Onsite Only Electronic Resources

*Selection of Russian databases in the Library of Congress collection.* Library of Congress Electronic Resources Catalog.

Electronic resources constitute a vital component of the Russian collections in the Library of Congress. Every year the Library strives to add more Russian electronic content as important research materials increasingly become available in digital format. This page of the guide to the Russian Collections in the Library of Congress is devoted to electronic resources that may be accessed only while onsite in one of the Library of Congress buildings.

This page has the following organization:

Introduction

The Library's onsite-only electronic resources for Russian studies focus predominantly on newspaper and periodical content, and stem mostly from the post-Soviet era. However, the Library holds a number of entire runs of Soviet or pre-revolutionary periodicals in full-text, full-image digital archives including Pravda, Izvestiia, Krokodil, and Kavkaz. Much of the contemporary content appears in aggregated databases containing many titles in a broad category such as Russian Regional Newspapers or Russian Governmental Publications. These databases usually contain the latest issue, including newspapers issues published within 24 hours of their appearance in print.

Non-periodical electronic resources also are represented with several collections of Russian election ephemera containing full-image reproductions of flyers, posters, brochures, and other content from recent Russian elections. But the fastest growing part of the collection are Russian e-books with over 7,000 titles from dozens of publishers. To learn more see the page in this guide devoted to the Russian e-book collection at the Library of Congress.

The gateway to discovering Russian electronic resources in the Library of Congress is the Electronic Resources Online Catalog (EROC). Although the contents of onsite-only databases are not accessible from offsite, a researcher can still browse the EROC in advance of a visit to discover what the Library of Congress holds. The EROC has different search interfaces for databases, e-journals, and other kinds of resources. Each database is represented with a bibliographic record and annotation of scope and contents. The EROC e-journals interface extracts journal titles from large general English-language databases as well as from Russian-language full-text databases, allowing for identification of specific titles without having to guess which database may contain relevant content.

In addition to content purchased from vendors, the Library of Congress also holds other digital content which is not yet in the public domain. To provide access to right-restricted content the Library has developed an in-house system called Stacks. It is available in dedicated terminals in all of the Library of Congress reading rooms. Russian content in Stacks includes a handful of donated e-books and newspapers and periodicals digitized from the Library's print holdings.

News and Newspaper Databases for Russian Studies

Aggregated and Multi-Title News Databases

The databases described in this section contain the full-text and in some cases full-image content of multiple Russian newspapers. Many of the databases have issues from the current day as well as back files. Subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Universal Database of Russian Central Newspapers External This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Russian Newspapers (UDB-COM) provides comprehensive coverage of national news, current events, economic developments and cultural events in Russia. Official sources (Rossiiskaia gazeta, Krasnaia zvezda, ITAR-TASS), independent media and partisan publications are all represented on this database, thus offering a wide array of opinions and perspectives. Several English-language newspapers including the notable Moscow Times, widely read by the international community in the Russian capital, constitute an important part of the database. To view full-image version (PDF file), click on attachment icon at the article title level.
Universal Database of Regional Russian Newspapers External This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Regional Russian Newspapers (UDB-REG) provides close-up coverage of developments throughout Russia's regions. This database currently presents newspapers from all seven Federal Districts of the Russian Federation and includes coverage of local issues of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The database represents such noteworthy regions as the troubled Northern Caucasus (Groznenskii rabochii from Chechnya, Severnaia Osetiia from Northern Osetiia-Alania, etc.), oil & gas rich Western Siberia (Tiumenskie izvestiia, etc.), the investment-friendly Volga region (Nizhegorodskie novosti from Nizhnii Novgorod or Samarskie izvestiia from Samara), and many others. The selected newspapers have the largest circulation in their regions and are considered as most authoritative. The list of titles will continue to be expanded.
Newspapers of the North Caucasus, Abkhazia and South Ossetia External This link opens in a new window
This East View Universal Database covers 19 newspapers from the North Caucasus, one of the most volatile areas of Russia and the Former USSR. It includes the two disputed breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Universal Database of Russian Governmental Publications External This link opens in a new window
Provides monitoring of the constantly evolving events in the Russian parliament, including stenographic records of Duma hearings, draft laws, vote results, official resolutions and decrees. Includes official reports on parliamentary investigations and audits and allows users to track the political party composition of parliamentary members, committees and factions.
Universal Database of Russian Military & Security Periodicals External This link opens in a new window
UDB-MIL contains a broad range of military texts, including central military journals and regional military district newspapers in all major strategic areas. Information comes from both official and independent sources, ranging in coverage from the Russian army to international security issues and nuclear arms.
Universal Database Interfax Newswires (UDB-IFX) External This link opens in a new window
Interfax Information Services Group provides news and other information products that are essential for decision-makers in politics and business. The Universal Database of Interfax Newswires consists of five collections of news reportage, produced by the Russian news agency Interfax, Novosti Interfaksa (The News from Interfax), Diplomaticheskaia panaroma (Diplomatic Panarama), Prezidentskii vestnik (Presidential Bulletin), Voennye novosti (Military Newswire), and VPK Rossii i eksport oruzhiia (The Military-Industrial Complex of Russia and Arms Exports).
Universal Database of Russian/NIS Newswires External This link opens in a new window
East View databases containing the full text of newswires from the former Soviet Union. This includes news agencies that cover developments in Russia/FSU: the Moscow Bureau of Federal News Service (Washington, D.C.), ITAR-TASS, the Moscow information agency Oreanda that covers economic news, the daily newswire AP-Blitz which is produced by Asia-Plus and covers central Asia.
Universal Database of Central Asia and the Caucasus Newspapers External This link opens in a new window
UDB-CAC offers a rich collection of authoritative Russian and English edition of newspapers from central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. These newspapers cover topics on economics, culture and leisure, official legislation, points of view from the opposition, business and investment.
Universal Database of Baltics, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine External This link opens in a new window
Covers a broad range of political, economic, and cultural affairs of Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and Baltic countries, their progress along the reform path, views and positions of various political forces, changes in legislation, problems of ethnic relations, and tendencies in the development of the armed forces. Contains newspapers in Russian, Ukrainian, English as well as Baltic languages.
Universal Database of Ukrainian Publications External This link opens in a new window
Covers a broad range of political, economic, and cultural affairs of Ukraine, its progress along the reform path, views and positions of various political forces, changes in legislation, problems of ethnic relations, and tendencies in the development of the armed forces. Includes news wire reports and other products of Ukrainian news agencies. An integral and unique part of this database is the Ukrainian Book Chamber's editions, which list everything published in Ukraine with detailed bibliographic description. Contains several dozen publications in Russian, Ukrainian, and English as well as in the Crimean Tatar language.
Donetsk and Luhansk Newspaper Collection External This link opens in a new window
This database incorporates 10 rare Russian-language newspapers from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. Both Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic were established as independent state entities after local referendums conducted in May 2014 and organized by the separatists leaders. Although the results of the referenda have not been recognized by Ukraine, the EU or the United States, they led to a war between the Ukrainian military and eastern Ukrainian pro-Russian separatists.
Chernobyl: Newspapers Collection External This link opens in a new window
Chornobyl': Newspapers Collection is a small suite of collections comprised of three previously unavailable local newspapers (Tribuna Energetika, Prapor peremogy, and Trybuna pratsi) published in towns in the exclusion zone and its immediate vicinity offering researchers essential information for the study of the social background of the Chornobyl' disaster. While Prapor peremogy and Trybuna pratsi provide readers with an opportunity to explore the larger socio-cultural and historical context of the regions affected by the Chornobyl' disaster, Tribuna Energetika, published under the aegis of the Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant, invites researchers to explore the everyday life in the plant and the city of Prip'yat' more generally. As such researchers are provided with a unique access to some of the most important and less known primary sources from the era encapsulating the voices, concerns and experiences of the victims up until the catastrophe.
PressReader External This link opens in a new window
PressReader provides instant online access to today's newspapers and popular periodicals from around the world in full-color, full-page format. The ever-expanding collection currently includes more than 6,000 U.S. and international titlesfrom over 100 countries in over 60 languages. Just like reading a print edition, viewers can browse articles and other key content, such as pictures, advertisements, classifieds, and notices. The service also provides up to a 60-day backfile and the ability to perform keyword searches across all titles and the entire backfile.

Individual News Titles

The databases annotated in this section each contain a single Russian newspaper title in full-text and mostly full-image archives with coverage spanning decades or the entire run. One source for television news is also included. Subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Argumenty i fakty Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
A popular weekly writing on all subjects in plain language. Boasts the biggest circulation among Russian weeklies.
Estoniia/Vesti Dnia Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window

Founded in 1991, Estoniia (Эстония, Estonia) was a popular Russian-language broadsheet newspaper published in Tallin. Established on the basis and the support of the editorial team of the defunct newspaper Sovetskaia Estonia soon after the Estonian declaration of independence, Estonia was one of the earliest privately owned newspapers in the country. Modeled after popular Western newspapers, it was dedicated to covering domestic and foreign politics, the economy, culture, the arts, and literature. After experiencing steady growth and the financial backing of the controversial businessman Vitaly Khaitov, the newspaper increased its profile and publishing portfolio, changing its name to Vesti dnia. Due to financial difficulties and increased competition the newspaper ceased publication in 2009.
Gudok Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Gudok is a Russian daily newspaper in continuous publication since 1917 and is one of the oldest and leading trade newspapers in Russia. Since its inception it has covered a wide range of topics dealing with the railway industry. It has also provided important commentary on Soviet and post-Soviet Russian culture, politics, and social life. Its primary purpose has been informing the general Soviet and subsequently Russian reader with the larger goings on in the country in combination with a mix of biting social commentary and satire, one of the newspapers most popular features.

