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Andrei Gromyko
Gromyko
Historical Figure
Nationality: Belarussian citizen of the Soviet Union (born in the Russian Empire)
Year of Birth: 1909
Year of Death: 1989
Cause of Death: Unspecified vascular illness
Religion: Atheism
Occupation: Politician, diplomat, Author of Non-Fiction
Spouse: Lidiya Grinevich
Children: Anatoli, Emiliya
Political Party: Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Political Office(s): Foreign Commissar of the USSR,
First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers,
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
Fictional Appearances:

Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (Russian: Андре́й Андре́евич Громы́ко; Belarusian: Андрэ́й Андрэ́евіч Грамы́ка; 18 July [O.S. 5 July] 1909 – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet Belarusian communist diplomat and politician who rose to prominence primarily during the Cold War. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1957–1985) and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (head of state of the USSR) (1985–1988). Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy.

Gromyko's political career started in 1939 with his employment at the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (renamed Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1946). He became the Soviet ambassador to the United States in 1943, leaving in 1946 to become the Soviet Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Because of his frequent use of the Soviet veto in the United Nations Security Council, he earned the nicknames "Mr. Nyet" and "Grim Grom". Upon his return to the Soviet Union he became a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and later the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He went on to become the Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1952.

During his tenure as Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union, Gromyko was directly involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis and helped broker a peace treaty ending the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War. Under Leonid Brezhnev's leadership, he played a central role in the establishment of detente with the United States through his negotiation of the ABM Treaty, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and SALT I & II, among others. As Brezhnev's health declined during the final years of his leadership, Gromyko formed a troika with KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov and Defense Minister Dmitriy Ustinov that increasingly dominated decision-making in Moscow. Henceforth, Gromyko's conservatism and hardline attitudes towards the West dictated the course of Soviet foreign policy until the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. Nonetheless, Gromyko publicly supported disarmament throughout his career.

Following Gorbachev's election as General Secretary, Gromyko lost his office as foreign minister and was appointed to the largely ceremonial office of head of state. Subsequently, he retired from political life in 1988, and died the following year in Moscow.

Andrei Gromyko in "Notes from the General Secretariat"

Shared Universe Story
"Notes from the General Secretariat"
Kelvin R. Throop Stories
Type of Appearance: Oblique contemporary reference

In his note to the Soviet commissar, Kelvin R. Throop (in guise of "Beals Becker") welcomed that person's disarmament proposal on behalf of the U.N. Becker then reminded the commissar (and the Soviets by extension) of the hypothetical Baruch Commission, a post-World War II idea that the Soviet government effectively killed. Becker further reminded the commissar that the still-born commission would have been a truly international organization that regulated atomic weapons, leading to a more robust U.N. and international security.

Becker's valediction was "Pacifically, Beals Becker."[1]

Literary comment

While unnamed, Gromyko's biography most closely fits the references contained in the story.

Andrei Gromyko in The Hot War

The Hot War
POD: November, 1950
Appearance(s): Bombs Away;
Armistice
Type of Appearance: Contemporary references
Occupation: Diplomat

Andrei Gromyko was the Soviet ambassador to the United Nations prior to the outbreak of World War III.[2][3] He'd earned a reputation for being a "hard-nosed so-and-so", and was called "Grim Grom" and "Mr. Nyet."

President Harry Truman reflected on Gromyko's reputation with press secretary Stephen Early after announcing U.S. atomic attacks against Manchuria on January 23, 1951.[4]

Gromyko held the position as ambassador to the UN until after World War III ended in 1952.[5]

Andrei Gromyko in Worldwar

Worldwar
POD: May 30, 1942
Appearance(s): Second Contact
through
Homeward Bound
Type of Appearance: Direct

Andrei Gromyko succeeded Vyacheslav Molotov as Foreign Commissar of the Soviet Union when Molotov became General Secretary following the death of Iosef Stalin. Gromyko, a protege of Molotov from their days together in the Foreign Commissariat, was one of Molotov's most important advisors during Molotov's General Secretaryship, and unlike Marshal Georgy Zhukov of the Red Army and Lavrenty Beria of the NKVD, was more or less trusted by Molotov.[6] Gromyko also shared Molotov's skill of maintaining an absolutely emotionless facade.

Molotov depended on Gromyko to nearly the same extent Stalin had depended on Molotov. To that end, Gromyko was required to travel across the globe to other independent human powers, including the United States[7] and Germany.[8] Gromyko was particularly important to Molotov during the period immediately after Heinrich Himmler died and the German Reich appeared on the verge of civil war while Himmler's potential successors positioned themselves to take power,[9] and in the lead up to the Race-German War of 1965.[10] He also supported Molotov's plan to side with the United States against a Race attack after the Race discovered the U.S. was responsible for the 1962 attack on its Colonization Fleet.[11]

Gromyko held the position of Foreign Commissar into the 1970s. He was among the Tosevites present who personally bid Atvar farewell when the Fleetlord was recalled to Home in 1972.[12]

Andrei Gromyko in Joe Steele

Joe Steele
POD: 1878;
Relevant POD: July, 1932
Novel or Story?: Novel only
Type of Appearance: Contemporary reference

Andrei Gromyko was the Soviet ambassador to the United States in the late 1940s. In October 1949, Gromyko met with U.S. President Joe Steele about the situation in China. When Steele suggested using atomic weapons against Mao Tse-Tung's Reds, Gromyko said that he could not answer for what would happen to Rome or Paris. After consulting with his advisers, Steele opted not to use atomic bombs in China, and Mao was able to prevail there.[13]

References

  1. Analog: The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fact, Vol CV, No 8, August, 1985, pg. 175.
  2. Bombs Away, pg. 63, HC.
  3. See Inconsistencies (The Hot War).
  4. Ibid.
  5. Armistice, loc. 6426, ebook.
  6. See, e.g., Second Contact, pgs. 16-19.
  7. Down to Earth pg. 321.
  8. Ibid., pgs. 343-344.
  9. Ibid., pg. 345-346.
  10. Ibid., pgs. 445-447.
  11. .Aftershocks, pg. 249.
  12. Homeward Bound, pg. 5.
  13. Joe Steele, pgs. 376-377.
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