scholarly journals The British Weekly: a case study of British propaganda to the Soviet Union during World War II

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 486-498
Author(s):  
Elena A. Kotelenets ◽  
Maria Yu. Lavrenteva

The research investigates a publishing history of the Britansky Souyznik (British Ally) weekly (further - British Weekly) in Russian language, which was published in the Soviet Union by the UK Ministry of Information in the Second World War years and to 1950. This newspaper published reports from fronts where British troops fought against Nazi Germany and its allies, articles on British-Soviet military cooperation, materials about British science, industry, agriculture, and transport, reports on people’s life in the UK, historical background of British Commonwealth countries, cultural and literature reviews. British Weekly circulation in the USSR was 50,000 copies. The main method used for the research was the study of the newspaper’s materials, as well as the propaganda concepts of its editorial board and their influence on the audience. The researched materials are from archives of the Soviet Foreign Ministry as well as of the UK Ministry of Information and Political Warfare Executive (1940-1945), declassified by the British Government only in 2002, on the basis of which an independent analysis is conducted. The British Weekly played a bright role in the formation of techniques and methods of British foreign policy propaganda to Soviet public opinion in 1942-1945. Results of the research indicates that the British government launched foreign policy propaganda to the USSR immediately after breaking-out of World War II and used the experience of the British Weekly for psychological warfare in the Cold War years.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodric Braithwaite

Sir Rodric Braithwaite was educated at Christ’s College, University of Cambridge, from where he went to serve in HM Diplomatic Service, having worked in Jakarta, Moscow, Washington, Warsaw, Rome, and Brussels, where he was a member of the British delegation to the European Community. From 1988 to 1992, Sir Rodric served as HM Ambassador in the Soviet Union during the decisive years of the Perestroika and the first British ambassador in Russia. Subsequently, he was appointed foreign policy adviser to the Prime Minister in the second John Major ministry and chaired the UK Joint Intelligence Committee between 1992 and 1993. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1994. As a career diplomat, Sir Rodric gained decades of insight into the troubled relations between Russia and West, having taken part in numerous negotiations on arms control. His affinity with the decision-making circles in both Russia and Britain alongside with the mastery of the Russian language allow him to skillfully dissect the underlying causes of ups-and-downs in Moscow’s relationship with the West, employing the works of both English- and Russian-speaking analysts. Among his recent books are Across the Moscow River (2002), Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War (2006), Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan, 1979–1989 (2012), Armageddon and Paranoia: The Nuclear Confrontation (2017). In this essay, Sir Rodric reminisces of the years spent as a diplomat and provides his view on the usefulness and applicability of historical lessons while devising a foreign policy course.


Worldview ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-11
Author(s):  
Donald Brandon

For a generation now, America has played a significant role in world affairs. Until Pearl Harbor a reluctant belligerent in World War II, this country was also slow to respond to the challenge of the Soviet Union in the immediate aftermath of that gigantic conflict. But for almost twenty-five years American Presidents have been more or less guided by the policy of “containment.” Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson all introduced variations on the multiple themes of the policy adopted by Harry Truman. Yet each concluded that the world situation allowed no reasonable alternative to an activist American foreign policy in most areas of the globe.


2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-16
Author(s):  
Stelian TAMPU

Raising awareness on the political-historical background of the popular movements of the 20th century is very important because behind the stories there were often ill-considered political decisions. It is interesting to see how the last century leaders of the great powers represented their self-interests, and what political games they had developed to achieve their political goals. The interests of nations living in countries were often not interesting to take into consideration. The Soviet Union was not a nation-state, but neither was the United States of America, while at that time most of the European states were nationstates, and along this were nations that sought to assert their national interests, by force when necessary. However, the post-World War II political settlements did not serve the interests of the German nation, but divided its population and turned them against one other. This is why the movement of German citizens within Germany has occurred.


