ABSTRACT
From the Geneva Foreign Ministers meeting of 1955 to the Geneva summit meeting of 1985, via Helsinki and Madrid, is a circular route that will help to assess the results of twenty-eight years of Soviet-American cultural exchanges. The Helsinki and Madrid agreements and the results of some thirty years of Soviet exchanges with the West should be seen as steps in the Europeanization of Russia, an historical process which began in the fifteenth century after Moscow asserted its independence from the Mongols. The major issues at the conference were military security and human rights, but also addressed were culture, education, science and technology, in the belief that exchanges and cooperation in these fields also contribute to security and cooperation. The Soviet Union has its own reasons for signing the Helsinki Accords. These include projecting a peaceful image, promoting trade and technological cooperation with the West, setting the stage for further arms reduction talks and ultimately replacing US influence in Europe.
