Soviet Delegation Research Articles

Diplomatic Efforts of the Soviet Union in Seeking a Path to Conflict Resolution and Organizing the Geneva Conference (1954) – An Approach Through the Notes of the Soviet Delegation

The 1954 Geneva Conference was one of the most notable international conferences during the Cold War, addressing the end of war and restoration of peace in three Indochina countries and the Korean Peninsula. Major powers, including the United Kingdom, France, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, represented the two blocs of socialism and capitalism, and played significant roles in this conference. The Soviet Union, as a major power and representative of the Warsaw Pact, was pivotal in balancing the power between the two international superpowers at the time (the Soviet Union and the United States). This paper presents the Soviet Union's diplomatic efforts in seeking ways to resolve conflicts in Indochina and the Korean Peninsula. From the notes of Soviet diplomats, both secret and public meetings of foreign ministers and embassies reflect the challenging path to holding the conference according to the principles of an international peace conference. The Soviet Union, in its role, consistently acted as a conference designer, crafting a front for a known "battle" full of challenges.

“Our Attention to Iran, as a Neighboring Country, Should Certainly be Sharply Increased”: the Documents on the Visit of the Delegation of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to Iran, January 1968

What follows here below is the publication of documents from the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the visit of the delegation of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to Iran, which took place from 15–25 January 1968. This delegation was headed by Dinmukhamed Kunaev. These archival materials are important in the context of studying Soviet-Iranian economic and political relations in the 1960s and 1970s, when interaction between the two countries became more intensive. The paper demonstrates that the visit of the Soviet delegation was not just a protocol event, but an important milestone in building specific areas of co-operation, primarily the construction of a metallurgical plant in Isfahan. The documents introduced into the academic circuit for the first time, above all, testify to the deep interest of the Soviet side in the “white revolution” in Iran. At the same time, they do not record the contradictions of the ongoing reforms and the presence in the country of significant opposition to the Shah, especially on the part of the Islamic clergy. The archival documents clearly demonstrate certain difficulties in the development of bilateral relations. The appendices to the report of Dinmukhamed Kunaev contain rather sharp criticism of Soviet practices of cooperation with Tehran. Moreover, the edge of this criticism is directed at the all-powerful sectoral ministries and organizations, at the slowness of the Soviet planned economy. In the reporting documents of 1968, Soviet-Iranian cooperation in certain areas was essentially called a failure. Moreover, this applies to such an important area as oil exploration, production, and refining.

Убийство В.В. Воровского и процесс Конради–Полунина 1923 года в восприятии российской социалистической эмиграции

The article dwells on the assassination of V.V. Vorovsky, head of the Soviet delegation at the international conference in Lausanne, on May 10, 1923 and on the trial of M. Conradi and A.P. Polunin as viewed by Russian socialist émigrés, i.e. members of the Socialist Revolutionary Party and social democrats (Mensheviks). This paper aimed to study the attitude of the socialist community of Russian émigrés towards individual political terror during the 1920s. The methodology is based on the principles of intellectual history, which allow us to shed some light on the perception of the 1923 Lausanne trial by analysing the confrontation and ideological struggle of certain political figures and civic groups for attention. The paper provides a brief description of the main works of Russian and foreign historians who studied the assassination of Vorovsky and the trial of his murderers. The context of the trial, the reaction of different émigré camps and the organization of Conradi and Polunin’s defence are analysed. The official response of the Foreign Delegation of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, reflected in the Revolutionary Russia journal, is noted. Particular attention is given to the unpublished article “Both Are Worse” (1923) by leader of the Russian Socialist-Revolutionary Party V.M. Chernov on the results of the trial in Lausanne. Chernov’s argumentation and his views on the fundamental differences between the pre-revolutionary Socialist Revolutionary terror and the assassination of Vorovsky are analysed. Chernov points out that Socialist Revolutionary and Narodnaya Volya’s terror stayed within a strict moral and ethical framework that forbade political assassinations on the territory of free democratic countries. Socialist Revolutionary terrorists had never followed the path of least resistance, proclaiming the idea of selfsacrifice. Chernov emphasizes that only those not involved in the White Terror can hold others accountable for the Red Terror. The paper considers the response of Russian social democrats abroad, in particular, leader of the émigré Mensheviks F.I. Dan’s article dedicated to the Lausanne trial. His thesis about the exclusive right of socialist parties to fight the Bolshevik dictatorship, without involving the White movement, is emphasized. A conclusion is drawn that Russian socialists abroad held a fundamentally unified position on resisting political terror.

