MATERIALS FROM THE ARCHIVE OF THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ON CONTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS OF THE USSR AND JAPAN TO NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES IN 1920-1930S

Print

УДК 94(47).093.2

KIBA D.V., Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russian Federation

MATERIALS FROM THE ARCHIVE OF THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ON CONTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS OF THE USSR AND JAPAN TO NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES IN 1920-1930S

Abstract

The article draws on materials from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation to study contribution of public organizations of the USSR and Japan to normalization of relations between the two countries in 1920 – 1930s. The study of the public diplomacy movement of the prewar period identifies driving forces that contributed to the maintenance of stability in the Asian region and promoted immersion in the culture of the foreign nation. The study of the friendship movement of 1920 – 1930s with introduction of the yet unrevealed historical sources from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation should significantly enrich and enhance presentation of the dynamics in relations between the USSR and Japan in the prewar period. Drawing on materials from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, the article strives to assess the contribution of the public organizations of the USSR and Japan to normalization of relations between the two countries in 1920 – 1930s. With this in mind the article considers the formation of the Japanese public organizations in 1920-1930 in order to help establishing friendly relations with the USSR, their activities, status, and numerical composition. It also identifies priorities of the Soviet organization, the All-Russian Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (VOKS), in facilitation of dialogue between the Soviet Union and Japan in the prewar period. The chronological framework of the study covers the period of 1920-1930s, which allows depict the mode of public institutes activities under diverse historical conditions. The article determines that the initiative to establish friendly relations with Soviet Russia came from the Japanese community. The contribution of Nichiro Sofucay, the Association of Friends Studying the Soviet Union, the International Society of Nihon Kokusai Kyokai to developing friendship between the two countries and to preservation of peace is being studied for the first time. The author concludes that activities of public organizations in Japan and the Soviet Union contributed to formation of a stratum of non-judgemental professionals familiar with both Russian and Japanese cultures. This stratum became a foundation for the friendship movement of the postwar period, as the counties attempted a constructive dialogue and a normative consolidation of friendly relations.

Download the article: kiba_doi

Keywords

Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, Society of Russian-Japanese mutual assistance, Japano-Russian Literature and Art Society, Association of Friends Studying the Soviet Union, All-Russian Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, public diplomacy.

References

1. Demchenko M.V. Iaponiia: dvizhenie za druzhbu s Sovetskim Soiuzom [Japan: Movement for friendship with the Soviet Union]. Problemy Dal'nego Vostoka [Problems of the Far East],1986. no 1, pp. 84–92.

2. Ugrinovich B.I. Dvizhenie za druzhbu mezhdu narodami SSSR i Iaponii [Movement for friendship between the peoples of the USSR and Japan]. CCCR – Iaponiia. K 50-letiiu ustanovleniia sovetsko-iaponskikh diplomaticheskikh otnoshenii (1925 – 1975) [Japan – the USSR: The 50th anniversary of the Soviet-Japanese Diplomatic Relations: 1925 - 1975]. Moscow, Glavnaja redakcija vostochnoj literatury izdatel'stva “Nauka” publ., 1978, 132–153.

3. Fudzimoto Vakio E.G. Spal'vin – sekretar' sovetskogo posol'stva v Tokio [Spalvin, Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Tokyo ]. Puti razvitiia vostokovedeniia na Dal'nem Vostoke Rossii [Ways of development of Oriental Studies at the Russian Far East]. Vladivostok, Izd-vo Dal'nevost. un-ta publ., 2014, pp. 128–146.

4. Lensen G. A. Japanese Recognition of the URSS. Soviet Japanese Relations 1921—1930. Tokyo — Tallahassee, Sophia University — The Diplomatic Press, 1970, pp. 317–342

About author

Kiba Daria Valerievna, PhD in History, associate professor of the Department of History and Archival Science of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur State Technical University, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russian Federation, +7-924-115-12-76, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

You can read completely article in the russian historic-archival magazine “The Herald of an Archivist”. Read more about terms of subscription here.

Полностью материал публикуется в российском историко-архивоведческом журнале ВЕСТНИК АРХИВИСТА. Ознакомьтесь с условиями подписки здесь.