Seva Novgorodsev letters received, 1946-2004

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Summary

Creators:
British Broadcasting Corporation and Novgorodsev, Seva
Abstract:
The collection consists of letters from listeners of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Russian service broadcasts, related to social and cultural conditions, and especially to music in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia.
Extent:
26 manuscript boxes (10.4 Linear Feet)
Language:
Russian
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Seva Novgorodsev letters received, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of letters from listeners of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Russian service broadcasts, related to social and cultural conditions, especially to music in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia.

The letters are addressed to Seva Novgorodsev, a radio presenter at the BBC Russian Service who became famous throughout the former Soviet Union. He created the "Rok-posevy" music program and "the Sevaoborot" and "BibiSeva" chat shows.

Most of the letters are from listeners and concern Seva Novgorodsev's musical and chat programs, including program comments, suggestions, and requests for information. These programs were the source of information not only about rock music but also about everyday life in Soviet Union. The letters were later used by the broadcaster in his programs, making a strong connection with the audience and creating an atmosphere of cultural dialogue.

As Seva Novgodsev noted in his correspondence to the Hoover Institution, "These letters should be valued in the context of the years in which they were written. They show a gradual evolution of individual freedom in the USSR and young people's realizations of their own rights, daring to say what would be unthinkable before. They are also particularly valuable because of their informal nature and sincerity. Some of the letters come from the rural areas and they provide a glimpse of reality in those places. In short the letters witness the last years of Soviet communism from unexpected and previously unavailable source."

Some letters are accompanied by clippings, articles, brochures, and sound recordings. These materials may be found in the Printed matter and Sound recordings series, as well as in Letters from listeners.

Additional letters sent from fan clubs may be found in the Letters from fan clubs series. As Seva Novgordsev notes, "In 1988, Shura of Medvezhegorsk began collecting fan club rock-transfers via BBC. Thus began Norris (Independent Combined Information Rock Syndicate). In its heyday it had more than twenty offices around the USSR."

Sources:

Seva Novgorodsev e-mail correspondence to Lyalya Kharitonova of the Hoover Institution, June 5, 2010

Seva Novgorodsev's website, http://seva.ru, accessed June 2010

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1940 July 9
Born, Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia)
1949
Moved to Tallinn, Estonia
1954
Won first prize in on Estonian talent show
1959-1964
Played in brass and jazz bands in Tallinn
1962
Graduated from Leningradskoe vysshee inzhenernoe morskoe uchilishche imeni admirala C. O. Makarova (LVIMU), (Marine Academy)
1962-1964
Served as a navigator for the Estonian Shipping Company
1964-1975
Joined as a musician in the Joseph Weinstein's jazz orchestra, then head of "Dobrye molodtsy" rock group
1973-1975
Worked for Moskontsert (Moscow Concert Association)
1975 November 18
Left the Soviet Union for Austria, then Italy
1977
Moved to London, England
Since March 1977
Working for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a translator, then as a radio presenter on the BBC Russian Service
Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2010.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Seva Novgorodsev letters received, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
Website