The American Russian Institute for Cultural Relations with the Soviet Union, previously known as the American Society for Cultural Relations with the Soviet Union, was identified by Attorney General of the United States Thomas C. Clark as a Communist front organization in 1947, and was so listed on the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations for 1948,[1] in accordance with President Truman's Executive Order 9835.
Officers of the institute were Ernest J. Simmons, chairman; Basil Bass, secretary; and John L. Curtis, treasurer.
Members of the national board of directors included Louise Bransten, Edward C. Carter, Robert S. Lynd, Samuel J. Novick, Henry E. Siegrwast, and Maxwell S. Stewart. Its executive director was Fred Myers.
Edward C. Carter also served as chairman of Russian War Relief and the National Committee for Medical Aid to the Soviet Union, and general secretary of the Institute of Pacific Relations.[2]