in English as The System. An Insiders Life in Soviet Politics. N.Y., 1992'' *Затянувшееся выздоровление (1953-1985 гг.), Moscow 1991 () (''A Prolonged Recovery''), *Общественная наука и политика (''Social Sciences and Politics''), Moscow 1998 *Повестка дня российско-американских отношений (''An Agenda for Russo-American Relations''), Moscow 1999 *Человек Системы (''A Man of the System''), Moscow 2002 *Детство. Отрочество. Война: Автобиография на фоне исторических событий (''Childhood, Adolescence, War: an Autobiography with a background of historical events''), Moscow 2007


References


External links


page from Glory.rin.ru (Russian language)C-SPAN video archive, May 29, 1990, Arbatov speaking at news conferenceC-SPAN video archive, April 1, 1996, Arbatov speaks about Soviet-American relations during the Cold War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbatov, Georgy 1923 births 2010 deaths Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Geopoliticians Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences People from Kherson Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Russian political scientists Soviet journalists Male journalists Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet politicians Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni Deaths from cancer in Russia