Great Soviet Encyclopedia: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|1926–1990 encyclopedia published in the Soviet Union}}

| website = {{URL|http://bse.sci-lib.com}}

The '''''Great Soviet Encyclopedia''''' ('''GSE'''; {{Lang-rus|Больша́я сове́тская энциклопе́дия, БСЭ|r=BolsháyaBoljšaja sovétskayasovjetskaja entsiklopédiyaenciklopjedija}}, '''''BSE}}''''') is one of the largest Soviet Russian-language [[encyclopedia]]s,<ref>The 3rd edition contains more than 95,000 articles, and nearly 35,000 illustrations and maps. Compare with over 120,000 articles in the Russian [[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]] (1890–1907) and with 100,000 in the 15th edition of [[Britannica]]</ref> published in the [[Soviet Union]] from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya{{lang|ru-Latn|Boljšaja Rossiyskayarossijskaja entsiklopediya''enciklopjedija}} (or ''[[Great Russian Encyclopedia]]'') in an updated and revised form. The GSE claimed to be "the first Marxist–Leninist general-purpose encyclopedia".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Great+Soviet+Encyclopedia|title=Great Soviet Encyclopedia|website=TheFreeDictionary.com}}</ref>

* [[Valentin Asmus (philosopher)|Valentin Asmus]] (author of articles on [[metaphysics]], [[Plato]], [[Arthur Schopenhauer|Schopenhauer]], [[Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher|Schleiermacher]], [[Nikolai Chernyshevsky|Chernyshevsky]] and [[Oswald Spengler|Spengler]], first edition)

* [[Anatoly Lunacharsky]] (author of articles on [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]], [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky|Dostoyevsky]], [[Maxim Gorky|Gorky]], [[Vissarion Belinsky|Belinsky]], [[Johann Georg Hamann|Hamann]], [[Walter Hasenclever|Hasenclever]], [[Bohemianism]], [[Julius Bab|Bab]], [[Giuseppe Garibaldi|Garibaldi]], [[Wilhelm Hausenstein|Hausenstein]], first edition)<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://lunacharsky.newgod.su/lib/neizdannye-materialy/bolsaa-sovetskaa-enciklopedia/|title=В редакцию БСЭ. Письмо 1}}</ref><ref>[http://lunacharsky.newgod.su/categories/%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C%D1%8F-%D0%B4%D0%BB%D1%8F-%D1%8D%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B8/ Указатель жанров > Статья для энциклопедии]</ref>

{{quoteblockquote|text=The second edition of the ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia ''should elucidate widely the world-historical victories of socialism in our country, which have been attained in the U.S.S.R. in the provinces of economics, science, culture, and art. ... With exhaustive completeness it must show the superiority of socialist culture over the culture of the capitalist world. Operating on [[Marxist-Leninist]] theory, the encyclopedia should give a party criticism of contemporary bourgeois tendencies in various provinces of science and technics.<ref name=Benton/>}}

{{quoteblockquote|text=To develop in children's minds the Communist morality, ideology, and Soviet patriotism; to inspire unshakable love toward the Soviet fatherland, the Communist party, and its leaders; to propagate Bolshevik vigilance; to put an emphasis on internationalist education; to strengthen Bolshevik willpower and character, as well as courage, capacity for resisting adversity and conquering obstacles; to develop self-discipline; and to encourage physical and aesthetic culture.<ref name=Benton/>}}

Education is essential to preparing for life and work. It is the basic means by which people come to know and acquire culture, and it is the foundation of culture's development...The Soviet education rests on the principles of the unity of education and communist upbringing; cooperation among the school, the family, and the society in bringing up young people; and the linkage of education and training to life and the practical experience of building communism. The underlying principles of the Soviet system of public education include a scientific approach to and continual improvement of education on the basis of the latest achievements in science, technology and culture; a humanistic and highly moral orientation in education and upbringing; and co-education of both sexes, secular education which excludes the influence of religion.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://bse.sci-lib.com/article083210.html|access-date=22 June 2020|langlanguage=ru|title=Образование |work=Great Soviet Encyclopedia}}</ref>

