Mikoyan in USA

To reduce Cold War tensions, Anastas Mikoyan, Soviet Unions’ number two-man, made a two-week “private visit” to the US in Jan. 1959. And wherever he went he created a sensation, with his wit, PR savvy, and honesty. He strolled through the streets, had breakfast at a Howard Johnson’s, chatted with waitresses, traipsed through the aisles of Macy’s in New York, lunched with Wall Street bankers, and toured a Hollywood studio where he kissed comedian Jerry Lewis on both cheeks and chatted with Sophia Loren. At the prestigious Detroit Club he said: “We are all tired of the Cold War and would very much like to have a hot peace. ‘New York Times’ star reporter Harrison Salisbury wrote: “His blunt words, crackling wit, and unfailing good humor were sure to have a ‘deepening impact.” Two years earlier Mikoyan had made the cover of ‘Time’ magazine.

To reduce Cold War tensions, Anastas Mikoyan, Soviet Unions’ number two-man, made a two-week “private visit” to the US in Jan. 1959. And wherever he went he created a sensation, with his wit, PR savvy, and honesty. He strolled through the streets, had breakfast at a Howard Johnson’s, chatted with waitresses, traipsed through the aisles of Macy’s in New York, lunched with Wall Street bankers, and toured a Hollywood studio where he kissed comedian Jerry Lewis on both cheeks and chatted with Sophia Loren. At the prestigious Detroit Club he said: “We are all tired of the Cold War and would very much like to have a hot peace. ‘New York Times’ star reporter Harrison Salisbury wrote: “His blunt words, crackling wit, and unfailing good humor were sure to have a ‘deepening impact.” Two years earlier Mikoyan had made the cover of ‘Time’ magazine.