War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Henry Genrikh Aleksandrovich Trofimenko, 1986
- Contributing Organization
- WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/15-xw47p8tv6r
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- Description
- Episode Description
- Scholar and former journalist for the Russian news agency TASS Genrikh "Henry" Aleksandrovich Trofimenko was chief analyst at the Institute for the U.S. and Canada Studies at the Russian Academy of Science. The interview Trofimenko conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age provides a sweep of Soviet views on everything from the Baruch Plan to regulate the spread of nuclear technology to counterforce strategy that would target military forces instead of cities. He describes Moscow's reactions to the Truman Doctrine and containment policy, the Marshall Plan, and the threat American nuclear strategy posed to a pre-nuclear Soviet Union. He captures the state of mind of a nation that had just lost 20 million people. Its priorities were to rebuild its economy, secure its borders, and gain sufficient military strength to resist the pressure of what Trofimenko calls "one-sided American solutions." The United States was the only nation to emerge prosperous from the war, and it worked to dictate post-war international arrangements. Trofimenko describes the Baruch Plan's aim to maintain the U.S. monopoly over nuclear weapons, and the United States' rejection of the Soviet Union's proposal to ban atomic weaponry altogether. Throughout his interview, Trofimenko lashes out against the United States' drive to stay ahead, which he believes initiated new spirals in "this crazy arms race that leads nowhere." He recalls the relief of his country people when the Soviets detonated the atomic bomb and matched Washington's development of a hydrogen bomb. After Sputnik, he says, they understood that, for the first time, Soviet weapons could strike American soil. In his interview, Trofimenko admires Robert McNamara for his intellect and for the soul-searching that led the defense secretary to rethink the military doctrine he initially advocated. He also credits McNamara with educating the Soviet leadership about how the nuclear age breaks down the distinction between offensive and defensive weapons. The defense secretary's greatest contribution, in Trofimenko's opinion, was to promote a second-strike retaliatory force, which implies renouncing a first strike. Finally, Trofimenko explains that today, Russians have acquiesced to mutual assured destruction only as a means and first step toward deep nuclear reductions that would ultimately guarantee "mutual assured survival."
- Date
- 1986-04-01
- Date
- 1986-04-01
- Asset type
- Raw Footage
- Subjects
- Edicia Sputnik; World War II; First strike (Nuclear strategy); Massive retaliation (Nuclear strategy); mutual assured destruction; Baruch Plan (1946); hydrogen bomb; nuclear warfare; Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969; Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945; Lilienthal, David Eli, 1899-1981; McCarthy, Joseph, 1908-1957; Gorbachev, Mikhail; Reagan, Ronald; Strategic Arms Limitation Talks; Korean War, 1950-1953; Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962; Deterrence (Strategy); Strategic Defense Initiative; Middle East; Soviet Union; Flexible response (Nuclear strategy); Iran; Counterforce (Nuclear strategy); China; Nuclear arms control; nuclear weapons; McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009; United States; International Relations
- Rights
- Rights Note:,Rights:,Rights Credit:WGBH Educational Foundation,Rights Type:All,Rights Coverage:,Rights Holder:WGBH Educational Foundation
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Duration
- 00:00:00
- Credits
-
-
Publisher: WGBH Educational Foundation
Writer: Trofimenko, G. A. (Genrikh Aleksandrovich)
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
WGBH
Identifier: 47b24297dc7c00a7c923ebf6b4792a7fe39c024e (ArtesiaDAM UOI_ID)
Format: video/quicktime
Color: Color
Duration: 00:00:00
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- Citations
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Henry Genrikh Aleksandrovich Trofimenko, 1986,” 1986-04-01, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed May 18, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-xw47p8tv6r.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Henry Genrikh Aleksandrovich Trofimenko, 1986.” 1986-04-01. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. May 18, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-xw47p8tv6r>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Henry Genrikh Aleksandrovich Trofimenko, 1986. Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-xw47p8tv6r