Bogacheva, K. M. SOVIET KARELIA’S SISTER CITY TIES IN DOCUMENTS AND PARTICIPANTS’ RECOLLECTIONS. Proceedings of Petrozavodsk State University. 2026;48(6):22–31. DOI: 10.15393/uchz.art.2026.1348


Russian history

SOVIET KARELIA’S SISTER CITY TIES IN DOCUMENTS AND PARTICIPANTS’ RECOLLECTIONS

Bogacheva
K. M. 		Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Keywords:
twinning
sister cities
public diplomacy
Soviet Karelia
biographical interviews
oral history
ideological control
Soviet international relations		 Summary: The Karelian ASSR’s twinning system was a part of Soviet “people’s diplomacy”. The question of how state regulation of international contacts related to the personal experience of participants remains insufficiently studied in historiography. The aim of this article is to fill this gap based on materials from Karelia in the 1970s–1980s. The theoretical framework of the study draws on Alexei Yurchak’s concepts of “hypernormalization” and the “imaginary West’, clarified through an appeal to the “real West” as the direct experience of contacts. These concepts help to explain how formal rituals coexisted with informal practices. The work is based on a qualitative analysis of archival documents and biographical interviews. The author shows that the system of sister-city ties included a multi-stage selection of participants and strict regulation of trips. Official requirements to demonstrate a soviet life came into conflict with everyday realities. An ambivalent attitude toward the topic of World War II was revealed in relations with partners from Finland, East Germany, and West Germany. The impressions gained often diverged from official directives and generated new meanings and assessments.



Displays: 31;

Продолжая использовать данный сайт, Вы даете согласие на обработку файлов Cookies и других пользовательских данных, в соответствии с Политикой конфиденциальности.