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Authors: Tim Tzouliadis
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My thanks to Adam Wishart for his crucial wisdom at the beginning, and to my literary agent, Patrick Walsh, who took on this project with an enduring faith and enthusiasm.
I would like to thank Dr. Lyuba Vinogradova and Dr. Dimitri Konyushkov for their invaluable work with the Russian interviews, research, and archival translations in Moscow. And to thank and credit the work of my American and British editors who showed such care, patience, and critical engagement with this book: Vanessa Mobley, Scott Moyers, and Richard Beswick.
Finally, my thanks in the simplest way to my family—to my mother and three sisters and especially to my father, Dr. V. Tzouliadis, for teaching me the value of politics and history.
NOTES
1 . THE JOADS OF RUSSIA
1
Photo from the collection of Thomas Sgovio, courtesy of Joanne Sgovio, published in article by Alan Cullinson, “A Secret Revealed: Stalin’s Police Killed Americans,” Associated Press, Nov. 23, 1997.
Photo from the collection of Thomas Sgovio, courtesy of Joanne Sgovio, published in article by Alan Cullinson, “A Secret Revealed: Stalin’s Police Killed Americans,” Associated Press, Nov. 23, 1997.
2
New York Times,
Nov. 17, 1931; quoted in “American Jobless Begin National March to Washington,”
Moscow News,
Dec. 8, 1931.
New York Times,
Nov. 17, 1931; quoted in “American Jobless Begin National March to Washington,”
Moscow News,
Dec. 8, 1931.
3
United News,
vol. 2, Reel 86; vol. 7, Reel 332; vol. 8, Reel 480, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland; Frank Tannenbaum, “The Prospect of Violent Revolution in the United States,”
Scribner’s Magazine,
May 1931.
United News,
vol. 2, Reel 86; vol. 7, Reel 332; vol. 8, Reel 480, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland; Frank Tannenbaum, “The Prospect of Violent Revolution in the United States,”
Scribner’s Magazine,
May 1931.
4
Irving Howe and Lewis Coser,
The American Communist Party: A Critical History, 1919-1957
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1957), 192.
Irving Howe and Lewis Coser,
The American Communist Party: A Critical History, 1919-1957
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1957), 192.
5
Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1952). From Roosevelt’s inaugural address, March 4, 1933.
Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1952). From Roosevelt’s inaugural address, March 4, 1933.
6
Peter G. Filene,
Americans and the Soviet Experiment, 1917-1933
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967), 255.
Peter G. Filene,
Americans and the Soviet Experiment, 1917-1933
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967), 255.
7
Mikhail Ilin,
New Russia’s Primer: The Story of the Five-Year Plan,
trans. George S. Counts and Nucia P. Lodge (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 148-60.
Mikhail Ilin,
New Russia’s Primer: The Story of the Five-Year Plan,
trans. George S. Counts and Nucia P. Lodge (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), 148-60.
11
“Russia Will Curb Job-Seekers’ Entry,”
New York Times,
Mar. 18, 1932; “Too Many Americans Are Going to Russia,”
New York Times,
April 17, 1932; “American Immigrants in Russia,” Ruth Kennell and Milly Bennett,
American Mercury,
April 1932, 463-72.
“Russia Will Curb Job-Seekers’ Entry,”
New York Times,
Mar. 18, 1932; “Too Many Americans Are Going to Russia,”
New York Times,
April 17, 1932; “American Immigrants in Russia,” Ruth Kennell and Milly Bennett,
American Mercury,
April 1932, 463-72.
12
361.11 Employees/315, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
361.11 Employees/315, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
13
861.5511/9, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
861.5511/9, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
16
Ibid., 338.
Ibid., 338.
18
Elbridge Durbrow, Oct. 6, 1934, Enclosure No. 1 to dispatch No. 156, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
Elbridge Durbrow, Oct. 6, 1934, Enclosure No. 1 to dispatch No. 156, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
19
Radio broadcast, Oct. 11, 1931, quoted from George Bernard Shaw,
A Little Talk on America
(London: Friends of the Soviet Union, 1932).
