Knowledge is Power: The Story of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2019.3.404Keywords:
Soviet encyclopaedias; knowledge and power; totalitarianism; censorship in the Soviet Union; institutionalisation of knowledge; readership in the Soviet Union; State Publishing HouseAbstract
This article focuses on the history of national encyclopaedia publishing in Soviet Russia, which was similar to the national encyclopaedias of France, Great Britain, the US, and the pre-revolutionary Russian Brockhauz – Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary. The Soviet enterprise was an attempt to create an encyclopaedia combining universal knowledge and ideological values. Every revolution starts with a new understanding of reality and public access to a certain type of knowledge, for which encyclopaedias are emblems. The history of encyclopaedia publishing in Soviet Russia demonstrates how difficult and even dangerous encyclopaedias are in times of social transition and political strife. Encyclopaedias were claimed to reshape their users’ mentality and change their habits: they represented a newly established social order based on a monopoly over knowledge and power. Two editions of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia are used to illustrate the transition from new, revolutionary, and sometimes even provocative content to an entirely institutionalised enterprise with a measured dose of truth, strict censorship, and a system of checking and double-checking. The total financial dependence of encyclopaedia publishers, editors, and contributors on the state turned the encyclopaedia into an additional tool in the communist education of Soviet citizens.
References
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Kassof, B. (2005). A Book of Socialism. Stalinist Culture and the First Edition of the Bol’shaia Sovetskaia Entsiklopediia. In Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History. Vol. 6. No. 1. Winter, pp. 55–95.
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Redaktory otdelov i podotdelov [Departments and Sub-Department Editors]. (1926). In BSE. 1st Ed. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya. Vol. 1, p. 3.
RGASPI [Russian State Archive of Social-Political History]. Stock 17. List 163. Dos. 546; Stock 82. List 2. Dos. 981.
Shaumyan, L. S. (Ed.). (1969). Metodicheskie ukazaniya dlya redaktorov Bol’shoi Sovetskoi entsiklopedii. 3-e izd. BSE [Guidelines for the Editors of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 3 Ed.]. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya. 302 p.
Simzen, M. Yu. (1963). Iz istorii natsionalizatsii poligraficheskoi promyshlennosti v SSSR. [On the History of the Nationalisation of the Printing Industry in the USSR]. In Voprosy istorii. No. 3, pp. 211–214.
Slovnik po ekonomike / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on Economics. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 35 p.
Slovnik po istorii Blizhnego i Srednego Vostoka / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on the History of the Near and Middle East. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Central Publishing of the Big Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 35 p.
Slovnik po istorii religii i ateizma / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on the History of Religion and Atheism. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 28 p.
Slovnik po istorii tekhniki / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on the History of Technology. Word–List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 6 p.
Slovnik po vseobshchei istorii / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on General History. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. Part 1. Istoriya Drevnego mira. 20 p. Part 2. Istoriya Srednikh vekov. 51 p. Part 3. Novaiya i noveishaiya istoriya. 94 p. Part 4. Istoriya stran zarubezhnogo Vostoka. 31 p.
Slovnik po yazykoznaniyu / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on Linguistics. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Central Publishing of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 22 p.
Slovniki po geografii / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on Geography. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. Part 2. Ekonomicheskaya geografiya SSSR. 35 p.
Steila, D. (2015). A Proletarian Encyclopédie. In Salvo, M., Kaiser, D., Kivelson, V. (Eds.). Word and Image in Russian History: Essays in Honor of Gary Marker. Brighton, MA, Acad. Studies Press, pp. 90–117.
Ukazaniya avtoram [Instructions for Authors]. (N. d.). In BSE. 2nd Ed. Moscow, BSE. Vol. 1, p. 640.
Urbanizm [Urbanism]. (N. d.). In BSE. 2nd Ed. Moscow, BSE. Vol. 44, p. 312.
Vavilov, S. I, Zvorykin, A. A. (1951). Vtoroe izdanie Bol’shoi Sovetskoi Entsiklopedii [The Second Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia]. In Sovetskaya kniga. No. 7, pp. 7–17.
