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The historic 8,000-word message proposed a new approach to U.S.-Soviet relations and defined the terms of the Cold War.</p> <p>"George Kennan's long and distinguished professional life has been one of uncommon achievement in both statecraft and scholarship, and his record of accomplishment is remarkable in its breadth and depth," said Peter Goddard, Director of the Institute for Advanced Study. "He wrote perceptively about American foreign policy; did much to increase understanding of Russia and the Soviet Union, and provided intelligent, principled and courageous criticisms on other important issues."</p> <p>James D. Wolfensohn, President of The World Bank and Chairman of the Institute's Board of Trustees, stated: "George Kennan was one of the great treasures of the Institute, in his own field ranking alongside other former Institute colleagues, Albert Einstein and John von Neumann. We cherish his memory and his friendship."</p> <p>Professor Kennan, who came to the Institute as a visiting scholar in 1953, joined the Faculty of the School of Historical Studies in 1956. While the Institute was Professor Kennan's academic home, he moved between the diplomatic and academic worlds, serving as Ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1952 and to Yugoslavia in 1960-63. He was George Eastman Visiting Professor at Oxford (1957-58), and a University Fellow at Harvard (1965-69). In 1975, he co-founded the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies (as part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars), Washington, D.C. The Kennan Institute works to provide both the American public and policymakers with a better understanding of the Soviet Union by improving Russian studies.</p> <p>Professor Kennan had a distinguished career in the United States Foreign Service from 1926 to 1953, and received special training as a Soviet expert during his service in Germany in the 1930s. During the remainder of the 1930s, he served in Moscow, Vienna, and Prague at the time of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. He served in Berlin at the outbreak of World War II and in Moscow at the end of the war.</p> <p>It was during this period of expanding Soviet influence in Europe that he dispatched the "Long Telegram." In it, he argued that the Soviet Union was "a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be no permanent modus vivendi," but that the problem could be met "without recourse to any general military conflict."</p> <p>In 1946, he left Moscow to become the first Deputy for Foreign Affairs of the newly formed National War College. It was there that he wrote the original draft of "The Sources of Soviet</p> <p>Conduct." Subsequently published anonymously in the July 1947 issue of Foreign Affairs and famously signed by "X," it proposed maintenance of a balance of power with the Soviet Union, an approach that came to be known as "containment." In 1947, Kennan became Director of the Policy Planning Staff of the Department of State, and, in 1949, Counselor of the Department.</p> <p><img align="right" width="168" height="216" alt="" src="/web/20151121172149im_/https://www.ias.edu/files/images/notedfigures/kennan-atmic.jpg"/>Glen W. Bowersock, Professor in the School of Historical Studies, recalls that when the Soviet Union fell, Kennan remarked that "he had never imagined that in his own lifetime he would see both the birth and the death of communism in Russia." Professor Bowersock commented that Kennan "was a deeply respected figure, whose conversation was eagerly sought and always appreciated. His memories of his diplomatic career evoked persons and epochs that were long since past."</p> <p>In 1950, J. Robert Oppenheimer, then the Director of the Institute, invited Kennan, on leave from the Foreign Service, to come to the Institute as a Visitor. So began the long connection with an institution that permitted him the time for study, reflection, and the academic contacts that led to concomitant careers as scholar of American and European history, and both analyst of and actor upon the contemporary scene.</p> <p>During his tenure at the Institute, Professor Kennan was twice the recipient of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his books Russia Leaves the War, Vol. I of Soviet-American Relations 1917-1920 (1956) and Memoirs, 1925-1950 (1967). He was the author of more than 20 books as well as many articles on the diplomatic history of Russia and the Soviet Union. Professor Kennan, who became Professor Emeritus in 1974, attributed his accomplishments in part to the Institute. "I can find no adequate words," he wrote, "in which to acknowledge the debt I owe to this institution."</p> <p>Kennan's awards were numerous: the Order of the Pour le Merit茅 for Arts and Sciences of the German Federal Republic, the Testimonial of Loyal and Meritorious Service from the Department of State (1953), Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Nation's Service (1976), the Albert Einstein Peace Prize (1981), the German Peace Prize (1982), the Franklin D. Roosevelt Foundation Freedom from Fear Medal (1987), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1989), and the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of State (1994), to name a few. He received 29 honorary degrees and was a former President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Among honors in his name are the George F. Kennan Chair in National Security Strategy at the National War College, and the George F. Kennan Professorship and Memberships established at the Institute for Advanced Study.</p> <p>A memorial service was held on April 6, 2005, at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.</p> </div></div></div> </article> </div> <aside class="sidebars"> <section class="region region-sidebar-second column sidebar"> <div id="block-ias-blocks-google-cse" class="block block-ias-blocks first odd"> <script>(function(){var cx='000570510802003860211:k2pu2msopc0';var gcse=document.createElement('script');gcse.type='text/javascript';gcse.async=true;gcse.src=(document.location.protocol=='https:'?'https:':'http:')+'//web.archive.org/web/20151121172149/https://www.google.com/cse/cse.js?cx='+cx;var s=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(gcse,s)})();</script><gcse:search></gcse:search> </div> <div id="block-block-26" class="block block-block even"> <h2 class="block__title block-title">George Kennan</h2> <ul class="menu"><li class="leaf"><a title="Overview" href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/kennan">Overview</a></li> <li class="leaf first"><a title="The Long Telegram" href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/kennan/the-long-telegram">The Long Telegram</a></li> <li class="leaf last"><a title="Remembering Kennan" href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/kennan/remembering">Remembering Kennan</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="block-menu-block-2" class="block block-menu-block odd" role="navigation"> <h2 class="block__title block-title">People</h2> <div class="menu-block-wrapper menu-block-2 menu-name-main-menu parent-mlid-73314 menu-level-1"> <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf first leaf menu-mlid-74964"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/director" class="menu__link">Director</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-leaf leaf menu-mlid-73634"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/faculty-and-emeriti" class="menu__link">Faculty and Emeriti</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-leaf leaf menu-mlid-73824"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/members-and-visitors" class="menu__link">Members and Visitors</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-leaf leaf menu-mlid-74634"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/staff" class="menu__link">Staff</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-leaf leaf menu-mlid-73644"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/trustees" class="menu__link">Trustees</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-active-trail is-expanded expanded active-trail menu-mlid-73334"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/noted-figures" class="menu__link is-active-trail active-trail">Noted Historical Figures</a><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf first leaf menu-mlid-73934"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/einstein" class="menu__link">Albert Einstein</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-leaf leaf menu-mlid-73964"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/flexner" class="menu__link">Abraham Flexner</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-collapsed collapsed menu-mlid-79104"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/geertz" class="menu__link">Clifford Geertz</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-leaf leaf menu-mlid-73994"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/godel" class="menu__link">Kurt G枚del</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-leaf leaf menu-mlid-75304"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/goldman" class="menu__link">Hetty Goldman</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-active is-active-trail is-leaf leaf active-trail active menu-mlid-74024"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/kennan" class="menu__link is-active-trail active-trail active">George Kennan</a></li> <li class="menu__item is-leaf leaf menu-mlid-74084"><a href="/web/20151121172149/https://www.ias.edu/people/oppenheimer" class="menu__link">J. 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