Radio broadcast, Oct. 11, 1931, quoted from George Bernard Shaw,
A Little Talk on America
(London: Friends of the Soviet Union, 1932).
2. BASEBALL IN GORKY PARK
1
Wedding is a suburb of Berlin—from
Za Industrializatsiu
, Enclosure 3, to despatch 8389, Riga, Latvia, Jan. 13, 1932, RG59, National Achives II, College Park, Maryland.
Wedding is a suburb of Berlin—from
Za Industrializatsiu
, Enclosure 3, to despatch 8389, Riga, Latvia, Jan. 13, 1932, RG59, National Achives II, College Park, Maryland.
3
“American Immigrants in Russia,” Ruth Kennell and Milly Bennett,
American Mercury,
April 1932, 463-72.
“American Immigrants in Russia,” Ruth Kennell and Milly Bennett,
American Mercury,
April 1932, 463-72.
4
Letter from Anna Louise Strong to Eleanor Roosevelt, Jan. 29, 1935, Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, 1933- 1945, Library of Congress Manuscripts, Washington, D.C.
Letter from Anna Louise Strong to Eleanor Roosevelt, Jan. 29, 1935, Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, 1933- 1945, Library of Congress Manuscripts, Washington, D.C.
5
“From a Professor’s Diary,”
Moscow News,
Oct. 12, 1931; “It Feels Good to Arrive in USSR Says American Workers,”
Moscow News,
Oct. 17, 1931.
“From a Professor’s Diary,”
Moscow News,
Oct. 12, 1931; “It Feels Good to Arrive in USSR Says American Workers,”
Moscow News,
Oct. 17, 1931.
8
Eugene Lyons,
Assignment in Utopia: On the Experiences of a American Journalist in the USSR
(London: Harrap, 1938), 88.
Eugene Lyons,
Assignment in Utopia: On the Experiences of a American Journalist in the USSR
(London: Harrap, 1938), 88.
10
“A Visit to Schools,”
Moscow Pioneer,
no. 3, March 1932, 4; Dispatch no. 286, Riga, April 22, 1932, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland; “Epic of Working Class Strength,”
Moscow News,
Nov. 11, 1931.
“A Visit to Schools,”
Moscow Pioneer,
no. 3, March 1932, 4; Dispatch no. 286, Riga, April 22, 1932, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland; “Epic of Working Class Strength,”
Moscow News,
Nov. 11, 1931.
12
“Russian Athletes Want Baseball,”
Moscow Daily News,
May 14, 1932; “Baseball for USSR,”
Moscow Daily News,
1932; “Russian Team Keen for Baseball—Put Up Good Game,”
Moscow Daily News,
July 3, 1932.
“Russian Athletes Want Baseball,”
Moscow Daily News,
May 14, 1932; “Baseball for USSR,”
Moscow Daily News,
1932; “Russian Team Keen for Baseball—Put Up Good Game,”
Moscow Daily News,
July 3, 1932.
13
“Americans Bring Baseball to the Soviet Union,”
Moscow News,
May 20, 1932; “Baseball Is Spreading,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 5, 1932; Robert Edelman,
Serious Fun: A History of Spectator Sports in the USSR
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 73; “Stalin Auto Plant Workers Take to Baseball,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 24, 1934.
“Americans Bring Baseball to the Soviet Union,”
Moscow News,
May 20, 1932; “Baseball Is Spreading,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 5, 1932; Robert Edelman,
Serious Fun: A History of Spectator Sports in the USSR
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 73; “Stalin Auto Plant Workers Take to Baseball,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 24, 1934.
14
“Anglo-American School Challenges Leningrad Pupils,”
Moscow Daily News,
Nov. 20, 1932; “English School Moves,”
Moscow News,
Nov. 22, 1931; “Public Schools Here, Abroad,”
Moscow News,
Feb. 27, 1932.
“Anglo-American School Challenges Leningrad Pupils,”
Moscow Daily News,
Nov. 20, 1932; “English School Moves,”
Moscow News,
Nov. 22, 1931; “Public Schools Here, Abroad,”
Moscow News,
Feb. 27, 1932.
