SOVIET CITIZENS’ PERCEPTION OF THE USSR-FRG TREATY OF 12TH AUGUST, 1970

Abstract

This article considers main reactions of the Soviet public opinion to signing the Moscow Treaty between the USSR and FRG on August 12th, 1970. Top leaders of the Communist party paid a lot of attention to making its content known to party members and ordinary people. The particular character of the relations between the USSR and West Germany, impacted by confrontation with Germany during the Great Patriotic War, affected Soviet citizens’ perception of the starting process of rapprochement between the two countries. Fear of the possibility of a new war, as well as the desire for peace and development of economic collaboration intertwined in public consciousness with apprehension of being deceived and being used in foreign interests. As a result of the analysis of new and previously unpublished archive documents, the author of this article identifies six points of view on the Moscow Treaty. They confirm the fact that Soviet citizens, being well-informed of international events, associated the Moscow Treaty not only with the hope for peace in Europe but also with the hope for progress in Soviet-American relations.