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The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Russian: Большая Советская Энциклопедия, Bolshaya Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya) is the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedia in Russian. There were 3 editions: the first volume of the 1st edition of 65 volumes was published in 1926, the first volume of the 2nd edition of 51 volumes was published in 1949, the 3rd edition of 1969–1978 contains 30 volumes, with about 50 million words.
During the time of Josef Stalin, the Encyclopedia was used as a political weapon. When a prominent person "disappeared", all subscribers to the Encyclopedia were sent new entries to paste over the entry of whoever "disappeared", with the goal of erasing them from the public mind.
According to Maurice Hindus, an American writer who traveled extensively in the Soviet Union and wrote a number of books on Soviet life, the first edition of the Encyclopedia is far superior to the second edition, the second edition being biased and incomplete. For example, while in the first edition the philosopher William James is described respectfully and pragmatism is criticized, in the second edition he is characterized as "an American reactionary philosopher and psychologist, ideologue of the imperialist bourgeoisie...."
The third edition was translated into English, beginning in 1973, each volume being translated separately, so the index has to be used fully to locate specific items.
External link
it:Grande Enciclopedia Sovietica
de:Große Sowjetische Enzyklopädie
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