Great Soviet Encyclopedia

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia is a Russian-language general encyclopedia published in three editions in the Soviet Union between 1926 and 1978. Its articles combined reference information with interpretations shaped by Soviet ideology.

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First edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia: The first edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, published in 65 volumes between 1926 and 1947. It began the project during the Soviet Union’s first decades.
Scientific publishing: The communication of research and scholarly knowledge through publications. The encyclopedia turned specialist knowledge into a large public reference work.
Soviet propaganda: State-organized communication intended to promote Soviet policies, ideology, and political legitimacy. The encyclopedia’s authoritative format also conveyed the state’s preferred interpretations.
Great Soviet Encyclopedia entry on Beria: The encyclopedia’s treatment of Lavrentiy Beria, a Soviet security chief executed in 1953. The entry became a notorious example of posthumous political erasure.
Second edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia: The second edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, published in 50 volumes between 1950 and 1958. Its postwar publication revised the encyclopedia for a changed political climate.
Editorial board: A group responsible for an edited publication’s policies, content, and production. Editors organized the subject coverage and review of thousands of entries.
Encyclopaedia Britannica: An English-language general encyclopedia founded in Scotland in the eighteenth century. It offered an influential non-Soviet benchmark for universal encyclopedic reference.
Lavrentiy Beria: A Soviet security official who led the NKVD during part of Joseph Stalin’s rule and was executed in 1953. His removal from the encyclopedia prompted a famous replacement-slip story.
Third edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia: The third edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, published in 30 volumes between 1969 and 1978. It was the final and most widely translated edition.
Alexander Prokhorov: A Soviet physicist who served as editor-in-chief of the third edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. His editorship shaped the final edition’s scientific and editorial direction.