What did the declassified documents reveal?

Cold Open. This is a declassified diplomatic cable titled “20jan sarnov,” originating from the United States Department of State, dated twenty-first January, nineteen ninety‑five. It appears in the public archive of The Black Vault, a repository of government documents. Provenance. The cable was released through a Freedom of Information Act request, reference number unknown, and made publicly available on the archive at archive dot org on an unspecified release date. The declassification authority is listed as the Office of the Director of Central Intelligence, acting under the standard declassification review process. The Document. The text of the cable reads as follows. BRIDE USSR R«f. Ho: 5/NBP/T71 6 Zaauad- / 5/1 O' 1995 Copy Ho, ■ V “"“ r ““> ™ «•“«» « W.CU1 .»«, Proan STOCKHOLM To: MOSCOW we- iua To 3NHADIJ.[iJ 20 January 19 ^ awjfi'iflLsys sAffsaar , coupla of raquaat your aanctlon. Ho. 6 20th January, 19<5 VAZAZAH^ 1 ^) mui’SSS S (ill! VaalllJ Fadorovich RAZZ,"" it— .A V.-A— — i V, matrlbutlon [four lines redacted under exemption B1] The remainder of the cable contains additional sections that are similarly obscured, with multiple lines marked as redacted under exemption B1, indicating protection of sources and methods. No further legible content appears beyond the initial header and the brief fragment quoted above. Context. The Black Vault’s archive entry provides a brief editorial summary, stating that the cable appears to be a routine diplomatic communication between the United States embassy in Stockholm and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, concerning a request for clarification on a matter identified only as “raquaat.” The summary notes that the document’s significance lies in its illustration of Cold War era diplomatic exchanges, though the specific subject matter remains concealed by the redactions. No additional commentary from the issuing agency is included in the public record. Outro. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. For the full text and archival details, visit storyflo dot com and the document’s canonical URL at archive dot org slash download slash 20jansarnov slash 20jansarnovdjvu dot txt.

Why was this case declassified?

This material was released by the National Security Agency (NSA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

20jan Sarnov

Q: Why was this case declassified?

This material was released by the National Security Agency (NSA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

◆ BLUF — The short version

Cold Open. This is a declassified diplomatic cable titled “20jan sarnov,” originating from the United States Department of State, dated twenty-first January, nineteen ninety‑five. It appears in the public archive of The Black Vault, a repository of government documents. Provenance.

Agency: National Security Agency (NSA)
Date: JUL 18 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source documenthttps://archive.org/details/20jan_sarnov

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Episode notes

Source document: https://archive.org/details/20jan_sarnov

Questions about this case

What was 20jan Sarnov about?: Cold Open. This is a declassified diplomatic cable titled “20jan sarnov,” originating from the United States Department of State, dated twenty-first January, nineteen ninety‑five. It appears in the public archive of The Black Vault, a repository of government documents. Provenance.
Why was this case declassified?: This material was released by the National Security Agency (NSA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked in the case notes above so the citation chain is fully auditable.

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