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Guides to Sources on Russian
History and Historiography
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Bibliographies of Bibliography and
Historiographical Bibliographies | Historical Bibliography,
Catalogs and Guides to Research | Historical
Encyclopedias
Historical Dictionaries | Subject
WebSites | Periodical Indexes
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| Return to Expanded Table of Contents
All of the
general bibliographic guides for Russia
and those for the Slavic
world in general will be important for historical research. If you
have not consulted them, it is wise to examine them before looking at
the guides for specific disciplines.
Guides for
historical materials are varied in scope and focus. Many will include
information on archives, particularly on guides to the historiographic
literature. Others will contain lists of history periodicals and their
indexes. Biographical and genealogical sources are frequently included
in historical bibliographies, as are sources on heraldry and archives.
Other sources for historical research include chronologies, historical
atlases, dictionaries of terminology, and subject encyclopedias. Biographies
of historians are also to be found in a variety of specialized resources
many of which are listed in the section on Russian
historical biography. Emigre resources
are treated in a separate section as are the materials for Russian
literature. Both of these are areas of great importance for historians.
Those seeking material specific to the fine arts will find them in the
setion on Russian arts.
This list
will provide examples of all of these sources but will emphasize the bibliographic
materials, as these are still basic to all historical research. Frequently,
the other sources mentioned above can be identified using a good bibliographic
source. The purpose of this section is not to list every historical resource
available; the list is by no means comprehensive. Rather, the goal is
to list sources that can act as finding aids for historical research and
to make the scholar aware of the range of sources available. Frequently,
older published sources will be included. This is because they contain
the best annotations and clearest listings of historical resources. When
possible, online sources are included. Those electronic resources that
are included will act as "portals" to other resources on specific
historical topics.
One source not discussed here is archives.
This is such a broad subject that it will be discussed in a separate section
that is currently under development.

Bibliographies of Bibliography
and Historiographical Bibliographies | Historical
Bibliography, Catalogs and Guides to Research | Historical
Encyclopedias
Historical Dictionaries | Subject
WebSites | Periodical Indexes
Return to
Table of Contents | Return to Expanded Table
of Contents
Bibliographies of Bibliography and Historiographical Bibliography
Bibliografiia russkoi bibliografii
po istorii SSSR. Annotirovannyi perechen bibliograficheskikh ukazateli
izdannykh do 1917. Moskva: Izd-vo. Vsesoiuznoi knizhnoi knizhnoi palaty,
1957. 197p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947M85b
This is a superbly annotated guide to bibliographies
on Russian history published up to 1917 This project was a joint effort
of the State Historical Library (Moscow)
and the Russian National Library (Petersburg):
State Historical Library (Moscow)compiled
the section on the history of the SSSR; the Russian
National Library (Petersburg) wrote the sections on general history.
Along with historical bibliographies, this bibliography includes bibliographies
of publications of societies and organizations, indices of historical
journals, and lists of works by Russian historians. Individual
entries for historians often include biographical materials as well
as bibliography. The volume concludes with an author/title and a general
name index. This guide is the best place to start a search for bibliographies
on any historical subject before 1917.

Istoriia SSSR. Annotirovannyi
perechen russkikh bibliografii izdannykh do 1965 g.
Moskva: Izd-vo. 'Kniga', 1966. 427p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947M85B 1966
This is a continuation of the work listed
above, compiled in a joint effort by the Russian
State Library(Moscow) and the State Historical
Library(Moscow). Each item is described in detailed annotations.
Materials included are monographs, articles in books and periodicals,
and journal indexes, and are divided into four sections: I. General Works;
II. Bibliographies on the history of the USSR up to 1861; III. History
of the USSR from 1861-1917; IV History of the USSR during the socialist
period and the construction of communism. The volume includes bibliographies
of historiography, of memoir literature, of individuals, and of histories
of various republics of the USSR (Ukraine, Central Asia, etc.) The lengthy
section devoted to biobibliographical works perhaps deserves special attention
as it lists bibliographies of works by Russian/Soviet historians and works
about them. Since entries are well annotated, the scholar will have a
clear picture of the scope of each work cited as can be seen in the entries
below reproduced from p. 164 of the bibliography.
The work does not include bibliographies
of dissertations or manuscript materials. The volume is by subject in
general, but an index of authors and titles and a general name index make
it easy to find specific bibliographies. This is an excellent place to
begin historical research, particularly on the early Soviet period.

Maichel, Karel.
Guide to Russian Reference Books. Vol. II: History, Auxiliary Historical
Sciences, Ethnography, and Geography. Edited by J.S.G. Simmons. Stanford:
Hoover Institution, 1964. 297p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.9147 M24g V. 2
The purpose of this work is to bring together
in one annotated volume all of the "substantial" bibliographic and reference
tools relating to Russian history. Maichel compiled this list based on
the major Slavic collections in the U.S., so that scholars would know
that such sources exist outside of Russia. Sections include Russian
history, World history, Auxiliary historical sciences, Ethnography and
Geography. The editor has included works published through 1963.By and
large Maichel has selected bibliographies for this volume, but biographical
and terminological dictionaries, encyclopedias, gazetteers, chronologies,
atlases, and handbooks can also be found here. Sources are, for the most
part, in Russian, English, French and German. A cumulative author, title,
and subject index rounds out the book.

