Scientific contacts between Professor M. Ja. Sjuzjumov and Dumbarton Oaks

Kapsalykova Karina Ramazanovna ORCID: 0000-0003-4163-5099 PhD in History Associated Professor, Foreign Studies Department, Ural Federal University 623280, Russia, Sverdlovsk Region, Yekaterinburg, Lenina av., 51. carinne.kapsalikova@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Soviet-American relations in the post-war period are traditionally viewed in historiography as an uncompromising confrontation between two world powers. The rivalry between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War extended not only to the economic and military spheres, but also to science and culture. However, in the branches of historical science least affected by the official ideology – the history of the ancient world and the Middle Ages – in the 1960s and 1980s there was an active interaction of scientists from the two countries. The most significant in this respect is Byzantine studies, which at that time was experiencing a rapid flourishing, confidently turning from Orchideendisziplin into an independent scientific direction. "The historical role of Byzantium in the development of civilization was so significant that the history of Byzantium is currently being studied by scientists of countries whose existence could not even be known to the Byzantines – America and Japan," wrote the outstanding Soviet historian Mikhail Yakovlevich Suzumov (1893-1982) ^{[13, p. 168]}.

In the post-war years, the development of Soviet and American Byzantine studies was characterized by the formation of leading research centers. In the USSR, this was the Sector of the History of Byzantium of the Institute of General History of the USSR Academy of Sciences, in the United States – the Center for Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks at Harvard University (Center for Byzantine Studies, Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University, Washington D.C.) ^{[14, p. 97-99; 15, p. 6]}. At the official level, Soviet and American Byzantinists rarely met – during the work of international conferences on historical sciences and at congresses of Byzantine studies held every five years. However, informal contacts between scientists of the two countries were constantly maintained: a lively correspondence was conducted, an exchange of scientific literature was established, bibliographic reviews were published in specialized periodicals.

In the Soviet Union, the systematic receipt of new publications from abroad for a long time was possible only through state structures. According to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated June 25, 1955 No. 1185 "On measures to improve the use of scientific and technical literature, patents and catalogs of foreign countries", Soviet scientists were able to apply for foreign scientific literature. In particular, this document prescribed: "to begin accepting subscriptions from scientific and engineering workers to foreign publications from August 1955"; <...> "to cancel incorrect restrictions on the use of foreign scientific and technical literature by readers entering state libraries and libraries of ministries and departments" ^{[2, pp. 222-223]}.

It should be noted that the scientific periodicals and new monographic studies received from abroad, first of all, went to the funds of the State Library of the USSR named after V. I. Lenin, as well as to the Fundamental Library of Social Sciences of the USSR Academy of Sciences. All interested persons could get access to them through the interlibrary subscription system. It is known that the Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of General History of the Ural University M. Ya. Syuzyumov has been actively using this opportunity for many years. This is evidenced by the documents stored in the personal fund of the scientist in the State Archive of the Sverdlovsk region.

Statement by M. Ya. Suzumova in the USSR Academy of Sciences

To the Book Department of the USSR Academy of Sciences

from the head of the Department of General History

Ural State University

Mikhail Yakovlevich Syuzyumov, Professor, Doctor of Historical Sciences

Please accept my order for foreign literature for 1959.

The following books are required for my work:

1) Trait? d’?tudes byzantines, ?d. P. Lemerle.

I. La chronologie, par V. Grumel.

II. Les papyrus, par A. Bataille (Paris, 1958). NB NB NB!!

2) Byzantinische Geschichtsschreiber, hrsg. von E. Ivanka, Verlag Styria.

I. Europa im XV. Jahrhundert von Byzantinern gesehen (Bd. II);

II. Die Normannen in Thessalonike (Bd. III);

III. Vademecum des Byzantinischen Aristokraten (Bd. V).

3) F. D?lger. Byzanz und die europ?ische Staatenwelt. Ettal, 1953.

Typescript, vacation ^{[6, l. 33 vol.]}.

