New York State Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditious Activities Russian Soviet Bureau Seized Files L0032

New York State Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditious Activities Russian Soviet Bureau Seized Files

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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:

The Russian Soviet Bureau was set up by the Bolshevik government to act as its representative in the United States. These files, seized in raids by the Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditious Activities (known as the "Lusk Committee" for its Chairman Clayton R. Lusk) contain information on the activities of the bureau, correspondence between bureau head Ludwig C.A.K. Martens and bureau contacts, mailing lists of supporters and companies doing business with the Russian government, and transcripts of lectures given by Socialist supporters.

Creator:

New York (State). Legislature. Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditious Activities

Title:

Russian Soviet Bureau seized files

Quantity:

1.4 cubic feet

Inclusive Dates:

1918-1919

Series Number:

L0032

Arrangement

Organized into 2 subseries: Subseries 1, Original Seized Records, 1918-1919, 0.7 cubic foot, and Subseries 2, Photostatic Copies of Seized Records, 1918-1919, 0.7 cubic foot, are arranged alphabetically by topic.

Administrative History

The committee utilized search warrants to raid a number of organizations suspected of radical activities. During the raids, huge quantities of documents were seized and many individuals were arrested. The Russian Soviet Bureau in New York City was the target of the first committee raid, held June 12, 1919.

The new Bolshevik government set up the bureau as its official mission in an attempt to secure diplomatic recognition by the United States and encourage trade with American companies. The committee accused the bureau of being a radical revolutionary organization spreading Bolshevik propaganda. The committee used the documents during hearings and in its report to show ongoing seditious activity and connections between the bureau and other suspected radical organizations.

Scope and Content Note

The series contains original and photostatic copies of records seized during the committee's raid on the Russian Soviet Bureau. A large portion of the series consists of correspondence between Bureau Director Ludwig C.A.K. Martens and individuals and organizations contacted by the bureau in order to promote better relations between the United States and Russia's Communist government. The committee suspected the bureau of promoting communist ideology and seized the records in order to gather information about seditious activities.

The records include correspondence and memoranda from the commercial, diplomatic, legal, and other departments within the Russian Soviet Bureau. There are also mailing lists of individuals and organizatins, copies of speeches and articles, and lists of companies interested in doing business with the Bolshevik government. The records also contain reports of events occurring in Russia during the period.

Some documents are in Russian, with translations sometimes available. Within the two subseries, only a few of the photostatic copies duplicate the original records.