"I have made one of the most important decisions of my life. I have done it with the hope that the leaders of our countries will start peace talks as their predecessors did," Massie said. "I have pondered for a long time and made the decision to gift my archive to the people whom I love so much - the Russian people, in these challenging times."
Massie shared with Sputnik that she has signed an agreement with Russia's Presidential Library on handing over her archive to the institution.
"A secret about the relations between the USSR and the USA is carefully stored in my personal archives, which I have collected in 100 boxes and kept classified all these years," she said. "Now, following the deaths of Reagan and Gorbachev, I am ready to reveal the whole truth to the world. The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library has earned my highest respect by agreeing to accept it. I have signed a donation agreement for my archive with the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library in St. Petersburg, the city where I have worked for over 20 years and consider it the city of my heart."
Massie revealed that in the near future, the archive will be transported from the US to Russia. It will be scanned and made available to the public, allowing anyone interested to access it by obtaining a reader's ticket from the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library.
Massie's archive includes Reagan's personal letters, her correspondence with US President Bill Clinton, Vice President Albert Gore and other political and other personalities, including writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn and choreographer George Balanchine. The author's research papers and original manuscripts of her books on the history and culture of Russia are also included in the archive.
Before signing the agreement on the transfer of the archive, Massie met with US Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy, during which she notified the American side of her decision.
In the near future, Massie, together with a group of Russian specialists involved in the transfer of the archive, will go to the United States. An agreement with the American side on obtaining visas has been reached.
The transfer of the archive is supported by the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Washington.
Massie pointed out that she devoted her whole life to studying the history and culture of Russia.
She shared that during her very first visit to Russia and communication with its people, she was immediately fascinated by the soul of the Russian people.
"I have written six books about my vision of Russia, they are used in the best US universities to study and understand the peculiarities of the Russian people," she said. "I became an adviser to the 40th US President, Ronald Reagan, and thanks to my books, which he loved to read and after that he never called Russia the 'Evil Empire' again."
Massie went on to say that she was personally sent by Reagan on an important assignment to the USSR "behind the scene" to convince the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev to accept Reagan's invitation to go to Washington to negotiate the end of the Cold War.
Massie underscored that she deeply respects current Russian President Vladimir Putin and has had "the fortunate opportunity to personally meet him."
"I would very much like to meet him again, shake his hand, and personally express my gratitude," she said.
Massie acted as an unofficial adviser to President Reagan as a backchannel to the Soviet Union from 1984-1988. During her service, Massie shared with Reagan her extensive knowledge of Russian culture and people, helped him prepare for the meetings with Gorbachev and contributed to ending of the Cold War between the two countries. She famously taught Reagan the Russian proverb, "trust but verify," which he repeatedly used during missile treaty talks.
Massie is fluent in Russian and has written numerous books on Russia's history and culture.