The Bridge shares the memo from the Exhibitions Department of the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (VOKS) that was not intended for public release. The memo is addressed to a working group (“shock brigade”) created to accelerate VOKS’s cultural work abroad in connection with the “Industrial Party” (“Prompartia”) trial. This was a show trial held in November–December 1930 against a group of Soviet engineers and economists accused of forming a “subversive” organization and having ties to foreign intelligence services. Against the backdrop of this trial, the Soviet leadership sought to intensify its propaganda efforts abroad, showcasing the achievements of the USSR.
The memo provides specific recommendations on how to make the most of Soviet exhibitions already sent abroad (children’s books, Soviet art, and others), which exhibitions were being prepared for shipment (including a solo exhibition by Niko Pirosmanishvili), and which new large-scale exhibitions were proposed to be organized, with specifications regarding timelines and budgets in rubles, Soviet rubles, and foreign currency.