Postmarked Moscow

by Lydia Kirk

Genres: Nonfiction

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1952

Reviews

[Dianeparente62gmail.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a period piece set in the Soviet Union during the years 1949-51 when the author served as the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to that "benighted country."
Her husband, Admiral Alan G. Kirk, and she are plunged into a strange new world with few guideposts. Her job is running a large house in Moscow with difficult, often disappearing servants and hosting elaborate and intimate social functions that oil the wheels of diplomacy.

Her experience of the people is limited by the host country at that time paranoid about outside influence. She paints a picture of scarcity, unimaginably crowded living conditions in poorly constructed apartment buildings, the dull acceptance of the citizenry of the hard life given them.
 
She frequently mocks the communist regime, especially because the picture they portray of life in the Soviet Union and its accomplishments as a country is so far from the truth. One example among  many: “Imagine, in this great city, supposedly ‘the greatest capital of the greatest country in the world,’ there wasn’t a scrap of fresh fish in the markets last week and no canned or frozen vegetables. Meat and eggs are also scarce. Think  of the poverty and monotony of tasm.Russian diet. And still they live and multiply, millions of them”

She gives astute observations on the tight governmental control of the people, illustrated by many examples She frequently mentions how closely they as foreign diplomats are watched by a group of “little men” who shadow the Ambassador everywhere. Her work gives the reader a feel of the climate, clothing, culture and working environment of the many. She also provides humorous examples of how the Soviets tried at every turn to make diplomatic life difficult and their almost childish diplomatic behavior (come to the party in a group, stay for a short time, and exit enmasse).

This is a useful, even entertaining time travel voyage. One has to adapt to language no longer used--the “gay” parties, the comparison of the servants to “Negro slaves” in terms of their level of education, etc. All in all, a very interesting, well written, detailed description of the country of the Soviet Union as she experienced it.

[Lawrence Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kydia Kirk was the wife of Admiral Kirk (really!) who was the U.S. ambassador to the USSR at the beginning of the not-so-Cold War. She details her two years in Moscow with excellent detail and great charm (the sort of thing that got P.G. Wodehouse into trouble), and she is acidic in her first-hand observations of Communist corruptions, abuse, economic incompetence, and the daily sight of slave laborers on brutal work details.

This is somewhat compromised by her life of privilege, which she seems to accept as her due - frequent flights on frequent holidays in government planes (so there's nothing new in that), and the tediousness of parties, picnics, receptions, balls, and other entertainments. Her lapses into French (never translated) are annoying, as are her constant complaints about the problem of getting good servants.

Still, with her good narrative flow and on-the-ground observations she gives us much good information about life in the Soviet time.

[Jane Fujiwara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book on my mom’s bookshelf and thought I’d give it a go. Obviously one to read with a HUGE grain of salt. While it was an easy read and somewhat interesting, it was also dry, repetitive, and clearly a bit racist. I mean, a sign of the times but I’m sure there are better books out there on the subject matter. To be fair, at that time the Ambassador and his staff lived a somewhat secluded life as they weren’t really allowed to interact with common citizens or even to travel outside of a certain area. This is what it must be like to visit North Korea. I would love to read her husband’s or son’s account.

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this first person view of Russia during the 50s by an outsider very much. It's amazing how limited their access to Russian citizens was.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally letters to her children. Fashioned into a book after Lydia Kirk's return from her stint as Ambassadress posted to Moscow just as the Cold War is beginning, 1949-51. Her husband (Admiral) Alan Kirk, dealt mainly with Gromyko. The family had four "Little Men" -- minders -- with them at all times. The Soviets went out of their way to make life for foreign delegations miserable.The "satellites" were all present -- the Czechs, Poles, Bulgarians -- but they were all part of the big snub of The Western democracies, Since there was little actual communication going on between the governments, the social interaction became the diplomacy. Mrs. Kirk ran Spaso, the U.S. Ambassador's residence, and was den mother to the rest of the US delegation. The delegation appeared to consist of ambitious and well-connected young men, and a few of our "prettiest girls" to make things gay. (It was still the 50's then. )
She writes what she knows -- the household, the servant problem, the streets, the clothes, the food, the landscape. She found Moscow very grim and clearly worked hard to endure it with grace. It's historic and personal and well written -- she got a capsule review for it in Foreign Affairs when it came out in '52.