Politization of incoming tourism in USSR during the period of the cold war: causes and consequences

In the current situation of complication of Russia’s international position and a sharp de- terioration of relations with the United States, many experts are talking seriously about a new Cold War. Nowadays these processes have a significant impact on the development of international tourism, what makes the investigation of various aspects of Soviet-American tourism contacts in the previous periods of political aggravation very accurate. Studying the history of Soviet tourism during the Cold War not only sheds light on general history of the country, but also reveals in detail the specifics of the tourist agencies’ activity during the es- calation of ideological conflict. Although at that time tourism was endowed with other func- tion than it is now, «Intourist’s» experience in promoting cultural contacts between Soviet Union and United States deserves great attention. This article provides a brief analysis of the process of tourism politicization in the USSR in the conditions of confrontation with the capitalist countries. Particular attention is paid to investigating the impact of international tourism on the policy of the Soviet leaders and mindset of Soviet citizens in terms of «theory of convergence».