LSE IDEAS is proud to present a collection of archival documents: British-Soviet Relations in the Cold War, 1943-1953. This unique online resource was created by two teams of Cold War historians representing the British Academy in partnership with LSE’s foreign policy think tank LSE IDEAS and the Russian Academy of Sciences. It includes documents from multiple archives in the UK and Russia, including The National Archives at Kew and the Russian Presidential Archive.
Around 360 documents with editorial notes, totalling more than 1,150 pages, of telegrams, letters, records of meetings, memorandums and reports have been published online. The resource will act as a live platform, allowing new documents and analysis to be added as the project continues and develops. It is free and available for all to use at: www.lse.ac.uk/ColdWarArchives
Dr Svetozar Rajak, Academic Director, LSE IDEAS, who has led the UK side of the research collaboration with Professor Arne Westad, a Fellow of the British Academy and founding Director of LSE IDEAS, said:
“Through this exceptional collaboration, we can provide new avenues for understanding this key historical period. These documents will be a valuable resource, made publicly available for researchers, scholars, students and policymakers all over the world. It will enrich scholarship and understanding for an academic audience and the wider public.”
Professor Vladimir O. Pechatnov, Chair in the Department of European and American Studies, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, who has led with Academician Alexandr Chubarian, the Russian side of the collaboration said:
“What makes this project unique is the fact that this is the first bilateral collaboration of British and Russian historians in many years on the Cold War and its aftermath. It is also special because it is an exercise in parallel international history with each side providing a documentary record of its own and then putting it in a joint comparative perspective against the evidence from the other side. This dual approach makes it possible to create a more rounded and comprehensive picture of Soviet-British relationship”.
The launch of the online collection took place in the British Academy, on Wednesday, 13 July 2016.
Speakers included Prof Ash Amin, Foreign Secretary of the British Academy, Academician Alexandr Chubarian of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Michael Cox, LSE IDEAS Director, Professor Arne Westad and Professor Vladimir Pechatnov, Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Arne Westad, the former director of LSE IDEAS and now ST Lee Professor at Harvard, who led the project with Academician A.O. Chubarian, underlined the significance of working together with Russian colleagues on historical research. “It would be good to see more projects of this kind in the future,” Westad said.
In his speech, Professor Cox accentuated:
“IDEAS began life at the LSE thinking creatively about the influence of the Cold War upon the modern world. It is wonderful to see this brilliant project on the early years of the Cold War finally coming to fruition. ”