Istoriia istoricheskoi nauki v SSSR. Dooktiabrskii
period. Bibliografiia. Moskva: Nauka, 1965. 703p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947 M85IST
This bibliography covers the historiography
of Russia up to 1917. Citations are to books, articles in journals, sborniki,
newspapers, and dissertations published up to 1963. All kinds of historical
study are included, although Church history is covered very selectively.
The bibliography itself is divided into three parts: General works, Literature
on the work of historical societies and groups, and Literature on individual
historians.
Entries provide full bibliographic information
but are not annotated. However, the compilers frequently supply information
on the topic, society or individual that is the subject of the section.
So, for example, in the section on the Russkoe arkheologichesko obshchestvo
there is basic information on the founding of the society.
The bibliography covers historians who
emigrated, but works published in emigration are not included. The compilers
used numerous collections for their citations, including GPIB, the Lenin
Library, and the Saltykov-Shchedrin Library. Other citations were taken
from the massive bibliographies of Mezhov and Lambin.
Entries are not annotated, but the contents for some sborniki and multi-volume
works are listed. The work concludes with a cumulative name/title index.
Istoriia istoricheskoi nauki
v SSSR. Sovetskii period. Oktiabr 1917-1967. Bibliografiia. Moskva:
Nauka, 1980.733p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.9470072 IS769
This is a continuation of the bibliography
listed above, covering historiography from 1917 to 1967. ITwas compiled
by GPIB in cooperation with the various institutes of history of the Academy
of Sciences and regional affiliates. An enormous number of sources were
consulted for the compilation of this bibliography, including the collections
of the GPIB, the Lenin Library, and the Saltykov-Shchedrin Library, as
well as bibliographic publications such as the INION historical bulletins.
Most of the items cited are in Russian, but some citations are to works
in languages of the other republics of the USSR.
The volume is divided into two parts. Part
one covers general topics. Each chapter of the bibliography is devoted
to some area of historiography, from the historiography of world history
to the historiography of the history of feudal Russia. The second part
is devoted to the activities of scholarly organizations and historical
societies. Here can be found information on the publications and history
of individual institutions.
An index of authors, editors, compilers,
and titles of sborniki and periodicals provides easy access to individual
works.

Bibliografiia bibliografii na
sovremennom etape. Sbornik statei i bibliograficheskikh materialov. Sankt-Peterburg,
Rossiiskaia natsionalnaia biblioteka, 1995. 146 p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 011.00947 B471
This book contains a series of bibliographical
essays on the history of bibliography in Russia. The most useful section
for historians is the chapter, "Novye ukazateli, issledovaniia i obzory
bibliographicheskikh posobii i spravochnykh izdanii, opublikovanye v 1987-1993
gg." Many of these bibliographies are historical in nature, and this
publication currently serves to cover the most recent years of Russian
bibliographies. While the volume has a brief table of contents, there
are no indices.

Bibliographies
of Bibliography and Historiographical Bibliographies
| Historical Bibliography, Catalogs and Guides to Research
| Historical Encyclopedias
Historical Dictionaries | Subject
WebSites | Periodical Indexes
Return to
Table of Contents | Return to Expanded Table
of Contents
Historical Bibliographies, Catalogs, and Guides
to Research
General'nyi alfavitnyi katalog
knig na russkom iazyke (1725-1998)
URL: http://www.nlr.ru:8101/e-case/search_extended.php
This scanned copy of the card catalog
of the Russian National Library is an invaluable tool for anyone planning
a trip to St. Petersburg or trying to verify a specific title. It does
require a bit of patience. As with the scanned catalogs of the Jagiellonian
University Library or the Czech
National Library, access is by "main entry", i.e. cards
are filed by author or corporate author. There is no subject access. In
order to search this catalog , the user will enter a term on the search
screen. The result returned will be a list of possible entry points for
the catalog, rather like the tabs on index cards. Selecting one of these
will position the user in a range of cards. The user must select the cards,
by number and essentially "browse" the cards. Below is a sample
entry from the catalog.

The catalog includes citations to periodicals,
dissertations, and maps as well as monographic works. The precise holdings
for periodicals are not included in this version of the catalog. However,
the microfiche edition contains a supplement of periodical titles and
holdings for the Russian National Library. The microfiche edition is available
in our library in the Slavic Libr

Russkaia kniga grazhdanskoi pechati XVVIII v. v fondakh
bibliotek RF (1708-1800)
URL:
http://www.nlr.ru/rlin/ruslbr_v1.php?database=RLINXVIIIsv
This catalog lists the holdings of
eighteenth century Russian books in the libraries of the Russian Federation,
specifically the State Historical Library (GPIB), the Russian National
Library, the Russian State Library, the library of the Academy of Sciences
(BAN) and the library at Moscow State University. The records are fully
searchable. It is possible to search not only by title or name, but also
by organization, years of publication, place of publication, country of
publication and language. The latter seems somewhat peculiar given that
this is a database of Russian language publications. This search allows
you to identify those items that have been translated.

As can be seen from this example, holdings
at several institutions are listed, as is full bibliographic information.
This is a particularly valuable resource for those planning to travel
to Russia.

Zaionchkovskii,
P.A. Spravochniki po istorii dorevoliutsionnoi Rossii. Bibliograficheskii
ukazatel. 2nd ed. Moskva: Kniga, 1978. 640p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947 Sp76 1978
This excellent bibliography covers historical material
on the history of Russia from the 15th century to February
1917 and is an excellent source of information on government publications
of all kinds: laws, censuses, ministry publications, statistical data,
etc.. The first section covers general reference works such as encyclopedias,
dictionaries, atlases, necrologies, and archival guides. The rest of
the guide is divided into broad subject areas and then subdivided into
specific topics that are outlined in the table of contents. The broad
subject headings are Social and Economic Affairs, Political Affairs, Military
Affairs, Sociopolitical Movements in the 19th and 20th
c., Science and Education, and Regional Administrative Affairs. Most entries
are annotated. Zaionchkovskii used the collections of several libraries,
including GPIB, the Ermitazh
library, and the catalog of the Tsentralnyi gosudarstvennyi arkhiv
drevnikh aktov for material before the 18th c. Works on archaeology
and ethnography are not included, nor are works related to the history
of literature, art, museum studies, or bibliography. However, publications
with the activities and membership of societies devoted to these subjects
are listed.

This entry gives a good idea of the kind of information
one can expect to find in Zaionchkovskii. For those looking for information
on the membership of a certain organization, academic institution, military
unit or government agency, Zaionchkovskii will provide the most complete
list of resources. The types of sources are quite different from those
you will find on the same topic in a source like Istoriia SSSR.
A general index of subjects, governmental bodies, organizations,
and institutions concludes the book and aids in locating materials on
very specific topics.

