This collection contains reports and other records compiled by the Communist Party of Great Britain's (CPGB) International Department between 1944 and 1986—a period which begins immediately after the dissolution of the Communist International (Comintern) and ends shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The majority of the documents cover the Sino-Soviet split and the Chinese-Indian disputes of the 1960s and 1970s. There are also materials relating to Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe, the left in Western Europe, and anti-colonial movements in the developing world. Together, they provide a fascinating insight into the competing power blocs which arose in the communist world during the Cold War, and how British communists reacted to the resulting internecine disputes.
The collection is accompanied by 3 contextual essays written by Professor Kevin Morgan, a senior academic at the University of Manchester.