MEETING WITH SOVIET GOVERNORS TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1974 11:30 P.M. (10 MINUTES) THE OVAL OFFICE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: Library of Congress
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): LOC-HAK-216-5-18-7
• Release Decision: RIPLIM
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 22
• Document Creation Date: January 11, 2017
• Document Release Date: March 8, 2010
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: May 28, 1974
• Content Type: MISC

1 6S
MEETING WITH SOVIET GOVERNORS
Tuesday, May 28, . 1974
11:30 p.m. (10 minutes)
The Oval Office
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This will ;be a brief courtesy call.
A. Background: The eight Soviet "Governors" are visiting the
BACKGROUND, PARTICIPANTS & PRESS PLAN
United States from May 26 June 5, 1974 at the invitation of
the National Governors' Conference. The members of the
Soviet Delegation
are either chairmen or deputy chairmen of major constituent
.republics and administrative units of the USSR. They are
paying a return visit for the 1971 visit by a delegation of U. S.
Governors to the Soviet Union. (The eight U. S. Governors
Bumpers, Arkansas; Hall, Oklahoma; Hearnes,, Missouri;
Love, Colorado; Hathaway, Wyoming; Mandel, Maryland;
Milliken, Michigan; and Ferre of Puerto Rico -were well
. e eived in.the USSR and met with Ko.sygin. You met with
pleasure to meeting with the Soviet "Governors" on the
occasion of their return visit. )
1971, and at that time, said that you looked forward with
them following their return to the United States on October 22,
Prior to their meeting with you, the "Governors" will have
just met with Mayor Washington. Their schedule while in
the United States is at Tab B.
B. Participants: The eight "Governors," Ambassador Dobrynin,
Brent Scowcroft, Ken Cole.
Pre.se.Plan The meeting will be announced, and there will
be a press photo opportunity.
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V
their Conference, I have asked Ken Cole, my Assistant for
Domestic Affairs to represent me and the Administration.
Cap Weinberger, my Secretary of Health, Education and Wel-
fare will also be in attendance so I know you will be in good hands.
I nicet frequently with this nation's governors as well as other
State and local elected officials. They are the cornerstone of
what we call the New Federalism -- putting more authority,
power and responsibility back in the hands of our Governors
and less at the Federal level.
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TALI TG PINTS
(Note: The ranking member of the visiting Soviet delegation is
A. P. Lyashko, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the
Ukrainian SSRand voting member of the CPSU Central Committee.
He should be addressed as Mr. Chairman.)
I am pleased to welcome you to the United States, and to the
.White House. I want to express once more our gratitude for
the excellent reception accorded to the eight U. S. Governors
who visited the Soviet Union in 1971.
I would like to reaffirm my personal thanks, Mr. Chairman,
for the warm welcome which you and your colleagues accorded
me on my visit to the Ukraine two. years ago. I treasure the
many memories of my brief visit to Kiev, "the mother of all
Russian cities. "
3. Your visit plays an important role in the process of improving
relations between our two countries and in building the structure
of peace which we both seek. It underscores the increasing
contacts we .are developing in abroad range of endeavors.
Your visit will enable you to see this country, and to meet
with its people and its elected officials.
but he assures me that a full and active agenda is planned for
your visit.
I know your final destination is Seattle, Washington for the 66th
Annual Meeting of the National Governors' Conference. Unfor-
tunately, Governor Dan Evans, Chairman of the Governors'
Conference, and your host in Seattle, could not be here today
4. Although I had to decline the Governors' invitation to attend
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. W W
1 ederaiism concept so you will have an opportunity to
The'theme .of the Governors' Conference is the New
practice.
lain?inore about how this concept will be reflected in
just. last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with a distin-
7. I Juan pleased by the progress we have achieved to date in
effforts, to reach the goal of a stable structure of peace.
between our two societies, underscoring our continuing
major step in the growing network of cooperative links
B.N., Ponomarev. That visit, like yours, marks another
guished delegation from the Supreme Soviet headed by
ore areas, but we are both profoundly aware that much
work remains ahead of us. I am looking forward to my
meeting with General Secretary Brezhnev which will enable
will make you feel genuinely welcome.
ns to advance the work we have already begun together, and
.I ask that you convey to him my warm personal regards.
