scholarly journals A Case of “New Soviet Internationalism”: Relations between the USSR and Chile's Christian Democratic Government, 1964–1970

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-25
Author(s):  
Rafael Pedemonte
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
Global Approach ◽  
Democratic Government ◽  
Testing Ground ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
State Relations

After Iosif Stalin's death in 1953, the Soviet Union emerged from its isolation and began to show an interest in traditionally marginalized foreign societies. As the example of the Chilean-Soviet rapprochement under Eduardo Frei's administration (1964–1970) shows, Soviet leaders viewed state-to-state relations with “progressive” Latin American regimes as an appropriate means of undermining U.S. influence in the region without risking an armed confrontation with “imperialism.” The reformist project of the Chilean Christian Democratic government, which included a diplomatic opening to the Soviet bloc, provided a testing ground for the suitability of Moscow's new global approach. The surge of cultural and political exchanges indicate that the Soviet authorities were keenly interested in the Chilean experience. In addition, the considerable growth of travel and official missions beyond the Iron Curtain also demonstrates that Santiago wished to benefit by diversifying its international partners.

Revisiting the 1954 Coup in Guatemala: The Soviet Union, the United Nations, and “Hemispheric Solidarity”

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Denise Getchell
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Good Neighbor ◽  
The Cold War

This article reevaluates the U.S.-backed coup in 1954 that overthrew Guatemala's democratically elected president, Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán. The coup is generally portrayed as the opening shot of the Cold War in the Western Hemisphere and a watershed moment for U.S.–Latin American relations, when the United States supplanted its Good Neighbor Policy with a hardline anti-Communist approach. Despite the extensive literature on the coup, the Soviet Union's perspectives on the matter have received scant discussion. Using Soviet-bloc and United Nations (UN) archival sources, this article shows that Latin American Communists and Soviet sympathizers were hugely influential in shaping Moscow's perceptions of hemispheric relations. Although regional Communists petitioned the Soviet Union to provide support to Árbenz, officials in Moscow were unwilling to prop up what they considered a “bourgeois-democratic” revolution tottering under the weight of U.S. military pressure. Soviet leaders were, however, keen to use their position on the UN Security Council to challenge the authority of the Organization of American States and undermine U.S. conceptions of “hemispheric solidarity.” The coup, moreover, revealed the force of anti-U.S. nationalism in Latin America during a period in which Soviet foreign policy was in flux and the Cold War was becoming globalized.

US and the Cold War in Latin America

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Field Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The United States ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Cold War

The Cold War in Latin America had marked consequences for the region’s political and economic evolution. From the origins of US fears of Latin American Communism in the early 20th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, regional actors played central roles in the drama. Seeking to maximize economic benefit while maintaining independence with regard to foreign policy, Latin Americans employed an eclectic combination of liberal and anti-imperialist discourses, balancing frequent calls for anti-Communist hemispheric unity with periodic diplomatic entreaties to the Soviet bloc and the nonaligned Third World. Meanwhile, US Cold War policies toward the region ranged from progressive developmentalism to outright military invasions, and from psychological warfare to covert paramilitary action. Above all, the United States sought to shore up its allies and maintain the Western Hemisphere as a united front against extra-hemispheric ideologies and influence. The Cold War was a bloody, violent period for Latin America, but it was also one marked by heady idealism, courageous political action, and fresh narratives about Latin America’s role in the world, all of which continue to inform regional politics to this day.