Newly Found Documents of Rizaetdin bin Fakhretdin abоut the First World Muslim Congress in Mecca (1926)

The article provides external and internal criticism of the documents of Mufti Rizaetdin bin Fakhretdin deposited in the National Archives of the Republic of Bashkortostan about the WMC in Mecca in 1926, which introduce new understanding of the formation of the foreign policy of the young Soviet republic in the East, the reasons for the participation of the spiritual leaders of the Russian ummah, the conditions for the functioning of Islam and its institutions in the USSR. For the first time, the published report of the head of the Soviet delegation on a significant forum acquaints the reader with the background of its convocation, characterizes the decisions made at it, reveals the positions of the envoys of the USSR regarding the initiatives of the future founder of the state of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Sa‘ud, to strengthen the Muslim unity.

Реакция США на советско-западногерманские переговоры в рамках подготовки и подписания Московского договора 1970 г.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the reaction of the US government to the negotiations between the USSR and the FRG within the framework of the Moscow Treaty of 1970. The article pays particular attention to the assessments and opinions of the US administration on this issue, as well as analyzes the direct interaction between the two countries in the context of the discussion of the Moscow Treaty and the "new Eastern policy" of the FRG. For several years, the FRG has been able to develop and coordinate a new foreign policy strategy that takes into account the interests and correlates with all the main actors in the system of international relations. To achieve this goal, the author conducted an analysis of various sources, including memoranda, telegrams, correspondence and records of negotiations published in the collection "Foreign Relations of the United States," especially in the volume devoted to policy towards the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition, the author studied the memoirs of Richard Nixon's national security adviser Henry Kissinger and the memoirs of the Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Willy Brandt. In Russian historiography, the negotiations between the FRG and the USSR, as well as the signing of the Moscow Treaty, were studied mainly in the context of the Soviet delegation's strategy and the goals of the FRG. However, the author has approached this topic from the other side, taking into account the American view on these events. Analysis of the documents shows that Bonn demonstrated the ability to make independent decisions in the field of foreign policy, which raised doubts about the extent of the US influence on Western Europe. However, the negotiating process between the Soviet Union and West German diplomats aroused distrust among Washington's representatives, which indicates the difficulty of establishing trusting relations between the countries. The author's conclusion is that the negotiations within the framework of the Moscow Treaty of 1970 between the FRG and the USSR played an important role in the development of international relations during the policy of détente. The signed agreement contributed to the improvement of relations between the two states and the reduction of tension on the European continent. The FRG needed to constantly consult with its main ally, the United States of America. However, such actions aroused distrust among the representatives of the United States, which indicates the complexity that has arisen in American-West German relations. Studying the specifics of the American reaction is important for understanding the strategy and priorities of the US government, as well as the various factors that influenced the decision-making process of the White House administration.

Представительство СССР на XVI Венецианской Биеннале 1928 г.: к истории советско-итальянских культурных связей

The article analyzes the participation of the Soviet delegation in the XVI International Art Exhibition in Venice in 1928. The successful presentation of Soviet art at the XIV Biennale in 1924 noticeably strengthened the USSR’s position in the development of cultural ties with Italy and contributed to the formation of an attractive image of the Soviet man among ordinary Italians. In 1926, the difficult economic situation did not allow the Soviet dele-gation to participate, but two years later, as part of the XVI Biennale in the Russian Pavilion in Venice, the public could once again see the work of Soviet masters. With the success of the 1928 Biennale, Soviet art’s position as a relay of the new state idea was consolidated and a massive response was generated. The official Italian press, despite many negative reviews, noted the timeliness and fullness of Soviet culture, and the system of state order made the strongest impression. The article is based on a large number of documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian Archive of Literature and Art, periodicals and memoirs of the events’ participants.

