KEEPING UP APPEARANCES: HOW THE SOVIET STATE FAILED TO CONTROL POPULAR ATTITUDES TOWARD THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1945-1959 by Rósa Magnúsdóttir A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History Chapel Hill 2006 Approved by Advisor: Donald J. Raleigh Reader: David M. Griffiths Reader: Michael H. Hunt Reader: Robert M. Jenkins Reader: Jeffrey W. Jones © 2006 Rósa Magnúsdóttir ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT RÓSA MAGNÚSDÓTTIR: Keeping Up Appearances: How the Soviet State Failed to Control Popular Attitudes Toward the United States of America, 1945-1959 (Under the direction of Donald J. Raleigh) This dissertation explores perceptions of the United States of America in the Soviet Union from the April 1945 meeting of Soviet and American soldiers on the river Elbe in Germany to the September 1959 visit of Premier N. S. Khrushchev to America. It uses a large body of archival sources to uncover multiple discourses about America in the Soviet Union, arguing that the Soviet state’s America myths helped create a positive counter-myth of America. Chapter 1 introduces the state-sponsored anti-American campaign during the Stalin years and some of its most active participants. Chapter 2 addresses the effectiveness of the anti- American campaign as it uncovers an unofficial counter-myth that mirrored the anti- American propaganda promoted by Soviet authorities. In Chapter 3, considers official American propaganda during the Stalin era and shows how it contributed to the popular counter-myth that greatly distressed Soviet authorities. Chapter 4 examines the restored cultural relations with the United States, with a focus on the revival of Soviet-American cultural exchanges in 1955. Finally, Chapter 5 looks at Khrushchev’s efforts to celebrate Soviet socialism while trying to maintain social order and promote the concept of peaceful coexistence with the United States. I conclude by considering Soviet perceptions of the United States in the 1960s and beyond, speculating on the meaning and importance of the myth of America in the Soviet Union and, after 1991, in Russia. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge the many people who throughout the years made this project feasible. First, I owe much to my advisor, Donald J. Raleigh. He is an excellent teacher and mentor, and his tutelage over the past seven years has been invaluable. His high standards, collegiality, and patience make him a role model in the world of academia. I would also like to thank the other members of my committee, Michael H. Hunt, Robert M. Jenkins, David M. Griffiths, Jeffrey W. Jones, and Willis E. Brooks, for their support and intellectual guidance during my graduate career. I have benefited much from conversations with all of them. Finally, I would not have embarked upon a graduate career in history had it not been for the encouragement of my undergraduate advisor at the University of Iceland, Valur Ingimundarson, who has since then followed my progress and provided encouragement. Former and present faculty and staff at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have supported me both on campus and off. I would like to especially thank Judith Bennett, Donald M. Reid, James L. Hevia, Eleonora Magomedova, David Pike, Linda Stephenson, Violet Lentz, Jeremy Pinkham, and Jean C. Hughes. I conducted the research for this dissertation in national and local archives in Moscow. Many archivists helped me navigate the labyrinth of Russian archives, but I am most indebted to Vladimir Kozlov, historian and deputy director of the State Archive of the Russian Federation. In Moscow, I also enjoyed the company of fellow graduate students iv from all over the United States, Germany, Austria, Italy, England, France, and Russia. The world of academia is small, and I look forward to meeting them again at future conferences or in the archives. In Mannheim, Irena Kogan had answers to all my questions about the intricacies of the Russian language, and in Chapel Hill, Jon Wallace read parts of the dissertation. I would also like to recognize the various agencies that provided me with funds to research and write the dissertation. At UNC, a University Center for International Studies Grant funded a scouting trip to Moscow in 2002, a Mowry Fellowship from the History Department and an Off-Campus Fellowship from the Graduate School helped fund my research in Moscow in 2003-04, and a Doris C. Quinn Fellowship from the History Department in 2005-06 allowed me to finish writing the dissertation. The first part of the dissertation was written at the Institute for European History in Mainz, Germany, which provided both funding and an intellectually stimulating living space in 2004-05. Parts of the dissertation were presented at over a dozen conferences and workshops in the United States, Germany, and Russia and all these venues proved wonderful opportunities to get feedback on my work. I am blessed with many dear friendships and a supportive family. In the spirit of Soviet propagandists, I toast to friendship and peace among the nations and thank collectively my family and friends in Iceland, Denmark, Germany, France, the United States, and Russia. In all these countries, there are people who helped me more than they probably realize. They showed interest in what I was doing, strived to understand why I was doing it, and inspired and encouraged me with their own accomplishments. v This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Magnús and Steinunn. Always firmly behind my ideas and plans however implausible they seemed at the time, their love and support continue to motivate me in everything I do. Finally, I want to thank David Reimer for his support, patience, generosity, and encouragement. No words are strong enough to describe how much it has meant to me. Thank you for keeping the mice away, for always knowing what to do, and for always being there for me. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................1 The Sources of the American Counter-Myth ..........................................................8 Historiography and Themes...................................................................................12 Soviet Consciousness and Soviet Sources.............................................................17 1. STALIN’S SCRIPT FOR ANTI-AMERICANISM: PATRIOTISM AND PROPAGANDA, 1945-51 ....................................................23 After the War: Soviet Reality and the Anticosmopolitan Campaign ....................25 The Two Americas: Anti-Americanism in the Theaters .......................................34 Favorite Anti-American Authors...........................................................................46 Acceptable Americans...........................................................................................52 Soviet Anti-Americanism in Context ....................................................................60 2. EXPERIENCING THE MYTH OF AMERICA, 1943-56......................................64 The Anti-Soviet Soviet Union: Standards for Behavior and the Alternative Myth ...................................................................................................67 Fear of a Renewed War: From World War to Cold War.......................................71 Technology and the Well-Off Worker ..................................................................75 “The Most Democratic Country in the World”: Soviet Style Democracy and the Cult of the Leader..................................................................77 The Myth of America and Soviet Socialism .........................................................88 Perceptions and Propaganda—Agency and Dissent..............................................96 vii 3. PROPAGANDA WARS: IN LIEU OF CULTURAL RELATIONS, 1945-53..........................................................................................102 The American Cultural Offensive in the Soviet Union .......................................104 “A Modern Day El Dorado!”: Soviet Reactions to American Propaganda.........109 A Soviet Peace Offensive: Fighting the Propaganda War at Home and Abroad ..........................................................................................................124 Organized Interactions: Soviet Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries........129 Rare Encounters with American Culture and Americans....................................134 Conclusion...........................................................................................................147 4. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE? TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT SOVIET SOCIALISM, 1955-58...........................................................................................149 The Spirit of Geneva and the Legacy of 1955.....................................................150 The Revival of Soviet-American Cultural Relations...........................................162 Rethinking Soviet Propaganda for Americans ....................................................173 Soviet Strategies for Impression Management....................................................183 “Correct Conclusions” About the Soviet Union..................................................192 5. CELEBRATING, CONTROLLING, COEXISTING: KHRUSHCHEV AND THE WEST, 1957-59...................................................................................196