“Reluctant diplomat”: Nikolai Vasilievich Novikov’s biography pages

Introduction. The article analyzes the biography and diplomatic activities of Nikolai Vasilievich Novikov (1903-1989), a Soviet diplomat who represented the USSR in Cairo and in Washington during World War II and took part in the efforts to establish a new system of international relations at the beginning of the Cold War. Methods and materials. The article is based on published texts by Nikolai Novikov himself, diplomatic documents, periodicals, and materials from his personal archive, deposited in the Archive of the European University at St. Petersburg by the diplomat’s family. Analysis. The authors examine Novikov’s biography, the reasons for his rapid career in the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, his relations with Soviet foreign policymanagers, and the circumstances of his resignation at a relatively young age. Special attention is paid to Novikov’s activities in the United States in the context of the emerging Cold War, the place of Novikov’s note (cable) in the process of shaping Soviet approaches to relations with the United States, and his own attitude to these approaches.