Letter to L.M. Kaganovich, V.M. Molotov, V.V. Kuibyshev, 30 July 1932

Source: Tom 17

To Kaganovich, Molotov, Kuibyshev.

Cooper is a great boor and is spoiled by the ease with which he obtains audiences with Soviet officials. I am almost certain he has no concrete instructions, neither political nor commercial. Most likely he wants to attach himself to the construction of our new hydroelectric stations on the Volga. He should not be pampered. Nevertheless, he should be received politely, listened to attentively, and every word should be recorded and reported to the CC.

I do not wish to see him, as the interests of the cause do not require it.

Stalin

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Source: Stalin and Kaganovich. Correspondence. 1931-1936, p. 252.

RGASPI. F. 558. Op. 11. D. 78. L. 100.

NOTE: This is a reply to a cipher telegram of 29 July 1932, signed by Kaganovich, Molotov, and Kuibyshev, informing Stalin that Cooper had arrived and claimed to be authorized by "decisive business circles of America" to conduct negotiations on relations between the USSR and the USA. Cooper asked Kuibyshev whether he could meet with the full Politburo, and expressed a desire to meet with Stalin. The subsequent exchange revealed that Cooper had no serious proposals. The central point of his conversation was the question of 30 Black Americans who had come to the USSR to participate in the filming of a motion picture. Cooper insisted that the arrival of these Black Americans in the USSR and the making of a film would be an insurmountable obstacle to recognition and that he could not continue working in the USSR or campaigning for recognition if the film were made.