Neill S. Brown's mission to Russia, 1850-53

Neill S. Brown, who served as US minister to Russia from 1850 to 1853, had little formal education, no prior experience in diplomacy, and spoke only the English language. His support for a winning candidate for the presidency constituted his sole qualification for a diplomatic post. The question addressed in this article is how such an individual could author reports on Russian governance and society that qualify as minor classics in the literature of Russian-American relations. Although the focus is on the 1850s, the analysis reaches across space and time to draw comparisons and contrasts between Brown and George Kennan, America's premier twentieth century interpreter of Russia. Despite significant differences between the two diplomats and between the Russia of Nicholas I and the Soviet Union of Josef Stalin, the suggestive parallels are helpful in understanding the statecraft of Neill Brown.