russian history research topics

History of Russia

Background Information

Digital Collections and Databases

Indexes & bibliographies, sourcebooks & collections.

Citing Sources This link opens in a new window

Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System Online "The digital collection consists chiefly of summary transcripts of 705 interviews conducted with refugees from the USSR during the early years of the Cold War. A unique source for the study of Soviet society between 1917 and the mid-1940s, the HPSSS includes vast amounts of one-of-a-kind data on political, economic, social and cultural conditions. The HPSSS’s value is compounded by the fact that it was compiled in English and organized according to a rigorous social science framework, making it accessible to a broad range of students and scholars."
AlexanderPalace.org Russian History Websites Offers links to many websites that include primary texts, art, architectural images. Emphasis on Romanov dynasty.
America, Russia, and the Meeting of Frontiers From the Library of Congress, "Meeting of Frontiers--a multimedia digital library--provides a gateway to this experience and to much that remains important about the national identities of Russia and America in the twenty-first century."

Guide to Open Access Historical News Sources from Slavic, East European and Eurasian Countries Hosted by the East Coast Consortium of Slavic Library Collections, "this online guide aims to provide a handy, country-by-country list of open access historical news sources from Russia, Eurasia, and Eastern Europe."
Hoover Archives: Soviet Union Collections available from the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Digital materials include Russian Service sound recordings and over 3,000 Soviet posters.

Princeton Slavic Collections Digital collections from the Princeton Slavic Collections through the Digital Princeton University Library. Includes literature, such as children’s books from the Soviet-era.
Revelations from the Russian Archives From the Library of Congress, an online exhibit of 25 documents from the "highly secret internal record of Soviet Communist rule."
Russian Archives Online The RAO offers Russian and Soviet archival collections of images, audio, and film.
Russian Satirical Journals Collection "This collection consists of Russian satirical journals which were produced during the revolutionary upheaval of 1905-1907. The physical issues come from the collection of the Institute of Modern Russian Culture at the University of Southern California."
Seventeen Moments in Soviet History "A multi-media archive of primary materials designed to introduce students and the general public to the richness and contradictions of Soviet history."
Soviet Archives Exhibit Exhibit of documents from the Library of Congress, covering the history of the USSR. Most documents are accompanied by English translations.
Stalinka: Digital Library of Staliniana From the University of Pittsburgh, "the online collection comprises visual images of photographs, posters, paintings, banners, sculptures, chinaware, pins, etc. relating to Stalin/ism."
Wilson Center Digital Archive "Constructed and maintained by the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program, the Digital Archive contains declassified historical materials from archives around the world, much of it in English translation. The historical documents presented in the ever-expanding Digital Archive provide unique insights into recent international history, and serve to deepen and enrich international scholarship, history education, and public policy debate on important global issues and challenges."
The Current Digest of the Russian Press Weekly translations into English of Russian-language press materials from 1949 to the present.
British Pathé A growing digital archive of newsreels created by the British Pathé company from the 1890s through the 1970s. These videos include areas such as historical events and documentaries as well as travelogues and contemporary coverage of culture.
Don't Chatter A site of political posters from the Soviet Union. Account registration is required for access.
The Face of Russia Interactive Timeline From PBS, this site provides an interactive timeline of "ten centuries of art, architecture, music, dance and cinema" as a companion to The Face of Russia series.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History This multifaceted tool places art works from the Metropolitan Museum's collection within geographical and chronological context. It has excellent thematic essays (background information) that cover the historical eras and cultures that produced the works of art (the primary sources), along with maps and key events from each place and time period.

Use these tools to help locate primary sources. You may need to use Interlibrary Loan to acquire the actual primary sources.

British Newspaper Archive Search the contents of millions of newspaper pages published in 19th and 20th century Britain. Only indexing is available. Full text articles must either be purchased by the user or requested through Interlibrary Loan.
Russia and Eastern Europe, 1789-1985 A bibliographical guide compiled by Raymond Pearson.
To Russia and Return, edited by H. W. Nerhood. An annotated bibliography of travelers' English-language accounts of Russia from the 9th century to the present.