ON THE MARGINS OF GREAT POLITICS. THE BRITISH-SOVIET TREATY OF 1942 AND ITS ANNIVERSARIES TO THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

The article discusses the manner in which His Royal Majesty's government celebrated the signing of the British-Soviet treaty of 26 May 1942 and the successive anniversaries of this event (up to 1945). In the year of the treaty it was planned to offer J. Stalin the original correspondence between Nelson and Suvorov, kept in the British Museum; in 1943 the Soviet side received a painting by Frank O. Salisbury, showing the scene of the signing of the treaty; in 1944 the pleasantries were limited to an exchange of congratulatory telegrams, press publications and a ceremonial lunch, while in 1945 they were restricted to an exchange of telegrams. The same problem, in itself rather trivial, can serve as a sui generis indication of the state of relations between the U.K. and the U.S.S.R. during the second world war. It also contributes to reflections on the political culture of the period, attaching importance not only to the range of the organised ceremonies, but also to the system of related concepts.