Jean-Paul Sartre and Soviet Cultural Diplomacy in the Early Thaw Era

This article explores the circumstances and outcomes of the relationship between Jean-Paul Sartre and the Soviet Union in the mid‑1950s. The chronological framework of the article encompasses a period that is conditionally limited to two dates: March 5, 1953, and November 1, 1956. During this time, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir visited the USSR on three occasions, spending a range of time in the country, from a few hours to several weeks. The programme of each of these visits was carefully thought out and approved at the highest level. The purpose of this article is to identify the specific practices of the cultural diplomacy of the Thaw that were developed by Soviet Party cultural functionaries during the organisation of these visits and were later used as a basis for their policy of interaction with Western intellectuals. The research methodology is based on a contextual analysis of unpublished archival sources, taken in connection with the dynamics of Sartre’s writing reputation in the USSR in the 1930s–1950s. The main sources of the study are documents of the Foreign Commission of the Union of Soviet Writers deposited in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI, f. 631), as well as materials from the funds of other organisations and institutions, periodicals from the years in questions, published memoirs, and diaries. The totality of sources embedded in the political-social and cultural-ideological contexts of the early Thaw makes it possible to create a comprehensive picture not only of how the post-Stalinist public sphere was organised, but also of the ways in which the Soviet Union shaped its international political and cultural image. This determines the relevance and novelty of this research. The main results of the study are related to the creation of a documented narrative about a selected episode in the history of Soviet-Western cultural relations. The conclusion is made about the pragmatic approach of the Soviet state to the interaction with Sartre, whose help the party officials used to increase the degree of influence of the USSR among the European “left-wing intelligentsia”.