The Politics of Détente-Era Cultural Texts: 1969-1976

Abstract

During the détente years, U.S.-Soviet cultural relations were conducted against the background of the Soviet state's harsh treatment of nonconformist writers. Since the publication abroad of Doctor Zhivago and the awarding of the 1958 Noble Prize to Boris Pasternak, the fate of Soviet writers and their works provided a reliable means of monitoring the political atmosphere of this secretive state. There was a growing record of indefensible transgressions by the USSR, even if such information was not often acted upon at the highest levels of the American government.1 Texts regularly crossed borders without permission, and updates on actions taken by and against writers were sent to the West through the samizdat Chronicle of Current Events. Messages were relayed by foreign correspondents, diplomatic personnel, and sympathetic visitors, and Western-sponsored Russian-language stations beamed this information back to the USSR where it reached many listeners despite extensive jamming efforts, which cost the Soviet government up to $1 billion annually.2 While the New York Times and Washington Post enlightened American readers about courageous literary rebels, Radio Liberty and the Voice of America (along with the BBC and DW) facilitated communication within the USSR; such publicity is credited with offering some level of protection to incarcerated writers.