Fighting Religious Persecution behind the Iron Curtain

2020 ◽  
pp. 95-123
Author(s):  
Lauren Frances Turek
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Reagan Administration ◽  
Bush Administration ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
Religious Persecution ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Network Building

This chapter examines evangelical interest groups on behalf of persecuted Soviet Pentecostals and Baptists during the Reagan administration. It shows how evangelicals combined human rights activism at home with focused network building in the Soviet bloc in order to support their suffering brethren and lay the foundation for expanded evangelistic opportunities in the communist world. It also describes the evangelical organizations and missionary groups that ensured the postcommunist states would guarantee religious liberty for their citizens and allow foreigners to evangelize as the Soviet Union began to collapse during the Bush administration. The chapter discusses how effective were Christian efforts to attain foreign aid for favoured regimes and to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on those nations that persecuted Christians and stifled evangelism. It also investigates why U.S. evangelicals lend support to repressive authoritarian regimes in the name of human rights.

scholarly journals The antiseptic Miramistin: a review of its comparative in vitro and clinical activity

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Osmanov ◽  
Zara Farooq ◽  
Malcolm D Richardson ◽  
David W Denning
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
Clinical Activity ◽  
Good Tolerability ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Low Toxicity

ABSTRACT Miramistin is a topical antiseptic with broad antimicrobial action, including activity against biofilms and a clinical profile showing good tolerability. Miramistin was developed within a framework of the Soviet Union Cold War Space Program. It is available for clinical use in several prior Soviet bloc countries, but barely known outside of these countries and there is almost no mention of miramistin in the English literature. However, considering emerging antimicrobial resistance, the significant potential of miramistin justifies its re-evaluation for use in other geographical areas and conditions. The review consists of two parts: (i) a review of the existing literature on miramistin in English, Russian and Ukrainian languages; (ii) a summary of most commonly used antiseptics as comparators of miramistin. The oral LD50 was 1200 mg/kg, 1000 mg/kg and 100 g/L in rats, mice and fish, respectively. Based on the results of the review, we suggest possible applications of miramistin and potential benefits over currently used agents. Miramistin offers a novel, low toxicity antiseptic with many potential clinical uses that need better study which could address some of the negative impact of antimicrobial, antiseptic and disinfectant resistance.

Lukewarm Neutrality in a Cold War? The Case of Austria

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 36-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwin A. Schmidl
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Military Occupation ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
East And West ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Other Orientation ◽  
Over Time

Geographically, Austria's position during the Cold War differed significantly from that of Switzerland or Sweden, let alone Ireland. Austria, like Finland, was situated along the Iron Curtain. In 1945, Austria was divided between East and West, and the Soviet Union hoped that the Austrian Communists could quickly gain power by largely democratic means. This effort failed, however, when the Communists lost decisively in the November 1945 elections. Over the next decade, Austria remained under Soviet and Western military occupation. The formal adoption of a neutral status for Austria in May 1955, when the Austrian State Treaty was signed, was a compromise needed to ensure the departure of Soviet forces from Austria. Although some other orientation might have been preferred, neutrality over time became firmly engrained in Austria's collective identity.

Comintern Aesthetics in the Andes: The Indigenous Revolutionary

2021 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-473
Author(s):  
Anna Björk Einarsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
World System ◽  
Political Connections ◽  
Cesar Vallejo ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Andes ◽  
The Soviet Union

The fight against imperialism and racism was central to the Comintern's political and cultural program of the interwar period. Although the more immediate interests of the Soviet state would come to overshadow such causes, the cultural and political connections forged during this time influenced later forms of organizing. Throughout the interwar period (1918-39), the Soviet Union served as the core location of a newly formed world-system of socialist and communist radicalism. The origin of Latin American Marxism in the work of the Peruvian theorist and political organizer José Carlos Mariátegui, as well as the politically committed literature associated with the interwar communist left in the Andean region of Latin America, shows how literature and theory devoted to the indigenous revolutionary contributed to interwar Marxist debates. The interwar influence of Mariátegui and César Vallejo makes clear the importance of resisting attempts to drive a wedge between the two authors and the broader communist movement at the time.

scholarly journals Communist International, the Soviet Union, and their impact on the Latin America Workers' Movement

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 67-106
Author(s):  
Dan La Botz
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Socialist Society ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Adverse Influence

