Doing primary source research in Russian history
(even if you can't read Russian)
Simon Elichko (they/he)
Social Sciences & Data Librarian
Some types of primary sources
(that are easier to find in English)
News
- Newspaper articles
- TV News
Records of non-profit organizations and businesses
Autobiographies, memoirs
Archived websites
News
Russian newspapers that publish in English:
- Moscow Times (1992-present)
- St. Petersburg Times (May 1993-Dec 2014)
Translated news services:
- Foreign Broadcast Information Service (1941-1996)
- World News Connection (1995-2013)
- BBC Selected Articles: Russia (1997-present)
TV News:
- Vanderbilt TV News (1968-present)
- Internet Archive TV News (2009-present)
March 6, 1992–present
Search here: themoscowtimes.com
- Go to Archive
- Use Date Range to focus your search
- Use Order to see oldest articles first
Other tools for searching Moscow Times:
Moscow Times
Russian newspapers that publish in English
Are you looking for a keyword consisting of two (or more) words in an exact order? Put them inside quotes when you search: "Pizza Hut"
Each database handles searches in its own way, so you might get different results.
Published May 1993–Dec 2014
Years ago, you could read articles at sptimes.ru, but not anymore.
How to read St. Petersburg Times:
- Newsbank (2000-2015)
- Wayback Machine
- Go to Archive.org.
- Type in the Wayback box: sptimes.ru
St. Petersburg Times
Russian newspapers that publish in English
Archived websites can be tricky:
- Search doesn't really work, you need to browse
- Being methodical can help avoid repeat work
- Reach out for help if you get stuck!
Searchable database of translated news articles and broadcasts from 1995-2013
Important note: World News Connection is not the original news source. It was a translation service part of the US Department of Commerce, continuing the Foreign Broadcast Information Service. The WNC database contains translations of news reports originally created by newspapers and stations.
Foreign-language news translated into English
Using the Advanced Search is helpful
Keep 3 things in mind:
- To do a regular keyword search inside articles, use the Entire Article field
- To find articles about Russia, use Country
- To find articles published in Russian news outlets, use Source Country
Foreign-language news translated into English
Searchable database of translated news articles and broadcasts from 1941-1996
Can filter your results by Database to:
- FBIS SOV Soviet Union
- FBIS Central Eurasia and Soviet Union
- FBIS Russia
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS)
Foreign-language news translated into English
Includes translated articles from Russian news outlets, 1997-present
This service is selective, you may only find a few articles on a given topic. Sometimes it's less useful for pop culture-oriented topics than for formal politics.
You can search BBC Selected News Articles: Russia in the Access World News/Newsbank database.
Foreign-language news translated into English
TV News
Includes on-the-ground coverage from foreign correspondents who work for major international news organizations like New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, etc.
Associated Press Archive
- Search and watch video clips from AP news coverage
- Example: clips on Gorbachev from 1980s
- Searchable collection of TV news from major US channels (1960s-present)
- To watch video, create a free account. Add video clip to your cart.
- Searches captions from TV news channels (2009-present)
- Heads up -- the channel RT = Russian state media
Business and non-profit records
Businesses
- Industry Documents Library
- Database of company documents made public through lawsuits
- Most companies included are American or European, but you can find documents discussing Russia (and the former Soviet Union) as an expanding market.
- More broadly, you may be able to find documents (in English) from other companies that had a presence in Russia. (Ask Simon for help!)
Business and non-profit records
Business
- Consider organizations that were active in Russia and operated in English at least some of the time (e.g. communicating with English-speaking donors)
- Some types of records to look for: newsletters, annual reports, reports to donors, blogs, press releases
Example: Friends House Moscow
- Digital newsletter archive on Friends House site (2016-present)
- Archived website via Wayback Machine (2009-2016)
- On Archive.org, look up: friendshousemoscow.org
- Newsletter print copies in Friends Historical Library (1996-2009)
Swarthmore College Special Collections website
Working with Special Collections materials
How to take care of rare materials:
- Handle carefully
- Place folders/materials flat on the table
- Keep folders and pages in order
These items can't share a table with Special Collections materials:
- Food, drinks, water bottles
- Pens (pencil is ok)
How to look at Special Collections materials on your own:
- Look in Archives & Manuscripts or Tripod to identify the documents you want.
- Schedule an appointment (linked here)
Not sure which documents you need? Select on the form that you want to talk to an archivist. They'll be happy to help.
If you read Russian:
Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA)
- Indispensable collection of articles from independent Russian media outlets from 2000-present
Post-Perestroika Newspapers (CRL)
- Searchable database of Russian-language newspapers 1984-2022
LiveJournal via Wayback Machine
- LiveJournal was the major blogging and social media platform in Russia in the 2000s.
- Learn more in this BBC article about LiveJournal in Russia.
- Some LiveJournal content is still available through a regular Google search, while some is only viewable through Wayback Machine.
- To find archived websites, you need to know the specific URL or username.
- You can try looking up a person and adding LiveJournal as a keyword.
- The ideal scenario is finding a source like this article, which verifies the account and URL
- Keep in mind that anyone could sign up for any username. Don't assume it's legitimate without confirming.
Secondary source research
- Using Advanced Search and adding the criterion Subject: Russia will help you find better results: see this example search
In addition to searching JSTOR, two useful databases for researching Russian history topics:
- Historical Abstracts
- ABSEES (Eastern European Studies)
If you find one good article or book, use Google Scholar to find out which works have cited it, as they may be relevant. (Look for "Cited by #")
Reach out for support with your research
Simon Elichko
selichk1@swarthmore.edu
Make an appointment (bit.ly/selichk1)
Image credit: Dushanbe, Anton Rybatov via Unsplash
Primary source research in Russian history
By Swarthmore Reference
