Retrospective on Soviet Psychiatry Oral History Project, 1989/2022, bulk 2021/2022

Extent:
138.5775 Gigabytes and .25 Cubic Feet
Scope and content:

In 2021, members of the 1989 American delegation, some Soviet patients, Soviet doctors and other professionals, were invited to participate in the "Retrospective Review of the 1989 U.S. State Department Psychiatric Mission to the USSR" oral history project. Nineteen interviews were recorded, sixteen of them with the surviving members of the U.S. delegation, one with Andrei Kovalev, an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the U.S.S.R. at the time, and two with former "Soviet patients." There is also an original 1989 recording of one interview.

These interviews provide a comprehensive overview of the history of Soviet psychiatric abuse, the reasons why psychiatric diagnosis was used to suppress dissent, the methods, medical and legal procedures, and who were the major players in Soviet psychiatric abuse. Emphasis is also made on assessing the U.S.-Soviet relationship in the 1980s and the special place that the 1989 State Department psychiatric mission to the U.S.S.R. held in the détente. All stages of negotiations and preparations for the mission were discussed as well as the methodology of psychiatric evaluations and the findings of the American experts. An additional emphasis was also made on assessing the state of Soviet psychiatric care as of the late 1980s and all the significant changes it was going through at the time. The role of World Psychiatric Association (WPA), the All-Union Society of Psychiatrists and Narcologists, the American Psychiatric Association and other important organizations, is also given proper attention. The interviewees also discuss the long-term impact that the 1989 U.S. mission made on Soviet and post-Soviet psychiatry.

Language:
EnglishRussian

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
170 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Special Collections Public Services & Reference Staff
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

The interviews with the former Soviet patients and the original 1989 recording are restricted and special permissions apply.

Parent restrictions:

Researchers may only access and view the materials in this collection onsite and in-person at the University of Virginia Law Library in Charlottesville, Virginia. The following additional restrictions apply to any materials that contain the names of the interviewees of the 1989 U.S. State Department psychiatric investigative mission to the Soviet Union and/or 1991 ad hoc mission to the Soviet Union by the World Psychiatric Association:

1. To obtain access to these records, interested researchers must sign a form to agree not to use, document, or disclose names of the patients or their families, or other identifying information about these persons and to abide by all the provisions specified in the present document. The form is available on site from the responsible official of the UVA Law Library.

2. These materials may not be copied, photographed, or otherwise reproduced digitally.

3. Before accessing the requested materials, interested researchers must agree to abide by reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, as approved by the UVA Law Library, to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the information. These procedures shall be followed by all persons associated with the applicant's research project.

4. Records in this category are also subject to the following safeguards: (i) Any information that would permit the identification of an individual (names, biographical data, etc.) may not be used, documented, or made public by the researcher, nor will any attempt to contact them be made. However, this does not preclude the researcher from contacting a person in advance of gaining access, for the purpose of obtaining access. (ii) If a researcher obtains written authorization for access from an interviewee or from his/her legal guardian, the records may be made available to that researcher. (iii) Interviewees themselves may have free access to their own health information if contained in this collection.

5. If the University of Virginia Law Library discovers that a researcher has violated the confidentiality of information or the conditions of access, the Law Library shall take steps to revoke the research privileges of the researcher and shall consult with University of Virginia legal counsel to prevent further disclosure of the health information.

Finally, different access restrictions may apply to some of the items in this collection. Whenever possible, archivists have made a note of these restrictions in other parts of the finding aid.

Parent terms of access:
The Arthur J. Morris Law Library does not grant researchers permission to publish copies of any of the materials in this collection.

Contents