Memorabilia of the US thematic exhibits in the USSR as a source for public diplomacy and propaganda studies

Abstract

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.