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Title: Barbara DeKovner-Mayer papers
Date (inclusive): 1971-2016
Collection Number: 92115
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English and Russian
Physical Description:
71 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box, 2 phonorecords
(24.2 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The Barbara DeKovner-Mayer collection consists of correspondence, printed matter, and photographs relating to an American-Russian
person-to-person correspondence and assistance program organized in the United States in 1990 as Friends Assisting Friends.
Creator:
DeKovner-Mayer, Barbara, 1935-
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
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.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1992.
[Identification of item], Barbara DeKovner-Mayer papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Barabra DeKovner-Mayer is an American writer; founder and president, Friends Assisting Friends.
Author:
Shattered Silence: Feelings from Former Soviets Struggling With Freedom at Home
This book describes the hopes, hardships and happenings of former Soviets based on the voluminous correspondence and recent
visits of the author. The book is a remarkable chronicle of the changes that have occurred in Russia and her neighbours during
the last decade. Contains over 60 vignettes filled with hundreds of stories -- illustrated with photographs, cartoons and
drawings done by former Soviets themselves.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection contains the papers of Barbara DeKovner-Mayer, American journalist and writer. Of particular interest is her
correspondence with Russians, who was able to comment on historical events as participants, as well as the records of the
Friends Assisting Friends, the organization that she founded.They document DeKovner-Mayer's contributions to the cause of
peer-to-peer diplomacy and US-Soviet relations during and after the Perestroika period and the collapse of the USSR.
Among her writings, the most significant piece is the novel
Shattered Silence: Feelings from Former Soviets Struggling With Freedom at Home. The novel itself is based in part on her own experience while traveling to Russia. Other elements of the collection include
the Anatolii Pavlovich Shvedchikov papers, Russian poet and translator, who accompanied Barbara DeKovner-Mayer on her efforts
to set up an assistance program.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Sound recordings
United States -- Relations -- Soviet Union
Soviet Union -- Relations -- United States
Friends Assisting Friends (Organization)