Although its name and more importantly its affiliation with the Soviet Ministry of Transportation may suggest a rather boring undertaking, it could not be further from the truth. And despite the fact that it started as a small newspaper dealing primarily with industry news, over time due to its growing popularity it became a nationally distributed newspaper attracting top talent from the burgeoning Soviet literary scene.
Izvestiia Digital Archive (DA-IZV) External This link opens in a new window
Among the longest-running Russian newspapers, Izvestiia was founded in March 1917 and during the Soviet period was the official organ of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Remarkable for its serious and balanced treatment of subject matter, Izvestiia has traditionally been a popular news source within intellectual and academic circles.
Kavkaz Digital Archive (DA-KVZ) External This link opens in a new window
The newspaper Kavkaz (Caucasus) was published during 1846-1918. It was the first Russian-language newspaper in the Caucasus, published in Tiflis (Tbilisi), Georgia. The idea to publish this newspaper came from Prince Mikhail Vorontsov who was the imperial Governor-General of the province at that time. The main purpose of the newspaper was, on the one hand, to promote the Russian culture and Russian influence in the Caucasus, and on the other hand “to acquaint the Russian public with the life, habits and traditions of the tribes populating the province of the Caucasus.” In 1846 Kavkaz began as a weekly newspaper, from 1850 it started to come out twice a week, in 1868 its periodicity changed to 3 times per week and from 1877 it became a daily publication until its closure in 1918. This Russian-language newspaper published official documents of the Russian Empire, as well as many historical, cultural and archeological writings by the prominent public and cultural figures of the local intelligentsia. During the brief period of 1846-1847 this newspaper had an Armenian-language counterpart.
Leningradskaia Pravda Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
During the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks seized control of Petrograd and precipitated the Russian Civil War (1917-1923). As part of their effort to curb imperial influence, the Bolsheviks closed the newspaper Sanktpeterburgskiia Viedomosti, which had been founded by Peter the Great in 1702.
After Pravda was relocated to Moscow in 1918, Petrogradskaia Pravda was established to function as the official organ of the local Communist Party committees and soviets. During this time, it covered events such as the Polish-Soviet War (1918-1921) and the establishment of the Soviet Union (1922).
Following Lenin’s death in 1924, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad—and the title was subsequently renamed Leningradskaia Pravda.
Leningradskaia Pravda is perhaps best known for continuously publishing during the Siege of Leningrad (1941-1944), during which time only a single issue did not appear. Following World War II, the title covered the trials and executions of Nazis who committed atrocities during the siege.
Leningradskaia Pravda continued to publish through the second half of the twentieth century, during which time the publication was awarded the Order of Lenin for its revolutionary merits. Following the August 1991 Soviet coup attempt, the newspaper ceased publication.
The Leningradskaia Pravda Digital Archive is a valuable resource for scholars of history, politics, sociology, and Slavic studies. It also represents a valuable historical preservation project and may be of interest to institutions that study war, genocide, and the Holocaust.
Literaturnaia Gazeta External This link opens in a new window
Established on April 22, 1929 with the support of the father of Soviet literature, writer Maxim Gorky, Literaturnaia gazeta is a landmark publication in Russia's cultural heritage. With its focus on literary and intellectual life, Literaturnaia gazeta allowed Soviet Russias preeminent authors, poets, and cultural figures a particular podium for commentary, affording perhaps fewer restrictions than might be possible in other publications. Literaturnaia gazeta was considered the most open among newspapers of the Soviet era, and it remains popular among the intelligentsia in todays Russia. Publication of Literaturnaia gazeta was completely suspended in 1942 and 1943 in 1944, only 8 issues were published.
Monitoring SMI Tsentral'noi Azii (Central Asia Monitoring) External This link opens in a new window
Monitoring SMI Tsentral'noi Azii is the digest of Central Asian press, published as a supplement to the analytical journal Bolshaia Igra. It is a biweekly publication summarizing major political, economic and cultural events in the countries of Central Asia as reflected in the local print periodicals and online media, including in national languages (translated into Russian) of all five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan). Indispensable resource to follow major political and economic events in this important region of the world.
Nedelia Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Established in 1960, Nedelia (Неделя, The Week) began as a Sunday supplement to Izvestiia under the editorship of Aleksey Adzhubey, the son in law of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. At the height of its popularity Nedelia claimed up to two million copies in weekly circulation and was available for distribution only through newspaper kiosks on Sundays, eschewing the traditional subscription model. A pioneering publication, it was one of the very few Soviet periodicals that kept the official Communist Party propaganda to a minimum, covering instead cultural, social, and political happenings with a certain degree of lightheartedness, which perhaps was the main reason behind its popularity. Rivalled only by the popularity of Ogonek, Nedelia regularly featured works by renowned Soviet writers, journalists, and photographers. One of the most popular columns of the newspaper was “Guests of page 13,” that regularly featured interviews with popular Soviet stars and celebrities. The newspaper ceased publication in 1999.
Novaia Gazeta Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Novaia gazeta (Новая газета, The New Newspaper) is a popular independent Moscow newspaper known for critical investigative reporting, working to expose corruption, abuse of power and violation of laws amongst the government and main financial structures of modern Russia. Launched in 1993, the newspaper has published under the title of Novaia ezhednevnaia gazeta (Новая ежедневная газета, The New Daily Newspaper) and Novaia gazeta ponedel’nik (Новая газета понедельник, The New Newspaper Monday). One constant, however, has been Novaia gazeta’s consistent reporting on a variety of contentious issues, including corruption and war crimes in Chechnya, human rights violations, persecution of LGBTQ+ activists, torture practices in Russian prisons, and murders of political opponents. Sometimes referred to as “Russia’s bravest media outlet,” Novaia gazeta has had several of its journalists assassinated in their line of work, including Yuri Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkovskaia, Natalia Estemirova, Stanislav Markelov, and Anastasia Baburova. More recently, the newspaper was recognized for its efforts to defend and promote free speech with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Novaia gazeta’s co-founder and editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov.
Novoe Russkoe Slovo Digital Archive (DA-NRS) External This link opens in a new window
Novoe Russkoe Slovo (New Russian Word) was first published in 1910 in New York under the founding editorship of the Russian émigré journalist and writer Ivan Okuntsov, who served as editor until 1917. Published initially with pro-Communist leanings, the newspaper underwent nominal and ideological changes a decade later establishing itself as the premier newspaper of the Russian émigré community in New York and beyond. In the 1920s the newspaper grew in stature and popularity. Contributing to the growth was the increasing wave of émigrés, many prominent intellectuals among them, in search of better fortunes in Europe and the United States after the Bolshevik revolution. Writers and journalists such as A. Vetlugin, George Grebenstchikoff, Aleksei Fovitsky in the US and Ivan Bunin, Don Aminado, Arkady Averchenko from Europe among others became regular writers for NRS. Along with publishing emigre authors, the newspaper began republishing Soviet authors as well, connecting the information-hungry Russian community with the goings on in the far off motherland.
The paper experienced its true height of popularity during WWII and the immediate aftermath. No longer counting on émigré writers and publicists, the community had begun producing homegrown talent who thought and wrote stylistically in a very different manner than their first-generation immigrant predecessors with many of them cutting their journalistic and literary teeth on the pages of the newspaper. The third wave of immigration from the Soviet Union in 1970s brought with it a new infusion of talent into the New York Russian community. Positioning itself as the premier immigrant publication, and certainly the most sophisticated, the paper soon became a lively forum for a varied group of authors, both old and new, under the editorial leadership of Andrey Sedykh, the erstwhile personal secretary of Ivan Bunin, the famed Nobel Prize winner for literature. Due to financial difficulties and other less direct factors the oldest Russian language periodical in North America ceased publication a century after it was first established, in 2010.
Poliarnaia Kochegarka Digital Archive, 1934-1991 External This link opens in a new window
Poliarnaia kochegarka (Полярная кочегарка, Polar Furnace, 1934-1988; renamed Shakhter Arktiki [Шахтер Арктики, The Arctic Miner], 1989-1991) was an in-house weekly newspaper published in Barentsburg by the Soviet/Russian state-owned mining trust Arktikugol, which began operating on the Svalbard archipelago in 1931. The constant Soviet/Russian presence in this Norwegian territory was made possible by the so-called Svalbard (Spitsbergen) Treaty, which allows its signatories (currently more than forty countries) to engage freely in economic and research activities on the archipelago. During the Cold War, this led to the curious case of citizens of NATO and Warsaw pact countries coexisting peacefully side by side, with the Iron Curtain partially suspended (if not altogether lifted) in the otherwise potentially volatile and jealously guarded Arctic North.
Arktikugol was established to supply the Russian North with coal from Svalbard to help power the ambitious Soviet industrialization program. Poliarnaia kochegarka was created first and foremost to hold together the Russian-speaking mining community on Svalbard, which at various times was divided among the three Soviet settlements of Barentsburg, Pyramiden and Grumant. The newspaper also served to keep local citizens abreast of the news from the Soviet mainland and the rest of the world, something that used to be out of reach for several months each year (except for radio communication) when ice conditions and polar nights made navigation virtually impossible.
Poliarnaia kochegarka covered numerous topics of interest to its target audience, such as local and world politics and social problems, Svalbard’s history in the context of polar exploration and research, mining history and technology, coal production pledges, health and safety, tertiary education, Arctic tourism, Soviet-Norwegian relations, wildlife, fiction, poetry, memoirs, and more.Among the newspaper’s contributors were both amateur and professional journalists, with early instances of citizen journalism playing a considerable role in the coverage of all sorts of burning issues pertinent to life in the polar regions in general, and Svalbard in particular. As the standard employment contract in the region lasted for two years, it is interesting to observe changes in the newspaper’s style from one editor-in-chief to the next. Among such editors-in-chief were the well-known Erzya author Nikolai Irkaev (1934-1937) and the prominent Murmansk journalist Stanislav Dashchinskii (1967-1969). This digital archive contains the most complete collection available for this title, with over 4,000 issues total of Poliarnaia kochegarka and Shakhter Arktiki (excluding 1941-1947, when the publication was suspended).
PRAVDA Digital Archive (1912-2009) External This link opens in a new window
Search through the full text of the chief chronicle of Russian and Soviet history in the 20th century, from the beginnings of the Russian Revolution through World War II, the Cold War, and the fall of the Soviet Union. Kommunisticheskaia partiia Rossiiskoi Federatsii is the official organ of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and is published by Zhurnalistskaia organizatsiia Pravdy.
Rossiiskaia gazeta Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1990 by the government of the Russian Federation, Rossiiskaia gazeta (Российская газета, Russian Newspaper) is a Russian newspaper of public record based in Moscow with 13 regional offices, and foreign bureaus in the US, France, the UK, Germany and elsewhere. Boasting a nationwide circulation, the newspaper covers domestic and foreign news, economics, culture, sports, and governmental affairs. As an official newspaper, its editorial policy reflects the government’s policy on any given issue, although it also frequently publishes commentaries and opinions that differ from official government positions. The newspaper also features interviews with influential Russian politicians, business, and cultural figures. Rossiiskaia gazetais an authoritative source of official government policy and an important venue of official commentary on laws and regulations enacted by the Russian legislature. With a daily print run of more than 180,000 and a large online presence, Rossiiskaia gazeta serves as the go-to media outlet for government related news and official communiques and notices.
Slovo Kyrgystana Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Established in 1925 in what the Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast in the RSFSR was then, Slovo Kyrgyzstana (called variously Batratskaya Pravda from 1925-1927, Krest’ianskii put’ from 1925-1927, and Sovetskaia Kirgiziia 1927-1991) is a Russian-language newspaper that served as the official party organ of the Central Committee of the Kirghiz SSR throughout its Soviet existence. It has been published independently since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. At its peak the newspaper claimed a circulation of 123,000 copies and was the most important media organization disseminating Communist party’s official stances and directives. Currently it is being published by-weekly covering both national and international affairs, culture, economics, environmental issues, healthcare, religion and other important issue of concern.
Sovetskaia Kultura Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Kultura (Culture) is an important Russian weekly newspaper previously published under the titles Rabochii i iskusstvo (1929-1930), Sovetskoe iskusstvo (1931-1941), Literatura i iskusstvo (1942-1944), Sovetskoe iskusstvo (1944-1952) and Sovetskaia kultura (1953-1991). In 1944, only 8 issues of Sovetskoe iskusstvo were published. The lack of database content for this period is not a gap, but reflects the publication schedule during these challenging years.

