On April 27, 1994, at a memorial service in memory of the late Richard Nixon, then-President Bill Clinton acknowledged the former president’s “wise advice, especially on Russia,” referring to a letter Nixon had written to him a month earlier.

For nearly 30 years, the content of this document has been 7-page, single-spaced letter remained a secret. But President Nixon’s shocking revelations are now coming to light after the recent declassification of communications by the Clinton Presidential Library. wall street journal.

Richard Nixon did not live to see Putin succeed Yeltsin, but newly declassified correspondence with Bill Clinton shows he is not surprised by Russia today, writes Luke A. Nichterhttps://t.co/mP2A1vFAL7

— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) July 21, 2023

The details reveal Nixon’s startling foresight for a more aggressive Russia, the rise of figures like Vladimir Putin, and deteriorating relations between Moscow and Kiev, the paper said.

Nixon, who became the first sitting president to visit Moscow in 1972, remained a senior politician with a keen interest in the developments of the post-Cold War era. The former president continued to maintain ties with world leaders even after he left office, according to the WSJ. (Related: How Richard Nixon Changed the Presidency)

In the letter, Nixon warned that Boris Yeltsin’s short-lived democratic experiment was “rapidly deteriorating” and that his “days of unquestioned leadership of Russia are over.” In addition, Yeltsin’s “drunkenness,” frequent depression, and inability to “keep his promises” in an anti-American environment deeply concerned Nixon, the letter said.

Nixon went on to warn that the situation in Ukraine was “very volatile” and predicted that relations between Moscow and Kiev would deteriorate in the near future. Concerned that US diplomats were not taking themselves seriously enough, the former president urged Clinton to “immediately strengthen our diplomatic representation in Kiev” and prepare for Yeltsin’s potential successor, according to the book.

It was difficult for Nixon to identify a suitable successor in Russia, as there was no one to match Yeltsin’s qualities at the time. Nevertheless, as detailed in his letter, the former president emphasized that “Russians are serious people.”

The WSJ noted that President Nixon hinted that inaction by the US could lead to a more nationalistic and uncompromising leadership.

According to the WSJ, despite not seeing Putin’s Yeltsin successor, the declassified letter shows President Nixon’s great foresight and shows that the current state of Russia certainly did not surprise the former president.