Northern (N): Soviet Union (NS). Weekly Round-Up of Miscellaneous News and Gossip from HM Embassy

Summary

A file containing updates from the British embassy in Moscow concerning events in the Soviet Union that were felt to be reportable, but which did not merit detailed consideration. Issues covered in the file include the health of Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier; receptions hosted by the Soviet government for diplomatic representatives from South Asian and East Asian countries; and the Soviet treatment of Albania and Yugoslavia in exchanges of New Year greetings published in the Soviet press. Other subjects mentioned include Soviet press attacks on religion; the delayed arrival of winter in Moscow; rumours about personal disagreements between Politburo members; Soviet investigations into Unidentified Flying Objects; and speculation about changes in the leadership of the Agitprop department. The file also contains reports of a Soviet campaign against drunkenness; Soviet estimates of deaths in any nuclear war; food shortages in Yaroslavl, Odessa, and Moscow; and reports of interactions with Soviet citizens.

Tags

pakistan cambodia thailand indonesia india gender equality china agriculture argentina nigeria united kingdom education local government france tourism crime women uruguay health services syria albania united states of america guinea finland austria awards black market borders censorship construction culture currency exchange rates industrial accidents industry international relations israel italy law literature medicine military bases burma netherlands olympic games politicians propaganda religion romania ceylon theatre trials united arab republic soviet union visas war crimes weather yugoslavia church-state relations alcohol economic aid military training domestic politics speeches contingency planning east germany film purges missiles food shortages ethnic minorities opera british council communist party of the soviet union government ministries john f. kennedy soviet foreign policy Anglo-Soviet relations international conferences Romanian-Soviet relations Soviet-Yugoslav relations Soviet press North Vietnam diplomatic officials American-Soviet relations Soviet politics Soviet armed forces Soviet air force East German-Soviet relations receptions Pravda Izvestiya Albanian-Soviet relations French-Soviet relations Andrei Gromyko Egyptian-Soviet relations colonial independence press conferences Soviet-Syrian relations Indonesian-Soviet relations party congresses airfields Dutch-Soviet relations embassy staff border controls cult of personality friendship societies Soviet government Yurii Gagarin Josef Stalin Finnish-Soviet relations Nikita Khrushchev de-Stalinization Virgin Lands Campaign threat of nuclear war Intourist multilateral talks Yekaterina Furtseva conversations with members of the public Sovietology Anastas Mikoyan Finnish armed forces Anglo-Nigerian relations Georgii Zhukov Dmitrii Shepilov Patrice Lumumba Il'ya Ehrenburg