The Sovetskaia Kultura Digital Archive is an indispensable source of information on the developing and ever changing attitudes towards arts and culture in Soviet and Russian societies. Throughout the years, major events in Russian cultural life, literature, theater, cinematography and the arts were reviewed. During the Soviet period, critical diatribes against dissident writers such as Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, Aksyonov and others were published, as were infamous articles condemning modern art exhibitions, chastizing avant-guard composers and abstract painters. In modern Russia, Kul'tura's reviews and event listings often focus on the cultural life of Moscow and regions. It is known for its topical commentaries on popular culture and politics.
Trud Digital Archive (DA-TRUD) External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1921 in Moscow, Trud (Труд, Labor) was an influential Soviet newspaper and the official organ of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions. Among the earliest Soviet newspapers with a countrywide circulation, it attracted some of the most important journalists and writers in the USSR. Among its regular contributors were such notable poets as Vladimir Mayakovsky and Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Although the newspaper was dedicated to covering issues concerning labor relations in the Soviet Union, economic analysis, the plight of workers in foreign countries, and the proliferation of official pronouncements, its more popular component attracted audiences from a broader pool of readers. At the height of the Gorbachev-era reforms the newspaper, like many others, would abandon its usual propagandistic bombast ensuring its growing popularity and catapulting its circulation to well over 20 million. With the demise of the Soviet Union and the emergence of new publications in post-Soviet Russia that competed for readers from Trud’s targeted audiences, the popularity of the newspaper subsided, although it has retained some of its former reputation as a reliable source for news and popular culture reportage. Please note: this newspaper archive is also accessible within the East View Global Press Archive and can be accessed on the Global Press Archive platform, which allows interoperability with a large number of global newspaper titles.
Turkmenskaia Iskra Digital Archive (DA-ISKR) External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1924 in Ashgabat, Turkmenskaia iskra (Туркменская искра, The Turkmen Spark, a derivative of the Vladimir Lenin founded newspaper Iskra) was a Russian-language broadsheet newspaper and the official party organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan. As a republican newspaper of record, it was responsible for proliferating the Soviet central government’s, as well as the local administration’s, public announcements and pronouncements, party deliberations, policy initiatives, etc., reflecting the government’s positions on a wide variety of issues. As one of the most widely circulated and influential Turkmen newspapers of its time, it also regularly featured columns dedicated to sports, local culture, literature, and the arts.
TV RAIN External This link opens in a new window
As one of the top five most-cited television channels in Russia, TV RAIN (ТВ ДОЖДЬ) conducts investigations, airs interesting reports, hosts interviews, and gives a platform for real, lively debates unlike anything else seen on Russian TV channels. TV RAIN has managed to avoid censorship, providing a forum for those opposition leaders denied access to pro-government mass media, as well as offering independent views on current events in Russia and the world and covering sensitive political topics like Crimea, Donbass in East Ukraine, Islamic State and more. Besides the news, TV RAIN also covers music and movies, travel, social projects, lectures and round table discussions. The archive includes TV Rain recorded programming back to 2011.
Universal Database Za vozvrashchenie na Rodinu External This link opens in a new window
The newspaper Za vozvrashchenie na Rodinu (Return to Motherland) was established in April 1955 in East Berlin as a biweekly publication. The newspaper was published by the Soviet Repatriation Committee, which was also established in 1955 and stayed active until 1958. The newspaper was principally aimed at Russian emigrants and was an important anti-western propaganda outlet for the USSR. The main objective of the newspaper was the creation of a favorable image of the Soviet Union and the criticism of émigré organizations in the post-war period and during the Cold War. The newspaper was published under the watchful eye of the KGB, and only the most loyal Soviet officials were allowed to work on this project.

The present database contains all issues published under the title Za vozvrashchenie na Rodinu, from its very first issue in April of 1955 to the third issue in 1960. Starting with 1960: issue 04, the newspaper's name was changed to Golos Rodiny (The Voice of the Motherland). During its publication, the newspaper was not available to the public on a subscription basis, and therefore it has become a rare information resource.

All available issues of this title have been digitized by East View Information Services and are now available in full-image format with searchable text.
V Novom Svete Digital Archive (DA-VNOV) External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1995 V Novom Svete (In the New World) , ISSN 1089-1420, was the most popular weekly newspaper in the Russian-American community for 27 years. The idea of its inception was simple: new immigrants wanted to read “hot” content produced by then free press in Russia and they needed guidance to start a new life in America. The fourth wave of immigration from the former USSR began in the late 80s. The only professional newspaper read by Russian ex-pats then was a daily Novoe Russkoe Slovo. Most of its content in the 90s was produced by local journalists, who often suffered from inbreeding, while journalism in Russia offered much juicier stories. Sensationalism was a new trend. Positioning itself as a publication for elites Novoe Russkoe Slovo was often detached from the problems that newcomers struggled with.

The first issue of V Novom Svete was published on March 10, 1995, right after a prominent journalist, Vladislav Listiev, was killed in Russia. Tapping into readers’ interests V Novom Svete found a formula for success: it combined reprints from Moskovskii Komsomolets with original stories written by American Russian speaking authors. Very soon it became the most popular Russian language weekly and the only publication that was sold nationwide. Famous Russian journalists such as Alexander Minkin, Mark Deutch, Alexander Khinshtein, Stanislav Belkovsky, Matvey Ganapolsky, Svetlana Khokhryakova, Alexander Melman and others were published in the pages of V Novom Svete. Legendary journalist Melor Sturua, who worked for Izvestia’s Bureaus in New York and Washington during the Cold War was one of the major columnists writing for V Novom Svete after he permanently moved to the US.

Strong analytical and cultural content contributed to the growing popularity of the publication in the early 2000s. Alexandra Sviridova’s exclusive interview with future Editor-in-Chief of Russian Forbes, Paul Khlebnikov, who was later killed in Moscow, was one of many memorable articles created by the team of American journalists. In 2004 V Novom Svete became a winner of US Independent Press Association awards for Best Editorial and Best Graphic Design. After Novoe Russkoe Slovo went out of business in 2010, V Novom Svete became the only newspaper on the market producing quality Russian language journalism. Writers publishing in the pages of V Novom Svete also worked for such prestigious outlets as BBC, Russian Forbes, Voice of America and Radio Liberty. During Covid-19 pandemic many small businesses that advertised in the publication were shut down and subsequently never recovered. After 27 years despite stable dedicated readership due to financial difficulties V Novom Svete decided to end its print edition. The last issue of V Novom Svete was published on May 6, 2022.
Zavtra Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Founded in Moscow in 1990 by noted Soviet journalist Alexander Prokhanov, Den’ (День, The Day) was created to serve as the “spiritual opposition” to the pro-Western government of Yeltsin. Following the coup in 1993, the paper was shut down by the authorities but was reborn as Zavtra (Завтра, Tomorrow), with Prokhanov still in the lead as editor in chief. One of the most influential publications of the right-wing opposition, Zavtra is a radical-conservative daily newspaper, bringing together a mix of nationalism, monarchism, and nostalgia for the Soviet era. Prokhanov has a very colorful personality, and his speeches and writings are poetic and full of metaphors. At a Slavic conference in the US – as a guest of East View – he surprised many during his presentation by asserting that “state borders are not static, they are pulsating – back and forth.” Prokhanov is one of the few Russian citizens to receive an award from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, and he also received a medal “For the Liberation of Crimea and Sevastopol” in 2014 from Putin himself. The newspaper is a reflection of Prokhanov himself, a self-proclaimed “counter-liberal,” well known as a radical pro-imperial, nationalist figure and a neo-Stalinist. Just as he supported the failed military coup in 1991, the war in Chechnya, and aggression against Georgia in 2008, Zavtra has likewise been an ardent supporter of these actions, as well as the Crimea annexation, the war in Donbas, and the current war in Ukraine.

