In the early 1950s, some members of the People's Labor Union (NTU), the leading anti-Soviet organization of the Russian diaspora, lived in Beirut and Tripoli. Their task was to fight the communist ideology of the USSR and the growing sympathies for socialist ideas not only in Lebanon, but throughout the Middle East. The view from this unexpected angle, reflected in the letters of the NTS residents to their supervisor in Germany, adds some details to the picture of historical events in Lebanon, the end of Bishara al-Khoury's presidency and the activities of Camille Chamoun in this post. Keywords: Lebanon, People's Labor Union, Gallipoli Society, Bishara al-Khoury, Camille Chamoun, anti-communism, Arab socialism. In the history of Lebanon, the beginning of the 1950s is estimated ambiguously by historians. This is the end of a whole era of confrontation between two powerful coalitions in the Lebanese political arena-the Constitutional and National blocs. These associations, which emerged during the French mandate, included prominent politicians who saw the country's development paths differently, first of all, the ways to achieve full independence. Parties that emerged in the 1930s and 1940s on a confessional basis, as well as around pan-Arab, nationalist, progressive and socialist ideas, also had their own options for solving the key tasks facing the country. As a result of this diversity, assessments of Lebanon's socio-political development at the end of Bishara al-Khoury's presidency and at the beginning of Camille Chamoun's tenure vary widely. One of the defining factors of the country's development after achieving full independence was the fact that the issues of coexistence and political participation of all confessional communities in the life of the new state remained formally unresolved. Even when the French mandate authorities created the State of Greater Lebanon, the majority of these communities were immediately dissatisfied with the boundaries of the new s ... Читать далее