The Foreign Service Journal, May 2023

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2023 27 Information Agency (USIA), the American private sector, and the intrepid guides who brought the exhibits to life. The experience of being a guide, and being connected to the exhibits, was life-changing for all those who participated. In addition to becoming more fluent in Russian, they also came to understand the Soviet Union in a way few others could in those years. And like A-100 orientation classes who enter the Foreign Service together, many of the exhibit guide cohorts from different exhibits remained in touch, some for decades and until today. We want to thank all the former guides who shared their reflections with us: John Beyrle, Rose Gottemoeller, John Herbst, Mike Hurley, Laura Kennedy, Allan Mustard, Jane Picker, Tom Robertson, and Kathleen Rose. And special thanks to Ambas- sador John Beyrle for assisting with reaching out to this outstanding group and sharing his collection of exhibit pins. In the following, the nine former exhibit guides men- tioned above reflect on their experiences and the signifi- cance of the program. Seven of the nine went on to careers in the Foreign Service, and six became ambassadors. The pieces appear in chronological order according to the exhibit dates. Each guide wrote in response to a set of prompts from the Journal : • When were you an exhibit guide, and for which exhibit? • What were your ingoing instructions? Was there a basic script for your engagements? • How much of a priority was countering disinformation? • How did audiences react? What kinds of questions did they ask? • How did you establish credibility/rapport with your audiences? • Please describe what was most memorable and striking about your experience. Each exhibit had a small pin ( znachok ) that was given out as a souvenir with the exhibit brochure as attendees left the exhibit. Pictured here are the small pins (1” diameter), along the outer ring. Each exhibit also had a big pin ( bolshoi znachok , or “BZ”) worn by each guide as a badge. The two BZs in the middle are from the 1959 American National Exhibition in Moscow and 1989-1991 Design USA. These were sought after as prize souvenirs. Soviets had a long tradition of trading pins ( znachki ). For a full exhibit chronology and interviews with former guides, see the 2009 collection put together by the State Department Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs for the 50th anniver- sary of the start of the program, archived at https://bit.ly/ Exhibits-50th. Also see the excellent Fall 2016 Wilson Quarterly articles by Izabella Tabarovsky, including photos and interviews with guides from the Photography USA exhibit in Novosibirsk, found at https://bit.ly/WilsonExhibitsCollection. COURTESYOFJOHNBEYRLE • What were the expected/anticipated outcomes of this engagement? Any unexpected or unanticipated outcomes? • What were your primary difficulties as a guide, and how did you overcome them? • What insights and lessons can we take from the exhibits experience to address today’s influence challenges? —Shawn Dorman, Editor in Chief