Marriages between Soviet Women and Foreigners during and after the Second World War (1942-1953)

In this MA thesis, the author examines the phenomena of international marriages during and after the Second World War and their further fates till 1953. The focus of the research is the marriages between Soviet women and foreigners, exсluding Germans. The research aims to study the influence of married status to the policy of the Soviet Union authorities after the war in the context of the Cold war. In the first chapter, the author reconstructs the circumstances of the acquaintances of the Soviet women and foreigners in the wartime. Also, the process of legalization of international marriages is touched upon. The main part of the thesis is dedicated to the investigation of the behaviour of the Soviet women regarding their marriage and wish to come back to the Soviet Union or to try to join their husbands. Based on the examination of the letters addressed to the Soviet and foreign authorities, the author investigates the strategies of each side, depending on various conditions. The last chapter tries to shed light on the changes or their absence in the systematic approach of the Soviet authorities after the official decree, prohibiting international marriages in 1947. Using electronic bases of political repression, the author tries to reconstruct the punishment for the international marriages on the territory of the USSR.