From Stalin's interpreter to UN ambassador, the Soviet diplomat who weathered Cold War crises with wit
Doused in red paint by Maoist protesters in the Security Council chamber, Troyanovsky looked up calmly and said, 'Better red than dead.'
Oleg Troyanovsky was a Soviet diplomat who rose from Stalin's interpreter to Khrushchev's foreign policy adviser, then served as ambassador to Japan, Permanent Representative to the UN, and ambassador to China across four decades at the forefront of Soviet diplomacy. The son of the first Soviet ambassador to the United States, he spent his adolescence in Washington and brought an unusual bicultural fluency to his work, beginning with the 1945 London Conference that established the Nuremberg Tribunal. During his ten years at the UN he navigated the twin crises of the Afghanistan invasion and the KAL 007 shootdown with a composure and wit that earned Western respect: encapsulated by his deadpan retort when doused with red paint by Maoist protesters: 'Better red than dead.'
Career Timeline
- 1941–1944Red Army, Military Institute of Foreign Languages
- 1944–1947Attaché in London, interpreter for Stalin
- 1947–1953Molotov's secretariat, English-language journal Novosti
- 1953–1958Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1958–1967Foreign policy aide to the Premier (Bulganin, Khrushchev, Kosygin)
- 1967–1976Ambassador to Japan
- 1976–1986Permanent Representative to the UN
- 1986–1990Ambassador to China
Related historical events
Khrushchev's Foreign Policy Aide
From 1958 to 1967, Troyanovsky served as foreign policy aide to three successive premiers (Bulganin, Khrushchev, and Kosygin) placing him at the forefront of Soviet diplomacy during the most volatile years of the Cold War. One of his most significant contributions was preparing and accompanying Khrushchev on his historic 1959 visit to the United States. Drawing on Khrushchev's dictated recollections, Troyanovsky co-authored Face to Face with America (Лицом к лицу с Америкой, 1959), a vivid account of Soviet leadership's encounter with American society that won the Lenin Prize in 1960.
During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Troyanovsky was at Khrushchev's side as the superpowers edged toward nuclear war. In memoirs and interviews released after the Cold War, he offered firsthand testimony on Khrushchev's motives for the Cuban deployment, the tense exchange of letters with John F. Kennedy, and the internal lessons drawn after the crisis was resolved. Earlier, in 1956, he served as interpreter for the high-profile visit of Khrushchev, Bulganin, aircraft designer Tupolev, and nuclear physicist Kurchatov to Britain, the first major Soviet leadership contact with the West.
Having served Stalin, Molotov, and Khrushchev in succession, Troyanovsky was among the very few who witnessed three eras of Soviet diplomacy from within. His memoir Through Years and Distances (Через годы и расстояния, 1997) is regarded as a valuable primary source documenting those experiences firsthand.