Ivan Potekhin and the First International Congress of Africanists in 1962

The article is devoted to the role of I. I. Potekhin (1903—1964), a Soviet scientist, one of the founders of the Soviet African Studies, in the organization of the First International Congress of Africanists, held in Ghana on December 11—18, 1962. On the basis of archival documents, the painful process of preparation headed by I. I. Potekhin the Soviet delegation to participate in the congress. This example clearly demonstrates the sluggishness of the Soviet bureaucracy, which was unable to respond to the challenges of the time, to capture really relevant, and not imaginary, social, political and scientific trends. As a result, the Soviet delegation turned out to be very modest in number, contrary to initial expectations. The opportunity to go to Africa was not given to those who needed it. Nevertheless, for Soviet scientists who nevertheless went to Ghana, participation in the congress turned out to be successful and useful. The article showed that, despite the commitment to dogmatic Soviet Marxism, I. I. Potekhin managed to build quite successful business relations with both Western and African colleagues, which undoubtedly had a positive effect on the process of organizing the First Congress of Africanists. Although the congress was not without sharp disputes and discussions, its work, on the whole, took place in a friendly atmosphere. Potekhin’s stubborn desire to develop African studies outside the Western world fit into the decolonization discourse and was clearly ahead of its time. It is concluded that the congress in Ghana has become an important milestone in the development and institutionalization of world African studies.

Social Studies of Science: Past and Present (Towards the 90th Anniversary of the Participation of the Soviet Delegation in the 2nd International Congress on the History of Science and Technology in London)

Social Studies of Science: Past and Present (Towards the 90th Anniversary of the Participation of the Soviet Delegation in the 2nd International Congress on the History of Science and Technology in London)

The Genoa Conference of 1922 Through the Eyes of Russian Anarchists

In the article the author examines the attitude of Russian anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists to the 1922 Genoa Conference and the participation of representatives of Soviet Russia in it. This subject has not received much coverage in the works of anarchism scholars, who have so far focused primarily on the study of the general stance of Russian anarchism towards the Soviet regime and the issue of the New Economic Policy, on the problem of anti-anarchist repressions in Russia and on the ideological and organisational processes in the Russian anarchist emigration. The author made it his task to identify the place that the critique of the “Genoa policy” of the Soviet government enjoyed in the ideological concepts and political work of the anarchists, and to trace the main line of their reasoning. The main source for this article was the original, mainly émigré, press of the Russian anarchists between 1922 and 1923. The author demonstrates that the Russian anarchists' view of the Genoa Conference was primarily determined by ideological motives and their general analysis of the course and fate of the Russian Revolution itself. Being anti-statists, the anarchists had no particular conception of foreign policy and were indifferent to so-called state interests. The “Genoa policy” was perceived by them as a manifestation and confirmation of the new Bolshevik course, in which they saw an orientation towards restoring the positions of private capital within Russia itself and towards subordination to world capital on an international scale. Planned or real concessions on the part of the Soviet delegation at the Conference and repression of Russian anarchists and socialists were, in their eyes, two sides of the “Bolshevik counter-revolution”. The criticism of Bolshevism mounted by the anarchist emigration in connection with and after the Genoa Conference contributed to the demarcation in the international trade union revolutionary-syndicalist movement and the founding of the anarcho-syndicalist International.

