Hoover and the Two George Kennans: Part 1

By Thomas F. Schwartz

George F. Kennan is known for writing the 1946 “long telegram” as the U.S. chargè d’affaires in Moscow.  Kennan argued for the U.S. to oppose Soviet attempts to undermine democratic institutions and wait for positive internal changes within the Soviet Union. Much of the United States policy toward the Soviet Union prior to this telegram was one of compromise and conciliation. The switch to tough opposition or “containment” is often noted as contributing to the beginnings of the Cold War. Herbert Hoover had a brief correspondence with George F. Kennan which will be detailed in a later blog. Hoover’s first encounter was with the writings of George F. Kennan’s distant second cousin, George Kennan.

In 1912, Hoover was asked to investigate the development of mines on Siberian property owned by the Czar of Russia. In the first volume of his memoirs, Hoover recounted: “I had a nebulous memory of the mines in Siberia that had been worked with political prisoners, and I knew that a spasm of reform had stopped that. Something clicked in my mind and I sent for George Kennan’s book, Siberia and the Exile System, which in 1891 has been a world-sensation, exposing the mistreatment of political prisoners in the mines. Indeed, it was this book which had caused the spasm of reform. Having read the book again, we realized that these convict mines were probably valuable. We created a small syndicate, for preliminary exploration, and sent Amor Kuehn to inspect those and convict workings.”

Kennan’s two-volume study was prompted by his interest in exploring Siberia as well as examining the exile system. The editor of The Century Magazine approved of Kennan’s project and the Russian government was willing to provide access to the various Siberian prisons and mines using prison labor. Of particular interest to Hoover was the silver mines of Nerchinsk that Kennan described in depth.  Based on his reading of Kennan, Hoover was justified in believing “that these convict mines were probably valuable.”

Hoover’s hunch paid off. Various core samples revealed copious amounts of copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver. As Hoover stated: “Sufficient to say it developed probably the greatest and richest single body of ore known in the world.” Hoover’s involvement was largely as an engineering consultant, but he also worked to attract potential investors to the project. George H. Nash, Hoover’s foremost biographer, points out that his work to find investors gave Hoover an option to purchase “at par a sizable block of Irtysh shares” that could have been worth $15 million dollars. That reward was contingent upon the mines being fully developed, requiring peace and economic stability.

The summer of 1914 saw the last of both in Europe with the onset of World War. Hoover claimed; “I resigned all engineering connection when I took over the Belgian Relief. My interests in Irtysh and other properties had been foreclosed upon by the bondholder…And I had sold my minor personal holdings in all Russian enterprises before the Revolution.”  The 1917 Russian Revolution ended any prospect for the further development of these mines. 

Coming soon: Hoover and the Two George Kennans: Part 2