ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the way in which George F. Kennan perceived and perceives the Soviet Union. It deals with the question whether Kennan explicitly reflects on the perception process he is involved in. There was no military threat to be feared, Kennan told his Government in his famous long telegram from Moscow in February 1946. Since the 1950s Kennan has put forward his view incessantly. A threat perception which emphasizes the danger of war was not based on a careful analysis of Soviet reality but on other factors. He described the Soviet Union as a revolutionary power not to be dealt with by Western standards. In the immediate post-war years Kennan did not take into account the possibility that Stalin might have felt insecure because of the American claim of leadership and superiority. Obviously Kennan ruled out any pragmatic elements in Soviet politics.
