War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Moshe Milhstein, 1986 [2]

Item Information

Title:
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Moshe Milhstein, 1986 [2]
Description:
Moshe Milhstein was an officer in Soviet military Intelligence, the GRU. In this interview, he offers his view on the Soviets' relative advantage in conventional numbers early in the post-war period, saying that the justification was that the United States had a nuclear monopoly. Reflecting on the causes of Cold War, he generally points to the U.S. and the West as initiating the competition. He discusses the impact of the rearmament of Germany, and notes that the formation of NATO represented a turning point in the period, leading eventually to the creation of the Warsaw Pact. He then explains the Pact's response to massive retaliation and to the introduction of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. Two other major events in the Cold War, in his view, were Britain and France's acquisition of nuclear weapons, which had a marked effect on Soviet military thinking. He denies the Soviets made a nuclear threat over Suez. In general, he views Soviet weapons decisions as responses to Western moves, and he contends that the missile gap was deliberately manufactured by the Kennedy administration to justify a buildup of Minuteman, Polaris and other systems.
Author:
Milhstein, Moshe (Mikhail M)
Date:
December 19, 1986
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
WGBH
Collection (local):
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
Series:
WGBH > War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Subjects:
Global Affairs
Military Forces and Armaments
McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009
Kissinger, Henry, 1923-
Dulles, John Foster, 1888-1959
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Berlin (Germany)
Minuteman (Missile)
Polaris (Missile)
Warsaw Treaty Organization
Nuclear weapons
Nuclear warfare
Tactical nuclear weapons
Intercontinental ballistic missiles
United States
Soviet Union
Great Britain
France
Germany
Extent:
01:04:19
Link to Item:
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-vx05x25t7g
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
WGBH Educational Foundation