Russian Officers and Wives Accept Informal American Dinner Invitation

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP65-00756R000600040045-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 4, 2000
• Sequence Number: 45
• Publication Date: January 11, 1955
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Releasp_2Q00Ii8123 CIA-RDP65-007?,6800060040045-3
1:)es;i. No.
TO The F' 11 e s
CONFIDENTIAL End. No._._-._
N.t11110,11 A tyDUM From -B-F,:ohenl liE!a.,3.
(Churl/iealion) Dcsp.
January 11,. 1955
SUBJ; Russian Officera and. Wives Accept Informal American
Dinner Invitation
FROM; 1W
On Deoenibe;r 10 Lieutenant General. and Mrs. D. I. SMIRNOVD
Counselor I. A. KOROLEV, Second Secretary and Mrs.. A. S. GAL.
STUKHOV accepted an informal dinner invitation at the home of
Mr. and Mrs.. Richard FUNKHOUSER, Chargb d'Affaires a.e I.
General Snirnov had previously ?a: peared only at the. Western
homes of the Wand previously Militaryttr.dohea for Informal dinners.
The cweking wn s p(;,, hap;3 noteworthy for the fact that i t was
the first time Russian officers have been known to bring
their Wive$ to a' Western home in Bucharest.
The Invitation wac sent out only forty-eight hours before
the dinner. It was assumed. that,. if the Russians were inclined.
to accept, thy; chance of their accepting on short notice was as
good. as on lone notice. Short notice was elso a well.-know,,n
), raactice of Easterners In Bucharest, so that no offense. was
to be anticipated.. Actually, the movies were better then
avcr:'ef,e that week and e notation on the invitations was -made
to the, effect . ths.t "anima" cartoons" and a "r acienee-fiction"
fi.Rl:ru would .be shown. The scienoe-fiction .film, per.}wr)s for the
be?;t, w.,; ,s not available the evening of the invitation. The
term hod not been understood by the Russians in any cese.
Acr,eptance ceme the morning of the scheduled dinner.
tlx i.t1ssh. Leg,o.t,,ion . Second ?ecretor. y end- Mrs. John WHITFIELD
together with Sur:l.r;c. First Sec=retary and. Mrrs. Michael G:EL iN,
v er9c the other invit?y a co.uples? . Mr. Whitfield steaks some
3tra :Ian;. hl s ^rie , no L; \lmportantly, is most attractive.
The Gel. ?, e-r s are hand some polyglots a.ncl, " neutrei s" Mr.
CroIntuk.hov remembers ,route English from his days in London
~or7Cl..Mr% . Korol ev, r.., smatterinfg of French. All invitees
cpl, ;:.oene the, faculty of being n.b e: to smile without pa.rticu-
'sir diffi,c~_i3.ty..
t,l`,e "little gen(,ral11. tie ha:l Ib?ien decorated w? ith the Legion
of T.Ar-r-it }air Cie?'1! ~L l EI"?ENNMoWJ13 ' In 7 ? :5 for l_ead.in t la:k divi-~
0r?l into ' rl iraa: - Bo, i;; iroud. of the, decoration but r1-ones not
1.1-1. ,"t tb.ii s t me for 1 po] i tic'-a,l'r rea sans. Genern1 GAVIN,
hiii hIs'.tarntrooper 1.neig:rrla. The General.
is, reportedly v ch^rcct'r.`1.stic of Gr,,. ;Cat
7 ; is ns i.n th.o'1 he is rcaciy to reciprocate. friend.shiti ... d is
O nr t?e1 ,nnd.- Mrs. Smirnov somewhat disconcertingly arrived
ten rrr3 nutes .h ad. of Cchedule. The Gianerai is a shall rotund.
r,3r ' r,n7jr3 to the 1_z3cl.:.Lcrs (a it ialaseciuer tl. dr,-aci_apedS are
:,r tt~t ;: r a :tie, tip pl.rrr, thotafgh "ti: T)].n:rr" is lie
r cl.t_y tyre m'epex'
r,r
.i. nor znnnl..i y ra p
,erg to reflect more of the simple -
:
l: Approae for Releae 2`j691 ?'TCIA-.RD~65-007568000600040045-3
State Dept. declassification instructions on file
 P'''` ?l For Release 2900108/23-- CIAD26 - 0756R p600 00 5-3
prbv d O--
i com ___ COI' F'SDFNTIAL, Encl.
(Class i/icalio?j Desp. No.- 12
From___ __B 111I:_G_ t
.__._._.and de,,irhabl_o c;uslitj.ess dcvelor.,ed through fighting for country
than d rnopstr'-ted by his mot"o cautious politic,-. a
Un for tun(," tely, the General does not seem to unde 'stared tht7.t
there are- those who do not know Russian, nnc he speaks in Fo.ulk-
nerifan sentences with vast enthusiasm, happily without demanding
'PC R
rjonsc. lie has an eye for Western ladies, in fact both eyes,
and. Is particularly appreciative as the evening; lengthens of
their more slender proportions.
His not unattractive wife was dressed simply, though u:n-
stylishly-bty Western stand.araa, in black. She appeared to share
her husband's 'forthzrightness' and'ease,. After. failing to get much
of A. response to-hPr Russian before the others arrived, she es-
ta.bllshed he' se:l f - comfortably on the sofa. a.nd enthusiastically
poured throng H rr~ er s 9 ,ar and. N,,, ew YZrl, er a:cls, pointing; to
Items of interest for gestured explanations, The General shoired
Initial and momentary interest I n H1-Fi equipment, throw down
three or four ,pineapple juice cocktails, went on to Martinis
nn(l. then back.. to pineapple Juice. The other Russians also
drank copiously of pineapple Juice-twice; extra. cans h.,-.),d to
be procured from the basement
Dinr:ex!, into which the guests enthuoisstically threw
them elvos, was quickly announced. The host'.s Beginner's
GOLIVI, se at the Foreign Service In;3titute, though stretched
beyond- recognizable limits, paid off, at least to the ex-
tent. of' being able to create noise at his encl. of the table.
Fin remembered that he had learned. ho.w to say "I love ham
and. eggs and. apple pie" which, though :inserted some rha,t
bulkily, Into the conversation with little respect to con-
te..t, provoked a hearty response from he Soviet ladles.
They did not kriow?r the words to ''Q*ohjfehorniya.s"nor did
they appear to hr-..ve, heard of the song.
E, 1,ioL e, I'll 110, w hi ch t}; ho ,t, err rt.v