Sukhodrev, English voice of Soviet leaders, passes away
Moscow, May 17: The legendary interpreter who served as the Englishlanguage voice of every Soviet leader from Nikita Khrushchev to Mikhail Gorbachev has died in Moscow aged 81. In a career spanning more than three decades, Viktor Sukhodrev was a fixture at Cold War- era summits and responsible for translating Khrushchev’s famed phrase “We will bury you” — a symbol superpower rivalry.
He died on Friday and was described in a foreign ministry statement
of as a “prominent diplomat and translator” and “direct participant in the most important events in Soviet- American relations”. He will be remembered, the ministry said, for “his depth, keen observations, humour and human warmth”.
Born on December 12, 1932, Sukhodrev learned his impeccable Britishaccented English as a boy in London, where his mother worked.