Problems of Organizing Book Exchange with Iran by the All-Union Society for Cultural Links with Abroad in the 1930s
( Pp. 132-139)

The purpose of the research. The article analyzes the activities of the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (VOKS) to strengthen ties with Iran through the policy of book exchange. Book exchange was an important part of the work of VOKS, since it made it possible to statistically track the nature of ties, and also made it possible not only to inform the interested layers of Iranian society about the USSR, but also to receive informative publications from them within the framework of book exchange. Based on the materials of domestic archives — the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF) and the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI), it is demonstrated that the exchange of printed publications with Iranian institutions and individuals was an important component of the VOKS policy to expand cultural relations with Iran. The paper presents statistical data on book exchange and the addressees to whom the literature was sent. Results. Correspondence between authorized VOKS in Iran and the central office made it possible to identify the main problems associated with book exchange: firstly, the unequal ratio of sent and received publications in exchange — VOKS always sent more and received less. Secondly, the poor-quality selection of literature, both in terms of language, for example, books were sent in Uzbek and Ukrainian, and in thematic — overtly political brochures were sent that could not be used in Iran due to censorship. On the basis of archival materials from the National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is demonstrated how Iranian officials were afraid to accept donated Soviet literature. Thirdly, the low quality of the literature. However, in addition to problems, there were also positive aspects. Directly in Iran, representative of VOKS sent out literature, taking into account its thematic scope and target audience. Important Soviet-Iranian cultural and scientific events in the 1930s — the millennium of Ferdowsi, the Third International Congress on Iranian Art and Archeology, the centenary of the death of A. S. Pushkin — were used as occasions for the transfer of relevant literature.

Surkov M. Yu. Problems of Organizing Book Exchange with Iran by the All-Union Society for Cultural Links with Abroad in the 1930s // HISTORY AND MODERN PERSPECTIVES. 2023. Vol. 5. №1. P. 132-139. (in Russ.) DOI: 10.33693/2658-4654-2023-5-1-132-139

Anatsheva I. A. The Role of the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries in the Development of International Cooperation of the USSR. 1925-1939 Dissertation ... candidate of historical sciences: 07.00.01. M., 1994. 179 p.
Arabadzhyan Z. A. Iran from Revolution to Revolution (History in Faces). M., 2018. 159 p.
Atabaki T., Ravandi-Fadai L. M. Victims of time: the life and fate of Iranian politicians and labor migrants in the interwar period. M, 2020. 532 p.
David-Fox M. Showcasing the Great Experiment: The Cultural Diplomacy of the Soviet Union and Its Western Guests, 1921–1941. M., 2015. 561 p.
Zhirkov L. I. The question of the Latin alphabet for the Persian language // Culture and writing of the East. Book 1. Baku, 1928. P. 81–90.
Bertels E. A. From the History of Attempts to Reform the Arabic Alphabet, part II // Culture and Writing of the East. Book 4. Baku, 1929. P. 7–17.
Ivanov Yu. V. The First Soviet Diplomats. NKID RSFSR/USSR. 1917–1941. M., 2022. 464 p.
Kiseleva N. V. The Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (VOKS) in the struggle to break the cultural blockade of the USSR // State, society, Church in the history of Russia in the XX–XXI centuries: Proceedings of the XVI International Scientific Conference: in 2 parts, Ivanovo, 05–06 April 2017. Volume Part 2. Ivanovo, 2017.
Mayzik, E. I. The All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and the Krasnoyarsk Department of the Russian Geographical Society in the System of International Cooperation in the 1920s-1930s // Bulletin of the Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic scientific journal. 2018. No. 2. P. 207–220.
Mamedova N. M. History of Soviet-Iranian Relations (1917–1991) // Iran. History, economy, culture. In memory of S. M. Aliyev. M., 2009. P. 157–170.
Turdubekova T. Sh. Soviet-Iranian Negotiations on a Trade Agreement in 1939–1940 // Ural Oriental Studies. Issue. 4. Yekaterinburg, 2011. P. 221–230.
Kharoboti M. A Summary of the History of the Formation and Development of the Cultural Association of Iran and the Soviet Union (VOKS) // University Review. Social sciences. 2012. No. 2. P. 148–158.
Fayet J.-F. VOKS: le laboratoire helvetique. Histoire de la diplomatie culturelle sovietique Durant l’entre-deux-guerres. Chene-Bourg, 2014. 598 p.
Mossaki N., Ravandi-Fadai L. A Guarded Courtship: Soviet Cultural Diplomacy in Iran from the Late 1940s to the 1960s // Iranian Studies. 2018. Vol. 51. №3. P. 427–454.
O’Sullivan A. Nazi Secret Warfare in Occupied Persia (Iran). The Failure of the German Intelligence Services, 19391945. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. 286 p.
Roth Ey K., Zakharova L. Communications and media in the USSR and Eastern Europe // Cahiers du monde russe. 2015. Vol. 56. №2-3.
Volkov D. Russia's Turn to Persia: Orientalism in Diplomacy and Intelligence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. 268 p.
Yoshinari M. A Unique Event in Iran-Soviet Economic Relations: The 1935 Iranian Trade Delegation to the USSR // Iranian Studies. 2016. Vol. 49. № 5. P. 791–815.
Yoshinari M. From the Imperial Periphery to the Boundaries of Power: Soviet Diplomatic Officials in 1930s Iran // Russians in Iran 1800–1945: Ideology and Domination, edited by Rudi Matthee and Elena Andreeva. London: I.B. Tauris, 2018. P. 243–275.
Ahmadi M.A. Left Discourse in Iran. Tehran: Gognus, 2022. 406 p.]
Zarei A. Red Influence (1920-1941). Tehran: Tamaddone elmi, 2020. 224 p.]
Soleimani K. Censorship of the Press, Books, Cinema and Photography during the Reign of Reza Shah (1925–1941) // Studies in the History of Culture. 2010. №2. pp. 95–132].

VOKS, cultural diplomacy, Iran, book exchange, Soviet-Iranian relations, Ferdowsi, romanization of the alphabet..