Dorevoliutsionnye izdaniia
po istorii SSSR v inostrannom fonde Gos. Publichnoi Biblioteki im. M.
E. Saltykova-Shchedrina. Vyp. 1- . St.Peterburg:Izdatel'stvo Rossiiskoi
natsional'noi biblioteki, 1964-
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947 G699d v.3-5
Each volume of this bibliography focuses on a different
topic or time period in Russian history, as viewed by Western historians.
The first volume, published in 1964 is devoted to general works on Russian
history up to the 18th century. The second volume was devoted to works
on education in the early Russian empire. Volume three is a compilation
of foreign works on the Russian nobility. Volume four focuses on the Napoleonic
wars and volume five, published in 2001 is devoted to the reign of Alexander
I. All titles included here were published before the revolution. All
items cited are in the Russian National Library
and provide a view of how the West viewed Russia. The most recent volumes
are well indexed including an author and title index.

Istochniki po istorii naselennykh
punktov dorevoliutsionnoi Rossii. Vypusk 1. Pechatnye istochniki
perioda Rossiiskoi Imperii (1721-1917 gg.) Sbornik bibliograficheskikh
materialov.
Spb: Rossiiskaia Natsional'naia Biblioteka.
1996
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.30770947 IS7 V.1-
This is an unusual resource on the populated places
of prerevolutionary Russia. The book contains four bibliographic essays.
The first, entitled "Pechatnye istochniki po istorii naselennykh
punktov Rossiiskoi imperii (1721-1917 gg.)", lists all the sources
that will be described in detail in the succeeding essays. It is primarily
a list of 139 sources that are used throughout the rest of the volume.
Many of these titles were multivolume sets that until this publication
were very difficult to use. The compilers of this volume have analyzed
the contents of these sets and organized them in the context of their
relation to each inhabited place in Russia in the 19th century. So, for
example, the basic publication information on the set Gorodskoe poseleniia
v Rossiiskoi Imperii is listed in the first essay under the title.
In second essay there is a listing of every town that appears in that
volume, with a volume and page reference to the entry.

The second essay is entitled "Alfavitnyi ukazatel
naselennykh punktov, opisannykh v izdaniiakh: 'Gorodskie poseleniia v
Rossiiskoi imperii', 'Voenno-statisticheskoe obozrenie Rossiiskoi imperii'
i 'Materialy dlia geografii i statistiki Rossii, sobrannye ofitserami
General'nogo shtaba'". This is followed by "Vidy gorodov
i drugikh naselennykh punktov i izdanii 'Zhivopisnaia Rossiia'. (Ukazatel
illiustratsii)". The volume closes with "Kartograficheskie
istochniki po istorii otdel'nykh mestnostei i naselennykh punktov Rossiiskoi
imperii".
As can be seen from the chapter titles, this is more
than an index of a few titles on population or simply a bibliography of
publications on that subject. This is a volume that can be used to locate
regional maps or illustrations as well as statistical data. The first
section includes a subject index for the main list of entries. Each section
also includes an introduction by the compiler.

Svodnyi katalog Russkoi nelegal'noi
i zapreshchennoi pechati XIX veka. V.1-9.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 015.47 Sv512 V.1-9
This unique bibliography provides a
detailed record of all illegal publications of the 19th century. The first
six volumes are arranged alphabetically by main entry, usually the author.
Where no autor is listed the works are listed by title. Volume seven is
a chronological index. Volume eight includes an index of organizations,
intellectual circles, illegal publishers and a name index. Each entry
is very thorough providing complete citation information.One of the features
of the citations is the inclusion of location information. Most citations
also include reference to published references to the work. A list of
all the references and a supplement to the other volumes make up the content
of volume nine.

Mezhov,
V. I. Russkaia
ia bibliografiia: Ukazatel' knig i statei po
russkoi i vseobshchei istorii i vspomogatel'nym naukam za 1850-1854.

St. Peterburg, 1892-93. 3 vols. vol. 1: xvi +373p., vol. 2: vii + 377
p. vol. 3: x +514 p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947 M57ru 1974
This bibliography contains references to
books, book reviews, articles in journals, newspapers, gubernskiia
vedomosti, sborniki, almanakhi, and kalendari
on history and related subjects that were published in Russian from 1850-1854.
The compilation was based on the collection of the Russian
National Library, where Mezhov worked, and it was originally intended
to be six volumes, but only three were published because of Mezhov's death.
The citations created for the final three volumes are on cards currently
housed in Pushkinskii Dom, the Institut Russkoi Literatury of the Russkiia
Akademiia Nauk in Petersburg. Unfortunately, there are no indexes, but
the table of contents of each volume is extensive and arranged by subject.
The section on biographical sources in the second volume is arranged by
the name of the subject, not the author of the work.

Lambin,
P.P., and B. P. Lambin. Russkaia istoricheskaia bibliografiia.
God 1855-1864.
St. Petersburg: Imperatorskaia akademiia nauk,1861-1864. 10 vols.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947 L17R
This annual bibliography provides very
broad coverage of all historical works published in Russian for each year,
including books, periodical publications, articles and reviews in books
and newspapers, and maps. Each volume is divided into broad sections:
Russian history, General history, and Articles in periodical publications. History
here, and in Mezhov's 10 volume work, is defined in its broadest sense
to include the history of education, literature, religion and other topics.
It often seems that the compiler included material judged to have historical
significance, as well as those writings that would be called strictly
historical in nature. The bibliographies were compiled on the basis of
the collection of the library of the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciencesin
St. Petersburg. Each volume has a name index and a geographic/subject
index. An index of periodical publications appears with the 1856 volume.