A letter from the Book Department of the USSR Academy of Sciences M. Ya . Suzumov

USSR Academy of Sciences, Book Department,

Moscow G-34, Kropotkin str., 16.

Moscow, August 3, 1970

Dear Professor!

We inform you that the Commission of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences, having considered your application for the discharge of foreign journals for 1971, approved the following journals for your discharge: Byzantinische Zeitschrift.

The money to pay for your order is available on your account.

Bibliographer of the Book Department

Academy of Sciences of the USSR

Letterhead of the Book Department of the USSR Academy of Sciences,

typescript, original ^{[7, l. 41 vol.]}.

Another opportunity to obtain foreign scientific literature was provided during book exchange between university libraries. So, in 1956, the Ural University newspaper proudly reported: "Recently, the "Scientific Notes of the Ural University" and several other publications of the university were sent to the libraries of the Academies of Sciences of the People's Republic of China and the Romanian People's Republic, the Bulgarian Higher Agricultural Institute, Sofia University, the library of the University of Birmingham. The other day our library received an offer to establish a book exchange with the Library of Congress in Washington (USA)" ^[1].

However, the unofficial way was faster and more efficient. He allowed Soviet scientists to provide themselves with the latest literature and rare editions. This is confirmed by the correspondence of M. Ya . Suzumova with American colleagues. First of all, we are talking about the letters of Igor Shevchenko, Professor of Byzantine History and Literature at Harvard University (Ihor ?ev?enko; 1922-2009). In addition, M. Ya. Suzumov corresponded with Professor Paul Julius Alexander (1910-1977) of the University of California at Berkeley and Professor Elias Joseph Bickerman (1897-1981) of the University of New York.

Of particular interest in connection with the book exchange between M. Ya. Suzumov and the American side are represented by correspondence with the staff of the scientific library of the Center for Byzantine Studies in Dumbarton Oaks, which lasted from 1963 to 1973.

The correspondents of the Sverdlovsk historian were Lois Hassler-Smith and Merlin Packard. Next, we present these letters, preserving the author's spelling and punctuation.

Letter from Lois M. Hassler to M. Y. Syuzyumov

The first sheet of the letter is missing,

no date.

Trustees for Harvard University

The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection

1703 Thirty-second Street, Washington 7, D. C.

Problemy ikonoborchestva v Vizantii (Uchenye Zapiski, Sverdlovsk, Inst. nat. de p?dag. 1948, p. 48–110) ^[11].

If you would be kind enough to send us a copy of these, we would be most grateful.

Sincerely,

Lois M. Hassler,

Administrative Libn.

Harvard University Letter Form,

typescript, original ^{[4, L. 1]}.

Letter from Lois Hassler-Smith to M. Ya. Susyumov

Dumbarton Oaks

Trustees for Harvard University

1703 Thirty-second Street, Washington 7, D. C.

Center for Byzantine Studies

September 8, 1964

Professor M. Ja. Sjuzjumov

Generalskaja ul. N. 6, kv. 7

Sverdlovsk, U.S.S.R.

Dear Professor Sjuzjumov:

We are interested in obtaining articles in our field of Byzantine studies and would very much like to have offprints of any articles you may have published in this field, or which you may publish in the future.

In particular we would like to have:

Sjuzjumov, M.: Problema socialno-politicheskoi syshchnosti arianstva. (Uralski Gosud. Univ. A. M. Gorkogo. Sbornik materialov… Istoricheskie nauki 1963, pp. 178–183). Sverdlovsk, 1963 ^[12].

If you would be kind enough to send us a copy of this, we would be most grateful.

Sincerely,

(Mrs.) Lois H. Smith

Assistant Librarian

P. S. Thank you for sending us various articles in the past.

Harvard University Letter Form,

typescript, original ^{[5, l. 1]}.

Letter from Lois Hassler-Smith to M. Ya. Susyumov

January 12, 1965

Professor M. Ja. Siuziumov

Generalskaya ul. N. 6, kv. 7

Sverdlovsk, U.S.S.R.

