Divided Together: The United States and the Soviet Union in the United Nations, 1945–1965

This book by the late Russian historian Ilya Gaiduk is truly a groundbreaking work in the study of the history of the United Nations (UN). Gaiduk was one of the very few pioneers among Russian historians who were able to take full advantage of the openness of the Russian archives in 1992 and early 1993. He was equally well-versed in the U.S. and British archives, making frequent research trips abroad. The result is a first-of-its kind document-based “comparative study of U.S. and Soviet policy toward the organization during the first two decades of the Cold War” (p. 5). Although Gaiduk defines the scope of the book in this limited way, he covers much more than just U.S. and Soviet policies. Because U.S.-Soviet interactions created the crucial dynamic of the early years of the UN, the book can be read as a history of the UN written from a truly international...