Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee
Encyclopedia
The Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee was an organization in the Soviet Union
, which mobilized solidarity efforts to national liberation movements in Africa and Asia. SKSSAA was founded in May 1956. SKSSAA was a member of the Asian and African Peoples' Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO). SKSSAA functioned as a Soviet semi-official foreign policy organ. SKSSAA was funded through the Soviet Peace Fund. It worked in close coordination with the International Department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
. The discourse of SKSSAA was centered around two positions: support of the right of self-determination and anti-racism
.
The SKSSAA was also one of the founders of the Patrice Lumumba University.
SKSSAA published, jointly with the Institute of Oriental Studies, the sociopolitical and scientific journal Aziia i Afrika Segodnia.
As of 1968, Mirzo Tursunzoda
was the chairman of SKSSAA. Vladimir Shubin was secretary of SKSSAA at one point. Members of minority populations (such as Caucasian and Central Asian ethnic groups) were highly represented in SKSSAA. Often SKSSAA portrayed the experience of peripheric Soviet regions as models of development towards Third World
countries.
SKSSAA was active internationally in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. SKSSAA provided the African National Congress
in exile with material resources, such as food, clothes and vehicles. The SKSSAA and other Soviet non-governmental organization
s (NGOs) received South Africans in need of medical treatment, and arranged stays for them at Soviet hospitals. The organization also coordinated activities for South African students in the Soviet Union.
was hosted by the SKSSAA (which was an 'unofficial' representative of Soviet foreign policy), rather than government representatives. Fatah
leader Yasser Arafat
visited Moscow
at the invitation of SKSSAA in 1970. SKSSAA also had contacts with PFLOAG.
The archives of the SKSSAA are held by the State Archive of the Russian Federation.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, which mobilized solidarity efforts to national liberation movements in Africa and Asia. SKSSAA was founded in May 1956. SKSSAA was a member of the Asian and African Peoples' Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO). SKSSAA functioned as a Soviet semi-official foreign policy organ. SKSSAA was funded through the Soviet Peace Fund. It worked in close coordination with the International Department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
. The discourse of SKSSAA was centered around two positions: support of the right of self-determination and anti-racism
Anti-racism
Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. In general, anti-racism is intended to promote an egalitarian society in which people do not face discrimination on the basis of their race, however defined...
.
The SKSSAA was also one of the founders of the Patrice Lumumba University.
SKSSAA published, jointly with the Institute of Oriental Studies, the sociopolitical and scientific journal Aziia i Afrika Segodnia.
As of 1968, Mirzo Tursunzoda
Mirzo Tursunzoda
Mirzo Tursunzoda - was an important poet and a prominent politic figure. Today Tursunzoda has been elevated to the level of a national hero of Tajikistan. Tursunzoda's face appears on the front of the one Somoni note. The town of Tursunzoda is named in his honor. He was awarded the Stalin...
was the chairman of SKSSAA. Vladimir Shubin was secretary of SKSSAA at one point. Members of minority populations (such as Caucasian and Central Asian ethnic groups) were highly represented in SKSSAA. Often SKSSAA portrayed the experience of peripheric Soviet regions as models of development towards Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
countries.
Southern Africa
A part of the SKSSAA aid to African liberation movements was channelled through the Organization for African Unity.SKSSAA was active internationally in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. SKSSAA provided the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
in exile with material resources, such as food, clothes and vehicles. The SKSSAA and other Soviet non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s (NGOs) received South Africans in need of medical treatment, and arranged stays for them at Soviet hospitals. The organization also coordinated activities for South African students in the Soviet Union.
Middle East
Until 1974, all visits of the Palestine Liberation OrganizationPalestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
was hosted by the SKSSAA (which was an 'unofficial' representative of Soviet foreign policy), rather than government representatives. Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
leader Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
visited Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
at the invitation of SKSSAA in 1970. SKSSAA also had contacts with PFLOAG.
Post-Soviet period
The SKSSAA survived the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1992 the organization was renamed Society of Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity and Co-operation. It has since mainly focused its work towards the Middle East and Asia. In 2003 Mikhail Margelov was elected president of the Society.The archives of the SKSSAA are held by the State Archive of the Russian Federation.