Kennan’s Long Telegram
E15641
Kennan’s Long Telegram is a 1946 diplomatic cable by U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan that laid the intellectual foundation for the Cold War policy of containment toward the Soviet Union.
Aliases (5)
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
diplomatic cable
→
policy document → |
| alternativeName |
Long Telegram of 1946
→
The Long Telegram → |
| archivedIn |
U.S. National Archives
→
|
| argued |
the Soviet Union viewed the capitalist world as hostile
→
the Soviet Union was committed to expanding its influence → |
| author |
George F. Kennan
→
|
| authorPosition |
Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow
→
|
| commissionedBy |
U.S. Department of State
→
|
| countryOfOrigin |
United States
→
|
| date |
1946-02-22
→
|
| described |
Soviet Union’s worldview as insecure and expansionist
→
the nature of Soviet power → |
| field |
Cold War studies
→
diplomatic history → |
| genre |
diplomatic analysis
→
strategic policy analysis → |
| historicalPeriod |
early Cold War
→
|
| impact |
helped define the concept of containment
→
shaped U.S. perceptions of the Soviet threat → |
| influenced |
Truman administration foreign policy
→
U.S. Cold War strategy → the Truman Doctrine → the doctrine of containment → the intellectual foundation of the Cold War → |
| language |
English
→
|
| laterExpandedIn |
“The Sources of Soviet Conduct”
→
|
| laterExpandedInPublication |
Foreign Affairs
→
|
| length |
approximately 8,000 words
→
|
| mainSubject |
Soviet foreign policy
→
U.S.–Soviet relations → containment policy → ideology of the Soviet Union → |
| placeOfOrigin |
Moscow
→
|
| proposedPolicy |
long-term containment of Soviet expansion
→
|
| recommended |
avoiding direct military confrontation with the Soviet Union
→
patient but firm containment of Soviet expansionist tendencies → using political and economic measures to counter Soviet influence → |
| relatedConcept |
Soviet expansionism
→
containment → |
| relatedEvent |
emergence of the Cold War
→
|
| sentFrom |
U.S. Embassy in Moscow
→
|
| sentTo |
U.S. Department of State
→
|
| significance |
considered one of the most influential documents of early Cold War diplomacy
→
|
| stated |
Soviet leadership combined Marxist ideology with traditional Russian insecurity
→
the Soviet system had internal weaknesses → |
| year |
1946
→
|
Referenced by (6)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Long Telegram
→
Long Telegram ("The Long Telegram of 1946") → |
alsoKnownAs |
|
Kennan’s Long Telegram
("The Long Telegram")
→
Kennan’s Long Telegram ("Long Telegram of 1946") → |
alternativeName |
|
Kennan’s Long Telegram
("“The Sources of Soviet Conduct”")
→
|
laterExpandedIn |
|
George F. Kennan
("The Sources of Soviet Conduct")
→
|
notableWork |