Smukler (Alexander) collection, 1891-2022, bulk 1972-1991

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Summary

Title:
Alexander Smukler collection
Dates:
1891-2022, bulk 1972-1991
Abstract:
Alexander Smukler (b. 1960) is a former Refusenik and a prominent member of the Soviet Jewish community. He was a central figure in the production and distribution of samizdat materials in the Soviet Union. Upon his immigration to the United States, he has continued his activism on behalf of Jews from the former Soviet Union. The Alexander Smukler collection contains materials created and collected by Smukler related to: Smukler's activities as a Refusenik, the production and distribution of samizdat in the Soviet Union, and his continued activism based out of the United States.
Extent:
63.4 Linear Feet 53 boxes, 6 document cases, 1 newspaper box, 1 print box, flat file storage
Language:
Materials are predominately in Russian (Cyrillic text), with some materials in English, Hebrew and Yiddish.
Preferred citation:

Alexander Smukler collection, 2021.035. Archive. Wende Museum.

Background

Scope and content:

The Alexander Smukler Collection contains materials created and collected by Alexander Smukler related to: the production and distribution of Jewish samizdat in the Soviet Union, Smukler's activities as a Refusenik, and his continued activism based out of the United States. The collection contains over 40 different samizdat periodicals (highlighting the plight of Soviet Jews), samizdat publications distributed as part of the Biblioteka Aliya series-- focusing on Jewish cultural texts, samizdat publications outside the scope of the Biblioteka series regarding Jewish culture (literature, history, religion, etc.) and supplemental materials such as contemporary news clippings. Some of the included periodical titles are: Evrei v SSSR (Jews in the USSR), Tarbut Kul'tura (Tarbut Culture), Evrei v Sovremennom Mire (Jews in the Contemporary World), Leningradskii Evreiskii Al'manakh (Leningrad Jewish Almanac), Evreiskii Ezhegodnik (Jewish Annual), Informatsionnyi Byulleten' po Problemam Evreiskoi Repatriatsii i Kul'tury (Information Bulletin on Issues of Jewish Repatriation and Culture), Shalom, and others, in addition to samizdat editions of literary works (for example, copies of Exodus by Leon Uris).

The types of materials included are: editorial drafts of publications, publications published on photographic paper, rotaprint drafts, booklets, newspaper photocopies, bound volumes, drafts on onionskin paper, article drafts, copies of articles, newsletters, correspondence, typed publications, photocopied publications, handwritten publications, photocopies, photographic prints, photographic negatives and audiovisual materials.

Biographical / historical:

Alexander Smukler is a former Refusenik and a prominent member of the Soviet Jewish community. He was a central figure in the production and distribution of samizdat materials in the Soviet Union. Upon his immigration to the United States, he continued his activism on behalf of Jews from the former Soviet Union.

Smukler was born in Moscow on June 30, 1960. He attended the Moscow University of Technology and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in civil construction in 1982. Since 1980, he has actively participated in underground Jewish and dissident movements in addition to having served as Editor-in-chief of numerous samizdat periodicals, including Informatsionnyi Byulleten' po Problemam Evreiskoi Repatriatsii i Kul'tury (Information Bulletin on Issues of Jewish Repatriation and Culture) from 1987 to 1990. Smukler also served as a member of the board of the VAAD (Confederation of Jewish Organizations and Communities of the USSR) from 1987 to 1989 and as the Executive Director of both B'nai B'rith of USSR and the Jewish Information Center of Moscow from 1989 to 1991.

After emigrating to the United States in 1991, Smukler founded the All Ways International travel agency, serving as the President and CEO until 2001. From 2001 to 2006 he worked as the managing partner of Ariel Investment Group. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Century 21: Russia, Kazakhstan & the Ukraine from 2001 to 2014. The National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry (NCSEJ) (formerly known as the National Council for Soviet Jewry (NCSJ)) first elected him as Vice President in 2004, and in 2008 the organization subsequently elected him as their President. Smukler currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Agroterminal, Ltd., as President and Founder of the American Foundation for Orphans Abroad, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Russian Jewish Congress.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Alexander Smukler, 2021.
Processing information:

The Smukler Collection was received by the Wende Museum in December 2021, with additional accruals received in March 2022, August 2022, December 2022, March 2023, August 2023, November 2023, February/March 2024 and May 2024. The collection was processed onsite by Tess Livesley-O'Neill, Archives and Digitization Assistant, between 2021-2023. Processing was continued by Sarah Richardson, Archives and Digitization Manger, Ava Lohr and Anya Ponomareva, Archives and Digitization Assistants. The original arrangement was retained in most cases, and arrangement was imposed during processing in the absence of a usable original order. Additionally, oversize materials, photographs and audio-visual materials were separated and re-housed into appropriate containers.

Arrangement:

The collection arrived with an existing arrangement. Materials were organized in a hybrid arrangement based on type and/or subject at the highest level. These original groupings have been maintained and have informed the series arrangement. These series are, in order: I. Jewish periodical samizdat, II. Biblioteka Aliya, III. Jewish book samizdat, IV. Jewish religious samizdat, V. Literature from the Ministry of Aliya and Immigrant Absorption (Israel), VI. Jewish Information Center in Moscow, VII. Press clippings, and VIII. Special format materials. The last series includes oversize materials which have been separated and placed into an appropriately-sized container. In these instances, separation sheets have been placed into the physical location where the oversized item was originally located.

Series I. Jewish periodical samizdat further subdivides into sub-series based on the periodical title. This has no discernible order other than the original numerical ordering system, which is maintained here. It does appear to have a loose chronological / place of publication order.

Series II. Biblioteka Aliya is arranged in the order it was published in the Biblioteka Aliya monographic series.

Series III. Jewish book samizdat further subdivides into 4 sub-series based on topic. These sub-series are:

  1. History of the Jewish People
  2. Literature about the Holocaust
  3. Zionism and the State of Israel
  4. Fiction, literary criticism and journalism

Series IV. Jewish religious samizdat is arranged in the order in which it arrived at the Museum.

Series V. Literature from the Ministry of Aliya and Immigrant Absorption (Israel) is arranged in the order in which it arrived at the Museum.

Series VI. Jewish Information Center in Moscow is arranged in the order in which it arrived at the Museum.

Series VII. Press clippings is arranged in the order in which it arrived at the Museum. These were originally grouped together by region of publication (e.g. Soviet publications, Israeli publications).

Series VIII. Special format materials includes audiovisual mediums (photographs, VHS, etc.) and oversize newspapers/clippings that require medium-specific storage. Instances where an item has been removed from its original location have been noted with separation sheets in the originating location indicating that the item has been moved to this series.

Folders that originally transported materials to the museum are retained at the end of the collection.

Accruals:

Accruals are expected at an irregular frequency.

Physical / technical requirements:

Collection contains unprocessed audiovisual materials. Audiovisual materials are not currently available for access and will require further processing and assessment. If you have questions about these materials please email collections@wendemuseum.org.

Physical location:
Stored onsite at the Wende Museum.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Sarah Richardson, Tess Livesley-O'Neill
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-11-14 21:47:51 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for access, however, items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Terms of access:

Copyright restrictions may apply.

Property rights to the physical object belong to the Wende Museum. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir(s) for permission to publish where the Wende Museum does not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

Alexander Smukler collection, 2021.035. Archive. Wende Museum.

Location of this collection:
10808 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230, US
Contact:
(310) 216-1600
info@wendemuseum.org
Website