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Boris Rabbot Papers, 1930-2012

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Series II: Professional Activity, 1960-1998

This series is arranged in three subseries: Subseries II.1: Professional Activity in the USSR, Subseries II.2: Professional Activity in USA and Subseries II.3: Post-Doctoral Dissertation "Problemy Eksperimenta v Sotsial'nom Razvitii." Comprises materials related to Rabbot's work in various organizations and his independent scholarly projects, his published and unpublished works, including articles, monographs, talks. Also included are notes, drafts, documents, interviews, and various publications.

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Subseries II.1: Professional Activity in the USSR, 1960-1974

Includes materials related to Rabbot's work at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Contains his published and unpublished writings, reports, subject files, internal documents of the Academy of Sciences, and reference materials. Also contains publications that document the birth and development of the field of sociology in the Soviet Union. Rabbot's post-doctoral dissertation is a separate subseries (Subseries II.3: Post-Doctoral Dissertation "Problemy Eksperimenta v Sotsial'nom Issledovanii").

Work at the Academy of Sciences, 1965-1974

(reports and papers that Rabbot wrote for Rumiantsev as well as various reports and articles by other authors that Rabbot kept for his work, including the Academy of Sciences' internal publications and documents)

Writings for Rumiantsev, 1960s-1970s

(work that Rabbot did during his tenure as Aleksei Rumiantsev's Personal Secretary at the Academy of Sciences. The manuscripts signed with Rumiantsev's name were actually ghostwritten by Rabbot)


Box 1 Folder 5 "Sotsial'nyi prognoz, ego tseli i vozmozhnosti", undated

Box 1 Folder 6 Various short manuscripts on Soviet social sciences and economics, undated

Box 1 Folder 7 Various short manuscripts on Soviet social problems and planning, 1960s

(observations from 1968 trip to U.S. universities)

Reports for Rumiantsev, 1960s-1970s, undated

(reports, reference materials and notes prepared for Rumiantsev)

Box 1 Folder 8 Czechoslovakia (letters and reports), 1968

(regarding the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia)


Box 2 Folder 1-3 On various subjects, 1967-1970, undated

(history, social and political sciences, education, philosophy, economics, agriculture, semiotics and linguistics)

Subject files, 1967-1974

(documents, notes and reference materials on various subjects)

Box 2 Folder 4 M. Gefter case, 1970

(about the writings of Gefter, Grunt, Drabkin, Kremer and others accused of being anti-Marxist)

Box 2 Folder 5 A. M. Nekrich case, 1967

(regarding Nekrich's work "1941. 22 iiunia")

Box 2 Folder 6 A. Tvardovskii's letter to L. I. Brezhnev, 1970

(typescript copy of Tvardovskii's letter to Brezhnev regarding Tvardovskii's poem "Po pravu pamiati")

Box 2 Folder 7 Rabbot's letter and report to L. I. Brezhnev, 1973

Box 2 Folder 8 On management of science, 1974

Internal documents and publications of the Academy of Sciences, 1967-1972


Box 3 Folder 1 Meeting transcript, 1967

Box 3 Folder 2 Reports to the Party Central Committee, 1970, undated

Box 3 Folder 3-4 Institutes' reports, 1968

Box 3 Folder 5 Rumiantsev correspondence and reports, 1968-1970

(arranged in chronological order)

Box 3 Folder 6-10 Internal restricted publications, 1967-1972

(various publications on sociology, economics, politics and propaganda, including reports, extended abstracts of dissertations and speeches, articles, etc. Most publications are internal to IKSI, the Institute for Concrete Social Studies. Arranged chronologically)

Reference materials: various publications, 1960-1969, undated


Box 4 Folder 1 Izvestiia internal publications (readers surveys and report on work of Press sociology group), 1967-1968

Box 4 Folder 2 Nauka i religiia selected articles, 1960-1962, undated

Box 4 Folder 3 Pravda internal publications (readers surveys), 1968-1969, undated

Box 4 Folder 4 Trud reports (readers surveys), undated

Box 4 Folder 5 Published articles, 1960-1970

(arranged alphabetically. Rabbot's articles published inVoprosy filosofii and Nauka i religiia)

"Eksperimental'nye metody v sotsial'nom poznanii" ((with related correspondence)

"Istoriia sittsevogo tsarstva"

"Palochka Shamesa, ili ravvin na Golgofe"

"Parizhskaia kommuna i tserkov'"

"Spor ne tol'ko o pamiatnikakh"

Subseries II.2: Professional Activity in USA, 1977-1998

Includes Rabbot's published articles in the United States; manuscripts mostly related to his unpublished book on the Politburo called Upstairs in Moscow; drafts and notes; materials pertaining to Rabbot's teaching and consulting activity, including his talks, lectures, and seminars. Also contains interviews, correspondence regarding employment opportunities and some professional letters related to various projects.

