Moscow archives cast fresh light on the Cold War
Classified Soviet archives that demonstrate Moscow’s lively interest in the political situation in Greece during the 1950s and ’60s will soon be in circulation, courtesy of the Institute of Balkan Studies (IMXA) based in Thessaloniki. The once-secret documents reveal the close watch kept on Greece by the Soviet Union’s diplomatic representation in Athens, both through reading the press and talks with the government ministers of the time, the public and left-wing figures. The Soviet Embassy keenly followed developments within the armed forces, regarded them as the regime’s «dynamic prop,» reporting on two currents within the army: one, pro-royalist, that was made up of superior officers and the other, dubbed anti-royalist and «democratic,» which consisted of lower-ranking officers. Also of great interest are the documents concerning relations with Albania and Yugoslavia, which were often fraught with difficulties, tension and rivalries.
