Way of Life Propaganda? The Anglo-Soviet Trade Fairs of 1961

Abstract

In May 1961 Britain held a trade fair in Moscow with a reciprocal Soviet exhibition opening in London in July that year. These exhibitions were part of a series of international exchanges that involved Eastern and Western nations along with non-aligned countries and which became part of the Cold War ideological competition. From 1959 British participation in exchanges with the Eastern bloc increased as part of Harold Macmillan’s attempt to ease Cold War tensions and increase trade. The Anglo-Soviet fairs of 1961 demonstrated that there were divergent approaches towards exhibitions from Western nations. When Nikita Khrushchev opened Britain’s Moscow fair he praised it for focusing on industry rather than being an ideological presentation of the British way of life. This approach contrasted with his combative demeanor when visiting the more overtly propagandistic American National Exhibition, held in Moscow in 1959. However, as this article suggests, the subtle use of pro-British propaganda during both of the 1961 exhibitions undermined the British government’s claim that these exchanges were non-ideological and solely about increasing trade.