Interview with Carolyn Smith

Scope and content:

Ms. Smith shares her memories about interpreting for both 1989 U.S. State Department delegation and the 1991 WPA delegation to the Soviet Union. She explains how this experience compares to the other interesting projects she has been involved in throughout her career. She describes her most prominent memories about this job as well as the Soviet Union as of 1989.

Olena Protsenko, a Post-doctoral Research Associate in Psychiatry and Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, conducted this interview remotely over the Zoom application.

Biographical / historical:

Fluent in English and Russian, Ms. Smith was a contract interpreter for the U.S. State Department for many years. She interpreted for both the 1989 American delegation and the 1991 WPA delegation to the Soviet Union. During the 1989 trip, she was on the sub-team # 1 under the leadership of Dr. Samuel J. Keith, M.D. interpreting in Moscow.

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

Carolyn Smith did not request any additional restrictions on access to this interview beyond those that the University of Virginia has made for all the oral histories from the Soviet Psychiatry Oral History Project (2021-2022).

Parent restrictions:
The interviews with the former Soviet patients and the original 1989 recording are restricted and special permissions apply.
Parent terms of access:
The Arthur J. Morris Law Library does not grant researchers permission to publish copies of any of the materials in this collection.

Online content