English-Language News Sources

The databases or titles detailed in this section contain either original or translated content in English. Subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports and Annexes External This link opens in a new window
As the United States' principal historical record of political open source intelligence for more than half a century, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report is an indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent world history. The original mission of the FBIS was to monitor, record, transcribe and translate intercepted radio broadcasts from foreign governments, official news services, and clandestine broadcasts from occupied territories. Accordingly, it provides a wealth of information from all countries outside of the U.S.—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. FBIS Daily Reports, 1941-1996 constitutes a one-of-a-kind archive of transcripts of foreign broadcasts and news that provides fascinating insight into the second half of the 20th century. Many of these materials are firsthand reports of events as they occurred. Digitized from original paper copy and high-quality microfilm, this definitive online collection features full-text transcripts from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, China, Eastern and Western Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Soviet Union. Fully searchable for the first time, this unique digital collection features individual bibliographic records for each report and highlighted events to assist researchers. Like the Reports themselves, FBIS Daily Report Annexes offers international, national and local perspectives on historical events from thousands of monitored broadcasts and publications. Created by the U.S. intelligence community to benefit analysts and policy makers, Annexes were "For Official Use Only." Although a very small number of copies may have found their way into the Government Documents collections of some libraries, no institution outside of the Central Intelligence Agency holds all of the records. These previously unavailable transcripts provide views on Middle East crises and negotiations, the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the secret acquisition of radar systems by the People's Republic of China, and much more.
Moscow News Digital Archive (DA-MN) External This link opens in a new window
Moscow News (pub. 1930-2014) was the oldest English-language newspaper in Russia and, arguably, the newspaper with the longest democratic history. From a mouthpiece of the Communist party to an influential advocate for social and political change, the pages of Moscow News reflect the shifting ideological, political, social and economic currents that have swept through the Soviet Union and Russia in the last century. The Moscow News Digital Archive contains all obtainable published issues (1930-2014, approx. 60,000 pages), including issues of the newspaper??s short-lived sister publication Moscow Daily News (1932-1938). The Moscow News Digital Archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, and features full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and searchable text, and is cross-searchable with numerous other East View digital resources.
Universal Database of the Current Digest of the Russian Press External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1949, the Current Digest was first published as The Current Digest of the Soviet Press (1949-1991), followed by The Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press (1992-2010), and now The Current Digest of the Russian Press. Each week the Current Digest presents a selection of Russian-language press materials, carefully translated into English. The translations are intended for use in teaching and research. They are therefore presented as documentary materials without elaboration or comment, and state the opinions and views of the original authors, not of the publisher of the journal.
World News Connection External This link opens in a new window
A powerful online subscription service bringing news from around the world, translated into English, typically within 24-72 hours from the time of the original publication or broadcast. The information is obtained from newspaper articles, television and radio broadcasts, online sources, conference proceedings, periodicals, and non-classified reports. This information is collected and translated by and for the U.S. Government.

Periodical Databases for Russian Studies

Aggregated and Multi-Title Periodical Databases

The databases described in this section contain the full-text and in some cases full-image content of multiple Russian journals. Many of the databases have the latest issue as well as back files. Subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Russian Institute of Social Sciences Publications External This link opens in a new window
The Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INION) is a well-known center for research in social studies and humanities in Russia. The research center was created in 1969 as a successor to the Russian Academy's Fundamental Library of Social Sciences. This database presents all periodical publications of this Institute, as well as reference indexes, bibliographies and analytical reports.
Russian Islamic Studies (UDB-ISL) External This link opens in a new window
This new database is comprised of a collection of journals and newspapers on Islam, published in Russia, in the Russian language. Produced in Moscow, Nizhnii Novgorod and Makhachkala, these publications cover issues of Islamic studies in Russia, activities of Islamic organizations in Russia and abroad, political and economic developments in the Muslim regions of Russia. The database is updated regularly with current issues, but also has an archive, some titles going back to 2007-2010.
Universal Database of Higher School of Economics Academic Journals External This link opens in a new window
Consistently ranked as one of Russia’s top universities, the Higher School of Economics is a leader in Russian education and one of the preeminent economics and social sciences universities in eastern Europe and Eurasia. Having rapidly grown into a well-renowned research university over two decades, HSE sets itself apart with its international presence and cooperation. Now a dynamic university with four campuses, HSE is a leader in combining Russian education traditions with the best international teaching and research practices. Since 2013, HSE has been a member of the 5-100 Russian Academic Excellence Project, a highly selective government programme aimed at boosting the international competitiveness of Russian universities.
Universal Database of Russian/NIS Statistical Publications External This link opens in a new window
East View databases contain the full text of current and older issues of Russian and English language publications, reports, and data sets from statistical agencies of Russia and other countries in Commonwealth of Independent States. Includes Russian statistical publications, CIS Statistical Publications, All Russia Census 2002 (both in Russian and English).
Universal Database of Russian Governmental Publications External This link opens in a new window
Provides monitoring of the constantly evolving events in the Russian parliament, including stenographic records of Duma hearings, draft laws, vote results, official resolutions and decrees. Includes official reports on parliamentary investigations and audits and allows users to track the political party composition of parliamentary members, committees and factions.
Universal Database of Russian Library and Information Sciences External This link opens in a new window
A full-text database of the most influential professional journals for librarians published in Russian. The database includes publications from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other countries.
Universal Database of Russian Military & Security Periodicals External This link opens in a new window
UDB-MIL contains a broad range of military texts, including central military journals and regional military district newspapers in all major strategic areas. Information comes from both official and independent sources, ranging in coverage from the Russian army to international security issues and nuclear arms.
Universal Database of Russian Social Sciences and Humanities Journals External This link opens in a new window
The goal of this database is to provide researchers with a unique opportunity to cross-search the contents of major Russian periodicals on social sciences and humanities. It is comprised of all 31 journals of the Russian Academy of Sciences ranging from archeology to linguistics, as well as popular literary editions, and independent scholarly publications. New titles are added on a regular basis. This Universal Database grows retroactively. Full-text and full-image content of print editions is reproduced with original pagination.
Universal Database of St. Petersburg University Press External This link opens in a new window
The St. Petersburg University Press (Vestnik SPU in Russian), a leading publisher of scientific and theoretical works from one of Russias most prestigious universities, is now searchable online through East Views Universal Database platform (UDB-SPU). Established in 1946, St. Petersburg University Press publishes academic research on social and natural sciences, engineering and technology. The publications reflect high-quality and objective viewpoints from various schools of research, along with collaboration with foreign authors, research centers, and other publishers. The editorial board of the St. Petersburg University Press is comprised of prominent academic researchers for each series.
Universal Database of the Moscow University Herald External This link opens in a new window
Vestnik MGU (The Moscow University Herald) is published by the most prominent academic institution in Russia--Moscow State University--and includes 25 different topics on all important areas of scientific knowledge, ranging from mathematics and chemistry to economy, law and history. The database also contains two correlating journals: The Bulletin of the Moscow Society of Nature Studies: Biology, and The Bulletin of the Moscow Society of Nature Studies: Geology. The UDB-MGU database provides a wealth of research materials to scholars in various areas of knowledge, especially working in cross-disciplinary fields and studying the latest scientific developments in Russia.
Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences. STM Reports External This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences. STM Reports is a collection of Russian language peer-reviewed reports on current issues in science, technology, and medicine published by Nauka, the leading scientific publisherin Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The reports offer researchers and practitioners up-to-date theoretical and applied research by influential Russian and international scientists on various topics in science, technology, and medicine.
Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Astronomy External This link opens in a new window
This collection of journals contains Russian language peer-reviewed scientific journals on astronomy published by Nauka, the leading publisher of scientific books and articles in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The journals contain articles by leading Russian and foreign scientists on various aspects of astronomy and astrophysics, such as radio-astronomy, stellar astronomy, celestial mechanics, the study of the Earth from outer space, and more.
Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Chemistry External This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Chemistry is a collection of Russian language peer-reviewed scientific journals on chemistry published by Nauka, the leading publisher of scientific books and articles in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The journals contain articles and research by influential Russian and international scientists on various topics related to chemistry. They offer researchers and practitioners up-to-date theoretical and applied research on biochemical, organic and non-organic chemistry, solid fuels, molecular and supramolecular photochemistry, radiation chemistry, thermodynamics and crystal chemistry, and much more.
Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Energy and Natural Resources External This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Energy and Natural Resources is a collection of Russian language peer-reviewed scientific journals on energy, ecology, and the environment published by Nauka, the leading publisher of scientific books and articles in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The collection contains articles and research by leading scientists, from both Russia and abroad, covering a broad range of topics related to energy and natural resources. They offer researchers access to key research on bioenergy, living matter energy, cosmic energy, oceanology and hydrobiology, marine geology, magnetic storms, physical-chemical processes in the upper and middle atmosphere, and other related fields of research.
Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Industry and Applied SciencesExternal This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Industry and Applied Sciences is a collection of Russian language peer-reviewed scientific journals on the latest developments in the industry and applied sciences published by Nauka, the leading publisher of scientific books and articles in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The collection is offers researchers and industry professionals fast and reliable access to industry trends and advanced research on the theory and practice of automatic control, experimental physics, methods and analysis of the operation of various physical instruments, electrodynamics, radio wave propagation theory, signal processing, and other related fields of inquiry.
Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Life Sciences External This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Life Sciences features a collection of Russian language peer-reviewed journals on the life sciences published by Nauka, the leading publisher of scientific books and articles in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The journals contain research by prominent Russian and international scientists on such essential topics as evolutionary, comparative and ecological physiology, biochemistry and morphology, agrochemistry, structural and functional genomics, bioinformatics, biomedicine, molecular enzymology, molecular virology and immunology among others.
Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Mathematics External This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Mathematics features a collection of Russian language peer-reviewed journals on various branches of mathematics and mathematical topics published by Nauka, the leading publisher of scientific books and articles in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. It is an invaluable resource for researchers and industry professionals offering subscribers important and up-to-date research on such topics as fundamental mathematics, discrete mathematics, graphs theory, cryptography, probabilistic problems, computation experiments, and others.
Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Medicine External This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Medicine is comprised of Russian language peer-reviewed journals on various branches of medical sciences published by Nauka, the leading publisher of scientific books and articles in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The collection offers medical researchers and professionals a premier resource of invaluable research by Russian and foreign researchers on neurochemistry, molecular neurobiology, nervous system biochemistry, parasitology, natural-focal transmitted diseases, immunology, child psychology, psychology of personality, and many other related topics.
Universal Database of the Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Physics External This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Russian Academy of Sciences Journals: Physics is comprised of Russian language peer-reviewed journals on the natural sciences published by Nauka, the leading publisher of scientific books and articles in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The collection provides researchers full-text access to thousands of articles authored by some of the most distinguished scientists from Russia and elsewhere on a variety of topics such as molecular biophysics, biophysics of complex systems, quark models, supersymmetry and supergravitation, collision of particles at high and super-high energies, string theory, quantum theory of dispersion, etc.
Universal Database Russian Economics and Finance (UDB-ECON) External This link opens in a new window
Universal Database Russian Economics and Finance (UDB-ECON) contains 20 full text journals covering economic and business topics, such as commerce, banking, economic policy, finance and international economics.

