Georgiy Zarubin

Georgiy Zarubin entered diplomacy after a career in industrial education and administration. He trained in accounting, served in the Red Army, and completed textile studies at the Industrial Academy in 1931, becoming its principal. He later supervised educational institutions in light industry and worked on the Soviet contribution to the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Foreign Ministry appointments followed in 1940, then ambassadorships in Canada, Britain, and, from 1952, the United States. ¹

Negotiations with William S. B. Lacy opened on 28 October 1957. The two sides had different priorities: Soviet representatives sought an air agreement, while American officials placed particular emphasis on exchanges of radio and television programs. By December, they were discussing about fifty proposed exchanges, with agreement on about half. ²

Zarubin and Lacy signed the resulting agreement on 27 January 1958. It covered cultural, scientific, technical, and educational exchanges and became known by their names. Its detailed provisions specified participants, duration, and arrangements for visits. Zarubin signed after his promotion to deputy foreign minister earlier that month, as Mikhail Menshikov prepared to succeed him in Washington. He died later in 1958. ^{1, 2}