Vol’fson, M. B. (1929). Puti sovetskoi knigi [Ways of the Soviet Book]. Moscow, Gosizdat. 112 p.
Vvedenskii, B. A., Zvorykin, A. A. (1952). Desyat’ tomov novogo izdaniya Bol’shoi Sovetskoi Entsiklopedii [Ten Volumes of the New Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia]. In Sovetskaya kniga. No. 8, pp. 3–18.
Zaidel’, G. S. (1928). Bol’shaya Sovetskaya entsiklopediya, tt. I–VIII. Stat’i po vseobshchei istorii [The Great Soviet Encyclopaedia, Vol. 1–8. Entries on General History]. In Istorik-marksist. No. 7, pp. 239–244.
Zhivotnovodstvo [Animal Husbandry]. (N. d.). In BSE. 2nd Ed. Moscow, BSE. Vol. 16, p. 118.
BSE : Alfavitnyi ukazatel’ ko vtoromu izdaniyu v 2 t. [The Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. Alphabetical Index to the Second Edition. 2 Vols.]. (1960). Moscow, BSE. 800 + 775 p.
Dekrety Sovetskoi vlasti v 12 t. [Decrees of Soviet Power. 12 Vols.]. (1986). Moscow, Politizdat. Vol. 12. Dekabr’ 1920 g. – yanvar’ 1921 g. 428 p.
Denisov, G. M. (1956). Ob osveshchenii v Bol’shoi Sovetskoi Entsiklopedii deyatel’nosti vydayushchihsya bol’shevikov [On the Reflection of Outstanding Bolsheviks’ Activity in the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia]. In Voprosy istorii. No 5, pp. 140–145.
Entsiklopedii sovetskie [Soviet Encyclopaedias]. (1926). In BSE. 1st Ed. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya, pp. 498–502.
Germaniya. Germanskaya Demokraticheskaya Respublika. Federativnaya Respublika Germaniya [Germany. German Democratic Republic. Federative Republic of Germany]. (1957). In BSE : ezhegodnik. Moscow, BSE, pp. 275–287.
Ispaniya [Spain]. (N. d.). In BSE. 2nd Ed. Moscow, BSE. Vol. 18, pp. 530–591.
Kassof, B. (2005). A Book of Socialism. Stalinist Culture and the First Edition of the Bol’shaia Sovetskaia Entsiklopediia. In Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History. Vol. 6. No. 1. Winter, pp. 55–95.
Khrushchеv, N. S. (1956). 1956 Report of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to the 20th Party Congress. Moscow, Foreign Languages Publ. House. 144 p.
Lavrentiy Beria [Lavrentiy Beria]. (N. d.). In BSE. 2nd Ed. Moscow, BSE. Vol. 5, pp. 18–22.
Maksakov, V. V. (1955). Voprosy istorii Pervoi Russkoi revolutsii v Bol’shoi Sovetskoi entsiklopedii (1–27 tt., 2-e izd.) [Questions on the History of the First Russian Revolution in the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia (Vols. 1–27, 2nd Edition)]. In Voprosy istorii. No. 2, pp. 123–130.
“O novom izdanii Bol’shoi Sovetskoi Entsiklopedii” : postanovlenie Soveta Ministrov SSSR [“On the New Publication of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia”: Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR]. (1949). In Kul’tura i zhizn’. February 20, p. 1.
OR RNB [Manuscript Department, National Library of Russia]. Stock 221 (Arkhiv A. Gorenfel’da). Dos. 358; Stock 1028 (Lichnyi fond K. A. Derzhavina). Dos. 804; Stock 1129 (Lichnyi fond G. S. Vereiskogo). Dos. 469.
Osinskii, N. (1929). Dela i dni Bol’shoi Sovetskoi entsiklopedii [Deeds and Days of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia]. In Pravda. March 15, p. 1.
Ot redaktsii [From the Editors]. (1926). In BSE. 1st Ed. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya. Vol. 1, pp. 1–2.
Ot redaktsii [From the Editors]. (N. d.). In BSE. 2nd Ed. Moscow, BSE. Vol. 1, p. 1.