Dear Professor Siuziumov:

We wish to express our thanks for the copy of the article requested in our letter of September 8, 1964.

It has been a pleasure to add this item to our collection.

Sincerely,

(Mrs.) Lois H. Smith

Assistant Librarian

Trustees for Harvard University,

The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection

1703, 32nd Street, N. W., Washington 7, D. C., U.S.A.

Aerogram (US Postage, Air Mail),

typescript, original ^{[5, l. 1-2 vol.]}.

It is noteworthy that in the personal fund of M. Ya. The letters of Lois Hassler and Lois Smith are separated in GASO and make up two archival files. This mistake was made in 1994-1995, during the scientific and technical processing and compilation of a new inventory of the R-802 fund. However, the compilers of the Who Was Who at Dumbarton Oaks, 1940-2015 catalog were also sure that two employees worked at the Dumbarton Oaks Library: one of them was named Lois Hassler, and the other was Lois Hassler Smith ^[19]. Meanwhile, we are talking about one person.

Lois Margaret Hassler was born in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) in 1922. After graduating from public school, she continued her studies at Bryn Mawr College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943, and a Master of Classics degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1948. From 1946 to 1968, she worked as an Assistant Librarian and an Administrative Librarian at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library. In 1963, Lois Hassler married lawyer Montgomery Smith. From 1970 to 1988 . Lois Hassler-Smith worked at the Community College of Northern Virginia (Northern Virginia Community College), first as the coordinator of the library service, and then as the director of Educational Programs (Director of Learning Resources). In 1975 She received a Master of Library Science degree from the Catholic University of Washington (Catholic University of America). After retiring in 1988, Lois Smith led an active public life, was repeatedly elected by residents of the Fairfax City District in Virginia (Fairfax County, Virginia) to various public positions. She died on January 14, 2013 ^[16].

Besides Lois Smith, M. Ya. Suzumov corresponded with Harvard University Library employee Merlin Packard (1929-2015). He was born in Portland, Maine, in 1929, and studied at the private Haverford College, where he specialized in the study of Russian, Greek and German. After graduation, he was in federal service, first in Washington, and then in Munich. Upon his return to the United States, he continued his studies at Columbia University on the history of Byzantium. At the Dumbarton Oaks Library, Merlin Packard worked successively as an assistant librarian (1964-1967) and librarian (1967-1990). In addition, he collaborated with museums in New York and Washington. Merlin Packard died on October 18, 2015 ^[17].

In the personal fund of M. Ya. Letters of Merlin Packard in Russian and English have been preserved by Suzumov. In them, the librarian mentioned that many new publications published in the Soviet Union were reported to him by Professor Igor Shevchenko of Harvard University. It should also be noted that in addition to scientific papers, the Dumbarton Oaks Library was interested in receiving textbooks on special courses. In particular, we are talking about the classic textbook M. Ya. According to the general chronology of Suzumova ^{[8, pp. 56-61]}.

Merlin's Letter Packard to M. Ya . Susyumov

Dumbarton Oaks

Trustees for Harvard University

1703 Thirty-second Street, Washington 7, D. C.

Center for Byzantine Studies

January 12th, 1966

To Professor M. Ya . Suzumov

Dear Mr. Professor:

The other day, Professor I. Shevchenko showed me the collection "Ancient Antiquity and the Middle Ages, issue three", which you recently sent to him. Since we are trying to have in our Dumbarton Oaks Library possibly a complete set of works on Soviet Byzantine studies, it would be very desirable for us to receive this collection and the issues preceding it.

Two days ago, Professor Shevchenko received, thanks to your kindness, the "Abstracts" of the Seventh All-Union Conference of Byzantinists, which took place in December last year ^[9]. I have not found any information about these conferences in the Soviet periodicals of recent years. We would very much like to know when and where the previous conferences took place and whether the abstracts of the reports read there have been published.

