THE CULTURAL COMPONENT OF DIPLOMATIC RECEPTIONS IN THE USSR (1941–1945)

Oksana Zakharova

doi:10.23856/4223

Abstract

An important component of the foreign policy activity of state, public and political figures is participation in official government receptions that have informative and communicative functions. The repertoire policy of concert programs of diplomatic receptions built in such a way not only to inform about state priorities in the field of culture, but also to create a special socio-cultural environment conducive to constructive communication. The researcher analyzed the content of concert programs of government receptions, which organized during the visits to the Soviet Union by W. Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, I.B. Tito. The researcher describes a festive reception at the Reception House of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs on Spiridonovka in Moscow on November 7, 1943, which organized in honor of the anniversary of the October Revolution, with the participation of the diplomatic corps, political and military elite, literary and art workers. Studying the Soviet diplomatic protocol during this period expands our knowledge not only in the field of the history of diplomatic relations, but also allows us to judge the peculiarities of the development of Soviet culture, its dependence on the tastes of the leaders and party ideology. The materials of the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation (Fund 057 – “Protocol Department”) used as sources.

Highlights

The novelty of the research lies in an integrated approach to the study programs of diplomatic receptions during the war period
The relevance of the study is determined both by the insufficient study of the Soviet diplomatic protocol during this period, and by the fact that knowledge of the laws of the functioning of the latter expands our knowledge of international relations, and of the peculiarities of the development of Soviet culture, its dependence on the tastes of leaders and party ideology
The repertoire policy of concert programs of diplomatic receptions was built in such a way to inform about state priorities in the field of culture, and to create a special, according to the organizers, socio-cultural environment, that promoted constructive communication

Summary

Introduction

The novelty of the research lies in an integrated approach to the study programs of diplomatic receptions during the war period. In the early morning on November 7, a military parade took place on Red Square. Participants of it went to the front. As for the program of celebrations dedicated to the 26th October anniversary, in November 1943, Stalin made a report at a ceremonial meeting of the Moscow Council of Working People’s Deputies. On November 7 at 20:30, Molotov gave a big reception for diplomatic representatives of foreign states. If the number of those invited to diplomatic receptions in the Kremlin ranged from 30 to 70 people (on October 1, 1941, 100 people were invited), over 500 people present at the festive banquet on November 7, 1943 (Nevezhin, 2019: 19). Difficulties in relations were caused by the problem of opening a second front in Europe by the allies

Government concerts during the war period

Conclusions