Great Soviet Encyclopedia

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, often called the GSE, is a massive collection of Russian-language knowledge. It was designed as a general-purpose resource to serve the goals of the Soviet state and party. The encyclopedia aimed to provide an intellectual foundation for Soviet society. It functioned as more than just a reference book. Some observers described it as a political tool used to influence minds. The editors were chosen by and responsible to the high Council of Ministers. This ensured the content aligned with official government directions.

Developing the GSE was a complex, multi-step process involving many experts. The project began with a formal proposal in 1924. A group of scholars worked to organize the vast amount of information needed. This group included scientists, mathematicians, and even poets. They had to plan how to divide knowledge into many separate volumes. Once the plan was approved, editors managed the writing and checking of entries. They coordinated many different contributors to ensure the work was systematic and thorough.

There were three distinct editions of the encyclopedia produced over several decades. The first edition was published between 1926 and 1947. It consisted of 65 volumes and contained 65,000 entries. The second edition appeared from 1950 to 1958. It was slightly smaller at 50 volumes but included 100,000 entries. The third edition, released between 1969 and 1978, consisted of 30 volumes. This final edition contained 100,000 entries and an index volume from 1981. It focused heavily on the philosophical problems of natural and physical sciences.

The origins of the GSE trace back to 1923. Otto Schmidt, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, initiated the idea. In 1924, he formed a committee to draft a formal proposal. This committee included Mikhail Pokrovsky, Nikolai Meshcheryakov, Valery Bryusov, and Veniamin Kagan. They also worked with Konstantin Kuzminsky. Anatoly Lunacharsky, the People's Commissar of Education, also supported the project. He had previously worked on a different proposal for a Workers' Encyclopedia.

The scale of the GSE is truly immense. The third edition contains more than 95,000 articles. It also includes nearly 35,000 illustrations and maps to aid understanding. The total word count for the third edition is approximately 21 million words. To keep information current, the publishers released a Yearbook annually from 1957 to 1990. This yearbook provided up-to-date articles about the Soviet Union and the rest of the world. These numbers show the massive effort required to maintain such a huge repository of data.

Many notable scientists and political figures contributed to the work. For example, Valentin Asmus wrote articles on metaphysics and Plato. The mathematician Andrei Kolmogorov was also a contributor. Some contributors faced difficult fates, such as Nikolai Bukharin and Andrei Bubnov, who were executed in 1938. The encyclopedia also reached a global audience through translations. An English version was published in 31 volumes between 1974 and 1983. A Greek version was also released in 34 volumes. The Greek edition was unique because it included hundreds of new articles specifically about Greek history and culture.

The GSE is connected to the broader history of information science and political communication. It shows how a government can use educational tools to shape national culture. The encyclopedia emphasized the importance of education for preparing people for life and work. It promoted a scientific approach to learning based on the latest achievements in technology. This included specialized knowledge in nuclear engineering, space technology, and atomic physics. Today, parts of the GSE data have been included in the updated Great Russian Encyclopedia. In 2000, the third edition was also made available as an online replica.