Ritið : tímarit Hugvísindastofnunar - 01.10.2017, Síða 111

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hvernig haldið var upp á byltingarafmælin árin 1956 og 1968 í skugga hernaðarinn-
rása Sovétmanna í Ungverjaland og Tékkóslóvakíu þessi sömu ár. Stórafmæli bylt-
ingarinnar árin þarna í kring sýna einnig vel hvernig áróðursvél Sovétmanna tók á
þeim áföllum sem ímynd þeirra varð fyrir er þeir réðust inn í nágrannaríki sín. Það
var engin tilviljun að gervitunglin Spútnik I og II fóru af stað út í geiminn vikurnar
og dagana fyrir fjörutíu ára afmæli rússnesku októberbyltingarinnar árið 1957. Við-
brögð íslenskra sósíalista og sovéskra sendiráðsmanna sýna að mikilvægt þótti að
viðhalda trúnni á grundvallargildi byltingarinnar en eftir því sem árin liðu varð það
erfiðara og árið 1968 sammæltust margir íslenskir sósíalistar og Rússlandsvinir um
að hundsa árlega móttöku sovéska sendiráðsins hinn 7. nóvember. Þannig fjaraði
smám saman undan annars öflugu félagsstarfi sósíalista á Íslandi þó svo að bylting-
arafmælisins væri áfram minnst.
Lykilorð: Októberbyltingin, byltingarafmæli, áróður, menningartengsl, vinafélög
A B S T R A C T
Icelandic Socialists and Celebrations of the October Revolution:
Soviet Propaganda and Soviet-Icelandic Cultural Relations
in the Twentieth Century
Celebrations of the 1917 October Revolution played an important part in the legiti-
mizing process for the Bolshevik takeover in Russia. The October Revolution be-
came the foundational myth for the Soviet Union and admirers of the Soviet project
around the world soon started celebrating November 7 as well. This article looks
at celebrations of the October Revolution in Iceland during the twentieth century
and the role they played in Soviet-Icelandic cultural relations. The focus is on the
celebrations that took place in the shadow of the Soviet invasions of Hungary in
1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968 and the reactions of various actors, from Icelandic
socialists to Soviet embassy staff. The launching of Sputnik I and II just weeks and
days before the fortieth anniversary in 1957 shows the propaganda state at its best;
while the fiftieth anniversary in 1967 was celebrated during a period of stagnation in
the Soviet Union. The reactions of Icelandic socialists show that in 1956, many of
them remained loyal to the goals of the revolution while condemning the use of mil-
itary power but by 1968, many prominent socialists ignored the annual reception of
the Soviet Embassy in Reykjavik on November 7. Finally, this overview of Icelandic
celebrations of the October Revolution shows the rise and fall of Soviet-Icelandic
cultural relations and exchanges, as criticism of Soviet actions on the world stage
increased and admiration of Bolshevik revolutionary ideology declined.
Keywords: October Revolution, celebrations, propaganda, cultural relations, friend-
ship societies
RÓsa MagnúsdÓttiR