The Soviet Union and the Communist International had an adverse influence on the Latin American workers’ movement, continually diverting it fighting for a  emocratic socialist society. They subordinated the workers’ movements to the interests of the Soviet Union’s ruling class, the Communist bureaucracy. At one  oment, they led the workers’ movement in disastrous uprisings, while in a subsequent era they encouraged it to build alliances with capitalist and imperialist power.

scholarly journals Saving Ghana's Revolution: The Demise of Kwame Nkrumah and the Evolution of Soviet Policy in Africa, 1966–1972

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-25
Author(s):  
Natalia Telepneva
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Internal Security ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
Kwame Nkrumah ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Intelligence Service

On 24 February 1966, Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, was overthrown in a coup d’état. The coup rekindled a debate within the Soviet bloc about the prospects of socialism in Africa and about the appropriateness of certain policies. Soviet officials concluded that they would have to focus on establishing close relations with the armies and internal security forces of African countries. This article explores how Nkrumah's loyalists in exile and their sympathizers in Ghana attempted to launch a leftwing counter-coup in Accra in 1968 and the involvement of Warsaw Pact countries—notably the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia—in those events. The article sheds new light on “Operation ALEX,” a botched attempt by the Czechoslovak intelligence service to support Nkrumah loyalists in their plans for a countercoup. The article reexamines the late 1960s as an important period for the militarization of the Cold War in Africa and highlights the crucial role that African politicians themselves played in this process.

scholarly journals Uriel Weinreich’s “Languages in Contact” in the Soviet Union: Treading a Dangerous Ground

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (45) ◽  
pp. 22-34
Author(s):  
Oleksandra Litvinyak
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Russian Translation ◽  
Editorial Policy ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
Limited Access ◽  
Languages In Contact ◽  
Financial Feasibility ◽  
The Soviet Union

 In a democratic society with a market economy, editorial policy is often a matter of financial feasibility rather than anything else. Meanwhile, totalitarian societies approach it from a different angle, frequently putting political considerations in the centre. Living behind the Iron Curtain, Soviet scholars had very limited access to Western publications – very few of them were translated into the languages of Soviet republics. What is more, research shows that they were subject to censorship, just like literary works. Besides, the work of a translator, being invisible to the majority of readers, could be quite dangerous and ruin one’s scholarly career. Thus, a scholar embarking on a translation journey to acquaint their colleagues with the best samples of world research had to be very considerate. Such was the case of the Russian translation of Uriel Weinreich’s seminal book Languages in Contact done by the Ukrainian linguist, translator, lexicographer, and educator Yuriy Zhluktenko. The present paper explores the matter of censorship and self-censorship in this translation and its paratexts.

scholarly journals c) Cuba: A Sui Generis Case Study (Communist Proxy)

2021 ◽  
pp. 309-317
Author(s):  
Jason García Portilla
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Legal Tradition ◽  
Roman Catholicism ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Institutional Influence ◽  
Latin American Countries

AbstractThe anti-clerical elements of the Revolution helped Cuba succeed in various indicators (e.g. education quality and coverage, equality, health). The Cuban regime seized, dismantled, and limited the institutional influence of Roman Catholicism on these areas of public life. However, a strong cultural influence of a highly syncretised Roman Catholicism persists in Cuba even if its institutional influence has been curbed. Also, the Communist regime, by adopting Marxism, “threw the baby out with the bathwater” through persecuting all types of religion, including Protestant liberals. Finally, the Cuban regime conveniently turned to Rome to legitimise itself after the collapse of the Soviet Union and to silence Protestantism with a corporatist strategy. The socialist legal tradition had an effect opposite to its claims (e.g. lack of freedom, corruption), even if its anti-clerical element was an advantage. Comparing the Cuban experience to other Latin American countries with leftist dictatorships (e.g. Venezuela) helps understand their failure to achieve the Cuban indicators (e.g. education). The crucial factor in this regard is whether or not the power and influence of the Roman Church-State are reduced.

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