Archival sources on history problems in relations of USSR and Indochina states in 1940-1970th

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Аннотация / Annotation
В статье рассматривается состояние источниковой базы, характеризующей историю взаимоотношений СССР со странами Индокитая (Вьетнам, Лаос, Камбоджа, Таиланд) в период «холодной войны». Дана характеристика фондов центральных российских архивов, электронных архивов, показана специфика «устной истории». Автор показывает недостаточную изученность проблемы и связывает перспективы развития исследований в этой области с расширением доступа к архивным комплексам.
The article is devoted to the sources on history of the USSR and Indochina countries (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand) relations during "The Cold War". The funds of the central Russian archives, electronic archives are characterized, peculiarity of "oral history" as a source is described. Conclusion is drawn on necessity to continue work on document database expansion to reconstruct the objective picture of events.

Ключевые слова / Keywords
Архивные фонды России по индокитайской проблеме, архивы, архивные фонды, внешняя политика Советского Союза, индокитайские войны ХХ века, «устная история», электронные архивы. Russian archival funds on Indochinese problems, external policy of the Soviet Union, Indochinese wars of the XX century, "oral history", electronic archives.


Objective studying of history of the international relations and foreign policy of the USSR is impossible without introduction in a scientific turn of historical documents inaccessible earlier to researchers. Aren't an exception in this context the questions connected with history of relationship of the Soviet Union and the states of Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand) in years of "cold war". If in Soviet period of the reference to archival sources it was impossible to find in one publication mentioning designated plots, in two decades after disintegration of the USSR the big massif of archival materials was entered into a scientific turn both domestic, and foreign researchers. In RGANI the declassified materials of Department of the Central Committee of CPSU on communications with foreign Communist Parties in 1953?1957 (the inventory 28 – a part of fund 5) in which there are five volumes of materials of the Geneva meeting of 1954, the documents concerning a complex of the international problems of South East Asia, in particular, a forms and methods of promotion of the USA in the separate Southeast Asian countries, political letters of embassies in South East Asia, references of sector of South East Asia, the Middle East, materials on the countries of Asia, the sent Central Committees of a Communist Party of China are partially available. Besides, the inventory 28 contains documents on the separate countries of Indochina – to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand. For example, report of the chairman of the Central Committee of Vietnam Workers party, president of DRV Ho Chi Min and resolution IV of plenum of the Central Committee of PTV; information on the Vietnamese committee of a defense of peace; information materials of department the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR about results of VIII, XI Plenums of the Central Committee of Vietnam Workers party; statements of the Vietnamese committee of a defense of peace, the plan of activity of movement in defense of peace in Vietnam for 1955; notes, references, information letters across Cambodia and Laos; materials about expansion of the USA to Thailand, letters of representatives “Thai group of rescue of the homeland” etc.

In RGANI access to fund 89 which contains the documents relating to the Soviet-Vietnamese relations of the period of 1965?1975 is open. These are materials of the Politburo and Departments of the Central Committee CPSU concerning various, including international, questions. Recently declassified documents which are storing in GARF, contain the materials concerning decisions, accepted at level of Council of ministers of the USSR, problems of rendering of the military and economic help to Vietnam, other questions. Besides, in various funds of this archive the researcher of problems of Indochina can get acquainted with materials on cultural cooperation of the USSR with the region states, inter-parliamentary contacts, scientific and technical cooperation etc. Problems of contacts of the USSR with the countries of Indochina in the economic sphere are partially reflected in funds of the Russian state archive of economy (RGAE) and the Samara branch of the Russian state archive of scientific and technical documentation (RGANTD). Doubtless interest thematic collections of documents and materials AVP Russian Federation on problems of Indochina of the period represent 1946?1954 issued in the form of separate folders. Discussion of the questions connected with reception of Vietnam in the United Nations and a position of interested parties, and also the publication of materials of the Geneva meeting of 1954 on Indochina is a question, first of all, of the materials characterizing the relations of France with the Democratic Republic Vietnam.


Today the historical and documentary department the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation limited permission to the publication in scientific magazines of full texts of documents with comments and notes. Some texts in the late eighties were published to I.V. Bukharkin who has included them (without reductions) in the article called by us above in the magazine “Modern and contemporary history”. First of all it concerns the materials containing in fund of V. M. Molotov.
Speaking about unpublished sources, it should be noted one more their group – oral certificates of direct participants of events in Indochina, quite actively used when writing scientific and publicistic works. As an example it is possible to give existence of personal archives at the researchers, dealing with separate problems, and also at separate interstate (The Russian-American commission on affairs of prisoners of war and missing persons in Vietnam) and public (The interregional organization of veterans of war in Vietnam) structures. Some texts or oral memoirs of participants of war in Vietnam are available only on sites of these or those establishments and the organizations. First of all it is necessary to call sites where information on participation of the USSR contains in events in Indochina, a site of the Interregional organization of veterans of war in Vietnam on which memoirs of her many Russian participants are placed. Thus, proceeding from the analysis of historical sources available today, it is possible to draw a conclusion on possibility rather fully to consider problems of the relations of the USSR with the countries of Indochina. Nevertheless, if process of declassification of archival funds in the next years is continued, there is a probability that some plots concerning foreign policy of the Soviet Union concerning the countries of South East Asia in years of «cold war», can be analysed in more detail.

You can read completely article in the russian historic-archival magazine “The Herald of an Archivist”. Read more about terms of subscription here.

Полностью материал публикуется в российском историко-архивоведческом журнале ВЕСТНИК АРХИВИСТА. Ознакомьтесь с условиями подписки здесь.