Looking for project collaborators for "Chronicle" project

[Ann Komaromi]

***PROJECT COLLABORATORS WANTED***

For Work on the Annotated Edition of the Major Soviet Dissident Journal
CHRONICLE OF CURRENT EVENTS (KHRONIKA TEKUSHCHIKH SOBYTII) (1968-1982)
in preparation by the "Memorial" Society with the Institute for the
Study of Eastern Europe (Germany)

The CHRONICLE OF CURRENT EVENTS, an informational bulletin produced by
Moscow human-rights activists, was the only authoritative, long-running
unofficial news publication in the USSR. The CHRONICLE today offers a rare
type of documentation for students of the history of this totalitarian
system. Moreover, the CHRONICLE represents a key source for analysis of
international relations during the era of the Cold War, when Soviet
dissidence caught the attention of Western observers and human rights
became a key component of international policies. The CHRONICLE recorded
both the rise of dissident hopes on favorable international political
waves and the subsequent sacrifice of dissident concerns for political
expediency. At the same time, a striking feature of the Soviet dissident
movement reflected in the CHRONICLE was the solidarity of persecuted
individuals in the USSR – writers, artists, physicists, mathematicians,
historians, and human rights activists came together in this forum, which
helped prevent the Soviet regime from dealing with its "undesirables" in
secret. The shared values of freedom of expression and respect for
individual rights, as well as the personal sympathy and concern for
fellows that brought people together in the CHRONICLE helped destroy many
old and unhealthy political standards operating in the Soviet (and not
only Soviet) system.
 The amount of information found in the CHRONICLE is staggering. In
60-odd issues more than 12,000 names appear. Among them are many Western
scholars and cultural figures, social activists, journalists, religious
thinkers and politicians. The pages of the bulletin record translations of
foreign essays and literature circulated in samizdat. Dozens of
publications from the Western press are cited. One finds here also names
of hundreds of international and foreign organizations (both governmental
and non-governmental).
 The publishers of this annotated edition of the CHRONICLE invite
students of the humanities and social sciences to take advantage of this
rich store of historical information and gain valuable research
experience. We are looking for assistance with the compilation of
biographical and bibliographical commentary concerning foreign names,
emigrants from the USSR, Western institutions and texts. The field of
possible collaboration is wide and we will be pleased to help design
projects for those interested in various aspects of Twentieth century
history relevant to preparation of the CHRONICLE publication, including
the history of Soviet counterculture, human rights movements, religious or
national organizations in the USSR, and etc.
 Collaborators with Russian language skills are sought (and
participation in the project could form a meaningful part of a language
practicum), although communication can be conducted in English.
        Please contact project coordinators in Russia:
**Julia Vsevolodovna, phone (095) 209-78-83, (1-3 pm weekdays)
khronika2004 at yandex.ru
 Or in North America:
**Ann Komaromi, University of Toronto, phone (416) 585-4575
khronikats at yahoo.com

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