GBH Openvault
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with N. F. Chervov, 1986
Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.
04/09/1986
N. F. Chervov was a Soviet General and arms negotiator. He begins by recalling the Hiroshima and Nagasaki explosions, which he says were mainly designed to intimidate the USSR. With some distaste he recounts U.S. war plans that called for targeting Soviet cities and points to the termination of the American nuclear monopoly as a fortunate event for all of humanity. He completely discounts the notion that the U.S. saw its monopoly as countering the Soviets conventional superiority. He remembers his pride in the Soviets development of a nuclear weapon and discusses their strategic priorities at the time. He talks about the change in strategies after the death of Stalin, then explains his views of the missile gap at the end of the decade. After some general comments about negotiating with different American administrations, he offers a portrait of Robert McNamara, calling him the best defense secretary of the period, then recounting aspects of his tenure at the Pentagon. He ends with a denial that Moscow ever contemplated the preemptive use of nuclear weapons.
License Clip
- Series
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Title
Interview with N. F. Chervov, 1986
- Series Description
The first atomic explosion in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, changed the world forever. This series chronicles these changes and the history of a new era. It traces the development of nuclear weapons, the evolution of nuclear strategy, and the politics of a world with the power to destroy itself.
In thirteen one-hour programs that combine historic footage and recent interviews with key American, Soviet, and European participants, the nuclear age unfolds: the origin and evolution of nuclear weapons; the people of the past who have shaped the events of the present; the ideas and issues that political leaders, scientists, and the public at large must confront, and the prospects for the future. Nuclear Age highlights the profound changes in contemporary thinking imposed by the advent of nuclear weapons. Series release date: 1/1989
- Duration
01:05:05
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009
- World War II
- Hiroshima-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
- Mutual assured destruction
- Nuclear warfare
- Nuclear arms control
- Nuclear weapons
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Weinberger, Caspar W.
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
- Socialism
- Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
- Soviet Union
- Nagasaki-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
- United States
- Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953
- Ford, Gerald R., 1913-2006
- Warsaw Treaty Organization
- Reagan, Ronald
- Intercontinental ballistic missiles
- Strategic Arms Limitation Talks II
- Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
- Nuclear disarmament
- Schlesinger, James R.
- Gorbachev, Mikhail
- Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
- Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
- Locations
- Moscow, USSR
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- War and Conflict
- Science
- Global Affairs
- History
- Contributors
- Chervov, N. F. (Interviewee)
- Publication Information
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with N. F. Chervov, 1986,” 04/09/1986, GBH Archives, accessed December 22, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_02816E4C6F0A482B9B338E266342B8A4.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with N. F. Chervov, 1986.” 04/09/1986. GBH Archives. Web. December 22, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_02816E4C6F0A482B9B338E266342B8A4>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with N. F. Chervov, 1986. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_02816E4C6F0A482B9B338E266342B8A4