1986 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Schwartz

An older colleague recently observed to me that today we stand further removed in time from the end of World War II than Americans at the beginning of that conflict were from the Spanish American War. To those Americans of 1939, he said, the war with Spain seemed almost antediluvian, while to us World War II lives vividly in memory, and its consequences still shape our lives. As a student of modern American foreign policy, I found my colleague's observation particularly appropriate. American and Soviet soldiers still face each other in the middle of Germany, and Europe remains divided along the lines roughly set by the liberating armies. Yet could we now be facing major changes? Will an agreement to eliminate nuclear weapons in Europe, and glasnost in the Soviet Union transform this environment? Will the postwar division of Europe come to an end? What will be the consequences for the United States?


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvio Pons

After World War II, tensions between European countries were never far from the surface. The Soviet Union was the most dominant of these powers, yet Joseph Stalin’s postwar vision to control Eastern Europe was not always realized. His foreign policy objectives were shifted and shaped by leaders from smaller countries who actively made demands in their own interests.


2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-321
Author(s):  
Vasile Rotaru

The 2008 Georgia war represented a turning point in Russian foreign policy. It was for the first time since the dissolution of the Soviet Union when Moscow invaded an independent country and for the first time when two members of the Council of Europe fought against each other. A premiere for Russian post-Soviet foreign policy was registered in 2014 too. The annexation of Crimea represented the first incorporation of foreign territories by Moscow since World War II. These two events generated the West's protest and blatantly contradict Russia's proclaimed foreign policy discourse centered around the respect for states' sovereignty and equality of actors in the international system. Starting from the assertion that the formulation of Russia's foreign policy is determined by the West's international behavior — Moscow looking whether to emulate or to find alternatives to it; the present paper will compare Russia's legitimization arguments for the 2008 war and the 2014 annexation of Crimea trying to assess how Moscow answers Western criticism and whether there is a continuity in Russian official legitimization narratives.


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toivo U. Raun

The past two decades have witnessed a reassessment and broadening of conceptions of identity among both the ethnic Estonian and Russian populations in Estonia. In addition to a continuing focus on aspects of national distinctiveness, emphasizing their small numbers, language, culture, territorial homeland, and—as a new factor—the state, the Estonians have increasingly engaged with a wider range of identities (local, regional, and European). Among these, the regional level has been the most productive, enhancing Estonia’s already strong ties to Finland but also fostering closer connections to its other Nordic and Baltic neighbors. Although integration into NATO and integration into the European Union continue to receive strong approval, a European identity is still in the process of formation. For the Russian community, the fall of communism led to a full reevaluation of the bases of its identity. The major trend has seen a shift from a political consciousness (loyalty to the Soviet Union) to a greater emphasis on the Russian language and ethnicity. In spite of the general peacefulness of ethnic relations, any meaningful integration of the two major nationalities in Estonia remains incomplete, as graphically demonstrated in the Bronze Soldier affair in April 2007. Russians, especially younger ones, increasingly know the Estonian language, but views of history, especially regarding World War II, and attitudes toward Russia still differ markedly between the Estonian and Russian populations. The process of integration is further complicated by the neighboring and still powerful kin-state of the local Russian population.


