Mildred Harford Correspondence with Lana Peters (Svetlana Alliluyeva), 1973-2007

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Allilueva, Svetlana (1926-2011)

Title:

Mildred Harford Correspondence with Lana Peters (Svetlana Alliluyeva)

Repository:

Public Policy Papers

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/6108vc546

Dates:

1973-2007

Size:

1 box

Storage Note:

Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1

Language:

English

Abstract: This collection contains letters, cards, photographs and clippings from Lana Peters (Svetlana Alliluyeva) to her friend Mildred Harford. After defecting from the Soviet Union, Peters lived a transitory life in the United States, at one point denouncing the west and returning to the USSR, and eventually retunring to the United States, where she died in 2011.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

This collection contains five files of correspondence, clippings and photographs sent from Lana Peters (also known as Svetlana Alliluyeva, the daughter of Josef Stalin) to her friend Mildred Harford.

Collection Creator Biography:

Allilueva, Svetlana (1926-2011)

Lana Peters was born Svetlana Stalina, the only daughter and last surviving child of the Soviet ruler Josef Stalin. She changed her last name to her mother's (her mother was Nadezhda Alliluyeva) after her father died in 1953.

Svetlana Alliluyeva married twice in the Soviet Union (in 1943 to Grigory Morozov and in 1949 to Yuri Zhdanov) and had two children. Both marriages dissolved quickly, and she met the Indian Communist Brajesh Singh in 1963. After his death in 1967, Alliluyeva approached the United States embassy in New Delhi and stated her desire to defect from the Soviet Union. She lived in Princeton, New Jersey, assisted by former ambassador to the USSR George F. Kennan. In 1970, she married William Wesley Peters. Mr. Peters had been chief apprentice to the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and spent sometime in Scottsdale, Arizona, before divorcing and moving back to New Jersey.

In Princeton, Alliluyeva (now Lana Peters) met Mildred Harford, her daughter Olga's teacher. The two maintained a friendship via correspondence as Peters and her daughter moved to California, England, and in 1984, back to the Soviet Union where she publicly denouced the west.

In April 1986, they returned to the United States, with no opposition by the Soviet authorities. Peters died in Wisconsin in 2011.

Collection History

Acquisition:: These letters were donated by Mildred Harford in January 2013 .
Appraisal: No materials were separated from this collection at the time of accessioning.
Processing Information: At the time of accessioning, photographs were put into mylar and letters were placed into archival folders. This collection was processed by Maureen Callahan in 2013. Finding aid was written by Maureen Callahan in 2013.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Mildred Harford Correspondence with Lana Peters (Svetlana Alliluyeva); Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

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