Albert Soboul's Correspondence with Soviet Historians

This collection comprises letters from Albert Soboul, the eminent historian of the French Revolution, addressed to his Soviet colleagues, with whom he had maintained ongoing scholarly relations since the second half of the 1950s. Drawn primarily from Russian archives, they provide irrefutable proof of the existence of a deep and sincere friendship between him and his Soviet/Marxist colleagues. His high regard and positive attitude toward the scholarly work of Soviet historians were reflected in his constant invitations to them to publish their articles in the journal Annales historiques de la Révolution française, of which he had long been the general secretary. From A. Soboul's correspondence, it is clear that he was also eager to contribute to the French translation of important books by Soviet historians on the revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, particularly those by Albert Manfred, Abgar Ioannissian, and Anatoli Ado. His letters also reveal his desire to visit the USSR not only to participate in historians' conferences but also to coordinate his collaboration with them.