Mezhov,
V. I. Russkaia istoricheskaia bibliografiia za 1865-1876.
S-Petersburg, Tip. Imp. Akademiia Nauk, 1882-1890. 8 vols.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947 M57R 1974
This 8 volume compilation was created to
continue the work of the Lambins. The bibliographical
citations make up the first six volumes and cover books, book reviews,
journal and newspaper articles on Russian and general history in Russian
and Russian history in west European languages. Mezhov used the collection
of what is now the Russian National Library
as well as bibliographies of new books in Knizhnyi vestnik, Knizhnye
novosti and the newspaper Pravitel'stvennyi vestnik. Brief
annotations are given for some works, and multivolume works or sborniki
are listed with their tables of contents. Volumes 1-5 cover Russian historical
and auxiliary sciences such as geography, ethnography, statistics, and
law. Volume 6 covers general world history in Russian. Volumes 7 and
8 are the indexes to the first six volumes: a mammoth combined index of
authors and subjects, including both personal names and geographic names
as subjects. A separate index of books and articles in foreign languages
is included, as is an index to the tables of contents of all six volumes.

Mintslov,
S. P. Obzor zapisok, dnevnikov, vospominanii, pisem i puteshestvii,
otnosiashchikhsia k istorii Rossii i napechatanykh na russkom iazyke.
Vyp. 1-5.
Novgorod: Guber. Tipografiia, 1911-1912.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947 M66O
Mintslov's annotated index of Russian
and foreign sources published in Russia and abroad in books, journals
and newspapers has a somewhat unusual arrangement. Items chronologically
span the period of the eighteenth century through 1887 (articles) and
1907 (books). The sections cover three chronological periods: Ancient
times to Paul I; The Time of Alexander I and Nicholas I; The time of Alexander
II and Nicholas II. Each chronological section has an index of author
and subject names. This was one of the first comprehensive compilations
of memoir and travel literature. Entries often include reviews and literature
about the authors. Thus, while the number of items listed in the bibliography
is 4,791, it includes references to a far greater number of publications.
This bibliography was continued serially
in 1915. The June, July and August 1915 issues of Russkaia Starina
(IU call number: Main Stax 947.005 RUSK) include what was to be Mintslov's
final installment of the bibliography. These articles covered materials
published after 1907.

Katalog: Russkie ofitsialnye
i vedomstvennye izdaniia XIX - nachala XX. T.I-.
Spb.:Blits. 1995-
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 025.3434 K155 V.1-
This is a catalog of the official and departmental publications
held in the reference library of the Russian
State Historical Archive. The catalog is organized by governmental
body. Thus the first volume includes references to the publications of
the Duma, the State Senate and the Holy Synod. Entries are brief, but
provide full bibliographical information for each title. The next seven
projected volumes will include the publications of government ministries.
The remaining volumes will focus on "extra-ministerial" publications.
This is a valuable new source for anyone doing research on Imperial Russia
and planning research in the Russian Federation. The publications of specific
bodies can be easily identified and tracked. This multi-volumed bibliography
is projected to be 10 volumes when complete. Already 5 of those volumes
are available. Some of the later volumes may be the most interesting as
they are to include the publications of all "extra-ministerial, social,
scientific, cultural and popular institutions" (p.12). The only difficulty
in using this set is that they do not have individual indexes.

Mamontov, M. A. and V. V. Antonov
Istoriia SSSR. Materialy dlia bibliografii inostrannoi bibliografii
(1699-1991 gg.) St. Peterburg: Rossiiskaia natsionalnaia biblioteka.
1997. 392 p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947 M311i
Over 3,000 works are included in this source tracing
the history of Russia as it was written in other courntries. It is a very
thorough compilation of bibliographical materials listing some Western
sources that date from the 18th century. As with many of its Russian counterparts,
this guide includes indexes of journals and biographical materials on
Western historians. It also includes references to some archival sources,
such as Grimsted's invaluable guides on the subject. The entries provide
full bibliographic information, but rarely are annotated. Some include
the contents of the publication.
While this is an excellent source to research Western
studies on Russia, it does have some peculiar gaps. For example, The
Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History (MERSH) is not
included here. On the other hand, one of the more useful inclusions in
this source is the list of indexes of history periodicals. There are several
indexes: a name index, heading index, and a series index. The volume includes
two supplements. The first lists publications on the history of Russian
property in America. The second lists publications on the history of the
Bialystok area.
This guide also brings many of the earlier publications
up to date. It lists in one source the published Western bibliographical
resources on Russian history issued up to 1991. This fact alone makes
this a valuable resource for the student of Russian history.

Istoriia SSSR. Ukazatel knig i statei, vyshedshikh
v 1872-1917 gg. Moskva: GPIB. 1957.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference Q.016.947 M85IS
This volume was the first in a series of
bibliographies planned to cover historical scholarship for the years prior
to 1917 that were not covered by Mezhov and Lambin. It covers scholarship
on historians and historiography written during the period 1872-1917.
It is divided into two main sections: first, general works on historiography;
then a larger section of literature on individual historians. The latter
section is divided further into chronological periods. Historians are
listed alphabetically within time periods.

Some entries are annotated, and brief biographical
information is given for many historians. This guide concludes with a
useful chapter on biographical and biobibliographical dictionaries that
lists the persons covered within each book. A general name index is provided
as well.

Pervaia Mirovaia Voina.
Ukazatel' literatury 1914-1993 gg. Moskva: Rossiiskaia Akademiia Nauk,
1994.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.940347 P435
This slim volume lists the holdings of the Social
Sciences Library of the Academy of Sciences on World War I. The citations
are arranged chronologically and include books and pamphlets on the topic.
The volume has an author index. It is included here as it is one of the
few bibliographies on the subject of World War I. Its arrangement provides
the scholar with a view of the development of the study of this period
both before and after the Revolution.

