LibGuides: Modern Russia, Soviet Union, U.S.S.R. &amp; Former Soviet States: Primary Sources

Primary Source Sites & Databases

EuroDocs on Ukraine
Curated links to primary sources for Ukraine from the Brigham Young University Library
EuroDocs on Russia
A list of primary source websites from the Brigham Young University Library
The Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System Online
The Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System Online provides access to digitized materials selected from the Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System (HPSSS). 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.
Soviet Posters
The Swarthmore College Peace Collection has over 150 propaganda posters from the early years of the Soviet Union (1920s-1930s). These posters have been digitized and the images placed in a database with information about each poster. The text included in some of the posters has been translated into English.

National Archives Cold War
State Department Office of the Historian
NATO Declassified Cold War Documents
Wilson Center Cold War International History Project
Hoover Institution Digital Collections
Thousands of documents covering the 20th century and the Cold War, communism, conservatism, diplomacy, propaganda and more.
National Security Archives
Founded in 1985 by journalists and scholars to check rising government secrecy, the National Security Archive combines a unique range of functions: investigative journalism center, research institute on international affairs, library and archive of declassified U.S. documents ("the world's largest nongovernmental collection" according to the Los Angeles Times), leading non-profit user of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, public interest law firm defending and expanding public access to government information, global advocate of open government, and indexer and publisher of former secrets.
Making the History of 1989
From the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. These primary sources are drawn from the emergence of resistance movements in the 1980s, the events of 1989, and the immediate aftermath in Eastern Europe.

Digital Public Library of America
A vast project that works with many cultural heritage institutions to bring together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science. The portal provides innovative ways to search and scan through the united collection of millions of items, including by timeline, map, virtual bookshelf, format, subject, and partner.
The Internet Archive
A nonprofit digital library of public domain material, including the Way Back Machine.
Library of Congress American Memory Project
Written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
New York Public Library Digital Collections
NYPL Digital Gallery provides free and open access to over 800,000 images digitized from the New York Public Library's collection.
Archive Grid
ArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented.
National Archives
Images and documents from the National Archives. In the public domain unless otherwise noted.

Border and Migration Studies Online This link opens in a new window
Historical documents and other primary sources focusing on both personal and institutional perspectives in the growing fields of border(land) studies and migration studies, as well as history, law, politics, diplomacy, area and global studies, anthropology, medicine, the arts, and more.

World Digital Library
Search 16,561 items about 193 countries between 8000 BCE and 2000.
Digitized Manuscripts of the British Library
Use this website to view digitised copies of manuscripts and archives in the British Library’s collections, with descriptions of their contents. Highlights include: Harley Golden Gospels, Beowulf, the Silos Apocalypse, Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebook, the Petit Livre d’Amour, the Golf Book, almost 900 Greek manuscripts, The Royal Manuscripts and Botany in British India, Over fifty Thai manuscripts and the Chakrabongse Archive of Royal Letters, early Singapore manuscripts, Persian manuscripts, and Hebrew manuscripts.
Archives Portal Europe
The Archives Portal Europe provides access to information on archival material from different European countries as well as information on archival institutions throughout the continent.

Berg Fashion Library This link opens in a new window
High-quality images of historical clothing, non-scholarly articles, eBooks, and encyclopedia articles.
First World War Portal This link opens in a new window
Historical documents and other primary sources that give evidence of soldiers' personal experiences, anti-war protests, recruitment and training efforts, the home front, censorship, public opinion, and propaganda.
Immigrations, Migrations and Refugees, Global Perspectives This link opens in a new window
Historical documents and other primary sources including firsthand accounts from reputable sources around the world, covering such important events as post-World War II Jewish resettlement, South African apartheid, Latin American migrations to the U.S., and much more. Documents created between 1941-1996.
Revolution and Protest Online This link opens in a new window
A primary source archive that examines how revolutions, protests, resistance, and social movements have shaped and transformed the human experience globally from the 1700s to today. Includes documentaries, original footage, personal accounts, and many other archival materials.