INFERNO OF YALTA: ДЕМОНИЗАЦИЯ ТОПОСА КРЫМСКОЙ (ЯЛТИНСКОЙ) КОНФЕРЕНЦИИ 1945 ГОДА В АНГЛО-САКСОНСКОМ ИСТОРИЧЕСКОМ ОПЫТЕ

the article discusses the technology that leads to the formation of anecrismitic pragmatic aesthetic experience. The formation of the historiography of the Anglo-Saxon horizon of vision of the events of the Yalta Conference in February 1945 is taken as an empirical material. The theory is based onthe thesis about the ontological difference in the perception of the “Yalta world” in the Soviet-Russian aesthetic experience and its Anglo-Saxon counterpart. At the same time, the procedures for harmonizing subjective experience and historical facts follow two mutually exclusive vectors: the demonization of “Yalta” in the West and the “angelization” of this event in the Soviet-Russian segment. The conclusion is made about the demonization of the Yalta topos in the Anglo-Saxon tradition through concepts related to Hades and death. Chronos is demonized by appealing to the gray timelessness of Soviet pseudo-culture. Separately, there is a line of types of a diverse demonic component inherent in the members of the Soviet delegation from and Stalin to the interpreter V. Pavlov. Recommendations are formulated to strengthen the domestic pragmatic aesthetic experience by forcing the creation of historical feature films and novels.

Six by five: Soviet and emigrant historians at the 7th International congress of historical sciences

The focus of the authors’ attention is the dialogue between emigrant historians and their Soviet colleagues during the International historical congress that was held in Warsaw in August 1933. It was the first congress that took place in a Slavic country. The main sources of research are the reports and accounts of the participants of the congress, presented in the form of publications in Soviet scientific magazines («Historian Marxist», «Class Struggle»), in emigrant periodicals («Russia and Svadom») and in European reviews («Revue historigue de droit francais et etranger»). The authors also use paperwork documents from the Foundation of the Institute of History of the Comacademy. The Soviet delegation consisted of six members, while there were five emigrant scientists, who were at the same time members of national delegations of other countries where they were living. The common interest of both sides, which appeared behind the congress venues, was recorded, the features of self-descriptions and presentations and self-presentation to the world scientific community were revealed. The constructed corporate portraits of each other were demonstrated. The conclusion was made that there was not a constructive dialogue between different sides. At the same time it was noted that there was not a provocative dialogue either, like one that occurred during the congress at Oslo. The reasons for this stagnation were identified. The authors of this article characterize prevailing atmosphere at the congress (let’s not quarrel) as «communicative plateau», that was connected with the increasingly complicated international situation of the early thirties.

An Uneliminated Enemy: the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1944 to 1949

The Armistice Agreement signed in September 1944 did not entail any serious changes in the political structure of Finland. However, the access of the banned Communist Party to public life in the country and the liquidation of a number of structures and organizations created the preconditions to develop the internal political situation in the country in a direction favorable to the Soviet Union. This was the reason for the fairly quiet attitude of the Soviet delegation to the Allied Control Commission in 1944—1945 towards the activities of the Social Democratic Party. This attitude was maintained in spite of the fact that this party was seen as the main political enemy, creating a split in the labour movement and preventing the strengthening of the positions of the Communists and the Democratic Union of the People of Finland. The retention of the dominant positions in the SDP leadership by V. Tanner’s supporters and nominees (U. Varjonen, V. Leskinen and others) came as a surprise to the Soviet side. All the more unexpected was the well-organized struggle of the new Party leadership against the Communists. The success accompanying this anti-communist campaign was largely due to the attitude of President J. K. Paasikivi. The formation of a Social-Democratic government, headed by K. -A. Fagerholm, must indirectly have been an indication that the dangerous years had passed, as far as Finland’s political elite was concerned. Paasikivi and the Fagerholm government made it clear that in relations with the Soviet Union the Communists as intermediaries were an unnecessary link. For the Soviets, the Social Democratic Party was a key ideological opponent, and its participation in the Government was to be prevented or at least minimized. This task was not possible.