In chasing, I hope that your visit will fulfill your expectations.
I know that the traditional warmth of American hospitality
Tab B -- "Governors" Schedule
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groups are Ukrainians, Russians and Jews, in that
order.
With more than 48 million inhabitants and an area
of 233,000 square miles, it is the most densely
populated republic. Its three largest ethnic
SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC USSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic borders
on Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania.
The Ukraine's rich black soil belt makes it
one of the largest wheat-producing area of the Soviet
Union; sugar beets and potatoes are also among its
important crops. In addition, 34 percent of the
coal mined in the country comes. from its Donets
Basin, as well as 50 percent of the pig iron and
40 percent of the steel. The Dnepropetrovsk area,
of which Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev is
related industries.
a native, contains a major concentration of defense
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RUSSIAN SOVIET FEDERATIVE
OCIALX S REPUBLIC RSFSR)
manufactured goods. Leningrad is also a major
shipbuilding center. The major iron and steel pro-
ducing regions center in the cities of Chelyabinsk,
Magnitogorsk and Sverdlovsk and in Western Sibera
near Novokuznetsk.
Russia; the Moscow and Leningrad areas are the
most heavily industrialized, producing automobiles,
machine tools, construction equipment and various
into two general areas--European Russia and Siberia.
Most Soviet industry is located within European
million The Ural mountains divide the republic
lion square miles and has a population of 130
The'RSFSR is the largest of the 15 republics
in the Soviet Union; it covers more than 6.5 mil--
The Siberian region, long neglected because of
its harsh climate, is now the focus of much intel-'
lectual and economic activity in the Soviet Union.
In the late 1950's the Soviet Academy of Sciences
.established an "academic city" near Novosibirsk
and relocated or established numerous scientific
research facilities in the area.
earth belt of its southern European area.
g
already had established wealth-producing industries
such as gold mining, forestry, furs and fishing.
The best farm land in the RSFSR lies in the black
The discovery of large deposits of gas and
oil in the Tyumen' and Yakutsk regions and of
copper in the Udokan area set the stage for a new
e of industrial development in Siberia, which
sur
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The most populous and urbanized area of
Baltic, White, Caspian, Azov and Black) via the
Podol'sk, machine tools in KU n, chemicals in
Voskresensk and Shchekino, and.textiles in Noginsk.
Less than one-fifth of the population is rural;
agriculture in the oblast' does no more than help
supply Moscow and surrounding urban areas. Moscow
is the largest rail hub in the USSR as well as a
major inland port, with access to five seas (the
European Russia, Moscow Oblast' has over 13 million
inhabitants; half live within.the capital city
of Moscow. Heavily industrialized, the oblast'
produces nearly one-fifth of the Soviet industrial
output, including high-grade steel in Moscow and
Elektrostal', locomotives in Kolomna, agricultural
machinery in Lyubertsy, oil refinery equipment in
Moscow Canal and Moscow River.
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 r
a.ts e
Kazan, with a population of 919,000, is respon-
sible for a large portion of the region's indus-
trial output.
itants of the republic; the popu a son
large Russian elements and Chuvash, Mordvinian,
Udmurt and Mari minorities. The area is predom-
.inantly agricultural but is also important for
oleum and natural gas. The capital,
t
o
Zu autc nam r,
is located approximately 800 kilometers. southeast
of Moscow in a 26,000 square mile area at the con-
fluence of the Volga and Kama Rivers. Tatars
,comprise about 50 percent of the 3 million inhab
1 t' also has
Established in 1920, the Tatar ASSR is one of
us re ublics in the Soviet Union. It
PUBLIC
SOCIALIST
TATAR AU ''lNOMOUS SOVIET
Located in the republic is the Kama River
declined.
to aid in the construction of this p an u
Truck Plant at Naberezhnyye Chelny. This large
industrial complex is being constructed with the
aid of West German and French technology, equip-
ment and financing. US companies were invited
1 t b +
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USSR
Predominantly rural, Altay Kray is one of
Siberia"s most productive agricultural areas.
(A kray is an administrative unit roughly similar
to a large US State.) Located in the south central
region of the USSR, Altay Kray borders on Mongolia
and the Sinkiang Province of the People's Republic
of China. It covers a 100,000 square mile area
and has a population of 2.6 million. The administra-
tive capital of Altay Kray is Barnaul. In addition
to agriculture, industries of the kray include the
production of textiles and hydroelectric power and
the mining of gold, lead and zinc.