15
James E. Abbe,
I Photograph Russia
(London: Harrap, 1935), 272; MID 2070, Oct. 23, 1929, RG 165, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
James E. Abbe,
I Photograph Russia
(London: Harrap, 1935), 272; MID 2070, Oct. 23, 1929, RG 165, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
18
861.01/A19, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland; Vladimir Zazubrin, “The Chip: A Story About a Chip and About Her,” trans. Graham Roberts, from Oleg Chukhontsev (ed.),
Dissonant Voices: The New Russian Fiction
(London: Harvill, 1991), 7.
861.01/A19, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland; Vladimir Zazubrin, “The Chip: A Story About a Chip and About Her,” trans. Graham Roberts, from Oleg Chukhontsev (ed.),
Dissonant Voices: The New Russian Fiction
(London: Harvill, 1991), 7.
21
“Moscow Baseball Team Beats Visiting Gorki Nine by 16 to 5,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 8, 1934; “Short-comings of Moscow-Gorki Baseball Game,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 10, 1934; “Baseball Asks for a Helping Hand,”
Moscow Daily News,
1934; “Moscow, Gorki Players, Physical Culture Head Discuss Baseball,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 9, 1934.
“Moscow Baseball Team Beats Visiting Gorki Nine by 16 to 5,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 8, 1934; “Short-comings of Moscow-Gorki Baseball Game,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 10, 1934; “Baseball Asks for a Helping Hand,”
Moscow Daily News,
1934; “Moscow, Gorki Players, Physical Culture Head Discuss Baseball,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 9, 1934.
22
“Karelia Foreign Youth Club Wants to Get into Inter-City Baseball,”
Moscow Daily News,
May 12, 1934; “Baseball Grows in Karelia,”
Moscow Daily News,
circa June 24, 1934; “Suggests Baseball Spartakiade for Players Here,”
Moscow Daily News,
Aug. 14, 1934.
“Karelia Foreign Youth Club Wants to Get into Inter-City Baseball,”
Moscow Daily News,
May 12, 1934; “Baseball Grows in Karelia,”
Moscow Daily News,
circa June 24, 1934; “Suggests Baseball Spartakiade for Players Here,”
Moscow Daily News,
Aug. 14, 1934.
23
“Moscow Baseball Team Leaves for Intercity Series in Karelia,”
Moscow Daily News,
July 16, 1934; Mayme Sevander,
Red Exodus: Finnish American Emigration to Russia
(Duluth, Minn.: Oscat, 1993), 168; “Moscow Team Drops Second Game in North,”
Moscow Daily News,
July 21, 1934; “Moscow Baseball Team’s Faults, Misfortunes,”
Moscow Daily News,
August 4, 1934; “Missing Ball Players Found Gathering the Harvest,”
Moscow Daily News,
Aug. 1934.
“Moscow Baseball Team Leaves for Intercity Series in Karelia,”
Moscow Daily News,
July 16, 1934; Mayme Sevander,
Red Exodus: Finnish American Emigration to Russia
(Duluth, Minn.: Oscat, 1993), 168; “Moscow Team Drops Second Game in North,”
Moscow Daily News,
July 21, 1934; “Moscow Baseball Team’s Faults, Misfortunes,”
Moscow Daily News,
August 4, 1934; “Missing Ball Players Found Gathering the Harvest,”
Moscow Daily News,
Aug. 1934.
24
“Baseball Comes to the USSR to Stay,”
Moscow Daily News,
Sept. 1934; “Moscow Baseball Team Thanks Supporters as Season Ends,”
Moscow Daily News,
1934; “The Hot Dog Makes Its Bow,”
Moscow Daily News,
Dec. 1934.
“Baseball Comes to the USSR to Stay,”
Moscow Daily News,
Sept. 1934; “Moscow Baseball Team Thanks Supporters as Season Ends,”
Moscow Daily News,
1934; “The Hot Dog Makes Its Bow,”
Moscow Daily News,
Dec. 1934.
