United States and Soviet Union establish diplomatic relations 80 years ago this hour (1933)

1930s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Soviet Russia Recognized by US 1933/11/20'

(Thursday, November 16, 1933, 11:50 p.m. EST) — The United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations tonight as President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a telegram to the Soviet leader Maxim Litvinov, expressing hope that United States-Soviet relations would “forever remain normal and friendly.”

The United States had broken off diplomatic relations with Russia in December 1917, after the Communist Bolshevik Party seized power and refused to honor its debts to foreign countries.

The United States remained hostile toward Russia and the Soviet Union (founded in 1922) until President Roosevelt took office in 1933 and sought to establish relations with the Soviets, in part because the United States was the only major power yet to recognize the Soviet Union.