“As good a diplomat as it gets.”Only twice in history did a Soviet official testify before the United States Congress. The second of those occasions was May Day of 1986, when the USSR’s embassy in Washington dispatched its 34-year-old second secretary on an hour’s notice to speak about the recent nuclear reactor explosion at Chernobyl.The young diplomat parried the Congressmen’s skeptical questioning with perfect English and preternatural poise. “I am not an expert on nuclear power,” he deadpanned in opening remarks. “We do not have a nuclear power plant in our embassy.” Oregon Representative Ron Wyden pressed him: “Can you …read more
Source: The American Interest