2015 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
Tamara Graczykowska

The dictionary of Józef Krasny and Polish living Russian language in the interwar period (several remarks about the competition published in „Trybuna Radziecka” in 1930)In 1930 the editor-in-chief of the Russian-Polish Dictionary, Józef Krasny, asked the readers of the newspaper “Trybuna Radziecka”, published in Moscow in 1927–1938, to send to the newspaper “Trybuna Radziecka” the best Polish equivalents of presented words. The list of the Rusicisms and the Sovietisms was published in “Trybuna Radziecka” and contained about 90 lexems. In Józef Krasny’s opinion these words had not very good translation in the Soviet Polish language. He described the process of creation of this dictionary in “Trybuna Radziecka”. The editor of Russian-Polish dictionary made effort to reflect as closely as possible the language of proletarian revolution, the new realities of life in the Soviet Union. The Russian-Polish Dictionary was criticized by contemporaries. Among them was Bruno Jasieński. The article presents a lexical material excerpted from the “Trybuna Radziecka”. The author tries to show that many of lexems presented in “Trybuna Radziecka” in list of Józef Krasny were in common use in the Soviet variant of Polish language in the years preceding World War II. The author incorporated only these Rusicisms and Sovietisms extracted from the “Trybuna Radziecka” which were presented in newspaper by Józef Krasny and were discussed in the newspaper ”Kultura Mas” by Bruno Jasieński. The paper contains 12 pairs of lexems, like czystka – przesiew, gbur – kułak, gosprad – kołchoz, łazik – progulszczyk. The aim of the article is show that the “Trybuna Radziecka” reflects living Polish language in the post-revolution Soviet Russia.  Словарь Юзефа Красного и  живой польский советский язык в двадцатилетие между первой и второй мировой войнoй (несколько замечаний о конкурсе, объявленном газетой „Trybuna Radziecka” в 1930 г.)В  1930  году  редакция  газеты  „Trybuna  Radziecka”,  которая  издавалась в Москве, проживающими здесь польскими коммунистами, объявила языковой конкурс. Редактор польско-русских словарей поместил в газете список русских лексем, не имеющих, по его мнению, удачных польских эквивалентов. В список вошли, главным образом, наименования новых советских реалиий (напр., избач, колхоз, подкулачник, прогул, прогульщик, чистка и др.). Редактор Юзеф Красны обратился к читателям с просьбой присылать в редакцию газеты переводы указанных слов с целью выбора самых удачных эквивалентов и помещения их в подготавливаемом для издания русско-польском словаре.В статье рассмотрена часть таких слов. Автор пытался показать, что советизмы и руссизмы (заимствования из русского языка), отобраны Ю. Красным были использованы также в языке (польском) газеты „Trybuna Radziecka”. На страницах газеты параллельно появлялись и руссизмы, к которым автор словаря просил подбирать эквиваленты, как и новые польские переводы советской лексики (напр., czystka – przesiew, gosprad – sowchoz, łazik – progulszczyk, wyrwa – proryw).


2020 ◽  
pp. 137-156
Author(s):  
Yurii Lazuto

Abstract. The article is devoted to the international situation in Europe and USSR’s foreign policy before and after the outbreak of World War II. The author states that from the very beginning the fascist regime in Germany was favourably received by Stalin’s USSR. Hitler also claimed that the German government was ready to develop friendly relations with the Soviet Union. However, such a situation in the bilateral relations was short-lived. Seeking benevolence from Western European countries, Hitler assumed the role of an anti-communist crusader. With a view to strengthening the country’s security, countering Germany and fascism, Stalin gave up his ideological dogmas in line with the situation. Moscow came to vigorously support all political forces, which were advocating closer relations with the USSR against fascism. After Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Stalin’s foreign policy suffered a total collapse, which was a devastating blow to the myth of his brilliance and sagacity. The glorification of fascism and the policy of its befriending came at a cost. Nearly 50 million Soviet citizens perished in the war against the fascist Germany, of which 10 million were Ukrainian nationals. In Russia, both public officials and scholars still avoid the truth about the foreign policy activity of the Soviet leadership in 1939 and 1940s. In this regard, the Ukrainian historian and specialist in international relations, professor at Kyiv Pedagogical University Anatolii Trubaichuk was the first in the Soviet Union to tell the truth in his writings and lectures about the essence of the Soviet foreign policy before and after the beginning of World War II based on his profound scientific research. The author stresses that the search for full truth is to be continued. To that end, it is necessary that all the archives in Russia be opened and access to documents relating to the period of World War II be provided. Keywords: World War II, foreign policy, Soviet Union, Stalin, Germany.


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