The Witnesses of The Great Break: S.L. Frank and A. Einstein’s Correspondence

In the publication of the correspondence of Semyon Ludvigovich Frank and Albert Einstein, that is stored in the physician’s archive at the Jewish University of Jerusalem, find their coverage the political events in Soviet Russia in the late 1920’s – early 1930’s. Letters keep their relevance for modern philosophers and humanitarians, as long as they expand the contextual field of our notions about the communication of Russian and European intellectuals of the first half of the XXth century, as well as their ideological shifts under the influence of what was happening. Frank analyzed the official sources (Soviet newspapers) of the time and tried to show Einstein their political and ideological bias, especially by covering high-profile judicial proceedings. It is exactly the worldview on Soviet Russia that Frank hold to during the years of emigrant life in Germany. The philosopher drew Einstein's attention to the abuses and law violations, that took place in Soviet Russia at that time. In letters to Einstein, Frank sought to get him to publicly condemn the actions of the Soviet government, in hope that it would contribute to stop the repressions. In the end, Frank managed to convince Einstein of the rightfulness of his position and to overcome his excessive caution and distrustfulness. The archive material published with the permission of the right holders has not been put into scientific circulation before and is printed for the first time.

Keywords

archive, correspondence, Soviet newspapers, S.L. Frank, A. Einstein, Soviet Russia

Received

18.12.2018

Publication date

19.12.2018

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GOST	Obolevich T., Tsygankov A. The Witnesses of “The Great Break”: S.L. Frank and A. Einstein’s Correspondence // Voprosy filosofii – 2018. – Issue 11 C. 111-141 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/vphil/s207987840001126-7-1-en (circulation date: 19.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S004287440001899-3
MLA	Obolevich, Teresa, Tsygankov, Alexander S "The Witnesses of “The Great Break”: S.L. Frank and A. Einstein’s Correspondence." Voprosy filosofii 11 (2018):111-141. DOI: 10.31857/S004287440001899-3
APA	Obolevich T., Tsygankov A. (2018). The Witnesses of “The Great Break”: S.L. Frank and A. Einstein’s Correspondence. Voprosy filosofii (11), pp.111-141 DOI: 10.31857/S004287440001899-3

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