title: Memorabilia of the US thematic exhibits in the USSR as a source for public diplomacy and propaganda studies
metadata.name: dc.contributor.author
metadata.value: Fominykh, Alexey E.
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.accessioned
metadata.value: 2023-08-24T18:58:49Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.available
metadata.value: 2023-08-24T18:58:49Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.issued
metadata.value: 2023-06
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.citation
metadata.value: Fominykh A. E. Memorabilia of the US thematic exhibits in the USSR as a source for public diplomacy and propaganda studies. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. International Relations, 2023, vol. 16, issue 2, pp. 151–169. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu06.2023.204 (In Russian)
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.identifier.other
metadata.value: https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu06.2023.204
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.uri
metadata.value: http://hdl.handle.net/11701/43890
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.description.abstract
metadata.value: The paper analyzes the array of information materials and artifacts related to American thematic
  exhibitions that were held in the Soviet Union by the US Information Agency (USIA)
  from 1959 to 1991 as part of the Soviet-American agreements on cultural exchanges. The
  American National Exhibition in Moscow in the summer of 1959 was the first (and most
  famous) in a series of such exhibitions; it was subsequent by 18 traveling shows, which covered
  25 Soviet cities — both Union and republics’ capitals and remote regional centers. The
  total audience of these showings is estimated at 20 million visitors. American exhibitions in the USSR left behind a deep information and cultural trace in memories, movie and photo
  chronicles, as well as in a variety of “handouts” and souvenirs distributed at events. Among
  collectors of antiques of this kind, thematic collections are known as memorabilia, or a collection
  of things associated with a certain historical figure, a celebrity, or event. These materials,
  especially the official booklets of the exhibitions, contain valuable information, which
  reflects not only the content of the showings, but also the political and ideological attitudes of
  their American organizers. The selection of exhibits, their information support (textual — in
  booklets, and oral — from guides at the exhibition), the engineering and visual design of the
  shows — all were aimed, ultimately, at the formation of a positive image of America among the
  Soviet public (and, as a result, a critical perception of Soviet realities). Thus, the exhibitions,
  even if their themes seem to be far from the ideology (science and technology, culture, life,
  industry and agriculture), turned into an effective propaganda tool. Moreover, the USIA was
  able to use this tool under the terms of agreements on bilateral exhibition exchanges. Unfortunately,
  visual materials and objects of material culture in general are rarely involved in studies
  of public and cultural diplomacy as a source. This article aims to fill this gap.
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. International Relations;Volume 16; Issue 2
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: public diplomacy
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: propaganda
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Cold War
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: US Information Agency
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: exhibition
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: artifact
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.title
metadata.value: Memorabilia of the US thematic exhibits in the USSR as a source for public diplomacy and propaganda studies
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.type
metadata.value: Article
metadata.lang: en_GB
resources.filename: 04.pdf
resources.url: https://dspace.spbu.ru/bitstream/11701/43890/1/04.pdf
resources.format: Adobe PDF
resources.size: 676,2 kB