FROM FORMAL EQUALITY TO IMPLICIT LEADERSHIP: THE LENINGRAD TELEVISION STUDIO IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERREGIONAL RELATIONS IN THE 1960S

The article examines the special position of the Leningrad Television Studio (LTS) in the Soviet broadcasting system of the 1960s – a period when television in the USSR acquired a truly allUnion character due to the established network of regional studios. Based on the analysis of archival materials, the author demonstrates how, despite the formal equality of all regional studios, the Leningrad Television Studio effectively acted as an unofficial leader. The paper thoroughly examines the duality of LTS's position: while the studio could be selective in responding to requests from regional colleagues, it also actively participated in creating television programs for other TV centers. The author analyzes how the symbolic capital of Leningrad as the country's second cultural center was transformed into specific institutional practices. Through detailed analysis of correspondence between studios, the author shows how regional TV centers perceived LTS as an authoritative source of professional expertise, seeking assistance not only in content creation but also in organizational, technical, and legal matters. The study reveals how informal centers of influence emerged within the formally unified system of Soviet television, where LTS occupied a unique intermediate position between a regional studio and central television. The basis of the work is wide range of archival sources, including correspondence between studios, documents from the educational and methodological department, administrative documentation, and materials from the State Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting of the Soviet Union, which allows for a detailed examination of the mechanisms that formed the special status of the Leningrad studio within the Soviet broadcasting system