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Space Propaganda “For All Mankind”: Soviet and American Responses to the Cold War, 1957-1977

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Space Propaganda “For All Mankind”: Soviet and American Responses to the Cold War, 1957-1977 University of Alberta Space Propaganda “For All Mankind”: Soviet and American Responses to the Cold War, 1957-1977 by Trevor Sean Rockwell A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History and Classics © Trevor Sean Rockwell Fall 2012 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is herby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author’s prior written permission. Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-89209-1 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-89209-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. For my father, Robert Rockwell, who taught me to reach for the satellites, and my mother-in-law, Arlene Jenkins, who brought me to the University of Alberta. Abstract This study examines narratives about space exploration officially produced by government agencies of the Soviet Union and the United States between 1957 and 1977. It compares how space activities from the first Soviet Sputnik on October 4, 1957, to the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) in July 1975 were covered in two monthly magazines: the American-made Russian-language Amerika Illiustrirovannoye (America Illustrated, hereafter Amerika) and the Soviet-produced English-language Soviet Life. It seeks to understand how each country conveyed space exploration to each other, as well as why they chose to focus on certain key themes of peace, progress, and cooperation. The main primary sources for this comparative analysis are the publications Amerika and Soviet Life. This study also considers the motivating context that shaped each publication. To assess the underlying motivations behind Amerika magazine’s content, this study has relied upon the records of the United States Information Agency (USIA) held at the National Archives and Records Administration II in College Park, Maryland, as well as various volumes of documents from the State Department’s Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series. On the Soviet side, it analyzes various publications of the speeches and writings of the Soviet leadership to examine how Soviet officials’ discourse treated the main themes of Soviet Life’s space propaganda. Acknowledgments Many people close to me have earned my profound appreciation for their abiding support and patience as this thesis was produced, but none have stood nearer nor deserve more gratitude than my wife Jennifer Jenkins and daughter Ella. Their love, understanding, and humour have weathered many storms, and been essential for me to finish what I started. I would also like to thank my advisors Drs. Robert W. Smith and David R. Marples for their invaluable feedback, mentorship, and encouragement over the years. Robert also provided me with vital funding and experience working on a variety of research projects. I am especially grateful to Dr. Susan L. Smith, whose insightful critiques and compliments of early drafts made this thesis immeasurably better than it would have otherwise been. Thanks are also due to the other members of my defense committee—Drs. Bruce Hevly and Greg Anderson––for their thoughtful and perceptive responses to my work. Dr. Michael J. Neufeld at the Smithsonian NASM and Stephen J. Garber at NASA also provided stimulating comments on an article drawn from this study. I am also grateful to the friendship, mentorship and employment experiences provided by Dr. Sarah Carter, Dr. Alvin Finkel, Peter Fortna, and others at the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta. I would especially like to thank the hard-working staff in the Department’s office. I am similarly indebted to my colleagues in the Logistics Department at the Canadian Blood Services for their vital support, encouragement, and friendship. Finally, I have not yet paid my debt of gratitude to my undergraduate Soviet history professor and MA advisor Dr. Serhy Yekelchyk whose passion for history led me further down this path and remains an inspiration. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS INTRODUCTION 1. “The Biggest Story Told in Modern Times”: Why Space Propaganda? 1 2. “Polite Propaganda”: Amerika and Soviet Life Magazines 30 SECTION I: “FOR ALL MANKIND”: PEACE 3. “To Expose the [Soviet] ‘Peaceful Coexistence’ Slogan as a Barren Promise”: 69 Depicting the Peaceful Exploration of Space in Amerika 4. “Forward to New Victories in the Name of Peace, Progress and the Happiness 109 of Mankind!”: Depicting the Peaceful Exploration of Space in Soviet Life SECTION II: SMALL STEPS AND GIANT LEAPS: PROGRESS 5. “Please be informed there is a Santa Claus”: American Scientific and 138 Technological Progress in Amerika 6. “The story of the Soviet spaceships is one of continuous precipitate motion”: 171 Soviet Scientific and Technological Progress in Soviet Life 7. “Like sea creatures in a tide pool”: The Past and the Future in Amerika 206 8. “The boldest inhabitants of the sea”: The Past and the Future in Soviet Life 234 SECTION III: SHAKING HANDS IN SPACE: COOPERATION 9. “Soviet signals go the same way, only in the opposite direction”: Space 268 Cooperation in Amerika 10. “We regard each other as members of one crew”: Space Cooperation in Soviet 304 Life CONCLUSION 11. Conclusion: Why Space Propaganda? To Lead “All Mankind” 336 354 BIBLIOGRAPHY List of Illustrations 3-1: A symbol of American freedom to worship: Gordon Cooper in a Christ-like pose. 85 3-2: Robert McCall’s illustrations often provided symbols of American freedom to worship. 87 3-3: Highlighting American openness. Cut-away illustrations were typical in Amerika Illiustrirovannoye. 91 3-4: Displaying American openness: spectators at Virgil Grissom’s July 21, 1961 launch. 94 3-5: Pat Collins in a pose symbolizing American openness: such images of open mouths were very common. 96 3-6: The open mouths of American astronauts Edward White and James McDivitt. 97 4-1: Depicting worldwide interest in space exploration: Soviet children examine a globe. 129 4-2: Depicting worldwide enthusiasm for Soviet space exploration: a radio Ham operator tracks the sputniks. 131 4-3: A Soviet press conference for the Apollo Soyuz Test Project. 133 5-1: Showcasing American industrial development while highlighting the openness of its space program: the Saturn V launch platform. 148 5-2: Humanity uniting around a symbol of openness and material abundance: John Glenn’s orbital flight being covered on a television screen in Grand Central Station. 160 5-3: Depicting American abundance: Soviet cosmonaut Georgi Beregovoi barbecuing steaks in San Diego. 162 5-4: American abundance on display: the large bold-faced text accompanying this image said “Space Food.” 164 5-5: American affluence on display at a banquet honoring the Apollo 11 astronauts. 166 5-6: American affluence on display in Pat Collins’ living room. 167 5-7: An aerial photo of an American yard used to show the fidelity of American photographs of the Moon. 168 6-1: Using space exploration to symbolize Soviet progress. 174 6-2: A photograph of the statue “To the Cosmos” and the text: “Soviet Science and Scientists: a look at the problems, research and prospects.” 177 6-3: Visualizing Soviet technological progress: A
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