Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Stepanov-Mamaladze, T. G. and Shevardnadze, Ä–. A. (Ä–duard Amvrosievich), 1928-2014
- Abstract:
- Diaries and notes relating to Soviet foreign relations, and to Georgian politics and foreign relations. Includes summaries of conversations between Eduard Shevardnadze and foreign leaders. Also available on microfilm (10 reels).
- Extent:
- 5 manuscript boxes, 10 microfilm reels (2.0 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- In Russian
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], T. G. Stepanov-Mamaladze writings, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains Teimuraz G. Stepanov-Mamaladzes's diaries and notes taken in his capacity as aide to Eduard Shevardnadze when the latter was the minister of foreign affairs of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991 and during the first two years of his presidency of Georgia. Stepanov-Mamaladze took notes during all the negotiations, meetings, and conferences he attended, thus creating an extensive record of Eduard Shevardnadze's diplomatic endeavors.
In 1992 Shevardnadze visited the Hoover Institution and notes on that trip can also be found in Stepanov-Mamaladze's notebooks.
The notes in the Notebooks series are especially interesting because they present summaries of conversations between Eduard Shevardnadze and foreign leaders. The notes were taken on the spot, thus preserving lively conversations and jokes made by participants. Sometimes they include poems by Stepanov-Mamaladze, anecdotes, and quotations from books by famous authors.
The notes laid a foundation for the Diaries, which were written without haste, and present the same events in a more detailed and comprehensive way.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Teimuraz G. Stepanov-Mamaladze was born in 1934 in Tbilisi (Georgia). After graduating from the Moscow State University Law School in 1958, he began his career as a journalist in Georgia. In 1978 he was appointed director of the Georgian Information Agency (Gruzinform). At that time he met Eduard Shevardnadze, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Georgia. In 1985, when Shevardnadze was appointed minister of foreign affairs of the Soviet Union and left for Moscow, he invited Stepanov-Mamaladze to work as his aide and speechwriter, which he did through 1991.
In that capacity Stepanov-Mamaladze traveled extensively on various diplomatic missions, including the summit meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan in Reykjavik (1985), talks on the intermediate range nuclear forces treaty (INF) in 1987, and arrangements surrounding the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He witnessed the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in Germany, the "Velvet Revolution" in Czechoslovakia, and the overthrow of Nicolae CeauÅŸescu in Romania in 1989. Stepanov-Mamaladze also accompanied Shevardnadze during negotiations with Saddam Hussein on the brink of the first Gulf War, when the Soviet Union tried to give the Iraqi leader the opportunity to leave Kuwait honorably in 1991, and was at Shevardnadze's side during meetings of the UN General Assembly from 1986 to 1989.
Stepanov-Mamaladze sat next to Shevardnadze when the latter met with Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, George Shultz, James Baker, Ayatollah Khomeini (who had met with only two foreign diplomats - Eduard Shevardnadze and Yasser Arafat), and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, to name just a few.
After Shevardnadze retired from his position as minister of foreign affairs (1991) and was elected to the presidency of the Republic of Georgia in 1992, Stepanov-Mamaladze became his assistant.
In 1994 Stepanov-Mamaladze decided to resume his work as a journalist. He returned to Moscow, where he wrote for Komsomol'skaia pravda, Izvestiia, and Novye izvestiia newspapers. He became the head of the Novye Izvestiia Agency board of directors and a member of the Consultative Council of the Pro et Contra magazine under the auspices of the Carnegie Foundation.
He died in 1999 in Moscow and was buried, according to his wishes, in Tbilisi.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2000.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is organized into two series: Notebooks, 1985-1998, and Diaries, 1985-1990.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Originals may not be used without permission of the Archivist. Microfilm access available. Materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
- Terms of access:
-
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], T. G. Stepanov-Mamaladze writings, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563