Redaktory otdelov i podotdelov [Departments and Sub-Department Editors]. (1926). In BSE. 1st Ed. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya. Vol. 1, p. 3.
RGASPI [Russian State Archive of Social-Political History]. Stock 17. List 163. Dos. 546; Stock 82. List 2. Dos. 981.
Shaumyan, L. S. (Ed.). (1969). Metodicheskie ukazaniya dlya redaktorov Bol’shoi Sovetskoi entsiklopedii. 3-e izd. BSE [Guidelines for the Editors of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 3 Ed.]. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya. 302 p.
Simzen, M. Yu. (1963). Iz istorii natsionalizatsii poligraficheskoi promyshlennosti v SSSR. [On the History of the Nationalisation of the Printing Industry in the USSR]. In Voprosy istorii. No. 3, pp. 211–214.
Slovnik po ekonomike / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on Economics. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 35 p.
Slovnik po istorii Blizhnego i Srednego Vostoka / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on the History of the Near and Middle East. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Central Publishing of the Big Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 35 p.
Slovnik po istorii religii i ateizma / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on the History of Religion and Atheism. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 28 p.
Slovnik po istorii tekhniki / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on the History of Technology. Word–List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 6 p.
Slovnik po vseobshchei istorii / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on General History. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. Part 1. Istoriya Drevnego mira. 20 p. Part 2. Istoriya Srednikh vekov. 51 p. Part 3. Novaiya i noveishaiya istoriya. 94 p. Part 4. Istoriya stran zarubezhnogo Vostoka. 31 p.
Slovnik po yazykoznaniyu / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on Linguistics. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Central Publishing of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. 22 p.
Slovniki po geografii / Proekt slovnikov vtorogo izdaniya BSE : rukopis’ dlya obsuzhdeniya v glavnoi redaktsii BSE v 12 t. [Word-List on Geography. Word-List Draft of the 2nd Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. A Manuscript for Discussion at the Editorial Board Meeting of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. 12 Vols.]. (1949–1951). Moscow, BSE. Part 2. Ekonomicheskaya geografiya SSSR. 35 p.
Steila, D. (2015). A Proletarian Encyclopédie. In Salvo, M., Kaiser, D., Kivelson, V. (Eds.). Word and Image in Russian History: Essays in Honor of Gary Marker. Brighton, MA, Acad. Studies Press, pp. 90–117.
Ukazaniya avtoram [Instructions for Authors]. (N. d.). In BSE. 2nd Ed. Moscow, BSE. Vol. 1, p. 640.
Urbanizm [Urbanism]. (N. d.). In BSE. 2nd Ed. Moscow, BSE. Vol. 44, p. 312.
Vavilov, S. I, Zvorykin, A. A. (1951). Vtoroe izdanie Bol’shoi Sovetskoi Entsiklopedii [The Second Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia]. In Sovetskaya kniga. No. 7, pp. 7–17.
Vol’fson, M. B. (1929). Puti sovetskoi knigi [Ways of the Soviet Book]. Moscow, Gosizdat. 112 p.
Vvedenskii, B. A., Zvorykin, A. A. (1952). Desyat’ tomov novogo izdaniya Bol’shoi Sovetskoi Entsiklopedii [Ten Volumes of the New Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia]. In Sovetskaya kniga. No. 8, pp. 3–18.
Zaidel’, G. S. (1928). Bol’shaya Sovetskaya entsiklopediya, tt. I–VIII. Stat’i po vseobshchei istorii [The Great Soviet Encyclopaedia, Vol. 1–8. Entries on General History]. In Istorik-marksist. No. 7, pp. 239–244.
Zhivotnovodstvo [Animal Husbandry]. (N. d.). In BSE. 2nd Ed. Moscow, BSE. Vol. 16, p. 118.
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Published
2019-09-27
How to Cite
Vladimirsky, I. (2019). Knowledge is Power: The Story of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia. Quaestio Rossica, 7(3), 736–750. https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2019.3.404
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Problema voluminis