Writings: Published works, 1977-1979

(Rabbot's published newspaper articles with related materials. Arranged in alphabetical order)

Box 4 Folder 6 "Détente: The struggle within the Kremlin", 1977

(original article published inThe Washington Post,Russian translation, reviews, related correspondence with Columbia University, Harvard University, Bryn Mawr, Queens College and RFE/RL, related materials)

Box 4 Folder 7 "Letter to Brezhnev", 1977

(original publication, drafts, related correspondence. This article, which Rabbot has been primarily known for in the United States, was translated into English by Lynn Visson (pseud. Michel Petrov) and published inThe New York Times Magazine, Nov. 6, 1977. Included are articles responding to the "Letter" and correspondence with the David Library of the American Revolution regarding the "Letter to Brezhnev." Unsent letter and report addressed to Brezhnev, written in 1973-1974 in the Soviet Union see: Subseries II.1: Professional Activity in the USSR-- Box 2, Folder 7)

Box 4 Folder 8 "One View of Why Podgorny Was Ousted", 1977

(original article published in theChristian Science Monitor,related correspondence and notes)

Box 4 Folder 9 "Perceptions: Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union", 1979

(report for the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, with related correspondence)

Writings: Unpublished works, 1977-1981, undated

(Rabbot's writings on the USSR elite, mostly chapters for his future books)

Box 4 Folder 10 "American Sovietology and Soviet Americanology", 1977

Box 4 Folder 11 "Crisis of Soviet Détente: An Inside View", undated

Box 4 Folder 12 "Family", 1970s

Box 4 Folder 13 "Family, Sex and Friendship", 1970s

Box 4 Folder 14 "Fertile Turtle: Soviet Social and Economic Experiments, 1965-1979", 1970s

(translated into English by Lynn Visson (pseud. Michel Petrov); includes unnumbered draft pages)


Box 5 Folder 1 "Food and Clothing", 1970s

Box 5 Folder 2 "Historical Lesson in the Fun-House", 1970s

(typescripts in Russian and in English, with related correspondence)

Box 5 Folder 3 "Housing", 1978

(original folder had the inscription: "pp. 16-23 Andropov's house; pp. 26-28 Rumiantsev apartment." Includes letter from publisher, Harper & Row, dated 1978. Original folder was disposed due to its condition)

Box 5 Folder 4 "How Soviets Understand American Politics and Americans Understand Soviet Policy", undated

(two typescripts designated as material for a future book)

Box 5 Folder 5 "How They Live and Relax", 1970s

Box 5 Folder 6 "Human Amendments to Foreign Policy", 1970s

(handwritten notes in Russian; typescript in English)

Box 5 Folder 7 "Ideology and Political Reform", undated

Box 5 Folder 8 "Man in a Case? In Memory of Alexei Kosygin", 1981

(two manuscripts in English with related correspondence)

Box 5 Folder 9-10 "Medicine", 1970s

Box 5 Folder 11 "Modern Soviet Social Experiments, 1965-1976", 1978

(book proposal and drafts of bibliography)

Box 5 Folder 12-14 "Nomenklatura", 1970s

(IN CONSERVATION)


Box 6 Folder 1 "Offices", 1970s

(English typescript, drafts in Russian)

Box 6 Folder 2 ["Recreation"], undated

(original folder had the inscription: "p. 64 the story of Rabbot's movie premiere, p. 4 Rumiantsev in a movie, p.7 Rumiantsev's speech, pp. 13-14 Taganka, pp. 48-49 meeting w. Tikhonov". Original folder was disposed due to its condition)

Box 6 Folder 3 "Soviet-American Exchanges", 1970s

(typescript versions, notes, drafts)

Box 6 Folder 4 "Soviet Domestic Reaction to Kissinger's Détente Policy", 1977

(typescript of the article with related correspondence)

Box 6 Folder 5 "Soviet Leaders", undated

(typescripts with handwritten notes)

Box 6 Folder 6 "Soviet Science and Social Policy", 1970s

(typescripts in English, notes in Russian)

Box 6 Folder 7 "Unorthodox Leninism and Heretical Maoism", 1970s

(typescript in English; Russian version titled "Pochemu ne Lenin, a Mao Dze-Dun?")

