Dobrynin is only the messenger of both sides, not the decision maker. His boss, gromyko, who has served as foreign minister for a long time, attaches great importance to him, but perhaps he is above the Lord and has no close personal relationship with him. Dobrynin and Gorbachev were not enthusiastic. After Gorbachev came to power, gromyko fell from power, but Dobrynin did not become foreign minister. Later, he was recalled to Moscow, promoted to a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Secretariat, and retired two years later.
Dobrynin also had extreme miscalculations and was fooled by the Americans. 1969 In early March, after the Treasure Island incident on the Sino-Soviet border, he went to see US Secretary of State Rogers and told a story from the standpoint of the Soviet Union. He judged that the United States would certainly agree with his conclusion that China with nuclear weapons is a threat to the world, and the United States and the Soviet Union should stand on the same front against China. Two years later, Nixon announced that he would open a dialogue with China, which was like a bolt from the blue. At this time, he was the most surprised.
1995 "trust-memoirs of Dobrynin" was published, which was quite frank. He thought that the disintegration of the Soviet Union was a tragedy, and the reason behind it was that the fatuous leaders were confused by a few flattering words from the West and destroyed a big country. Some people say this is revenge. Gorbachev did not appoint him as foreign minister, but promoted a Georgian with no diplomatic experience, Shevardnadze. Gorbachev mentioned in his memoirs that he had considered appointing the most popular Dobrynin at that time, but did not elaborate on the reasons for not choosing him.
During the "Cold War" period, ideological barriers were clear, and both sides believed that they had mastered the true meaning of human progress. Dobrynin drove across the continental United States, went to deep sea fishing, Florida, watched horse races in Kentucky, observed and tried to understand American national character and values, and got along well with people from all walks of life. He joked with Kissinger on the phone and said that he saw him tryst with a beautiful woman in Playboy magazine. He also became a chess friend with brzezinski, the White House security assistant during President Carter's time. But he never gave up or compromised the position of the Soviet Union. Dobrynin was one of the most outstanding diplomats in the 20th century, and he was "never our friend". He represents a government, a system and an idea that is hostile to us everywhere. "
Dobrynin was witty and humorous, 1962 returned to the United States. He once joked that "now diplomats talk like journalists, and journalists talk like diplomats". He refers to the increasingly rigid ideology, black-and-white concept and one-way thinking of news media; In contrast, diplomats consider political and military security issues more widely and pay more attention to measuring diversified interests. In his memoirs, he criticized American public opinion for its "Hollywood exaggeration" of the Soviet Union. In order to please public opinion, several presidents proposed "human rights diplomacy" and "evil empire" to fight against the Soviet Union, and the media kept broadcasting these established issues.
As an excellent mouthpiece, it is equally important for Dobrynin to correctly interpret the positions and intentions of the leaders of both sides, skillfully convey information and leave some face for everyone. 1973, he accompanied Brezhnev to Nixon's official residence in California and had a drink. The more he talked, the more interested he became. He revealed many things inside the Soviet political arena. The next day, he realized that it might be a slip of the tongue after drinking, and quickly asked, "Did I say too much?" Dobrynin said, "Yes, but I didn't translate all of them."