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You get the exact 9 Broadcasts and Business Card shownin the photos.
Condition: Good vintage condition.
The scripts are dated from July 2/3 through August 27/28, 1988, placing them during the final years of the Soviet Union and the highly significant celebration of the Millennium of the Christianization/Baptism of Rus’.
Together, the nine stapled scripts contain approximately 75 typewritten pages. They include introductions, presenter copy, religious commentary, historical segments, interviews, and other material prepared for Russian-language broadcasting to the Soviet audience.
Subjects appearing throughout the scripts include:
- Russian Orthodox Christianity under Soviet rule
- The 1,000th anniversary of the Christianization of Rus’
- Metropolitan Filaret and a Der Spiegel interview
- Soviet treatment of religious believers
- Religious freedom and freedom of conscience
- The 70th anniversary of the Ekaterinburg killings of the Romanov family
- Optina and Obninsk
- The Feast of the Transfiguration
- The Dormition of the Mother of God
- Russian religious history and saints
Several packets contain handwritten production or editorial notations, corrections, crossed-out passages, timing information, and broadcast-related markings. These annotations add valuable evidence of their working use. They should not be interpreted as autographs unless independently authenticated.
From the personal archive of Nicholas A. Petroff, whose career included work involving Soviet and Eastern European affairs and senior service Assistant Director with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The archive was retained together before acquisition and has not been assembled from unrelated sources. The archive’s Petroff provenance provides important context for the material and helps explain its concentration on Russian Service editorial policy, Soviet affairs, broadcasting and institutional controversies.
Radio Liberty transmitted uncensored news, cultural programming, religious discussions, and political commentary to audiences in the Soviet Union. Religious programming held particular historical importance because open religious expression and access to uncensored Orthodox material had long been restricted under Soviet rule. These scripts date from the transformative final period of the USSR.
The provenance helps explain why this group of Russian-language broadcast and political material was preserved together.
An excellent research collection relating to Radio Liberty, post-Soviet Russia, international broadcasting, journalism, Russian émigré history, religious studies and political communication.
This provenance provides valuable context but should not be interpreted as a claim that Petroff personally authored all of these scripts. However, based on their provenance and the handwritten editorial markings, they are believed to have been at least reviewed or edited by Petroff. The handwriting has not been independently authenticated.
This cohesive group would make an excellent addition to a collection focused on:
• Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe
• Cold War broadcasting
• Russian-language media
• Russian Orthodox Christianity
• Soviet-era religious history
• Russian émigré history
• Broadcast scripts and production documents
• Nicholas A. Petroff archival material
Bonus:
As an added provenance piece, this lot includes one original Nicholas Petroff business card, shown in the final photograph.
Will ship safely as always.
broadcasts lot 7