The ''Soviet Encyclopedia'' is a systematic summary of knowledge in social and economic studies and in the applied sciences.{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} It became a universal reference work for the Soviet intelligentsia.<ref name="ReferenceA">Publishers' Foreword, ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia: A Translation of the Third Edition''. Volume 1. Macmillan, Inc.</ref> According to the publisher's foreword in the English-language translation of the encyclopedia, the encyclopedia is important for knowledge and understanding of the USSR. A major value of the ''Encyclopedia'' is its comprehensive information about the Soviet Union and its peoples. Every aspect of Soviet life is systematically presented, including history, economics, science, art, and culture.{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} The ethnic diversity of USSR's peoples and its languages and cultures are extensively covered. There are biographies of prominent cultural and scientific figures who are not as well known outside of Russia. There are detailed surveys of USSR's provinces and towns, as well as their geology, geography, flora and fauna.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The encyclopedia's Chief Editorial Board and Advisoryadvisory board sought input from the general public. The entry list was sent to universities, scientific institutions, museums, and private specialists in every field. More than 50,000 suggestions were received and many additions were made.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://bse.sci-lib.com/article128153.html|title=Большая советская энциклопедия|access-date=22 June 2020|work=Great Soviet Encyclopedia}}</ref> Scholars believe that the ''Encyclopedia'' is a valuable and useful source for Russian history.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VyOANl2qxoC&q=Great+soviet+encyclopedia+valuable+reference&pg=PA179|title=Reference Sources in History: An Introductory Guide|first1=Ronald H.|last1=Fritze|first2=Brian E.|last2=Coutts|first3=Louis Andrew|last3=Vyhnanek|date=May 31, 2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780874368833|via=Google Books}}</ref> The ''Encyclopedia'', though noted as having a strong Marxist bias, provides useful information for understanding the Soviet point of view.<ref>[[Allen Kent]], Harold Lancour, Jay E. Daily, ''Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Volume 25'' CRC Press, 1978, {{ISBN|0-8247-2025-3}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=l8mIFaw53JUC&pg=PA171&dq=%22Great+Soviet+Encyclopedia%22+bias&as_brrpg=3&ei=QSksSrrINo-6ygTojfz7Cw&hl=plPA171 Google Print, p.171]</ref><ref>Bill[[William Katz, (librarian)|William A. Katz]], Ruth A. Fraley, ''Evaluation of reference services'', Haworth Press, 1984, {{ISBN|0-86656-377-6}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2C4-Pq8N8MMC&pg=PA308&dq=%22Great+Soviet+Encyclopedia%22+bias&as_brrpg=3&ei=QSksSrrINo-6ygTojfz7Cw&hl=plPA308 Google Print, p.308]</ref>

Following the arrest and execution of [[Lavrentiy Beria]], the head of the [[NKVD]], in 1953 the ''Encyclopedia''—ostensibly in response to overwhelming public demand—mailed subscribers to the second edition a letter from the editor<ref>Sophie Lambroschini, “[http://truthnews.com/world/2003090026.htm Russia: Putin-Decreed ‘Great Russian’ Encyclopedia Debuts At Moscow Book Fair] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205081257/http://truthnews.com/world/2003090026.htm |date=2007-12-05 }},” [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]</ref> instructing them to cut out and destroy the three-page article on Beria and paste in its place enclosed replacement pages expanding the adjacent articles on [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Bergholz|F. W. Bergholz]] (an 18th-century courtier), the [[Bering Sea]], and [[Bishop Berkeley]].<ref>O. Lawrence Burnette Jr. and William Converse Haygood (Eds.), [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=6048534 ''A Soviet View of the American past: An Annotated Translation of the Section on American History in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (Chicago: Scott, Foresman, 1964), p. 7.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604140310/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=6048534 |date=2011-06-04 }}”</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19531202&id=pLkdAAAAIBAJ&pg=1280,7146113|title=Soviet Encyclopedia Omits Beria's Name|date=December 2, 1953|work=The Times-News|access-date=April 23, 2017|page=8|via=Google News Archive}}</ref> By April 1954, the Library of the University of California, Berkeley had received this “replacement.”<ref>“[http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/bannedbooks/russia.html He who destroys a good Book, kills reason it self:an exhibition of books which have survived Fire, the Sword and the Censors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307055256/http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/bannedbooks/russia.html |date=2007-03-07 }}” University of Kansas Library 1955</ref> This was not the only case of political influence. According to one author, ''Encyclopedia'' subscribers received missives to replace articles in the fashion of the Beria article frequently.<ref>John T. Jost, Aaron C., ''Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System Justification'', Oxford University Press US, 2009, {{ISBN|0-19-532091-3}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hwV1P2oKliMC&pg=PA465&dq=%22Great+Soviet+Encyclopedia%22+bias&as_brrpg=3&ei=QSksSrrINo-6ygTojfz7Cw&hl=plPA465 Google Print, p.465]</ref> Other articles, especially biographical articles on political leaders, changed significantly to reflect the current [[party line (politics)|party line]]. An article affected in such a fashion was the one on [[Nikolai Bukharin]], whose descriptions went through several evolutions.<ref>Ludwik Kowalski, [http://csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/book/bse.html "Discriptions<!--SIC--> of Bucharin in Great Soviet Encyclopedia" ] {{Webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160523231556/http://csam.montclair.edu/%7Ekowalski/book/bse.html |date=2016-05-23 }}</ref>

Publication of the ''Great Russian Encyclopedia'' is overseen by the [[Russian Academy of Sciences]], and funded by the [[Government of the Russian Federation]]. The encyclopedia is now found in libraries and schools throughout the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.greatbook.ru/ |title=Archived copyГлавная |access-date=2014-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103123755/http://greatbook.ru/ |archive-date=2014-01-03 |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, the 1980s editions remain in widespread use, particularly as references in scientific and mathematical research.