Letter-writing and the State

L’État et ses correspondants : le courrier des lecteurs, source pour l’étude des premières années du régime bolchevik. – Le présent article identifie l’emplacement des principaux fonds d’archives centrales contenant la correspondance adressée aux premiers journaux soviétiques (1924-1933), décrit cette correspondance et analyse son utilisation possible en tant que source historique. L’auteur soutient que le pouvoir modelait la pratique des lettres adressées à la presse et aux autres institutions publiques de l’URSS pour arriver à ses fins, notamment pour collecter des renseignements sur l’état d’esprit de la population, surveiller les rangs inférieurs de la bureaucratie et faciliter la distribution de biens et de privilèges. Cette correspondance, qui s’exerçait sous le contrôle de l’État, constitue une excellente source de renseignements sur les rapports entre l’État soviétique et ses sujets. Par contre, elle ne jette aucune lumière sur les opinions personnelles et les croyances des citoyens soviétiques.This article locates major central archives of reader letters to early Soviet newspapers (1924-1933), describes the practice of letter-writing to state authorities, and analyses the potential uses of letters to the press as historical sources. The author argues that the practice of writing letters to newspapers and other public institutions in the U.S.S.R. was shaped by state authorities for their own purposes, including gathering intelligence on popular moods, monitoring lower levels of the bureaucracy, and facilitating the distribution of goods and privileges. Because the practice of letter-writing to authority occurred within a framework of state control, letters to the newspaper are excellent sources on the interaction between the Soviet state and its subjects. They do not, however, provide a clear window on the private opinions and beliefs of Soviet subjects

Letter-writing and the State [Reader correspondence with newspapers as a source for early Soviet history]

Matthew E. Lenoe. Letter-writing and the state: Reader correspondence with newspapers as a source for early Soviet history. This article locates major central archives of reader letters to early Soviet newspapers ( 1924-1933), describes the practice of letter-writing to state authorities, and analyses the potential uses of letters to the press as historical sources. The author argues that the practice of writing letters to newspapers and other public institutions in the U.S.S.R. was shaped by state authorities for their own purposes, including gathering intelligence on popular moods, monitoring lower levels of the bureaucracy, and facilitating the distribution of goods and privileges. Because the practice of letter-writing to authority occurred within a framework of state control, letters to the newspaper are excellent sources on the interaction between the Soviet state and its subjects. They do not, however, provide a clear window on the private opinions and beliefs of Soviet subjects.Matthew E. Lenoe. L 'État et ses correspondants : le courrier des lecteurs, source pour l'étude des premières années du régime bolchevik. Le présent article identifie l'emplacement des principaux fonds d'archives centrales contenant la correspondance adressée aux premiers journaux soviétiques (1924- 1933), décrit cette correspondance et analyse son utilisation possible en tant que source historique. L'auteur soutient que le pouvoir modelait la pratique des lettres adressées à la presse et aux autres institutions publiques de l'URSS pour arriver à ses fins, notamment pour collecter des renseignements sur l'état d'esprit de la population, surveiller les rangs inférieurs de la bureaucratie et faciliter la distribution de biens et de privilèges. Cette correspondance, qui s'exerçait sous le contrôle de l'État, constitue une excellente source de renseignements sur les rapports entre l'État soviétique et ses sujets. Par contre, elle ne jette aucune lumière sur les opinions personnelles et les croyances des citoyens soviétiques.Lenoe Matthew E. Letter-writing and the State [Reader correspondence with newspapers as a source for early Soviet history]. In: Cahiers du monde russe : Russie, Empire russe, Union soviétique, États indépendants, vol. 40, n°1-2, Janvier-juin 1999. Archives et nouvelles sources de l'histoire soviétique, une réévaluation Assessing the new Soviet archival sources. pp. 139-169

Billy Graham, American evangelicalism, and the Cold War clash of messianic visions, 1945-1962

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester. Dept. of History, 2012.This study examines the Cold War ideology of Billy Graham and other prominent representatives of the National Association of Evangelicals and their attempt to implement their messianic vision within the United States and promote it abroad from 1945 through 1962. While it focuses on the evangelical Protestant notions at the core of Cold War American messianism--the notion that the American way of life was ideal and that Communism posed a grave threat to it, the study also considers the nature and strength of Soviet messianism. In July 1945, evangelicals declared ideological cold war against world communism and began planning a spiritual invasion of Europe to restore Christianity and stop communism there. Billy Graham was among the young ministers sent to Europe, and he built upon his experience there to emerge as a major spokesman of American messianism. The popularity of Graham's anticommunism, a regular feature in his sermons, helped propel him to national fame. By 1950 his message was reaching much of the nation in a weekly radio broadcast, and by 1952 he was serving as a spiritual advisor to presidential candidate Dwight Eisenhower. As president, Eisenhower worked with Graham to orchestrate Cold War civil religion, which drew much of its animus from Soviet Communism. Graham was an important national leader in the ideological war against communism. His desire to create a big tent of American Christianity led to ideological moderation during the late 1950s, but he continued to preach his messianic vision for the United States. Meanwhile, Soviet messianism underwent major changes during the early Cold War that, because of their own ideological assumptions, most Americans missed. Billy Graham drew from American mythology to construct a compelling messianic vision for the future of mankind that met the hopes and fears of Americans in such balance that it became something of an official Cold War ideology throughout the 1950s. However inaccurate American conceptions of Soviet messianism were, Graham's imagery resonated with the public and its policymakers, and helped keep America's messianic vision for the future of mankind robust into the early 1960s, even as Soviet messianism flagged

Archives et nouvelles sources de l’histoire soviétique, une réévaluation

Nous présentons ici une partie des textes du colloque qui a eu lieu à l'Université de Yale aux États-Unis en mai 1997. Notre idée était de débattre à la fois des richesses offertes par les fonds d'archives soviétiques nouvellement accessibles et des problèmes que soulève leur utilisation. Le lecteur jugera si nous avons réussi à réduire les risques que comporte l'utilisation d'une documentation particulièrement délicate mais néanmoins incontournable. Dans cette intention, et celle de discuter..