A Stranger’s Visit from the ‘Iron Curtain’
Cyprus as an Unrealised Project of Soviet Archaeology in the 1960s
Abstract
This paper introduces a largely unknown aspect of the historical relationship between the young Republic of Cyprus and the USSR, namely the first contact established between the archaeologists of both countries in 1962, during the short visit of Prof. Sergey Kisselyoff to the island. The study is primarily based on unpublished archival materials from the Institute of Archaeology (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow). The early years of Cypriot independence, marked by the establishment of new governmental institutions and the formation of its foreign policy, coincided with a period of relative political liberalisation in the USSR (the so-called ‘Khrushchev Thawʼ). This phase was also characterised by the Soviet Union’s active engagement in global politics, including its use of foreign archaeological expeditions as an element of cultural policy and ‘soft power’. Prof. Kisselyoff’s trip diary, alongside other archive documents, provides valuable insight into his activities and contacts on the island.
Submitted: Jan. 23, 2025 | Accepted: Feb. 9, 2025 | Published July 24, 2025 | Language: en
Keywords Cyprus issue • Contemporary history • Soviet archaeology • Soviet history • Iron curtain • Public diplomacy • Cyprus archaeology • Khrushchev’s thaw • Cold War • Sergey Kisselyoff
Copyright © 2025 Pavel A. Evdokimov. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-917-7/007