The First Soviet Delegation to the People's Republic of China (September-November 1949)

The First Soviet Delegation to the People's Republic of China (September-November 1949)

The First Soviet Delegation to the People’s Republic of China (September — November, 1949)

The article for the first time goes into details of the activities of the members of the first Soviet delegation of scientific, cultural and artistic figures who visited the People’s Republic of China from September, 27, to November, 3, 1949. The delegation headed by A.A. Fadeyev included prominent Soviet scholars, writers, Stalin Prize winners and a group of performers. The purpose of the visit was to demonstrate the Soviet Union’s friendship and support, to get acquainted with the situation in the sphere of the Chinese culture and to figure out possible areas of future bilateral cultural cooperation. The article shows the importance of using a source, such as written reports of Soviet and Chinese origin, to deepen historical research. The documents demonstrate extraordinary warm and enthusiastic atmosphere in which the Soviet delegation found itself, whether on the October, 1 on the Tiananmen Square, or the Congress for Peace, the founding conference of the China-Soviet Friendship Society (CSFS), numerous meetings with workers, peasants, intellectuals, students. The archival documents, analyzed by the author, provided an overview of the delegation’s program, the content of the speeches of the members of the delegation at mass meetings, thematic meetings and lectures for specialists. All the above has helped to find out items for cooperation with the new-born Chinese state and public organizations in the field of culture. The author comes to a conclusion that the productive discussions held in China resulted later in concrete proposals, which were passed by the delegation to the Communist Party Central Committee. Many of them were implemented in the process of the Soviet-Chinese cultural cooperation in the 1950s.

Boris Hessen’s Participation in the Second International Congress on the History of Science and Technology (1931)

From 29 June-3 July 1931, the Second International Congress of the History of Science and Technology took place at the Science Museum in London. It was marked by the participation of a large and representative delegation of scientists and philosophers from the Soviet Union, led by the well-known revolutionary Nicolai Bukharin. However, the contribution that stood out the most in this event was that presented by Boris Hessen, due to his instigating analysis and the set of propositions made, suggesting a reassessment of Newton’s Principia in the light of its context and its economic (industrial) motivations and social. After highlighting the list of works presented by the Soviet delegation, we will focus on Boris Hessen’s contribution, also looking at Book II of the Principia to try to relate some of the problems studied by Newton with their technological applications.

British Diplomacy at the 1922 Conference in Genoa

The paper highlights the diplomatic struggle between British and Soviet delegations at the international economic conference in Genoa which was held in the period from 10 April to 19 May 1922. As the author demonstrates, the participants of the prime post-war forum focused on the settlement of the so called “Russian question” relating to Soviet Russia’s acknowledgment of foreign debts in return to Moscow’s commitment to repay them, including pre-war financial obligations and loans made by the tsarist and Provisional governments throughout the global armed conflict. The study entirely reveals the inability to score a compromise on virtually all the problems, both political and economic that were raised by British diplomacy on the eve and during the Genoa conference.

“To think that a communist society will be within the borders of the Soviet Union is to understand nothing about communism”. An unpublished speech by N. S. Khrushchev in Hungary (April 1958)

In April 1958, a year and a half after the most powerful Hungarian uprising, which shook the very foundations of the communist power in this country, N. S. Khrushchev arrived in Hungary as the head of the Soviet delegation. During the ten day trip, the Soviet leader was shown the success of the normalization of the communist regime in the country. We are publishing a recording of Khrushchev’s speech at a reception on the occasion of the day of the liberation of Hungary from Nazi occupation. Since this particular speech was not originally intended to be reflected in the press, the Soviet leader, by his nature, in principle, prone to violation of the ritual, improvisation, deviations from the texts written in advance by speechwriters, could more freely address subjects, the coverage of which in the open press seemed inappropriate or premature. The published source is valuable for various reasons. It provides little-known from other sources details on the coordination between the USSR authorities and leaders of other socialist countries regarding actions about the situation in Hungary. It also reflects Khrushchev’s reaction to the independent policy of Tito’s Yugoslavia, especially to the preparation of the New Program of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, adopted at the 7th Congress of the latter, which took place at the same time, in April 1958, and was recognized in Moscow as revisionist.