Bibliographies of Bibliography and
Historiographical Bibliographies | Historical Bibliography,
Catalogs and Guides to Research | Historical
Encyclopedias
Historical Dictionaries | Subject
WebSites | Periodical Indexes
Return to Table of Contents
| Return to Expanded Table of Contents
Historical Encyclopedias
There are numerous single-volume encyclopedias
that are of interest to scholars. Many are highly specialized. New publications
can best be identified by checking an online library catalog, or by searching
such sources as ABSEES
or the Russian National or State
Library catalogs. There are several online sites of interest to those
seeking historical information. One that combines the resources of historical
encyclopedias and dictionaries is www.rubricon.ru
(see below).

General historical encyclopedias
Otechestvennaia istoriia.
Istoriia Rossii s drevneishikh vremen do 1917 goda. Moskva: "Bol'shaia
Rossiiskaia Entsiklopediia, 1994- . Tom 1- .
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 037.1 Ot2 v.1,3
This
new historical encyclopedia reflects the changes in the study of Russian
history since the downfall of the Soviet government. Many emigre figures
who would never have been included in a Soviet publication can be found
here, discussed in detail. All of the entries are substantial, are signed
and include bibliographies. (For an example from the encyclopedia, click
on the picture of the Dmitrii "The Pretender" on the left).
History is defined broadly here and there are entries on topics of interest
to those researching the history of education, art, law and many other
subjects. There are many illustrations in the volume.
The compilers note that they hav consulted archival
materials and standard sources in the production of this source. Anyone
seeking historical information on religion, economics, culture, diplomacy,
military history or biography will find this a rich source.

Sovetskaia istoricheskaia
entsiklopediia.
Moskva: Izdatel'stvo "Sovetskaia Entsiklopediia".1961-1976
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 903 So89 v.1-16
This encyclopedia covers historical topics on all areas
of the world. It is, of course, told from the Soviet point of view. If
the reader is aware of how this will affect the interpretation in the
encyclopedia, it is still a valuable resource. There are numerous historical
and ethnographic maps. All articles include a bibliography and are signed.
The articles are scholarly and intended for the serious
student of history. The arrangement is standard alphabetical, with each
volume adding a list of abbreviations and maps. It is a useful biographical
source, again with the scholar alwayskeeping in mind the restrictions
imposed by censorship that affect the content and choice of entries.

Modern Encyclopedia
of Russian and Soviet History.
Gulf Breeze, FL:Academic International Press. 19
UIUC Call Number: Rusian Reference947.003 M72 v.1-59, Supplement
v.1-
This encyclopedia is suited to a broad audience with
its English language entries and extensive bibliographies. The volumes
cover a wide range of historical topics from culture to government to
the press. All articles are signed. This is an invaluable resource for
the student, with information on thousands of topics. It is also a helpful
tool for the scholar, providing basic information and bibliography on
so many subjects. The volumes are arranged alphabetically. There are indexes
of entries by authors and by time periods. It has many uses, not least
of which is as a biographical source. The entries all include general
information on the topic, placing it in historical context. All entries
are signed. This gives the student the opportunity to pursue other materials
by the author. is also an online index of each volume available at the
publisher's site. Supplementary
volumes have begun to appear. The supplement has, so far, only reached
the letter "A".

Rubricon.ru
URL: www.rubricon.ru
There are a number of sites on the
world wide web that combine the resources of many encyclopedias, making
several resources searchable at the same time. This site attempts to accomplish
this for a number of encyclopedias and encyclopedic dictionaries. Among
the sources that are searched are Dal's Tol'kovyi Slovar', the
Bol'shaia Sovetskaia Entsiklopediia, the Brokgauz and
Efron encyclopedia, an historical dictionary Istoriia Otechestva,
and the encyclopedias of Moscow and St.Peterburg. Clearly, this is a very
useful source for ready reference. The searches will retrieve all articles
in which the search term appears.
The one flaw in the material here is
the lack of any illustrative materials in many of the sources. Tables
and illustrations are completely absent from the Brokgauz Encyclopedia.
The Illiustrirovannyi Slovar' contained illustrations and there
were maps and some charts for the Istoriia Otechestva. However,
in general, there were very few graphic materials in this database. Nevertheless,
the abiltiy to search so many sources in one place, by entering one term
is very useful.
Information on each of the sources
is supplied at the site. If the user clicks on the name of the encyclopedia,
supporting information on the source will appear.


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Subject historical
encyclopedias
Komarova, I.
I. Putevoditel' po nauchnym obshchestvam Rossii. New York: Norman
Ross Publishing, 2000.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference Q.067 P982

The brief citation above hardly does
justice to this wonderful reference tool. This source lists some 530 societies
of the prerevolutionary period. The guide is the result of twenty five
years of research. It not only lists the societies and basic information
about them, it serves as an index to the contents of their publications.
Each entry includes the name of the society, its charge, activities, and
publications, and cites literature about it. In those cases where the
contents of the publications of a society are listed in a separate publication,
the compiler has indicated where the contents can be found. So, for example,
Komarova cites the Sbornik Istoriko-filologicheskogo obshchestva pri
Kharkovskom universitete, and rather than listing the contents, she
notes that they are listed in Sistematicheskii ukazatel' k periodicheskim
izdaniam istoriko-filologicheskogo obshchestva pri Kharkovskom universitete
(1953).
The volume is arranged alphabetically
by the name of each society. There are a number of useful indexes including
a chronological index of societies, a geographical index, an index of
names, and an alphabetical index of periodical publications. The compiler
has included references to publications that did not survive the turbulent
years of the Revolution using other indexes to identify this information.
The disadvantage of not having examined the works de visu is outweighed
by the historical importance of presenting a complete picture of the history
of Russia's learned societies.

