When Thatcher Met Gorbachev

Today In History with The Retrospectors

Over a Chequers banquet of sole in shrimp sauce, fillet of beef, and caramelized oranges, Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time on 16th December, 1984.

While their ideologies were worlds apart, Thatcher appreciated Gorbachev's frankness and imagination. The Soviet leader, meanwhile, seemed equally captivated by Thatcher's unapologetic firmness and sharp intellect. Their rapport formed the foundation of a relationship that would influence global politics profoundly, with Thatcher famously declaring the Russian "a man we can do business with".

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore the rest of the Gorbachevs’ holiday itinerary; explain how Neil Kinnock killed the vibes; and reveal what Denis and Raisa got up to while their spouses were deep in conversation…

Further Reading:

• ‘Gorbachev and Thatcher: The Chequers meeting that melted the Cold War ice’ (The Times, 2022): https://www.thetimes.com/article/e9c5616c-2942-11ed-9092-6adde03bf612

• ’Political leadership in the Cold War's ending: Thatcher and the turn to engagement with the Soviet Union’ (British Politics and Policy at LSE, 2020): https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/thatcher-end-of-cold-war/

• ‘Margaret Thatcher would 'do business with' Mikhail Gorbachev - Daily Mail’ (BBC News, 1984): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhl680YRT6g

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