Reception of World War II in The New Review Articles and in the Correspondence of its Editors M. Aldanov and M. Karpovich

This article analyses the content of The New Review (Novy Zhurnal, «Новый журнал») during the war years and its editorial policy. It identifies the main themes in the portrayal of war and various approaches to characterizing Russia across military, political, cultural, and other dimensions. Founded in 1942 by Russian emigrants fleeing the war to the United States, the magazine focuses in its first issues on the problems of the war both historically, defining its preconditions and causes, and prognostically, suggesting various ways of organising the post-war world. The predominant model for constructing attitudes toward the Soviet Union becomes the unconditional support of the émigré community for the Russian people as well as for the political and territorial independence of the country. Simultaneously, the possibilities émigré journalism offered allowed for more critical expressions, the overwhelming majority of which focused on the political structure of the USSR and its leaders. A trend is observed toward a decrease in negative commentary as the course of military actions begins to favour the Red Army. American participation in the hostilities necessitated support from allies, including at the informational level, leading to a normalisation of the image of the USSR for propaganda purposes. The editorial notes of M. A. Aldanov, M. M. Karpovich, and M. O. Tsetlin illustrate a commitment to a balanced and equitable position. Correspondence materials from the editors of The New Review, discovered in the Bakhmeteff Archive at Columbia University, indicate that the editorial team was compelled to temper authorial radicalism and to moderate both excessively critical and overly apologetic statements.