title: American Observers in the Election of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
metadata.name: dc.contributor.author
metadata.value: Fokin, Alexander A.
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.contributor.author
metadata.value: Sharafutdinova, Olesya I.
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.accessioned
metadata.value: 2024-07-11T20:17:48Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.available
metadata.value: 2024-07-11T20:17:48Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.issued
metadata.value: 2024-06
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.citation
metadata.value: Fokin A. A., Sharafutdinova O. I. American Observers in the Election of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History, 2024, vol. 69, issue 2, рp. 479– 502. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu02.2024.214 (In Russian)
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.identifier.other
metadata.value: https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu02.2024.214
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.uri
metadata.value: http://hdl.handle.net/11701/45745
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.description.abstract
metadata.value: In 1958, a three-member delegation from the United States was invited as observers in the
  election of the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union. The Soviet leadership wanted to demonstrate
  the superiority of Soviet elections to the Western public. The key event during the visit
  of the American delegation was their meeting with the representatives of the Central Election
  Commission, when the Americans asked questions, and the Soviet side answered them.
  Despite some preparatory work to create a positive image of the elections in the USSR, there
  had not been plans to entirely stage them for the American guests. Although American observers
  recognized a high level of organization of elections in the USSR, even higher than
  those in the USA and Europe, they could not accept non-alternative elections as a variant
  of democracy and criticized the Soviet system. Thus, the dialogue between the USA and the
  USSR in this sphere ended in failure, and there were no other attempts to invite foreigners as
  election observers. The availability of sources that recorded the clash between two systems
  and two points of view on democracy enable to simultaneously look at the Soviet elections
  both from the outside — from the perspective of external observers (Americans) and from
  the inside — from the perspective of the Soviet official discourse. The article suggests that the
  Soviet electoral process should be examined not within political history but the through the
  approaches of historical anthropology, which will allow studying elections in the USSR as a
  special political ritual.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.language.iso
metadata.value: ru
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.publisher
metadata.value: St Petersburg State University
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.relation.ispartofseries
metadata.value: Vestnik of St Petersburg University. History;Volume 69; Issue 2
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: USSR
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Elections
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Supreme Soviet of the USSR
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Soviet democracy
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Soviet-American relations
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Soviet foreign policy
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.title
metadata.value: American Observers in the Election of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.type
metadata.value: Article
metadata.lang: en_GB
resources.filename: 14_Fokin.pdf
resources.url: https://dspace.spbu.ru/bitstream/11701/45745/1/14_Fokin.pdf
resources.format: Adobe PDF
resources.size: 721,11 kB