The Semi-Official Statement of the Putin Government on JFK's Assassination
Russian archivist's essay is translated into English for the first time
The Russian government’s dossier on the assassination of JFK, entitled “The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Soviet-American Relations,” includes an extensively footnoted analytical article summarizing the contents. The author, Andrei Artizov, is the deputy chairman of the editorial board and also serves as head of Russia’s federal archival agency, Rosarkhiv.
Entitled “Introduction to the Published Documents,” it places the dossier in historical context and accounts for 15 of the 386 pages of the document supplied to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna on Oct. 14. (The entire original Russian language dossier is now available on the Nation Archives website.)
Artizov editorializes about the JFK assassination dossier to the extent of touting the resolution of differences between ideological enemies in times of perceived crisis, in this case at the height of Cold War nuclear tensions. The unstated analogy of that episode with the current U.S.-Russian standoff over Ukraine is palpable.
The essay sings the praises of Soviet leaders at the time of the assassination for their helpfulness toward U.S. authorities investigating the crime. The Kremlin’s accommodating stance included an agreement that both sides would limit press reports attributing the crime to ideologically driven elements. The U.S. government discouraged publication of articles blaming international communism; the Soviets preventing press reports that attributed JFK’s murder to extreme right-wing forces in America.
In other words, it appears that in the investigation of JFK’s assassination, both sides prioritized comity and accord in U.S.-Soviet bilateral relations over truth.
JFK Facts presents an English translation of the essay here, along with additional photographic illustrations. Many thanks to Shareen Anderson for her translation.
