«The New York Times» (22 March 1987) Are Mikhail S. Gorbachov's new policies the historical turning point we have been praying for, signaling the end of oppression and misery in the Soviet Union? Or are we witnessing only a short-lived ''thaw,'' a tactical retreat before the next offensive, as Lenin put it in 1921? True, … Continue reading 4. Is Glasnost a Game of Mirrors? (’87)
"Peace will be preserved and strengthened if the people / take the cause of peace into their own hands and defend it to the end" Joseph Stalin, 1952 * The “struggle for peace” has always been a cornerstone of Soviet foreign policy. Indeed, the Soviet Union itself rose out of the ashes of World War … Continue reading (II) “The Peace Movement and the USSR” (1982)
SECRETARIAT. Subsidies from the Soviet Red Cross for Moscow-based correspondents of Party and "fraternal" newspapers in capitalist and developing countries [R: 6 Nov 90, St 10-1]. 4 pp (excerpt). ========================= The “living expenses” of Moscow-based correspondents for these fraternal publications also formed part of the bill. From the late 1950s, to disguise its origins, this … Continue reading Soviet Red Cross subsidies (6 Feb 1990*, St 10/1)
The 63 published issues of the bi-monthly CHRONICLE OF CURRENT EVENTS (April 1968 to June 1982) can all be accessed in English translation. The Russian original ХРОНИКА ТЕКУЩИХ СОБЫТИЙ was available online since 2008, thanks to the Memorial Human Rights Centre. (At present [2/07/26], it is inaccessible.) Example For a contemporary account of the events … Continue reading 05. Other sources: “Chronicle” & “Vesti” (1968-1991)
Dealing with “Anti-Soviet Elements”. POLITBURO accepts NKVD request to increase quotas for 1st category (executions) and 2nd category (sent to camps) arrests in 22 Republics and Regions across the USSR [R: 31 January 1938, Pb 57-48]. 2 pp. ==================================== [page one of two] Return within 24 hours to the Central Committee Special Sector STRICTLY SECRET (From … Continue reading Great Terror: execution or the camps (31 Jan ’38*, Pb 57/48)
POLITBURO decision. Financial assistance (in US$) in 1981 to Communist Parties and movements: USA, 2 million; France, 2 million; Finland, 1.4 million; Portugal, 700,000. A list of 57 recipients [R: 1980, 29 December]. 5 pp. =============================== [page one of five] Workers of all Lands, Unite! [Text in top left hand corner of page] Must be … Continue reading Funding parties & movements abroad (29 Dec ’80*, Pb 230/34)
STALIN’s written permission for the Krasnoyarsk Region (Siberia) to carry out over six thousand additional “1st category arrests” (executions). Instruction in pencil on a small, plain slip of paper [R 31 December 1938]. One page. ======================= Permit Krasnoyarsk Region 6,600 additional ‘1st category’ arrests. For: Stalin, I.V. ============================== NOTES This instruction came two months after … Continue reading Stalin, Siberian Executions (31 Dec ’38*)
Secretariat. About participation of Soviet delegation in the International Youth Peace Forum in Helsinki; file includes 2 February report on the results [R: 6 January 1981, St 244-11]. 18 pp (excerpts). ============================================= [pages nine to eleven, request from B. Pastukhov, Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee] Workers of all Lands, Unite! All-Union Leninist Communist Union … Continue reading Helsinki Peace Forum (6 Jan 1981*, St 244/11)
Abuse of psychiatry, Western response The KGB, USSR Ministry of Health and others write to CENTRAL COMMITTEE about Western "anti-Soviet propaganda" concerning the abuse of psychiatry for political purposes [R: 10 September 1976, 2066-A]. 18 pp. * The file contains eight documents, dated 10 September to 28 December 1976, sent to the Central Committee, directly … Continue reading Western response (10 Sept ’76*, 2066-A)
The Bukovsky Archives 