Literature of the Americas Literature of the Americas 2541-7894 2542-243X IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-7894-2025-19-400-439 Research Article Articles Allen Ginsberg in Search of Soviet Dissidents 2025 Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 The article reconstructs the history of the 1965 visit to the Soviet Union by Allen Ginsberg, a key figure of the American Beat Generation. Using archival materials from the Foreign Commission of the USSR Union of Writers introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time, alongside the poet’s personal diaries, letters, and interviews, the study examines episodes of his stay in Moscow and Leningrad that were poorly reflected in official reports. The analysis focuses on the dual nature of the visit, which, on the one hand, demonstrated the limits of the “Khrushchev thaw”-era openness, and on the other, proved the possibility of personal human contact transcending ideological barriers. The research identifies specific tactics used by the Soviet side to control the foreign guest and the ways he was opposing. Particular attention is paid to Ginsberg’s persistent attempts to establish contacts with representatives of the dissident movement, specifically Joseph Brodsky and Alexander Esenin-Volpin. The appendix publishes archival documents illuminating the preparation and conduct of the visit. 1. Dandeles 2017 — Dandeles, Gregory. “Avant-Gardes at the Iron Curtain: A Transnational Reading of Allen Ginsberg and the Soviet Estradny Movement.” PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2017. 2. Lauridsen, Dalgard 1990 — Lauridsen, Inger Thorup and Per Dalgard. The Beat Generation and the Russian New Wave. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1990. 3. Losev 2006 — Losev, Lev. Iosif Brodskii: Opyt literaturnoi biografii [Iosif Brodsky: A Literary Biography]. Moscow: Molodaia gvardiia Publ., 2006. (In Russ.)