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st' stretches from the Arctic
bl
'
a
O
Tyumen
Ocean to the border of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist
Republic. Located in the Russian Soviet Federative
Socialist Republic, it has 1.5 million-inhabitants
include fish, lumber, livestock, furs
t
s
lts produc
and oil from the middle Ob' River area around Surgut.
The huge natural gas fields in the Urengoy
region have recently attracted the interest of US
and Japanese industry. In June 1973, three Texas-
based companies signed an agreement of intention
(often called the "North Star" agreement) with the
USSR. The agreement calls for a total American
investment of more.than $6 billion for .the construc-
ing
the la
y
tion of a plant to liquify the gas, for
of a pipeline to carry it from the Urengoy area to
the port of Murmansk, and for a fleet of 20 tankers
to carry the liquified gas to the east coast of the
United States. Deliveries are scheduled to begin
in about 19 80 .
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BREST OBLAST' USSR
Brest Oblast', an area of 5,200 square miles
with a population of over 1.3 million, is located
in the southwest part of the Belorussian SSR,
bordering eastern Poland. Its capital, Brest,
located 225 miles southwest of Minsk on the Soviet-
Polish border, is a principal railway transfer
point for commerce between the USSR and East Europe.
The Oblast' economy is heavily agricultural;
the chief products are rye, oats, barley, potatoes,
flax and timber. Local industrial products include
flour, hides, canned foodstuffs, lumber, and metal
products and machinery. The oblast' has a
well-developed rail and road network.
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Tselinograd Oblast' is located in north central
Kazakhstan and encompasses an area the size of the
state of Florida. Its population of 787,000 is
evenly divided between urban and rural inhabitants.
The region contains part of the USSR's "virgin
lands"---areas put under cultivation by Premier
Nikita Khrushchev in a crash program to develop
agriculture in the country's eastern area. The
oblast' capital, Tselinograd, is a major traffic
junction for rail, air and highway connections. An
agricultural machinery factory supports the surround
ing agricultural area with equipment. For a time,
the oblast' was closed to foreigners.
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7:30 p.m. - Arrival at New York's Kennedy Airport
ITINERARY
VISIT OF SOVIET GOVERNORS
(May 26-June 5, 1974)
May 24, 1974.
SUNDAY Ma 26
MONDAY, May 27...
Morning:
Afternoon:
TUESDAY, May 28
Morning:
Afternoon:
WEDNESDAY, May 29
Morning:
Afternoon:
wheat area; overnight at individual
ranchhouses
Morning:
- Visit to University of Oklahoma
and oil industry sites
- Flight to Cheyenne, Wyoming
- Flying tour of Wyoming enroute to
.Jackson Hole
- Dinner hosted by Governors Hathaway
and Love
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- Sightseeing in New York City
Flight to Washington, D.C.
- Tour of Washington, D.C.
- Call on Mayor Washington
- Call on President Nixon
- Tour of US Capitol
- Visit to Beltsville
,- Reception at Soviet Embassy
Flight to Oklahoma City
- Visit to livestock feeding lot and
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FRIDAY, May 31
Morning; - Float trip-down Snake River
Afternoon: - Bus trip to Yellowstone National Park
SATURDAY, June 1
Morning:
SUNDAY, June
Morning:
- Flight to Spokane
- Visit to Expo 74
- Flight to Grand Coulee
- Visit to Grand Coulee Dam
Afternoon:
Evening:
Morning:
Evening:
Morning* - Flight to San Francisco
Afternoon: - Visit to B.A.R.T. (Bay Area Rapid
MONDAY, June 3
Evening:
TUESDAY, June 4
- Plight to Seattle via Columbia Gorge,
Pacific coast and Olympic National Park
- Reception at Science Center with
Governors of all the States
- Dinner at Space Needle with Governo
of all the States
- Sightseeing
- Reception and buffet hosted by
Department of State
- Sightseeing
- Visit to election campaign headquarters
to observe primary election
Visit with Mayor Alioto to watch
election returns
Dinner' hosted by Soviet Consul General
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Sightseeing flight to New York City
1:30 p.m. - Departure for the U.S.S.R.
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