27
“Foreign Workers to Stage Baseball Game at OGPU Labor Commune,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 17, 1934; “Teams Line Up for Baseball Tournament,”
Moscow Daily News,
Feb. 21, 1935.
“Foreign Workers to Stage Baseball Game at OGPU Labor Commune,”
Moscow Daily News,
June 17, 1934; “Teams Line Up for Baseball Tournament,”
Moscow Daily News,
Feb. 21, 1935.
3. “LIFE HAS BECOME MORE JOY FUL!”
3
Paul Robeson, “I Breathe Freely,” interview in Moscow by Julia Dorn,
New Theatre,
July 1935, 5; from Paul Robeson,
Paul Robeson Speaks
, ed. Philip S. Foner (London: Quartet, 1978), 102.
Paul Robeson, “I Breathe Freely,” interview in Moscow by Julia Dorn,
New Theatre,
July 1935, 5; from Paul Robeson,
Paul Robeson Speaks
, ed. Philip S. Foner (London: Quartet, 1978), 102.
4
Paul Robeson, Jr.,
The Undiscovered Paul Robeson: An Artist’s Journey, 1898-1939
(New York: John Wiley, 2001), 280.
Paul Robeson, Jr.,
The Undiscovered Paul Robeson: An Artist’s Journey, 1898-1939
(New York: John Wiley, 2001), 280.
6
“I Am Home—Interview by Vern Smith,”
Daily Worker,
Jan. 15, 1935, from Robeson,
Paul Robeson Speaks,
95.
“I Am Home—Interview by Vern Smith,”
Daily Worker,
Jan. 15, 1935, from Robeson,
Paul Robeson Speaks,
95.
8
Ibid., 103.
Ibid., 103.
9
Encl. no. 3, to dispatch no. 1133 of the Legation at Riga, Latvia, Feb. 8, 1933, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
Encl. no. 3, to dispatch no. 1133 of the Legation at Riga, Latvia, Feb. 8, 1933, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
12
Thomas Sgovio interview with George Kovacs, tapes courtesy of David Elkind, LiveWire Media, San Francisco.
Thomas Sgovio interview with George Kovacs, tapes courtesy of David Elkind, LiveWire Media, San Francisco.
13
361.11, Employees/179, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
361.11, Employees/179, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
19
Ibid., 29; Alan Cullinson, “A Secret Revealed: Stalin’s Police Killed Americans,” Associated Press, Nov. 23, 1997.
Ibid., 29; Alan Cullinson, “A Secret Revealed: Stalin’s Police Killed Americans,” Associated Press, Nov. 23, 1997.
20
Walter Duranty, “Million Are Held in Russian Camps, 200,000 in Forests,”
New York Times,
Feb. 3, 1931.
Walter Duranty, “Million Are Held in Russian Camps, 200,000 in Forests,”
New York Times,
Feb. 3, 1931.
21
Diane P. Koenker and Ronald D. Bachman (eds.),
Revelations from the Russian Archives: Documents in English Translation
(Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1997), 156.
Diane P. Koenker and Ronald D. Bachman (eds.),
Revelations from the Russian Archives: Documents in English Translation
(Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1997), 156.
26
Margaret Wettlin,
Fifty Russian Winters: An American Woman’s Life in the Soviet Union
(New York: Pharos, 1992), 102.
Margaret Wettlin,
Fifty Russian Winters: An American Woman’s Life in the Soviet Union
(New York: Pharos, 1992), 102.
27
Sheila Fitzpatrick,
Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 90.
Sheila Fitzpatrick,
Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 90.
4 . “FORDIZATSIA”
1
Alexander Blok, “Retribution,” foreword, quoted from
Selected Poems,
trans. Alex Miller (Moscow: Progress, 1981), 264.
Alexander Blok, “Retribution,” foreword, quoted from
Selected Poems,
trans. Alex Miller (Moscow: Progress, 1981), 264.
2
Dispatch no. 286, Riga, April 22, 1932, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
Dispatch no. 286, Riga, April 22, 1932, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
4
Charles E. Sorensen,
My Forty Years with Ford
(New York: Norton, 1936), 182; Peter G. Filene,
Americans and the Soviet Experiment, 1917-1933
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967), 117.