Olsen, James, S.
An ethnohistorical dictionary of the Russian and Soviet empires. Westport,
Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 305.800947 Et38
With
entries on over 450 ethnic groups, this source provides students and researchers
with a good basic introduction to the ethnic minorities of the Russian
and Soviet empires. The compiler has developed his list of ethnic groups
based on linguistic, rather than ethnic or religous distinctions. Olsen
has drawn heavily on Wixman's The people of the USSR: an ethnographic
handbook (1984). The book includes eight appendices on a variety of
topics: major ethnic groups in the Soviet Union in 1990; ethnic populations
of the Soviet Union; a brief history of Islam; chronology of the Russian
and Soviet empires; political subdivisions of the Soviet Union; Soviet
residence patterns by nationality group; and ethnic composition of the
autonomous units of the Soviet Union. The volume also includes a bibliography
of titles in English.
Politicheskie
partii Rossii konets XIX - pervaia tret' XX veka. entsiklopediia. Moskva:
"Rosspen", 1996.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 324.24703 P759
This is an excellent source for anyone
interested in the political movements in Russian in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. There are entries on political parties, their publications,
and major figures in political movements. The entries are extensive with
bibliographies and archival references. The volume includes eight supplements:
a list of all political parties, the leaders of "Russkii narod";
the members of the "Soiuz" in 1917; members of the central committee
of the "Partiia Progressistov"; members of the central committee
of the "Konstitutsionno-demokraticheskaia Partiia"; members
of the central committee of the "Partiia Sotsialistov-Revoliutsionerov"
party; the governing body of the "Sotsial-Demokratia"party;
and a list of all periodical publications of the political parties in
Russia in 1917.
Entries are quite extensive providing
a brief history of each of the parties, its development and liquidation.
The biographical entries are also quite lengthy. The volume includes numerous
photographs of major political figures of the period.

Grazhdanskaia
voina i voennaia interventsiia v SSSR. Entsiklopediia. Moskva: "Sovetskaia
Entsiklopediia", 1983.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947.0841 G7952 1983
This source can serve as an introduction
to the events of World War I in Russia. The articles are brief and do
not include bibliographies. However, there are some useful features. For
example, the entries on various divisions of the army end with a list
of the commanding officers. The bibliographic sources listed at the end
of the volume are also useful. The encyclopedia fully reflects a Soviet
view of the war.

Shukman,
Harold The Blackwell encyclopedia of the Russian Revolution. New
York: Blackwell Ltd., 1988.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947.0841 B568
"The purpose of this Encyclopedia
is to describe and analyze the events of 1917 in Russia, as well as their
background and origin, and to show how they affected the political, economic,
social and ethnic structures of the old empire and gave rise to the new
order."(p. vii). This reference source limits itself to just those
structures and events that played a role in the Revolution. The arrangement
is somewhat unusual. The compiler has arranged the entries in chronological
order to limit the amount of duplication that would exist in a more traditionally
ordered encyclopedia. The articles are listed in a detailed table of contents
and the volume includes an equally detailed index. While most entries
are intended to be self-contained, cross-referencing has been indicated
with small capitals in the text. A special biographical section makes
up the last 100 pages of the volume. Bibliographic references are in Russian
and English.

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Table of Contents
Regional
Encyclopedias
 Sankt-Peterburg,
Petrograd, Leningrad: entsiklopedicheskii spravochnik.
Moskva: nauchnoe izdatel'stvo "Bol'shaia Rossiiskaia Entsiklopediia".
1992
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947.453003 Sa 58
While this encyclopdia is directed
at the general reader, it contains an enormous amount of historical and
statistical data on one of Russia's most important cities. Included in
its pages are articles on many of the cities most important historical
figures, publications, literary circles, archives, places and events.
Most articles include bibliographies of the major works on a topic. There
are numerous illustrations and maps, many quite specialized. It is possible
to find a map of the the art and historical museums of the city and one
of the armed camps of the Petrograd uprising of 1917. Basic architectural
information is also readily available in this volume. The encyclopedia
begins with a lengthy overview of the city's history and natural environment,
artistic and literary history and a separate bibliography on each topic.

Shmidt, S. O. (ed.) Moskva: Entsiklopediia.
Moskva:"Bol'shaia Rossiiskaia Entsiklopediia". 1997
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 914.73103 M8532
Like Sankt-Peterburg, Petrograd,
Leningrad, this volume is directed at a wide group of readers. It
does contain a great deal of general information, but also an equal amount
of more specialized detail about the city's history and art. Beginning
with a general essay on the city, the volume shares a similar structure
with the Petersburg volume. However, it includes an index of topics covered
in the volume and a list of scientific institutes in the city. Article
are all signed and include basic bibliography. A very broad range of subjects
are covered. Anyone seeking information on the history of a street, building
or a biography of a major figure in the city's history will find this
volume valuable. Journals, newspapers, educational institutions, churches,
historical events are all included here. Statistical data on the population
of the city is available in the introductory essay.

Tri Veka Sankt-Peterburga Entsiklopediia
v Trekh Tomakh. Os'mnadtsatoe Stoletie. Tom1, Kn.1-2. Spb: Filologicheskii
fakul'tet Sankt-Peterburgskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. 2001.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 914.721003 T73 V.1:1-2
The
editors of this source have set themselves the task of tracing the history
of culture in one of Russia's greatest cultural centers. The first two
books cover the eighteenth century. More than 200 authors have contributed
articles to these volumes on the scholarly institutions, libraries, and
museums of St. Petersburg and its suburbs. The formal criteria for the
articles included exact dates of birth and death for essays on individuals,
dates given in old style for Russian figures. Articles were to include
an essay, works, primary sources, and secondary literature on the subject.
The inclusion of references to primary source material make this a valuable
aid in identifying archival locations for materials. The entry shown at
the left is taken from Volume I, Book II, p. 550 and is a very brief entry
on an individual. Most of the entries are quite substantial. The entry
does exemplify the type of biogrpahical data that are supplied and the
archival information available within the pages of this source. There
are also entries in these volumes on all that was relevant to the history
and development of the city: the stock market, typographers, cartography,
classicism, etc.
The first volume includes some excellent
color maps. The second volume has a section of color plates with excellent
reproductions of early city plans that provide an interesting view of
the city's development through the century. There are many black and white
illustrations throughout the volume. There is also s lengthy section of
supplementary material with tables listing the city officials, a chronological
hsitory of the Winter Palace from 1708-1730, a table on the icnography
of the tsars, the hydrography of St. Petersburg, meteogology of St. Petersburg,
to name but a few of the titles of the nineteen supplements. The first
volume on the nineteenth century has only recently appeared and should
be an invaluable resource for scholars interested in St.Peterburg's history

