Soviet Internationalism After Stalin : Interaction and Exchange Between the USSR and Latin America During the Cold War

The Soviet Union is often presented as a largely isolated and idiosyncratic state. Soviet Internationalism after Stalin challenges this view by telling the story of Soviet and Latin American intellectuals, students, political figures and artists, and their encounters with the 'other' from the 1950s through the 1980s. In this first multi-archival study of Soviet relations with Latin America, Tobias Rupprecht reveals that, for people in the Second and Third Worlds, the Cold War meant not only confrontation with an ideological enemy, but also increased interconnectedness with distant world regions. He shows that the Soviet Union looked quite different from a southern rather than a western point of view and also charts the impact of the new internationalism on the Soviet Union itself in terms of popular perceptions of the USSR's place in the world and its political, scientific, intellectual and cultural reintegration into the global community. Soviet Internationalism after Stalin: Interaction and Exchange between the USSR and Latin America during the Cold War 4 Contents 6 Preface and acknowledgements 8 Introduction: the end of Soviet isolationism after 1953 12 The opening up to the world under Khrushchev and Russia in global history 15 Terminology: internationalism, USSR, Latin America, Third World, (cultural) Cold War 20 Historians’ assessments of Soviet–Latin American relations 26 Scenes from a long-distance relationship: theories, narrative structure and theses 30 1 A modern image for the USSR: Soviet self-representation towards Latin Americans 33 The cautious reconnecting of the Soviet Union with Latin America during the Thaw 33 Predecessors and new institutions 39 A modern idyll: the image of the USSR in Soviet media in Latin America 45 Moscow speaking Quechua 48 Don’t mention communism! Technology and high-brow culture in Soviet self-representation 50 The ‘Columbus of the cosmos’ 53 Exhibitions 55 Parliamentary delegations 60 Courting the world’s youth: the image conveyed to young Latin Americans 62 Latin Americans at the World Youth Festival in Moscow 62 Universities 68 Tourism 72 Space: the inner periphery as a template; time: Stalinist legacies 74 Peace and friendship: Soviet self-representation and internationalism from the 1950s 79 2 Moscow learns the mambo: Latin America and internationalism in Soviet popular culture 84 Reconnecting: Soviet culture after the death of Stalin 84 Exoticism and folklorism in East and West in the 1950s and 1960s 87 Cultural echoes from the 1920s and 1930s 89 Internationalist culture and Soviet society after Stalin 91 A window on the world: Latin America in Soviet cinemas and concert halls 93 Sombrero, moustache, guitar: folklorism and Latin American music 98 Folklorism, folklore, folk music 102 Soviet intelligentsia abroad: exoticism and revolutionary romanticism in travelogues 105 ‘Magic’ ousting ‘socialist’ realism: Latin America in Soviet belles-lettres 115 Heroes of their time: Castro, Guevara and the Cuban Revolution in Soviet perception 121 Exoticism and internationalism: Latin America in Soviet arts and public reception 134 3 Paradise lost and found: Latin American intellectuals in and on the Soviet Union 139 Raised expectations: Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s 139 ‘Latin American’ ‘intellectuals’ and their discourse on socialism and the Soviet Union 145 Cold War and tercermundismo 151 First contacts during the Cold War: Latin American travelogues from the Soviet Union 153 Committed and compromised: Latin American left intellectuals and de-Stalinisation 158 The Stalinists’ crossroads: Khrushchev’s secret speech 163 ¡Cuba sí, Soviet no! A new generation of leftists 168 The Soviets’ new friends: indigenous authors, conservatives and Catholics 171 Conservatives and Catholics 176 The liberal flirtation with illiberalism 182 Exoticism in reverse 192 A complex disenchantment: Soviet internationalism, intellectuals and new socialist horizons 196 4 From Russia with a diploma: Latin American students in the Soviet Union 202 Soviet higher education for foreigners, western fears and global reactions 202 Latin American students at Soviet universities: facts and figures 207 The flagship of Soviet internationalism: Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow 209 The students’ point of view 215 Motivation, selection, arrival 216 Education 219 Spare time 220 Contacts with Soviet realities 223 Sex and the Cold War 225 Race and the Cold War 226 Frictions 229 Students’ judgements of the Soviet Union 231 Returns, careers and memories 232 The successes and shortcomings of Soviet internationalism in the field of education 236 5 Desk revolutionaries: Soviet Latin Americanists and internationalism in the late Soviet Union 241 Between ‘gorillas’ and guerrillas: Soviet area studies in the Cold War 241 Niches and nooks of internationalism during late Stalinism 247 New Thaw-era institutions and a new generation of professional internationalists 254 Knowledge exchange, knowledge expansion 257 Privileges and limits of academic work in the late Soviet Union 259 A prosopography of the first generation of ‘Mgimovci’ 261 Jews in Soviet area studies 267 The meždunarodniki’s march through the Soviet institutions 270 Cold War profiteers: the meždunarodniki and Soviet humanities 273 The return of open academic debate to Soviet area studies and the fall of Allende 276 Progressive vs conservative scholars 278 The debate on Allende’s fall 280 The political impact of Soviet area studies and support for the Sandinistas in Nicaragua 283 The meždunarodniki as banner-bearers of Soviet internationalism after Stalin 288 Conclusion: Soviet internationalism after Stalin and its domestic and foreign audiences 295 Postface: legacies of Soviet internationalism in Latin America and Russia 302 Bibliography 309 Index 334 Introduction: The End Of Soviet Isolationism After 1953 -- A Modern Image For The Ussr : Soviet Self-representation Towards Latin Americans -- Moscow Learns The Mambo : Latin America And Internationalism In Soviet Popular Culture -- Paradise Lost And Found : Latin American Intellectuals In And On The Soviet Union -- From Russia With A Diploma : Latin American Students In The Soviet Union -- Desk Revolutionaries : Soviet Latin Americanists And Internationalism In The Late Soviet Union -- Conclusion: Soviet Internationalism After Stalin And Its Domestic And Foreign Audiences -- Postface: Legacies Of Soviet Internationalism In Latin America And Russia. Tobias Rupprecht. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The Soviet Union is often presented as a largely isolated and idiosyncratic state, but Tobias Rupprecht challenges this view by telling the story of Soviet and Latin American intellectuals, students, political figures and artists, and their encounters with the 'other' from the 1950s through the 1980s.