Box 6 Folder 8 "Upstairs in Moscow", undated

(book proposal, chapter outline, biography note, notes in Russian)

Notes and Drafts, 1970s

(notes and drafts in Russian and English for various Rabbot's writings. Mostly drafts and notes for future books and books in progress on Soviet leadership)

Box 6 Folder 9 Family in the USSR, 1970s

Box 6 Folder 10 Franklyn Griffiths' "Ideological Development and Foreign Policy", 1978

Box 6 Folder 11 Soviet foreign relations, 1970s

Box 6 Folder 12 Soviet leaders, 1970s

(in Russian and English. Subjects and figures discussed: Brezhnev, Kirilenko, Kosygin's views on the reunification of Germany)

Box 6 Folder 13-16 Various subjects, 1970s

Notebooks, undated [1970s]


Box 7 Folder 1-9 General questions


Box 8 Folder 1-7 General questions

Box 8 Folder 8 Cars

Box 8 Folder 9 Money


Box 9 Folder 1 Nomenklatura

Box 9 Folder 2 [Party leaders]

Box 9 Folder 3 Passes and portraits

Box 9 Folder 4 Portraits [of the party leaders]

Box 9 Folder 5 Science and politics

Box 9 Folder 6 Telephones

Box 9 Folder 7 Western dissidents' about détente

Teaching, Talks, Lectures, Consulting, 1977-1998

Talks, lectures, seminars, 1977, undated

Box 9 Folder 8 Talk at the State Department, Washington, DC, 1977

Box 9 Folder 9 Twentieth-Century Fund Task talk on exchange programs, 1977

(drafts, correspondence and reference materials)

Box 9 Folder 10-11 Various talks, lectures, and seminars, 1977, undated

(includes announcements and invitations, with some accompanying correspondence and biographical info)


Box BA OS 14 Poster for Rabbot's lecture "The Soviet foreign policy mind: psychological portraits of Soviet leaders," Amherst, 1977

(oversize poster stored in oversize flat box)

Teaching, 1977-1991


Box 10 Folder 1 American Council of Learned Societies annual meeting, 1977

Box 10 Folder 2 Columbia University: course descriptions and faculty schedules, 1986-91

Box 10 Folder 3 Middlebury College: Appointment letter, 1978

Box 10 Folder 4 Consulting: Report for Prudential and Americo Corporations, 1997-1998

Box 10 Folder 5 Correspondence regarding employment opportunities, 1977-1983

Box 10 Folder 6 Fellowship and grant applications, 1976-1977

Box 10 Folder 7 Financial records, 1976-1978

Interviews and TV and radio broadcasts, 1977-1980

Box 10 Folder 8 On sociology and Soviet science, 1977

(interviewed by Harriet Leibowitz, Linda Lubrano, and Nina Toren)

Box 10 Folder 9 Television and radio interview and broadcast transcripts, 1978, undated

Box 10 Folder 10 Interview with Thane Gustaffson, New York, [1979-1980]

Subseries II.3: Post-Doctoral Dissertation "Problemy Eksperimenta v Sotsial'nom Issledovanii", 1969-1978

Rabbot wrote his post-doctoral dissertation in the Soviet Union in 1969-1970. It was published by the Academy of Sciences in 1970 before being banned. In the United States he translated the work into English in preparation for a book publication, but it was never published. The files contain typescripts in Russian and English with holograph notes in Russian.

In Russian, [1969]-1970

Box 10 Folder 11-13 Preparatory materials: early drafts, notes, research and reference materials


Box 11 Folder 1 Title page, table of contents, introduction

Box 11 Folder 2 Chapter 1: "Proiskhozhdenie idei i ee realizatsiia"

Box 11 Folder 3 Chapter 2: "Suschnost' i vidy sotsial'nogo eksperimenta"

Box 11 Folder 4-5 Chapter 3: "Mesto i rol' v sotsial'nom poznanii"

Box 11 Folder 6 Chapter 4: "Logiko-protsedurnye osnovy metoda"

Box 11 Folder 7 Chapter 5: "Eticheskie problemy"

Box 11 Folder 8 Chapter 6: "Sotsial'nyi eksperiment i sotsial'noe upravlenie"

Box 11 Folder 9 Chapter 7: "Vozdeistvie na sfery obschestvennogo soznaniia"

Box 11 Folder 10 Bibliography, introduction, drafts of chapters on Yugoslavia, Cuba and China


Box 12 Folder 1 Publication of the post-doctoral dissertation "Problemy eksperimenta v sotsial'nom issledovanii", 1970

(offset publication of the Academy of Sciences)

English translation, 1976-1978

(contains the English translation of Rabbot's post-doctoral dissertation; drafts, and materials related to a future book based on the dissertation)

Box 12 Folder 2 Introduction in English and drafts

Box 12 Folder 3 Chapter 1: "The Economic Crisis and the Origin of the Experiment"

Box 12 Folder 4 Chapter 2: "The Soviet Experience and the Theory of Experimentation"

Box 12 Folder 5 Chapter 3: "Soviet Classifications and Concepts"

Box 12 Folder 6-7 Chapter 4: "Experiments: Conduct and Findings"

Box 12 Folder 8 Chapter 5: "The Political Effect of Experimentation: Ethical and Legal Problems"


Box 13 Folder 1-2 Drafts and notes

Box 13 Folder 3 Footnotes and bibliography

Box 13 Folder 4 "The Nature and Forms of the Social Experiment": book proposal, 1976-1978,

(materials related to the unpublished book based on the dissertation, such as the book proposal, drafts and notes)