Individual Periodicals

The databases annotated in this section each contain a single ceased Russian journal title in full-text and mostly full-image archives with coverage spanning decades or the entire run. Subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

30 Dnei Digital Archive (DA-DN) External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1925 in Moscow and in continuous print until its closure in 1941, 30 Dnei was an illustrated Soviet literary journal most famous for the serialized publications of such Soviet literary sensations as Il’f and Petrov’s The Twelve Chairs and The Golden Calf. Praised and supported by none other than Maxim Gorky the journal was conceived by its publisher as a platform for the publication of short form literature, both original and translated, and was geared towards the emerging generation of writers and the intelligentsia. Apart from helping launch and shape the literary careers of a slew of Soviet writers the journal was instrumental in introducing acclaimed works of short fiction, essays, and poetry by foreign authors as well. Some of the most important Soviet and foreign writers whose works have appeared on the pages of 30 Dnei were Vasily Grossman, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Boris Pasternak, Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, Paul Valery and others. Falling into disfavor with the central government in later years, with periodical criticisms of the editorial direction of the journal appearing in Pravda and Literaturnaia gazeta, the journal would cease publication soon after Nazi Germany’s invasion of the USSR in June of 1941. 30 Dnei Digital Archive contains the complete run of the popular literary monthly journal and represents an important resource for researchers of Soviet history and literature in its formative period.
Bolshaia Igra External This link opens in a new window
A bimonthly analytical journal of domestic and foreign policies, military and state security, national and regional economy, statistics and demographic issues of the newly independent states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan).
East View Soviet Woman Digital Archive (DA-SW) External This link opens in a new window
Established in the aftermath of WWII in 1945, the magazine Soviet Woman was published initially under the aegis of the of Soviet Women’s Anti-Fascist Committee and the Central Council of Trade Unions of the USSR. It began as a bimonthly illustrated magazine tasked with countering anti-Soviet propaganda by introducing Western audiences to the lifestyle of Soviet women and their role in the post-WWII rebuilding of the Soviet economy, praising their achievements in the arts and the sciences. Originally published simultaneously in Russian, English, German and French, the magazine went on to add more foreign language editions aiming to reach even wider audiences both in the West and elsewhere to balance the Western narrative about the Soviet Union in these countries with a pro-Soviet ideological counterweight.
Illiustrirovannaia Rossiia Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Illiustrirovannaia Rossiia (La Russie Illustrée, Illustrated Russia) was a weekly literary and illustrated magazine, published in Paris from 1924-1939. The founding editor of the magazine, Miron Mironov, was a prominent Russian émigré journalist who had started his journalistic career in Russia honing his writing and editorial skills at prominent publications in St. Petersburg and Kyiv before leaving the country. The target demographic of the journal was the growing community of Russian emigres in France and elsewhere who left Russia behind in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. Contributing to the popular success of the journal were both its production quality and the quality of its content, which were lavishly underwritten by a coterie of wealthy benefactors in exile. As such, Illiustrirovannaia Rossiia was an unrivalled source of literary and cultural tidbits as well as long-form writing and serialized novels. Perhaps the greatest contributing factor to its success was the deliberately apolitical nature of the publication, unique among a growing list of Russian émigré publications of that time that were engaged in internecine ideological wars. The journal’s apoliticism had its limits, however, as communism and the Soviet authorities were periodically and mercilessly ridiculed on the pages of the publication, leaving no doubt as to its overall political orientation. Over the years the journal would become one of the most important, if not the most important, Russian émigré periodicals attracting literary and journalistic talent from the far-flung Russian diaspora communities. Illiustrirovannaia Rossiia remains an invaluable and unique repository of textual and visual representation, providing researchers with indispensable insight into Russian cultural life in exile.
Iskusstvo Kino Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Founded in the 1930s and devoted to art in Russian film, the journal Iskusstvo Kino is renowned as one of Russia's premier journals of cinema. Iskusstvo Kino is notable because it offers more than Russian and foreign movie reviews, articles on filmmaking and cinema culture, criticism, and essays. Iskusstvo Kino traces Russian arts and culture from the socialist realism erawhen film became the prime propaganda tool ( agitki ) for instilling Communist fervor in the massesall the way through contemporary filmmaking.
A monthly publication from 1931-1941, Iskusstvo Kino went on hiatus during World War II and then was published irregularly during 1945-1947 and bimonthly during 1947-1951 before resuming monthly publication in 1952.
The Iskusstvo Kino Digital Archive allows users to
- Research early works of Sergei Eisenstein
- Learn about films of the Stalin era
- Read essays by legendary directors, including Sergei Paradzhanov and Andrei Tarkovsky
- Browse through film analyses of leading Russian art critics, Annenskii, Rassadin, Neya Zorkaya, and others.
Kino-fot Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
The legendary Russian cinema and photographic art journal, the core of Gan-Rodchenko-Stepanova collaboration, published in 1922-1923. Issues illustrated throughout with typographic designs and photos of the abstract compositions by Rodchenko articles by Kuleshov, Dziga Vertov and N. Bernstein, numerous letterpress designs. All advertisements are also designed in dynamic black and red Constructivist style. Photography and cinema were both still very new and exciting for a new emerging audience. Photomontage pictures, avant-garde layouts, unusual types and all other elements put the Kino-fot journal on the very edge of design and influenced the creative flow of 1920s.
Kino-zhurnal A.R.K Digital Archive (DA-KIN) External This link opens in a new window
Kino-zhurnal A.R.K. [i.e. The Magazine of the Association of Revolutionary Cinematography] is an extremely rare Soviet film magazine, published in Moscow by the Association of Revolutionary Cinematography in mid-1920s. Only twelve issues of this monthly magazine were published under this title (#1-12 for 1925 and #1-3, 1926). It provided a theoretical base for the changes in Soviet cinema in 1920s with articles on the film montage and other new methods of movie editing and directing. The magazine ceased publishing in 1926.
Krasnyi Arkhiv External This link opens in a new window
Krasnyi Arkhiv was published in Moscow from 1922 till June 1941 first by the Central Archives of the USSR and later by the Central Archival Administration. The proclaimed goal of this journal was to reveal the secrets of diplomatic documents hidden in the archives of Tsarist Russia and to regularly publish important archival papers for the education of the proletariat. These included official documents of the political police department, diaries and personal correspondence of the highest political figures (members of the royal family, top officials of the Tsarist Russia, etc.)
The complete set of Krasnyi Arkhiv contains more than 900 unique archival documents on the history of Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries, development of the Bolshevik movement and the Russian communist party, Russian civil war, Russias foreign policy, the history of Russian endeavors in Siberia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The journal also includes literary-historical materials, such as 16 publications on Alexander Pushkin, 12 publications on Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 14 publications on Leo Tolstoy and numerous other materials on the famous Russian classical writers and literary critics.
The present database, Krasnyi Arkhiv. Digital Archive (DA-KRA) comprises the entire collection of the 106 published volumes, completely digitized for the first time (1,010 articles, more than 23,000 pages) with full-image browsing and full-text article-level search/browse functions.
Other resources can be accessed using the following URLs:
- Main UDB database platform for searching across multiple databases - https://dlib.eastview.com
- Arkhiv Digital Archive (DA-KAR) - https://dlib.eastview.com/browse/udb/2610
- Za vozvrashchenie na Rodinu Digital Archive (DA-ZVR) - https://dlib.eastview.com/browse/udb/2651
- Universal Database of Bulletins of St. Petersburg State University (UDB-SPU) - https://dlib.eastview.com/browse/udb/2630
- East View's E-Books main landing page - http://dlib.eastview.com/browse/udb/910
Krokodil Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Krokodil was a satirical magazine published in the Soviet Union. Founded in 1922, it was first published as a supplement for Rabochaia gazeta. In 2001-2004 the title Krokodil was changed to Novyi Krokodil, but in 2005 the old title was back.
Published continuously until 2008, Krokodil was at one time the most popular newspaper for humorous stories and satire, with a circulation reaching 6.5 million copies. Krokodil lampooned religion, alcoholism, foreign political figures and events. It ridiculed bureaucracy and excessive centralized control. The caricatures found in Krokodil can be studied as a gauge of the 'correct party line' of the time. During the height of the Cold War, cartoons criticizing Uncle Sam, Pentagon, Western colonialism and German militarism were common in the pages of Krokodil.
East View has carefully added full-text searchable tags to identify individuals and organizations within the artwork, where full-text search would not normally find results. Thanks to this added value, users are able to search for people and organizations and find them not only within the articles, but also wherever they are represented in caricatures and drawings. Tools found in the interface may be used to magnify the images or text, or download pages for future reference.
LEF Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
The journal LEF (The Left Front) was published under two titles: LEF (1923-1925) and its successor Novyi LEF (1927-1928). This complete archive includes both titles, both celebrated for coverage of Russian avant-garde art, poetry and literature of the early 20th century. Rich with photos and artworks exemplifying the era, the images are high-quality scans, with searchable text.
Monitoring SMI Tsentral'noi Azii (Central Asia Monitoring) External This link opens in a new window
Monitoring SMI Tsentral'noi Azii is the digest of Central Asian press, published as a supplement to the analytical journal Bolshaia Igra. It is a biweekly publication summarizing major political, economic and cultural events in the countries of Central Asia as reflected in the local print periodicals and online media, including in national languages (translated into Russian) of all five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan). Indispensable resource to follow major political and economic events in this important region of the world.
Niva External This link opens in a new window
Niva, an illustrated weekly journal of literature, politics and modern life, was the most popular magazine of the late-nineteenth-century Russia. It was published from 1870 to 1918 in St.Petersburg. The journal was widely read by an audience that extended from primary schoolteachers, rural parish priests, and the urban middle class to the gentry. It contained large colored prints of art by famous Russian artists. It also had special children's section as well as a section on Russian classical writers: Gogol, Lermontov, Goncharov, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and many others. By the early 20th century Niva had a circulation of over 200,000.
Ogonek (St. Petersburg) Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Established in 1899 and in continuous print until 1918, Ogonek first came on the scene as a weekly illustrated supplement to the influential St. Petersburg-based newspaper Birzhevye Vedomosti. Having posted impressive growth in readership, in 1902 Ogonek became a separate entity and attracted the period’s most notable journalists, photographers, literati and critics until its closure by the Bolshevik revolutionaries in 1918 for propagating anti-Soviet views.
Ogonek Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Ogonek is one of the oldest illustrated weekly magazines in Russia, having been in continuous publication since 1923.
