Trust, but verify Trust, but verify Trust, but verify (; "Doveryat, no proverit") is a Russian proverb. The phrase became well known in English when used by President Ronald Reagan on multiple occasions in the context of nuclear disarmament. Suzanne Massie, an American writer, met with President Ronald Reagan many times between 1984 and 1987. She taught him the Russian proverb "Doveryai, no proveryai" (; "Trust, but verify"), advising him that "The Russians like to talk in proverbs. It would be nice of you to know a few. You are an actor – you can learn them very quickly." The proverb was adopted
Iceland in the Cold War as a country where communists were capable of inflicting moderate damage, but not as a country where communists were capable of violently overthrowing the government. The US and USSR competed for influence in Iceland, in particular during the late 1940s and 1950s. Iceland traded considerably with the USSR for the first few decades of the Cold War. The US provided Iceland with extensive economic and diplomatic backing throughout the Cold War. During the Proto-Cod War of 1952-1956, the USSR and the US unburdened Iceland of much of the fish left unsold by the British landing ban during the dispute. A