2022 Wolodymyr Dylynsky Memorial Lecture

 

Confiscated Voices: The Case of Soviet Postal Censorship Related to the "Zapad" Deportation Operation (1947)

Dr. Andriy Kohut

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Postal censorship was an important method of surveillance by the Soviet secret services. It was widely applied for political control and identifying the population’s mood. The lecture will discuss the case of the Soviet “Zapad” deportation operation in Western Ukraine in 1947 as an example of the practice of postal censorship. It will also demonstrate how censorship reports provide insights into the survival strategies of the local population during the operation.

Dr. Andriy Kohut is director of the Sectoral State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine. His research and professional interests encompass the Stalin-era deportations, the history of the Soviet secret services, the politics of memory, and cultural diplomacy.