Politekhnik Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1969 by a group of graduates and former professors of the prestigious Harbin Polytechnic Institute (now Harbin Institute of Technology), the Russian-language journal Politekhnik (Политехник, The Polytechnic Student) was dedicated to the examination and preservation of the history of the Institute. The Harbin Polytechnic Institute was established in 1920 by the Russian émigré community in Harbin, China, which since the late 1890s had grown to become one of the most influential centers of Russian life in the East and a major destination for emigration. Designed to prepare engineers and other personnel for the burgeoning railway network, the Institute would become one of the most important educational centers in China and a hub of Russian intellectual and cultural life. Following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, however, many of the Russian students and faculty of the institute emigrated to such far flung places as Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, and the United States. It was a group of these émigrés in Sydney, Australia that established Politekhnik, which in addition to the Institute also focused on the history of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the broader aspects of Russian cultural and intellectual life in Harbin and broader Manchuria. Issues of the journal were comprised of several sections, including sections dedicated to the founding organization, the history of the institute, memoirs and essays from alumni, scientific articles by alumni, news on the latest developments in the fields of engineering and technology, and more. The journal would also serve as a hub for connecting alumni living abroad (and not just in Australia), through exchanges of letters and correspondence. Likewise, a unique aspect of the journal’s mission was the preservation of alumni family histories and the vibrant Russian cultural life of Harbin. The Politekhnik Digital Archive contains all published issues from 1969-2012, providing unique insight into a fascinating and largely understudied chapter of the Russian émigré experience in China and beyond.
Problemy Kitaia Digital Archive (DA-PK) External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1929 under the aegis of the Scientific-Research Institute on China, Problemy Kitaia (Issues in Chinese Studies) was pre-WWII Soviet Union's preeminent scholarly journal dedicated to the social-scientific study of China until its closure in 1935. Coinciding with the setbacks suffered by the Chinese Communist Party during the height of the Civil War that ravaged the country in late 1920s the journal had come to see itself as an ideological bulwark at the service of the Bolshevik Revolution generally and the Chinese Revolution in particular. Its mission and trajectory were made clear in the first issue when the editors wrote that the principal aim of their publication was to provide a "powerful assistance in the work of the theoretical defense of the Chinese Revolution … [and] become a unified platform for all Marxist-Leninist scholars of China who are busy waging a relentless campaign against [intellectual] currents hostile to Bolshevism." Further, the journal's editors declared, "being the theoretical organ of the militant Marxist-Leninist Sinology, our journal is called upon to render ideological aid to the Chinese Communist Party for the purpose of raising the general Marxist level of the movement, and for developing a Marxism-Leninism rooted in [and congruent with] Chinese realities." To achieve its stated aims the journal was committed to the research and the analysis of economic, social, cultural, and political problems facing China from a distinctly Marxist-Leninist vantage point and situated within a distinctly Chinese social and political environment. Although journal's ideological commitments were never in doubt, it did not mean that it was restricted to producing Communist propaganda or apologia with limited scholarly value. Its historical and broader social-scientific studies of China were in many ways groundbreaking, existing ideological or thematic restrictions notwithstanding. Fully searchable, Problemy Kitaia Digital Archive provides researchers and students a unique Russian-language research on a critical period of Chinese history as it was undergoing a range of social, cultural, economic, and political changes.
Russkaia literatura Digital Archive (DA-RLI) External This link opens in a new window
Russkaia literatura is a well-known journal of literary criticism, one of the most comprehensive, reliable and authoritative resources featuring biographical information and criticism of Russian and Soviet authors in various genres.
Published since 1958 by the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Science (Pushkinskii Dom), this scholarly journal features numerous research papers, discussion pieces, analytical articles and critical essays concerning classical and modern writers and poets of Russia.
Seans Digital Archive External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1989 by the young Leningrad film critic Lyubov Arkus and supported by the erstwhile Lenfilm studio director Aleksandr Golutva, Seans (Сеанс) grew to become one of the most influential film magazines in Russia and the post-Soviet space. Housed on the premises of Lenfilm studio, the quarterly magazine was conceived as a trade publication reporting on the goings-on of the domestic and foreign film industries. However, from its earliest issues, Seans set out to chart a more original course, becoming in essence a forum for the discussion of not only the latest trends in the industry but also of film criticism, film studies, and the ever-evolving language of cinema and the visual arts. Each issue of Seans is centered around a particular theme, with content addressing a variety of related artistic, cinematographic, and social concerns. Seans took a six-year hiatus from 1998-2004 following the death of Sergey Dobrotvorsky, one of the magazine’s key editors. Although not technically in production during these years, the magazine’s editors and writers nevertheless continued their collaboration, producing a seven-volume encyclopedia on contemporary Russian cinematic arts. Over the years Seans has received high praise, attracting the collaboration of some of the most significant names from the Russian film industry, as well as from the broader world of art history and criticism. The long list of collaborators and admirers of the magazine includes such renowned figures as filmmakers Alexander Sokurov and Sergey Bondarchuk, writer and historian Samuil Lurie, literary critic and film historian Mikhail Iampolski, memoirist Natalya Trauberg, and many others. Perhaps one of the most unique and endearing qualities of Seans is the magazine’s commitment to minimalistic black and white print aesthetics. Despite advances in print technology, Seans has remained loyal to its origins, eschewing gloss and glamour for textured and substantive content, making it a standout enterprise in the industry and the go-to resource for the modern Russian-speaking cineaste.
Slaviane Digital Archive (DA-SL) External This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1942 at the height of the Great Patriotic War by the All-Slavic Committee, a Soviet anti-fascist organization, Slaviane (Slavs) was a monthly magazine that saw its mission as one of “rallying Slavic peoples together in alliance with all freedom-loving peoples to fight against Nazi Germany and its vassals.” The editors sought to achieve their main goal by exposing the “predatory and rapacious policies of Hitlerites, their hate-filled program aimed at the elimination of Slavic peoples and their centuries-old culture,” as the magazine’s mission statement put it. Apart from its anti-Fascist and anti-Nazi platform, the magazine also sought to cultivate and propagate among Slavic peoples a knowledge of their shared past, the role of Slavic peoples in world culture and civilization, as well as episodic coverage of the Slavic communities in such far-flung countries as the United States, England, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. In short, the magazine was to become a unified platform for intellectuals and politicians from Slavic countries with the aim of providing an intellectual outlet against Nazism based on Slavic historical and cultural solidarity. The magazine underwent significant editorial changes with the end of the War switching its agenda from defeating Nazism to coverage of life and culture in the Soviet Union. In the process it strove to increase distribution in Slavic countries as well as in the West, although with limited success. It ceased publication in 1958. The Slaviane Digital Archive provides researchers and students a unique collection that sheds light on an important and woefully understudied aspects of Soviet propaganda production in a critical period of its history.
Starye Gody Digital Archive (DA-SG) External This link opens in a new window
Starye gody (Старые годы, The Bygone Years) was a monthly journal published in St. Petersburg from 1907 to 1916 for readers interested in art and antiquities. The journal published material on art history and architecture, presented private and public collections, covered domestic and international cultural events, and provided information on auctions and private art sales in Russia and abroad with catalogues, prices, and museum guides. Starye gody was noted for its handsome design and high-quality illustrations. Contributing artists included Benois, Vereshchagin, Vrangel and Rerikh. Much of the journal’s attention was devoted to the preservation of the artistic and antique legacy of St. Petersburg and Russia, and it played an important role in art preservation by printing reproductions of art from earlier periods, primarily Russian art of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Starye gody was written in the Old Russian orthography used at the time. To facilitate full-text searching of this journal, East View offers an on-screen Old Russian virtual keyboard.
Vestnik Evropy Digital Archive (DA-VE) External This link opens in a new window
One of the first Russian literary and political journal. Together with literature and arts the journal enlightened its readers on problems of internal and foreign policy of Russia, history and political life of foreign countries. It became conservative since 1815.
Voennaia Mysl' Digital Archive (DA-VM) External This link opens in a new window
This year marks the 100-th year anniversary of VoennaiaMysl’ (Military Thought), generally regarded as the most authoritative military-theoretical journal in the USSR and subsequently post-Soviet Russia. Established in 1918, a year after the October Revolution, as Voennoe Delo, it underwent several name changes before the editors of the journal settled with its present name Voennaia Mysl’ in 1937.
Published under the auspices of Ministry of Defense, and directly subordinate to the General Staff, Voennaia Mysl’ throughout its history has attracted military strategists and theoreticians from the top echelons of the Soviet and Russian military and its various branches, having become the topmost vehicle for the articulation of various Soviet and Russian military doctrines. Some of the most famous Soviet and Russian military strategists and generals whose works have appeared in the journal are Alexander Svechin, Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Ivan Bagramyan, Konstantin Rokossovsky, and others. Being a publication of highest importance, however, carried with it certain risks, especially in the early years of its existence. During the height of Stalin’s purges of the military in mid to late 1930s some of the military strategists whose works had appeared in the journal as well as several of its editors would be arrested and executed, having been accused of working for Nazi Germany and part of a purported “military-fascist plot.”
With the beginning of the Cold War access to Voennaia Mysl’ became severely restricted with the covers carrying the classification stamp “For Generals, Admirals, and Officers Only.” The journal would remain classified until 1989. Due to the classified nature of the journal it became nearly impossible to find, thus achieving somewhat of a legendary status among Western scholars, military analysts, and experts on Soviet military strategy. Largely through the efforts of East View in 1990 the journal again became accessible to scholars and analysts in the West and particularly in the United States. The whole collection consists of 1087 issues, covers 99 years with 13,025 searchable articles.
Voprosy istorii: Complete Collection External This link opens in a new window
Voprosy istorii: Published by the Russian Academy of Sciences, the legendary journal Voprosy istorii (Issues of History) has offered scholarly perspectives on events in Russia and the world since 1926. This landmark publication chronicles the remarkable epoch of the Soviet era, from its Marxist-Leninist origins through Stalins Terrors, the Great Patriotic War, the Thaw and Perestroika, to Russias transformation into modern postCommunist statehood. This collection covers 4 titles: Istorik-marksist (1926-1941), which merged with Istoricheskii zhurnal in 1941 Borba klassov (1931-1936), which was renamed Istoricheskii zhurnal (1937-1945), and then renamed Voprosy istorii (1945- ).
Voprosy Literatury Digital Archive (DA-VL) External This link opens in a new window
Authoritative journal of literary criticism offering articles and roundtable transcripts dealing with problems of Russian and world literature, history and theory of literature.
Zhurnal rossiiskogo prava External This link opens in a new window
Journal of the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Jurisprudence of the RF Government and the "Norma" publishers looks at the preparation of laws in Russia, experience of administration of law, protection of rights in court of law.

