Baibakov S.A. —
Behind the scenes of the only session of the Supreme Soviet of RSFSR during the Great Patriotic War (March 1944)
// History magazine - researches. – 2020. – ¹ 3.
– P. 111 - 120.
DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2020.3.33369
URL: https://en.e-notabene.ru/hsmag/article_33369.html
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Abstract: This article is first within the Russian historiography to reconstruct the backstage of life of the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of RSFSR that is not reflected in the published official documents or media materials of that time. It includes the arrangement of cultural and everyday services for the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of RSFSR during the 5th session held in Moscow on March 1-4, 1944. Leaning on the archival materials, the author demonstrates how the deputies were notified about the upcoming session in the time of war; organization of their meeting at the train station, accommodation in the Hotel Moskva and Grand Hotel, as well as the sanitary and epidemiological measures taken thereof. Representation of food menu, cultural and entertainment program, organization of bookselling, rendering of reference and information services that met requests of the deputies, are also of great interest. Alongside the institutional and functional methods of studying the activity of government branches well-established within the Russian historiography, the author also employs the historical-anthropological approach focused on examination of the human factor. The author believes that hosting such national forum was a representation of the “festive” form of Soviet culture, which acquired a unified and pronounced ideological character during the Soviet rule. Taking into consideration complexity of the situation in the conditions of wartime, creation of an “isle” of relatively luxury life for the deputies, even for a short time, can be viewed as one of the forms of ensuring their loyalty towards the ruling government.