The Serpent And The Bee

The Serpent And The Bee
A Cold War Chronicle
By Edward Alexander
University Press of America Inc. 272 pp. $21.95
ISBN 0-8191-7820-9


THE SERPENT AND THE BEE, a Cold War Chronicle by Edward Alexander, 271 pages. Published by University Press of America Inc., 4720 Boston Way, Lanham, MD 20706. Only available in hardcover, price $21.95, ISBN 0-8191-7820-9.

The Cold War that shrouded the industrial world soon after the end of the Second World War had profound effects on the lives many people, especially those in Europe. A well-known example of this occurred in Germany. Germany was effectively split up by an iron curtain, which was not removed until recently. What may be less apparent, particularly to non-Armenians, is that Armenians also found themselves on both sides of an equally impregnable curtain. On one side were the Armenians of SSR Armenia, and on the other, the diasporan Armenians. Edward Alexander's book is essentially about himself; a diasporan Armenian in the employ of the US cold war apparatus, interacting with Armenian counterparts from the opposition camp, or, the Soviet Cold War apparatus.

The chronicle commences in 1959, in West Berlin, a city that has always been a center of gravity for the dark world of espionage, counterespionage, disinformation, propaganda, double agents and basic treachery. The author, a natural linguist, was well suited to his assignment as head of the Cultural department of the US Information agency's (USIA) radio broadcasting division in Germany. His broadcasts were beamed to a voracious audience of East Germans. They were fed on a steady diet of commentaries, laden with both political views and information, which in the language of the Cold War may be termed as propaganda.

Predictably, the Soviet Union regarded USIA's broadcasts as the voice of the enemy. Which is why, shortly after being stationed in Berlin, the author was introduced to the first of many Soviet Armenian agents. The agents' objective was to play on the author's ethnic emotions in order to recruit him to work for the Soviet camp. Although the author resisted submission, he did allow himself the opportunity to socialize with a number of Soviet Armenian agents for apparently a variety of reasons. The most obvious reason was professional. By allowing the Soviets to question him, they revealed their paranoic preoccupations concerning Cold War issues. This information proved more valuable to the US than did any bits of communication he may have had to reveal in exchange. One must recall that above anything else, the Cold War was about obtaining the most classified information at virtually any cost. Students of 20th century History will appreciate references to famous double agents, the Vietnam War, revelations about operational matters in the US camp, the assassination of the Athens based CIA agent Richard Welch and Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in 1974. He also had contacts with the Soviet specialist on Cyprus, Reuben Martikyan, who reminisced with the author about such people as Archbishop Makarios and Dr Ashjian, the Archbishop's private dentist and one time parliamentarian. Last but not least, there are meaningful reference to Azerbaijan, Nakhichevan, Kars and Ardahan, as well as the attempts by the Ottoman Turks to wipe out Armenians as a nation.

A second reason why Alexander consents to fraternize with Armenian agents from the Soviet camp appears to be that of a personal nature. He seems to be genuinely fascinated by his contacts with such Armenians of a totally different background and culture than himself. The experience became an instrument of self discovery!

The book is divided into a number of geographical sections: West Berlin 1959-1964, Budapest 1965-69, Yerevan 1967, Washington-Moscow 1969-72, Athens 1972-76 and East Berlin 1976-79. For me, the most thrilling episodes were Yerevan, Athens and East Germany. In Berlin the author met with Aram Khatchadourian. In Yerevan the author rubbed shoulders with the country's non-conformist Armenian intellectual community, which included names like Shahen Khatchadourian, Sergei Parajanov and Mardiros Saryan. A casual meeting at a sidewalk cafe allowed him a conversation with Gostan Zarian, a one time thorn in the side of the Soviet Armenian regime. There are also some humorous and sarcastic references to the flunkies of the regime, such as to Anastas Mikoyan, known among the shadow elite as Mookoyan (in Armenian Mook means mouse), on account of his cowardly silence to Stalinist oppression in Armenia.

Despite the nature of the book, there is not a hint of any chauvinism or ideological supremacy. The honesty and attention to detail make this a chronicle that can not be categorized along conventional lines. It is a thriller, a historical diary and a study of human behavior. This book touches on every aspect of human life and endeavour. Like a good wine, it has to be sampled in order to be appreciated.

Reviewed by Stephan Zeytountsian

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