English-Language Resources

The titles detailed in this section contain either original or translated content in English. Subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

AAASS NewsNet Archive (DA-NN) External This link opens in a new window
A newsmagazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS), NewsNet features articles (on particular issues in the field of Russian, Central European, and Eurasian studies, on the teaching of disciplines related to Slavic studies, etc.) and news and information columns including a listing of upcoming conferences and conventions, news on Slavic collections and archives at various academic and institutional libraries as well as new Web sites covering Slavic studies, recent or upcoming publications written, edited, or translated by AAASS members, etc Newsnet offers scholars conducting a large-scale research or survey an opportunity to announce their project to other Slavic scholars and institutions and request input or information.
Central and Eastern European Online Library External This link opens in a new window
CEEOL provides full-text access to over 1,600 humanities, and social and political science journals, 450 Open Access e-books, and 3,000 Grey Literature documents pertaining to Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Articles are in English and in two dozen other European languages. Subjects covered include: Economy, Fine Arts, Performing Arts, General Reference Works, Geography, Regional Studies, History, Jewish Studies, Language and Literature Studies, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Library and Information Science, Literary Texts, Philosophy, Politics, Political Science, Social Sciences, Theology and Religion.
Cold War Eastern Europe, 1947-1982 External This link opens in a new window
Cold War Eastern Europe provides access to thousands of files from the political departments of the U.K. Foreign Office responsible for dealing with and reporting on the Soviet Union and the socialist states of Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Sourced entirely from The National Archives, U.K., the files provide a uniquely comprehensive, English-language history of post-Stalinist Eastern Europe. With coverage of every country in Eastern Europe, the resource enables comparative study of trends across the region, or in-depth analysis of individual countries.
Featured countries are:
Albania
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
East Germany and Berlin
Hungary
Poland
Romania
Soviet Union
Yugoslavia
Encyclopedia of Slavic Languages and Linguistics Online External This link opens in a new window
The Encyclopedia of Slavic Languages and Linguistics offers the most comprehensive reference work on Slavic languages ever published, with some 400 articles. It provides authoritative treatment of all important aspects of the Slavic language family from its Indo-European origins to the present day, as well as consideration of the interaction of Slavic with other languages.
Far Eastern Affairs: A Russian Journal on China, Japan and Asia-Pacific External This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journal about China, Japan and problems common to the Asia-Pacific region. The only periodical in Russia on this subject appearing in English.
International Affairs : a Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations External This link opens in a new window
The official journal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, International Affairs tracks research on Russian foreign policy and international relations, the arms race and disarmament, the role of the UN and international security issues, Russian economic and trade cooperation, and Russian political development. Published in English by East View Information Services.
Military Thought: A Russian Journal of Military Theory and Strategy External This link opens in a new window
The elite military journal known in Russia as Voennaia mysl’ was founded in 1918 and has been classified for nearly 70 years. Since 1990, the journal is being published in the English translation as Military Thought. The complete digital archive of Military Thought is a unique source of information on the development of Russian military theory, Russian military reform, tactics and strategy of modern combat, and counterterrorist and security operations.,p>As an organ of the Russian Defense Ministry, the journal’s contributors are top military personnel and leading lecturers from Russian military universities and colleges. Military Thought publishes studies on the experience of modern war (especially local wars and armed conflicts), and includes pieces devoted to the methodology of military science, art and development, as well as special branches of natural and engineering sciences. Special attention is paid to the operational training of the army, the moral and psychological training of military personnel, and the education and legal support of the Russian military establishment.
Moscow Defense Brief Digital Archive (DA-MDB) External This link opens in a new window
Moscow Defense Brief is the leading English-language Russian defense journal, providing Russian perspectives on security and defense issues to professionals within the Russia Federation and beyond. Moscow Defense Brief serves as a reliable source of public information and unbiased analysis on all aspects of Russia’s policy and defense industry activities. The journal is an important resource for foreign governments, policy makers, political and economic experts, defense industry stakeholders, and a wide range of researchers interested in Russian and/or CIS affairs.
Russia Direct External This link opens in a new window
Russia Direct is a publication that experts and senior decision makers rely on to debate and understand Russia's relationship with the world and the US in particular. Founded in 2013, Russia Direct features original reporting as well as fresh writing from a wide variety of experts from both Russia and around the world who deliver insight often missing from today's media landscape. Every day, Russia Direct gives our growing and very influential audience unique intelligence on the people, trends, issues and challenges that are driving the global conversation about Russia.
Warsaw Pact Journal Digital Archive (DA-WPJ) External This link opens in a new window
The growth of NATO, which now includes the newly independent states of the former Soviet Bloc, raises attention to the history of military planning and operations, particularly in coalition setting. Coalition strategy and operations was precisely the main subject of an unique, highly secret and Soviet-led military-theoretical journal known colloquially as “ShOVS” – the Information Herald of the Staff of the Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact Member-States. This Russian language journal was published biannually during the last two decades of the Warsaw Pact’s existence until it ceased publication in 1990 with the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact itself.

Russian Documents and Ephemera Collections

The resources described in this section are digital reproductions of documents or ephemera and some born-digital materials devoted to a theme such as a particular election. Subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