Czechoslovakia in the spring of 1970 viewed by the Soviet writers’ delegation

The invasion of Czechoslovakia by the troops of the five Warsaw Pact countries on August 21, 1968 dealt a tremendous blow to Soviet-Czechoslovak cultural ties. Only a small minority of writers and masters of arts, supporting the policy of the so-called “normalization”, showed their readiness to continue to maintain official contacts with the Soviet side. The delegation of Soviet writers, which arrived in March, 1970, was officially received only in Slovakia. The authorities did not dare to hold any official events in Prague, where the boycott by the creative intelligentsia of everything that came from the Soviet side was dominating. The short trip of two Soviet writers to Prague to get acquainted with the situation in literary life was not advertised at all. Readers are provided with the report of the Soviet delegation to the Foreign Commission of the Union of Writers of the USSR on the results of their stay in Czechoslovakia.

Cooperation of the USSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Belarusian SSR in the UN during the Perestroika Period

The article examines the main directions of activity and forms of interaction between the USSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Belarusian SSR in the UN and its specialized institutions during the years of perestroika (1985 - 1991). To disclose the topic, materials from the journal “International Affair” were used (reviews of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the foreign policy of the USSR, articles by the foreign ministers of the Union republics, primarily Ukraine and Belarus), book and journal publications of Union / Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian scientists, documents of the United Nations and foreign policy of the USSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Belarusian SSR. The author’s conscious emphasis on the union level reflects the real situation in relations between the Union Center and the republics in the Soviet federation during the perestroika period, when these relations rapidly evolved from the foreign policy dictate of the Center to greater autonomy of the republics in the international arena, which ultimately has led to the collapse of the USSR and the proclamation of independence all union republics. The article analyzes such issues as the new approach of the Soviet Union to the UN in the years of perestroika, the formation of new relations between the Union republics and the Center, diplomatic cooperation of Soviet delegations and representatives of socialist countries in the UN, Belarusian initiatives at the 45th session of the UN General Assembly (1990). During the years of perestroika, the Soviet leadership and the union Foreign Ministry did a tremendous job of clearing the rubble of the Cold War, developing broad international cooperation and integration the USSR into the world economy. The Belarusian and Ukrainian diplomatic services have made a significant contribution to this activity within the framework of the UN and its specialized agencies and have received much broader opportunities for realizing the national interests and needs of their peoples within the framework of radically renewed relations between the Union Center and the republics. The article is one of the first attempts in post-Soviet historiography to investigate the activities of the USSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR in the UN and its specialized institutions during the period of perestroika

The 1931 London Congress: The Rise of British Marxism and the Interdependencies of Society, Nature and Technology

Abstract The Second International Conference of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, held in London in 1931, exerted a profound influence on the historiography of science, giving rise to a new research field in the anglophone world at the intersection of social and political studies and the history of science and technology. In particular, Boris Hessen’s presentation on the Social and Economic Roots of Newton’s Principia successfully ushered in a new tradition in the historiography of science. This article introduces and discusses the London conference as a benchmark in the history of the social study of science within a Marxist and materialist tradition. In contemporary science and technology studies, political epistemology, and the study of society-nature interaction, it is no less relevant today than it was at the beginning of the fabulous 1930s. In reconstructing some important theses presented by the Soviet delegation in London, we aim to revive the conference’s legacy and the approach promoted on that occasion as a pretext to address current debates about society’s major transition toward a new agency and ways of existence in the Earth system. In particular, the London conference invited us to think of the growing metabolic rift between society, technology, and nature, and further reflects a historical moment of profound environmental and political crisis.