Ural'skaia
istoricheskaia entsiklopediia. Ekaterinburg: UrO RAN, 1998
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference Q. 947.43003 Ur11
This volume like those on Petersburg
and Moscow, provides a wealth of information for anyone interested in
the Urals. It's arrangement is somewhat different from the other volumes,
as there is no overview of the region and no index. Nevertheless, for
anyone with a specific question or name to investigate that relates to
the region, this is a very useful source. All articles are signed and
most have bibliographic information. Finding information in this source
can be somewhat difficult as topics such as "Naselenie" do not
have separate entries but are covered withing articles on specific areas,
e.g. "Permskaia Oblast'" or "Ural'skaia Oblast'".
There are lenghty entries on art and archeology. It is a source that requires
some creativity on the part of the user due the fact that there is no
index and little cross-referencing.
Bibliographies of Bibliography and
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Historical Dictionaries and Chronologies
There are many historical chronologies
and a variety of single volume historical dictionaries. Many of the older
sources can be identified in the guides listed above and will not be repeated
here. The researcher will also find it useful to consult the Russian
State and the Russian National Library
Catalogs. In the latter a search in Russian for the the term "historical
dictionary" brought up several references

This is an efficient way to keep abreast of new sources that may be of
interest for your research and often fills a gap in the printed resources.

Khronologiia rossiiskoi istorii.
Entsiklopedicheskii spravochnik.
Moskva: "Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia". 1994.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947.03 K528:R
A very detailed chronology of the events in Russian
history, this volume includes a set of historical maps, numerous statistical
charts and an index of names. The chronology covers the years from 944
to 1991. For the student beginning in Russian studies this is a very useful
source. Events are organized into categories within time periods. So,
for example, the benchmarks in foreign policy that marked the years of
Brezhnev's rule are grouped into one category. Each time a period begins
with page long essay summarizing the events and characteristics of that
time. Each section concludes with a brief biographical note on the most
influential person of the period.

Rogov,
E. N. Atlas istorii kul'tury Rossii. Konets XVII-nachalo XX vv.
Moskva: "Krug", 1993
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947 R635a
This is an extremely unusual chronology. The compiler
tries to show the events of Russian history in the context of world events
using time lines and comparative charts. The volume is divided into sections
by discipline. These sections begin with an overview of the development
of that discipline in Russia. This discussion is followed by a standard
chronology, which is summarized in a "map" as shown in the example
below, taken from p.29.
This chart or map appears in the first section of the
atlas which examines the evolution of the study of history in Russia.
The time lines here compare a variety of events the compiler hoped would
reveal the development of the discipline. The volume includes sections
on philosophy, literature, fine arts, music, theater, biology, geography,
astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and technology. Following
each map is a list of important figures in the field with brief biographies
for each. While the volume does not cover the obscure or less well known
figures, it is an unusual approach to the compilation of historical chronology.
The compiler has included a list of the sources consulted.

Beyssac, Michele.
La vie culturelle de l'emigration Russe en France. Chronique (1920-1930).
Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1971
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 325.247 B46v

Drawing on the emigre press of Paris
in the 1920s, Beyssac has compiled a sort of chronology of the intellecutal
and cultural life of the russian emigre community in that city. The compiler
consulted the major papers Vozrozhdenie and Poslednie Novosti
in particular. From these he has drawn announcements of the activities
of the cultural and intellectual societies concerning all their activities
and presented this in a chronological arrangement. He has also provided
access through a name and organization index. What emerges is a picture
of the rich cultural life of the emigre community in Paris. It is a very
valuable source in folowing the development of particular figures in the
emigre community or in the study of the history of particular organizations.

Aleksandrov,
S. A. Istoricheskaia nauka Rossiiskoi emigratsii 20-30-x gg. XX veka
(Khronika). Moskva: "Airo-XX". 1998.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.947 Al27i
Like the French work by Beyssac
this work follows the activities of the Russian emigre community. However,
it does not limit its view to Paris but attempts to look at the emigre
community in all of Europe. It does focus on a particular segment of Russian
emigre society, those active in the study of history. The chronology lists
the dates, authors, lecture titles or topics, place and the source of
the information for thousands of events from 1921 to 1940. The compilers
have drawn on the major emigre publications of the time: Posledne novosti;
Rul'; Golos Rossii; Vozrozhdenie; Rossiia i Slavianstvo; Zapiski russkogo
istoricheskogo obshchestva v Prage; Zapiski russkogo Nauchnogo Instituta
v Belgrade; Sbornik russkogo istoricheskogo obshchestva v Prage.
Raymond, Boris and Duffy, Paul.
Historical Dictionary of Russia.
London: Scarecrow Press, 1998.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947.003 R214h
This volume is one in the series of European Historical
Dictionaries. As with the other volumes there is a chronology of major
events followed by an introduction that places Russian history in the
context of European history in general. All entries in the volume are
arranged alphabetically. Entries in the dictionary are brief and do not
include any bibliography. However, there is an extensive bibliography
at the end of the volume (approximately 40 pages long) which is organized
by topic. There is a great deal of cross referencing within the entries.
This volume could be extremely useful for the student beginning research
in the field. This dictionary serves a different function than Pushkarev's
dictionary (see below) which focused on defining Russian language terms
found in Russian historical sources. In this volume the compilers were
attempting to gather all the major events and people for the beginning
student and non-specialist.