With deep respect,

Your Merlin V. Packard

Harvard University Letter Form,

typescript, original ^{[3, L. 1]}.

Merlin Packard 's letter to M. Ya . Suzumov

Dumbarton Oaks

Trustees for Harvard University

1703 Thirty-second Street, Washington, D. C.20007

1 February, 1972

Prof. Dr. M. Ia. Siuzimov,

Universitet,

Prospekt Lenina 51

Sverdlovsk – 83

USSR

Dear Professor Siuziumov:

Thank you for the New Year’s greetings of last year. I am sending to you today a number of offprints from various Dumbarton Oaks publications. Should they be of interest to you, please let me know, and I shall be able to send you other offprints, as well.

At various times, I have received from you Antichnaia drevnost’ i srednie veka, Vyp. 1, 2, 3, and 6. Should Vyp. 4 and 5 still be available, I should be grateful to have copies of them, as well as of any which have been issued since Vyp. 6.

In Revue des etudes byzantines XXIX, there is a review of V. A. Smetanin: Epistolografiia, Sverdlovsk, 1970 ^[10]. I have been unable to obtain a copy of this book and wonder if it would be possible for you to obtain one for me?

Yours sincerely,

Merlin W. Packard

Librarian

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library

Letterhead of the Dumbarton Oks Scientific Library,

typescript, original ^{[3, L. 2]}.

Merlin Packard 's letter to M. Ya . Suzumov

Dumbarton Oaks

Trustees for Harvard University

1703 Thirty-second Street, Washington, D. C. 20007

21 November 1973

Professor M. Ia. Siuziumov

Universitet

Prospekt Lenina 51

Sverdlovsk – K-83

USSR

Dear Professor Siuziumov:

Thank you very much for the copy of Antichnaia drevnost’ i srednie veka (9), which arrived today. I also want to thank you for copies of the volumes 4, 6, 7 and 8, which you have sent during the past year; as well as copies of your own Khronologiia vseobshchaia and Romanchuk: Vizantiiskii gorod ^{[8, pp. 59-60]}. I am very happy to be able to add these publications to our collection. I shall be sending you some of our publications in a few days.

May I take this opportunity to wish you, somewhat in advance, a very happy new year 1974.

Yours sincerely,

Merlin W. Packard, Librarian

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library

The form of the Dumbarton Oks Scientific Library,

typescript, original ^{[3, L. 3]}.

It should be noted that Merlin Packard compiled a solid bibliography of works on Byzantine studies in Russian, which were available in the collections of Harvard University libraries. He specifically focused on the importance of book exchange for the American side. According to him, the volume of Soviet publications on this topic in the 1930s was small, but still it is perfectly represented in Dumbarton Oaks. He further noted that a large collection of publications published in Eastern European countries is the result of a large-scale exchange that intensified in the post-war years. The library had 75 thousand volumes, 700 titles of periodicals, yearbooks, serial publications. In addition, Merlin Packard mentioned the library's acquisition of 6 thousand microfiche with pre-revolutionary Russian publications ^{[18, p. 34-35]}.

Summing up, we note that intensive book exchange contributed to the development of Byzantine studies both in the USSR and in the United States. In the Soviet Union, for a long time, access to foreign publications could only be acquired by official means. This sphere was regulated by a special decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. In the first half of the 1960s, the official way of obtaining scientific literature became less effective, since the Lenin Library and the Fundamental Library of Social Sciences of the USSR Academy of Sciences could not cope with the flow of requests from scientific organizations and individual scientists from all over the vast country. In this situation, unofficial contacts of Soviet historians with their foreign colleagues came to the fore. Judging by the correspondence with the staff of the Dumbarton Oaks Library (Lois Hassler-Smith and Merlin Packard), which lasted more than 10 years, M. Ya. Suzumov regularly sent new scientific publications to the USA. In response, the Sverdlovsk historian received not only novelties of American scientific literature, but also classical publications that had previously been available to him only in metropolitan libraries.