Propaganda and Foreign policy Activities of the Soviet Information Bureau in China during the Great Patriotic War

The authors examine the role of Soviet foreign policy propaganda in China during the Great Patriotic War. They present the main projects that were being carried out by the Soviet Union abroad in China on the eve of and during the war. Their focus is on the activities of the Soviet Information Bureau and the Soviet anti-fascist committees under its direction. Based on an analysis of documents from the State Archives of the Russian Federation and the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, the main forms and directions of the Soviet Information Bureau’s propaganda activities in China are identified. These include the exchange of information materials with the Chinese press, the publication of newsletters by the Press Bureau of the USSR Embassy in Chongqing, and the organization of radio broadcasts to a broader Chinese audience. The authors conclude that foreign policy propaganda during the Great Patriotic War was of great strategic importance for countering the enemy in the information space and shaping a positive image of the USSR in China during its battle against fascism. The Soviet Information Bureau played a key role in this. Its activities in the Chinese direction, despite certain difficulties (territorial remoteness, the military-political situation in China, poor communication, the language barrier, competition with foreign news agencies, etc.), were carried out in accordance with the country’s objectives and represented an important instrument of international diplomacy for the Soviet leadership during the war.