Newspapers

Kyiv Independant
An English language Ukrainian newspaper founded by journalists from the Kyiv Post who split off in 2021 over disagreements with the paper's owner over journalistic freedom.
Kyiv Post
English-language Ukrainian newspaper founded by an American and currently owned by Syrian native Adnan Kivan, an Odesa-based businessman who owns the KADORR Group.

Russia Today
RT is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government. It operates pay television and free-to-air channels directed to audiences outside of Russia, as well as providing Internet content in Russian, English, Spanish, French, German and Arabic.

Current Digest of the Russian Press This link opens in a new window
A weekly selection of Russian-language news materials, translated into English, covering a wide range of issues in the post-Soviet space and the international arena. It draws from a broad spectrum of sources – pro-government, moderate, fiercely oppositionist – and features a diverse range of reporters and authors. Published since 1949.

Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Current and historical news from the 1980s to current. News sources cover the culture and history of ethnic and minority issues, including minority and native press publications, in a variety of languages.
Global Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Up-to-date global news content with archives that stretch back into the 1980s. Sources include newspapers, newswires, news journals, television and radio transcripts, blogs, podcasts, and digital-only websites in full-text form.
Global Newsstream provides collections of news from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Global Newsstream incorporates the U.S. Newsstream, Canadian Newsstream, and International Newsstream databases. All titles are cross searchable on the ProQuest platform.

DIRECT LINKS TO MAJOR NEWSPAPERS:

Google News Archive
free access to scanned archives of newspapers and links to other newspaper archives on the web, both free and paid. Some of the news archives date back to 1700s.

London Times Digital Archive (1785-1985) This link opens in a new window
A historical newspaper archive. The entire newspaper is captured, with all articles, advertisements, and illustrations/photos divided into categories to facilitate searching. The newspaper gives insight into the history of England and the U.K., as well as Western perspective of world events broadly.

Historical New York Times (1851-2019) This link opens in a new window
Historical back issues of the newspaper including all articles, editorials, classified ads, comics, cartoons, photos, maps, and graphics. For electronic access to current editions, use New York Times Digital.
New York Times (1980-present) This link opens in a new window
A newspaper archive of the print version of the New York Times to 1980. For older back issues, see the New York Times Historical (1851-2019), and for current digital coverage, see New York Times - Digital Edition.
News, by Gale OneFile This link opens in a new window
Major U.S. regional, national, and local newspapers, as well as leading titles from around the world. It also includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts, and transcripts.
Alternative Press Index Archive (1969-1990) This link opens in a new window
Produced quarterly by the Alternative Press Center, indexes nearly 290 alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines that report and analyze the practices and theories of cultural, economic, political and social change.
Coverage: 1969-1990
Los Angeles Times (1985-current) This link opens in a new window
Southern California's largest daily newspaper.
GUIDES:

U.S. Presidential Records

Presidential Libraries MultiSearch
National Archives search of presidential libraries websites

Search & Find

OneSearch

You can use the library search system - OneSearch to find books with primary sources. This includes reprints of original works like letters, speeches, and diaries, as well as published works like autobiographies.

OneSearch

Use Keywords to search for common kinds of primary source materials

Letters
Writings
Speeches
Testimonies/Testimonios
Autobiography
Oral histories
Selected sources
Documents
Documentary history

Use the subject heading for primary sources: sources. A subject heading is like a #hashtag in social media. Each item is 'tagged' with what it is about and the tag allows users to search for things on that topic, or click on the tag to get more items like it.

Library Databases

The library has subscription access to collections of primary source material in several databases. From the A-Z databas list, use the type dropdown to narrow to primary Sources.

A-Z Database List
An alphabetical list of all CSULA subscription databases, and important open-access databases. Filter by subject, and type.

On the Web

You can find images and reprints of many primary sources online, as well as information about where to find physical items in libraries and museums. Like any source of information, be careful that you only use trusted sites to ensure the materials you access are authentic. Trusted institutions include

University Libraries
Museums, Historical Societies, and other cultural heritage institutions
Government archives

See the Archives on the Web page for trusted websites chosen by Cal State LA Librarians

Be cautious of personal websites that may be difficult to verify that the item is what it claims to be.

University Library

Modern Russia, Soviet Union, U.S.S.R. & Former Soviet States

Subject Librarian