PAN-EUROPEAN MOVEMENT: SOVIET HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE ISSUE

Abstract

The article attempts to analyse Soviet historiography of the Pan-European Movement. It notes that there are no separate works that would specifically examine the history of the creation of the Pan-European Union, the role of its founder and ideological inspirer Count R.N. Coudenhove-Kalergi in this process. This was explained primarily by the fact that the main challenge to the interests of the Soviet Union was seen as the activities of Aristide Briand, who attempted to implement the ideas of R. Coudenhove-Kalergi in practice through the activities of the French government. Therefore, Soviet historical science focused primarily on discrediting Briand's plan, in the context of which R. Coudenhove-Kalergi had been mentioned. Given this subordination to political and ideological goals, the works of Soviet historians relied exclusively on V.I. Lenin's assertion that European integration was impossible, which in the second half of the 20th century was at odds with historical reality. Therefore, the ideologisation of historical material remained dominant in Soviet historiography, which it was practically unable to shake off until the end of the USSR. Against the backdrop of the strong ideological bias of Soviet historiography, a notable exception in this context was O. Chubaryan's monograph, published in 1987, which examined the history of the European idea from the 13th century to the 1980s, highlighting and analysing the stages of its development. However, in general, historical science turned out to be one of the most strictly regulated social sciences in the Soviet Union, with a high degree of internal self-censorship.