All-Russia Vote on Constitution, 2020 External This link opens in a new window
The All-Russian referendum, formally called “All-Russian vote,” to reform and amend the Russian Constitution was held in a week-long vote from June 25-July 1, 2020. Initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in January of the same year, the new amendments were designed to introduce a slew of sweeping changes to the 1993 Constitution (over 200 in total), one of the most important and the most controversial of which was the provision that would allow President Putin to run for additional two 6-year presidential terms at the end of his current term. Other controversial amendments on the ballot were the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, and a mention of a belief in God in the context of Russia’s “thousand-year history, preserving the memory of ancestors who passed on to us ideals and faith in God.” This collection consists of various ephemera (both pro and contra) and official documents disseminated in the months leading up to the vote in July.
Chernobyl Collection: Documents and Maps External This link opens in a new window
The explosion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986 in the Ukrainian city of Pripyat is considered one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, especially if one is to consider its economic and environmental consequences. Affected were not only the areas in the NPP's immediate vicinity but also large parts of what was then Soviet Ukraine, Soviet Belorussia, and many countries in Europe. Much has been written on the accident, the structural shortcomings of the disaster management operations and the subsequent cover-up by the Soviet authorities, and recently Belorussian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize in Literature for her book Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster where she painstakingly documents the fallout and its effects on ordinary Ukrainian and Belarusians. Yet 30 years after the disaster, a definitive account of the Chernobyl tragedy seems to be lacking, if only because many of the government documents and other relevant material had been classified and were out of the reach of academics. The recently declassified documents, now available through East View Information Services, makes fresh research into the causes and the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster not only possible but urgent allowing researchers, policy-makers, environmentalists and nuclear industry insiders unprecedented insight into the Ukrainian and Soviet decision-making process. The importance of such insights cannot be overestimated, since among other things it can serve as a valuable learning resource.
The collection includes more than 70 maps of the area, reports prepared for and by a variety of Soviet and Ukrainian government agencies, such as the KGB, documenting and detailing the most important developments in the wake of the disaster, but also internal reports and investigations on the its various causes. These include the problems with the design of the NPP, and the extent of the Soviet and Ukrainian government knowledge on many of the shortcomings that made the Chernobyl meltdown not only possible but in a sense inevitable. Some of the most fascinating items from the collection are internal reports, communiques, and correspondences between various heads of local and regional KGB officials long before the tragedy. Some reports going as far back as the beginning phase of the construction of the plant provide solid documentary evidence of criminal neglect in the building process, the unwillingness of the authorities to address the issues raised by the KGB and its vast network of informants, and the subsequent attempts at cover-up. One such report provides a painstakingly detailed description of the use of subpar building materials offering up a particularly spectacular microcosm of corruption, theft, and neglect that underlined Soviet central planning. The collection also contains documents relating to the less known September 9, 1982 partial meltdown of the reactor Block no. 1, the subsequent mishandling of which was perhaps the first indication of the inevitability of the 1986 accident. All in all, the collection contains materials going as far back as 1971 and up to 1991 offering a unique window into the entire spectrum of the secret information circulating within the Soviet and Ukrainian governmental structures.
Russia Presidential Election 2012 External This link opens in a new window
The present database represents the most comprehensive collection of election related ephemera and primary source material documenting the contentious Russian presidential elections of March 4, 2012. It contains thousands of pages of unique print materials collected by East View researchers in Moscow and other Russian cities. This one of a kind collection provides researchers easy, time- and cost-saving access to the documents and propaganda materials of this important period of Russian political life. Given the extensive use of print material by both opposition and establishment the present collection of election ephemera becomes an invaluable resource for understanding the underlying political and social dynamics of the 2012 Russian presidential election.
Russia State Duma Election 2011 External This link opens in a new window
Ephemera produced by candidate campaigns, citizens, and the Russian government, harvested during and after the 2011 election period by East View on site. The database includes close to 6,000 pages of fully searchable biographical sketches of the leaders of the major Russian political parties, party programs, flyers, posters, photographic representations of demonstrations, media reports, party propaganda brochures and booklets, financial disclosures, and much more.
Social Movements, Elections and Ephemera Collections External This link opens in a new window
Because democracies constantly adapt to endure, they can seem messy. Political campaigns and elections create unique memorabilia that capture this essence of democracy in action. The democratic experiment since the collapse of the Soviet Union is no different. Elections in these countries still remain one of the most important sources of information for outside scholars and analysts to gauge both evolving voter sentiment and tectonic electoral shifts as ruling parties and opposition groups put out reams of campaign materials to influence voters. East View’s Social Movements, Elections and Ephemera series brings to the researcher an unprecedented collection of fleeting election material from countries of the former Soviet Union, preserved for easy digital access. Representing a vast repository of primary source material from both presidential and parliamentary elections, this series embodies a unique “first stop” for policy analysts and observers of electoral politics in the countries of the FSU. Central to this series is the unique election ephemera including party programs, propaganda materials, special newspaper editions, handbills, sticks, and literature produced by all political parties or candidates.
Also included in the Social Movements collection is a collection of ephemera, (brochures, clothing items, booklets, flyers, etc.) which offers important insights into LGBTQ activism in Eastern Europe and the Balkans in the past decade. With the resurgence of conservative political activism in Eastern Europe, which embraces and emphasizes traditionalist social, sexual, and gender norms, LGBTQ persons and LGBTQ activism are largely rejected and repudiated for undermining national values and social cohesion. Although there have been advances in legal protections accorded to LGBTQ persons, a far cry from the Cold War era, their presence and visibility in the public space remains broadly misunderstood, mischaracterized, and vigorously contested.
South Ossetia Presidential Election, 2011-2012 (EL-SOPR12) External This link opens in a new window
This database represents the most exhaustive collection of election related ephemera to date documenting the presidential election process in the breakaway Republic of South Ossetia. It contains hundreds of pages of primary source material collected in South Ossetia and in Ossetian diaspora communities in the Russian Federation. The unique collection of election paraphernalia and ephemera from Ossetian presidential election provides access to otherwise unavailable material in one convenient location.

General Citation and Full-text Databases for Russian Studies

The resources detailed in this section are important access points for discovering content related to Russia and Russian studies. Many are citation databases indexing the contents of multiple periodicals. Some contain full-text or partial full-text of articles, dissertations, or reports. Subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

American Bibliography of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies External This link opens in a new window
ABSEES online contains bibliographic records for journal articles, books & chapters, book reviews, dissertations, and selected government publications covering US and Canadian scholarship on Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet Union.
Russian National Bibliography External This link opens in a new window
Provides bibliographic access to books, newspapers, journals, book criticism and reviews, the arts, sheet music, dissertations and maps from 21,500 publishers. Covers Russia (Federation), Soviet Union and former Soviet republics imprints. Titles in the database come from the following Russian bibliographies: Knizhnaia letopis' (Bibliography of Russian book publications) Letopis' gazetnykh statei (Index to 90 Russian newspapers) Letopis' zhurnal'nykh statei (Index to 3,500 Russian periodicals, including journals, magazines, and other serial publications) Letopis' avtoreferatov dissertatsii (Index to over 90,000 Russian dissertation abstracts) Letopis' retsenzii (Index to Russian book reviews of both Russian and foreign books) Letopis' izoizdanii (Bibliography of art albums, posters, art reproductions, prints, applied graphic art) Notnaia letopis' (Index to Russian music-related publications, including musical and stage music works, folklore collections, school and methodological music publications and books) Kartograficheskaia letopis' (Bibliography of cartographic and map publications produced in Russia).
Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies External This link opens in a new window
Citations and abstracts of over 19,000 journal articles, books, manuscripts, and dissertations published primarily in Russia, the republics of the former Soviet Union, and countries in Eastern Europe. Covers the social sciences and humanities with topics as diverse as archaeology, economics, education, environmental studies, history, law, linguistics, literary criticism, philosophy, political science, psychology, and religious studies.
Slavic Humanities Index External This link opens in a new window
The Slavic Humanities Index is a new bibliographic database in the field of Central, Eastern, and South-eastern European Studies. This is a cover-to-cover indexing tool encompassing important scholarly and cultural periodicals in the humanities of the region. This interdisciplinary index includes bibliographic citations of articles in history, philosophy, literature, linguistics, ethnology, theatre and film studies, as well as cultural, borderland, and regional studies. Thus, the database allows cross-cultural and cross-discipline searches. The periodicals indexed in the database are published in Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.
EIU Viewpoint External This link opens in a new window
EIU Viewpoint is a new fully-integrated solution for content from the Economist Intelligence Unit. Viewpoint gives you more insight with analyst-curated macro Current themes, critical to understanding core issues in today’s changing world. Explore the new intuitive interface for fast, business-critical insights and use a state-of-the-art tool to find and chart the data series you need. The platform covers 203 geographies, providing you with precision tools to seize opportunities, weigh risks, monitor policy change and assess new markets. Content includes:
- Curated macro trends and major events intelligence
- Country-specific short, medium and long-term forecasts
- Industry data and analysis for 26 sectors
- Proprietary ratings on the business environment
- Supply and demand forecasts for 40 critical goods
EMIS Intelligence External This link opens in a new window
Collection of news and financial information for over 100 emerging market countries in Africa & the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, Central Asia (Caucasus) and Asia, and Latin America. Included are primary news sources (full-text), financial data (including reports on financial markets, companies and industries), over 1 million listed and private company profiles, statistics, macroeconomic forecasts and analysis, and legal and regulatory information. Arranged by country, ISI emerging markets also includes country profiles, exchange rates, and business and political news approximately 9,000 publications of data, research and news from unrivalled sources (from the Economist Intelligence Unit and ViewsWire, as well as other local and global sources).
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.
Historical Abstracts with Full Text External This link opens in a new window
Representing scholarship from more than 90 countries, and allowing for searching by time period, Historical Abstracts with Full Text includes book citations, dissertations and theses, and coverage extends to related disciplines such as archeology, anthropology and sociology. This authoritative database is an exceptional resource that covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and much more. It provides indexing of historical articles from more than 1,800 journals in over 40 languages back to 1955. With over 800,000 records and access to the full text of more than 349 journals and more than 120 books, Historical Abstracts with Full Text is unmatched in its scope and breadth of historical and related social science literature.
MLA International Bibliography External This link opens in a new window
MLA International Bibliography offers a detailed bibliography of journal articles, books and dissertations on literature, language, linguistics, and folklore, including film studies. Produced by the Modern Language Association, the electronic version of the bibliography dates back to the 1920s and contains over 1.8 million citations from more than 4,400 journals & series and 1,000 book publishers. The indexed materials coverage is international, and includes almost 60 titles from J-STORs language and literature collection as well as links to full text. See also the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature.
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global External This link opens in a new window
Index of doctoral dissertations and master's theses, with coverage from 1861 to the present. Those published from 1980 to present include abstracts, and many of those published since the 1990's are available in full text (PDF digital format) along with 24 page previews. Full text dissertations may be downloaded to a zip disc or emailed to a user account (but be aware that restrictions on your email account or security precautions at your institution might prevent the document from reaching you after leaving the Library). Please limit printing from Library of Congress workstations to citations and summaries.
World Biographical Information System External This link opens in a new window
WBIS contains biographies of 10 million men and women, living and deceased, from all social classes and professions, from all countries and regions, from 4000 BC to the present. WBIS Online selected components:
- American Biographical Archive (ABA I, ABA II)
- Biographical Archive (ABEPI I, ABEPI II)
- Biographical Archive of the Benelux countries (BAB I)
- British Biographical Archive (BBA I, BBA II)
- French Biographical Archive (ABF I, ABF II)
- German Biographical Archive (DBA I, DBA II, DBA III)
- Italian Biographical Archive (ABI I, ABI II)
- Russian Biographical Archive (RBA)
- Scandinavian Biographical Archive (SBA I)
- Spanish, Portuguese and Latin-American
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.

Stacks

Stacks is the primary access system for rights-restricted digital content in the Library’s permanent collection. In contrast, (a) content that is broadly available is generally on the Library’s public website; and (b) content for which the Library has licensed onsite access is primarily available in the Electronic Resources Catalog (EROC). The Library of Congress is no longer microfilming newspapers or serials on newsprint and instead is digitizing such materials and placing them into Stacks. Russian content of interest in Stacks is mainly these digitized newspapers and periodicals, plus a growing number of e-books.

Russian Collections at the Library of Congress: An Overview