July 25, 1959…Nixon-Khrushchev “KItchen Debate” Tape Airs In US

The Kitchen Debate was a series of impromptu exchanges (through interpreters) between then U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon, and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in the “kitchen of a modern American home” on display at the opening of the American National Exhibition at Sokolniki Park in Moscow on July 24, 1959.

Using an RCA TK41 color camera, the debate was recorded on Ampex color videotape, a new technology recently pioneered in the U.S., and Nixon made reference to this fact. The exchange was subsequently rebroadcast in both countries. Khrushchev was skeptical of Nixon’s promise that his part in the debate would be translated into English and broadcast in the U.S., but it was.

In the United States, three major television networks broadcast the kitchen debate on July 25. The Soviets subsequently protested, as Nixon and Khrushchev had agreed that the debate should be broadcast simultaneously in America and the Soviet Union, with the Soviets even threatening to withhold the tape until they were ready to broadcast. The American networks, however, had felt that waiting would cause the news to lose its immediacy. Two days later, on July 27, the debate was broadcast on Moscow television, albeit late at night and with Nixon’s remarks only partially translated.

Below, Ampex president Phil Grundy, Khrushchev and Nixon watch the playback of the just recorded remarks. Khrushchev was shown how to operate the controls of the recorder, rewound the tape and played it back.

Nixon persuaded him to let it be seen in the United States, but Khrushchev insisted that it be translated in full and played unedited. To make sure that it got out of the Soviet Union, Ampex president Philip Gundy rushed back to his hotel with the tape, wrapped it in a dirty shirt and booked the first flight home.

By the time it was broadcast the following day, American newspapers had reported the event as an exchange acrimonious enough to start World War III. What viewers actually saw, though, was the two leaders in earnest and sometimes animated discussion, but by no means ready to launch missiles. The tape has been hailed as a milestone in communication as well as an historical document in its own right. The link above is to one of the few versions with captions. Enjoy! -Bobby Ellerbee

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