Charles E. Sorensen,
My Forty Years with Ford
(New York: Norton, 1936), 182; Peter G. Filene,
Americans and the Soviet Experiment, 1917-1933
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967), 117.
10
B. H. Berghoff, Report of the Ford Delegation to Russia and the USSR, April-Aug. 1926, Acc. 49, Box 1A, Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
B. H. Berghoff, Report of the Ford Delegation to Russia and the USSR, April-Aug. 1926, Acc. 49, Box 1A, Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
11
Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, Moscow, RGASPI, fond 17, opis 166, delo 296, list 5.
Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, Moscow, RGASPI, fond 17, opis 166, delo 296, list 5.
14
Contract, May 31, 1929, Acc. 19, Box 1, Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
Contract, May 31, 1929, Acc. 19, Box 1, Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
15
Robert Scoon, “Those Communist Model A’s,”
The Restorer
14, no. 6 (March-April 1970); Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
Robert Scoon, “Those Communist Model A’s,”
The Restorer
14, no. 6 (March-April 1970); Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
17
Charles Sorensen, Oral History, Amtorg 1953, Acc. 65, Box 66, Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
Charles Sorensen, Oral History, Amtorg 1953, Acc. 65, Box 66, Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
18
Victor Herman,
Coming Out of the Ice: An Unexpected Life
(New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979), 10-17.
Victor Herman,
Coming Out of the Ice: An Unexpected Life
(New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979), 10-17.
19
Acc. 818, Box 1, Folder 1 of 4, Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
Acc. 818, Box 1, Folder 1 of 4, Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Mich.
22
Kurt Schultz, “Building the Soviet Detroit: The Construction of the Nizhnii-Novgorod Automobile Factory, 1927-1932,”
Slavic Review
(Spring 1990).
Kurt Schultz, “Building the Soviet Detroit: The Construction of the Nizhnii-Novgorod Automobile Factory, 1927-1932,”
Slavic Review
(Spring 1990).
23
Robert Scoon, “More About Those Communist Model A’s,”
The Restorer
15, no. 6 (March-April 1971), Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Michigan.
Robert Scoon, “More About Those Communist Model A’s,”
The Restorer
15, no. 6 (March-April 1971), Benson Ford Research Center, Dearborn, Michigan.
24
Ellery Walter,
Russia’s Decisive Year
(London: Hutchinson, 1932), 143; “Collective Feeding Is Death Blow to Kitchen Drudgery,”
Moscow Daily News,
May 9, 1932.
Ellery Walter,
Russia’s Decisive Year
(London: Hutchinson, 1932), 143; “Collective Feeding Is Death Blow to Kitchen Drudgery,”
Moscow Daily News,
May 9, 1932.
25
Susan Buck-Morss,
Dreamworld and Catastrophe: The Passing of Mass Utopia in East and West
(Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2000), 166.
Susan Buck-Morss,
Dreamworld and Catastrophe: The Passing of Mass Utopia in East and West
(Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2000), 166.
26
Ekonomicheskaya Zhizn, Nov. 1, 1931, RGAE, f. 7620, op. 1, D.75, 1.8906. From list compiled by Prof. Boris Shpotov, Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
Ekonomicheskaya Zhizn, Nov. 1, 1931, RGAE, f. 7620, op. 1, D.75, 1.8906. From list compiled by Prof. Boris Shpotov, Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
27
Ruth Kennell and Milly Bennett, “American Immigrants in Russia,”
American Mercury,
April 1932; “In the Fatherland of the Proletarians of All Countries,”
Za Industrializatsiu,
Nov. 7, 1931; Enclosure 3, to dispatch 8389, Riga, Latvia, Jan. 13, 1932, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
Ruth Kennell and Milly Bennett, “American Immigrants in Russia,”
American Mercury,
April 1932; “In the Fatherland of the Proletarians of All Countries,”
Za Industrializatsiu,
Nov. 7, 1931; Enclosure 3, to dispatch 8389, Riga, Latvia, Jan. 13, 1932, RG 59, National Archives II, College Park, Maryland.
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