RUSSIA: The Return of the Hammer

The world could scarcely have been more startled if Moscow had proclaimed that caviar would henceforth be green. Three years after his exile to the Soviet embassy in Outer Mongolia, the Kremlin last week announced that former Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav M. ("The Hammer") Molotov was being brought back to represent Russia on the International Atomic Energy Agency in gay Vienna. With characteristic tact, the Russians chose to break the news on the 21st anniversary of the day Molotov signed the 1939 non-aggression treaty between Russia and Nazi Germany.

As usual, Moscow's...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!