Pushkarev,
Sergei G. Dictionary of Russian Historical Terms from the Eleventh
Century to 1917.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1970.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947.003 P97d
One of the most daunting problems for
the student new to Russian history is the enormous number of specialized
Russian historical terms. It is often difficult to find useful definitions
for these terms in a standard Russian-English dictionary. Pushkarev's
dictionary solves this problem, supplying the student or scholar with
a dictionary of those terms they are likely to encounter in historical
studies. The dictionary includes civil, military and ecclesiastical ranks,
political and judicial terms and economic and financial terms. Many of
these terms have extensive descriptions with historical sketches elaborating
their meaning. All terms are transliterated and the volume ends with a
bibliography of all sourcesconsulted. The following example gives an idea
of the type of information in the briefer entries.(p.184)

Belovinskii, L. V.
Rossiiskii istoriko-bytovoi slovar'.
Moskva: "Rossiiskii Arkhiv", 1999.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947.003 B4188r
The Russian historico-civic dictionary
includes some 4,000 words common in Russian society from the eighteenth
to the beginning of the twentieth centuries. The dictionary contains many
half-forgotten terms and many whose meaning have changed over the years.
Unfortunately, the compiler has failed to provide any information on the
source of his information. It is a source that would require some supporting
information at the very least. Having said this, it does provide the experienced
scholar with some leads on the meaning of obscure terminology. The example
below is taken from the volume, p. 305.


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Subject Web Sites
Russian History Home
Page by John Slatter
http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dml0www/Russhist.HTML
This is a collection of e-texts in English.
The range of material is very interesting, including everything from excerpts
of a translation of the Domostroi to a translation of the Program
of the Socialist Revolutionary Party.

The beginning student of Russian history
will find this a very useful site when seeking primary texts. Most have
full attribution although there is no information on the source of the
translation of the Domostroi. It is one of the sources that reminds
the researcher how much electronic resources have changed in the last
few years. Only a few years ago it would have been impossible to find
retrospective materials of this kind available in full text on the internet.

Resursy
WWW po istorii
http://www.history.ru/hist.htm
This listing of web sites on Russian history
is very broad in its scope. The links include everything from historical
encyclopedias to full text web sites. The site has a general organization
into the following categories: history of Russia, history of 20th century
Russia, history of Russia by region, history of the countries of the former
Soviet Union, general historical links, programs of study for history,
and essays (referaty) on historical topics. The major failing of the site
is its lack of annotation or description for any of the links that are
included.

Istoricheskie
istochniki 
http://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/index.html
Compiled and scanned by Moscow State University,
this is another site with the full text of numerous Russian historical
texts. These span Russian history from the earliest period to the twentieth
century. The texts are in modern Russian and usually are preceded by a
scanned page from the original document. The project that produced these
documents is ongoing and new materials are being added to the site

Bibliographies of Bibliography and
Historiographical Bibliographies | Historical Bibliography,
Catalogs and Guides to Research | Historical
Encyclopedias
Historical Dictionaries | Subject
WebSites | Periodical Indexes
Periodical Indexes
Indexes for historical periodicals
are available in many formats. There are a number of online indexes such
a Historical Abstracts that index major periodicals in the field. There
are also digitization projects that have made a number of titles available.
Project Muse and services like EBSCO are excellent resources for Western
publications on Russia. Russian language periodicals in full text are
available through Russian services such as Integrum World Wide (www.integrumworld.com).
For a general discussion, review the sources in the general Russian
periodical section.
Neustroev,
A. N. Ukazatel' k russkim povremennym izdaniiam i sbornikam za
1703-1802 gg i k istoricheskomu rozyskaniiu o nikh.
St. Peterburg, 1898. xvi, 807p.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.057 N39u 1963
While this is not a historical bibliography
or guide specifically, it is an important guide for research in 18th
century Russia because it indexes Russian periodical publications for
this time period. Neustroev lists the periodicals indexed in the front
of the volume, both chronologically and alphabetically. The second section
is the index itself, which is arranged alphabetically by subject terms.
Many articles are cross listed under multiple subjects; other subject
terms have see also references. Citations are in abbreviated form: the
abbreviations are given in the alphabetical listing of periodicals in
the front of the book. Works both by and about persons are listed under
the person's name: for example, the entry for Catherine II lists both
her works published in periodicals as well as works about her. This index
is a part of the two volumes Neustroev issued that list the contents of
the journals published in the 18th century. The entries
for each title are extensive and will be very important for anyone researching
this period.

Novaia literatura po Sotsialnym
i Gumanitarnym Naukam. Istoriia, Arkheologiia, Etnografiia. Bibliograficheskii
ukazatel'. 1947-.
Moskva: Institut nauchnoi informatsii po obshchestvennym naukam. Rossiiskaia
Akademiia Nauk.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference Q.016.905 NO11(last 2 years)
Main Stax Q.016.905 NO11
This monthly publication is one of the best sources
for current publications, articles and monographs on Russian history.
If you are trying to keep up with current trends in Russian historiography,
you will need to use this bibliography in its paper form or in one of
its online versions. INION has made its records available through at least
two commercial vendors, RLIN
(Research Libraries Information Network) and IntegrumWorld. The latter
has the largest retrospective collection of INION databases, with records
going back to the 1980s. Their is also a CD version being sold by INION
with retrospective depth generally to the mid 1980s.
The bibliography, published monthly since 1947, includes
a range of publications: monographs, collections of articles, dissertations,
reviews, bibliographic works and deposited monographs. All are indexed
in a detailed subject index in each issue. There is also an author index.
Each issue is arranged by subject and includes a list of all indexed journals.
Individual entries include full bibliographic information and often have
short annotations on the publication. Bio-bibliographical entries on historians,
archeologists and ethnographers each have separate sections.
This is an excellent resource for anyone that is trying
to keep up with currently published materials. The retrospective depth
is excellent and it compliments Letopis' zhurnal'nykh statei well
as it serves as an index for titles not listed in that publication.

Bibliographies of Bibliography and
Historiographical Bibliographies | Historical Bibliography,
Catalogs and Guides to Research | Historical
Encyclopedias
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