UDC

94(73).091.7+94(47)084.6

Authors

Anton A. Turkov
Higher School of Social Sciences, Humanities and International Communication,
Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov
2 prosp. Lomonosova, Arkhangelsk, 163002, Russian Federation;
e-mail: antonyturkov@gmail.com

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the American public opinion on the study and exploration of the Arctic by the Soviet Union in the 1930s. No research into this issue has been done previously. This chronological period was chosen, on the one hand, due to the strengthened positions of the USSR in the region and on the other, due to the growing interest the American public had taken in the Soviet Union, following its recognition by Franklin Roosevelt’s administration in 1933. The paper dwells on key problems connected with the American perception of the Soviet progress in polar latitudes. These include concerns about the stronger position of the Soviet Union in the Arctic, interest in the Soviet technical experience (especially aircraft) and certain personalities taking part in this process. The author notes that Americans could easily relate to the images of hero-conqueror, and hero-pioneer, as well as saw the Soviet Arctic as a frontier, similar to the Wild West in the nineteenth-century USA. The Soviet and American approaches to the demarcation in the region are compared here, their differences being pointed out. The paper analysed major US periodicals: Los Angeles Times, Time, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, turning to articles of American journalists who had personally visited the Soviet Arctic. The author observed certain negative aspects of the image of the Soviet Arctic in the American public opinion, particularly concerning the large concentration of internal exiles in the region. A conclusion is made about the important role of the polar research in improving the image of the Soviet Union in the USA.

Keywords

Arctic exploration, polar aviation, US public opinion, image of the USSR

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