General Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press

Main Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press under the Council of Ministers of the USSR () was the official censorship and state secret protection organ in the Soviet Union. The censorship agency was established in 1922 under the name "Main Administration for Literary and Publishing Affairs at the RSFSR Narkompros", abbreviated as Glavlit (Главлит). The latter term was in semiofficial use until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Since the word "Glavlit" hints at "literature", the organization is often confused with Goskomizdat, which performed another type of censorship: it controlled the political content in fiction, poetry, etc.

Chronology of names

1922: Main Administration for Literary and Publishing Affairs under the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR (Главное управление по делам литературы и издательств при Наркомате просвещения РСФСР): 1946: Administration for the Protection of Military and State Secrets in the Press under the USSR Council of Ministers. (управление по охране военных и государственных тайн в печати при СМ СССР) 1953: Main Administration for the Protection of Military and State Secrets in the Press under the USSR Council of Ministers. (Главное управление по охране военных и государственных тайн в печати при СМ СССР) 1966: Main Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press under the USSR Council of Ministers. (Главное управление по охране государственных тайн в печати при СМ СССР:)

Main Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press under the Council of Ministers of the USSR () was the official censorship and state secret protection organ in the Soviet Union.Siddiqi, Asif (2021). "Soviet Secrecy: Toward a Social Map of Knowledge". The American Historical Review. 126 (3): 1046–1071. doi:10.1093/ahr/rhab401. ISSN 0002-8762.

The censorship agency was established in 1922 under the name "Main Administration for Literary and Publishing Affairs at the RSFSR Narkompros", abbreviated as Glavlit (Главлит). The term "Glavlit" remained in semiofficial use until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, even as the agency's official name changed several times.

Naming history 1922: Main Administration for Literary and Publishing Affairs under the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR (Главное управление по делам литературы и издательств при Наркомате просвещения РСФСР) 1946: Administration for the Protection of Military and State Secrets in the Press under the USSR Council of Ministers (управление по охране военных и государственных тайн в печати при СМ СССР) — the agency was placed under the direct authority of the All-Union Council of Ministers this year. 1953: Main Administration for the Protection of Military and State Secrets in the Press under the USSR Council of Ministers (Главное управление по охране военных и государственных тайн в печати при СМ СССР) 1966: Main Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press under the USSR Council of Ministers (Главное управление по охране государственных тайн в печати при СМ СССР)

Function Glavlit's function was to prevent the publication of information that could compromise state secrets in books, newspapers, and other printed matter, as well as in radio and television broadcasting. It also had secondary functions, including censorship of foreign literature imported into the Soviet Union and participation in purging materials associated with "enemies of the people" from libraries, bookstores, and museums.

There existed a special list of kinds of information forbidden for publication in sources open to the general public. Initially there were three major categories of secret information: military, economic, and "other". In later lists these were detailed further, e.g., "finance", "politics", "science and engineering", etc. were added. The first version of the list was decreed on October 13, 1921, before the creation of Glavlit, when censorship was a duty of a department of Vecheka. This list was updated several times. There were the following categories of secrecy: "top secret", "secret", and "not for disclosure".

Historian Michael McConnell — an expert on the Bolshevik Consolidation of Power — noted that Glavlit was "ruthless in their enforcement of media censorship, having largely repressive implications for opposing parties and ideologies".

In addition, for the purposes of the law, secrets were classified into "state secrets" (secrets related to the overall functioning of the state), "military secrets", and "official secrets" (secrets related to the immediate functioning of an office or enterprise).

Glavlit performed its functions via regional offices, known locally as gublit.Corrigan, Polly. "Soviet censorship: the origins". Polly Corrigan Memorial Blog (2023-05-21). [Note: personal blog, marginal reliability per WP:RS — use as lead to a stronger academic/archival source if possible.] In the late Soviet Union, immediate censorship at institutions and enterprises was performed by the so-called First Departments, controlled by the KGB. Close cooperation between Soviet secret services and Glavlit was unbroken from the organization's founding.Corrigan, Polly. "Soviet censorship: the origins". Polly Corrigan Memorial Blog (2023-05-21).

Leadership

Name Start of powers End of term Nikolai Leonidovich Meshcheryakov June 6, 1922 October 23, 1922 Pavel Lebedev-Poliansky"Pavel Lebedev-Polianskii". Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14 October 2013. October 24, 1922 July 1931 Boris Mikhailovich Volin July 1931 1935 Sergey Borisovich Ingulov 1935 December 16, 1937 Alexander Stepanovich Samokhvalov December 17, 1937 January 12, 1938 Nikolay Georgievich Sadchikov January 13, 1938 1946 Konstantin Kirillovich Omelchenko 1946 March 5, 1957 Pavel Konstantinovich Romanov March 6, 1957 1965 Alexey Petrovich Okhotnikov 1965 17 August 1966 Pavel Konstantinovich Romanov August 18, 1966 July 1986 Vladimir Alekseevich Boldyrev July 1986 October 24, 1991

See also Goskomizdat First Department (also known as "secret department") — Commission for Counteracting Foreign Engineering Intelligences Military censorship was handled by the Military counterintelligence of the Soviet Army.

Functions

The function of Glavlit was to prevent publications of information that could compromise state secrets in books, newspapers and other printed matter, as well as in radio and TV broadcasting.

There existed a special list of kinds of information forbidden for publication in sources open for the general public. Initially there were three major categories of secret information: military, economical, and "other". In later lists these were detailed further, e.g., "finance", "politics", "science and engineering", etc. were added. The first version of the list was decreed on October 13, 1921, before the creation of Glavlit, when censorship was a duty of a department of Vecheka. This list was updated several times. There were the following categories of secrecy: "top secret", "secret", and "not for disclosure".

Historian Michael McConnell - expert in the Bolshevik Consolidation of Power - noted that "Glavlit were ruthless in their enforcement of media censorship, having largely repressive implications for opposing parties and ideologies".

In addition, for the purposes of the law the secrets were classified into "state secrets" (secrets related to the overall functioning of the state), "military secrets", and "official secrets" (secrets related to immediate functioning of an office or enterprise).

Glavlit performed its functions via regional offices. In the late Soviet Union, at institutions and enterprises the immediate censorship was performed by the so-called First Departments controlled by KGB. In fact, tight cooperation of Soviet secret services and Glavlit was unbroken from the very beginning.

Heads NameStart of powersEnd of termNikolai Leonidovich MeshcheryakovJune 6, 1922October 23, 1922Pavel Lebedev-PolianskyOctober 24, 1922July 1931Boris Mikhailovich VolinJuly 19311935Sergey Borisovich Ingulov1935December 16, 1937 Alexander Stepanovich Samokhvalov December 17, 1937January 12, 1938Nikolay Georgievich SadchikovJanuary 13, 19381946Konstantin Kirillovich Omelchenko1946March 5, 1957Pavel Konstantinovich RomanovMarch 6, 19571965Alexey Petrovich Okhotnikov196517 August 1966Pavel Konstantinovich RomanovAugust 18, 1966July 1986Vladimir Alekseevich BoldyrevJuly 1986October 24, 1991

Related organizations Goskomizdat First Department (also known as "secret department") USSR State Technical Commission - Commission for Counteracting Foreign Engineering Intelligences Military censorship was handled by the military counterintelligence of the Soviet Army.

General Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press

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