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PETER STEPHEN REVEALS HOW FAR HE WENT IN 1970 TO GET YOU THE STORY
"The day I made the Kremlin back down brings back warm memories. I had gone there with French President Georges Pompidou who was on an official visit. The first day all British journalists were told they would be excluded from the daily briefings so I worked out a plan. I got hold of the head of the Pravda office in Paris, an old contact and senior member of the KGB (Soviet Secret Service) and told him 'in confidence' that as President of the Anglo-American Press Association I was going to instruct all members to boycott the visit and return home and how sorry I was to create an international scandal.

He naturally did what I expected and informed the Kremlin. Within minutes an agitated spokesman rushed to my hotel and explained that there had been a terrible mistake and we were most welcome. Two days after I threatened the emergency meeting, I found myself the only journalist allowed to join a small group in the Kremlin's impressive St George's Hall. I found myself next to Brezhnev and tried to interview him. I spoke no Russian. He spoke no English, French or Spanish - or pretended not to. I tried desperately to get someone to act as interpreter without any luck and after a few minutes the meeting broke off.
And that was the nearest I got to an exclusive interview with the head of the Soviet Union when, at the time, no-one in the West was quite sure who was running it." 		   

source : Mirrorpix
 
     
   
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