Russian and Central Eurasian Studies

Selected Resources for Research

I. BOOKS

Library of Congress subject headings (helpful to use as keyterms when searching):

Former Soviet Republics

Covers 1992 -

Russia

Covers the Russian Empire of the Czars - 17th century - 1917

Russia (Federation)

Covers 1992 - present, except for Russia (Federation) -- History -- Revolution, which covers 1917-1921

--Foreign Relations

--Politics and Gov't

Soviet Union

Covers 1917-1991

-- Economic Policy

-- Foreign Relations

-- Politics and Gov't

 

Library of Congress Classifications (browse library shelves in these areas):

DK - History of the Soviet Union & Russia

HC334 - Russia--Economic Conditions

HX - Socialism, Communism, Anarchism

JN 6500-6598 - Politics & government of Russia, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation

JZ - International law; International relations

PG 2900- PG3580 - Russian Literature

 

Locating Books in Library Catalogs

At Wittenberg:

EZRA

At other Ohio Libraries:

OhioLINK Central Catalog

In North America, to be requested via Interlibrary Loan (ILL): WorldCat

 

Reference Sources

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Web sites, and Other Good General Starting Places:

Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

In Russian (1950) - AE55.B62

In English (1973) - AE5.B58

Encyclopedia of Russian History. 4 vols. - Ref. DK14.E53 2004

Historical Dictionary of Russia - Ref. DK36.R39 1998

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Russian Culture - Ref. DK510.32 .E53 2007

Atlas of Russian History. - Ref. G2111.S1 G52 1993

Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 10 vols. - Ref. GN307.E53 1991

Volume 6 is on Russia, Eurasia, and China

Statesman's Yearbook. Ref JA51.S7

The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet literature - PG2940.M6

Volume 10 is on East Slavic, Baltic, and Eurasian Literature

 

II. WEB RESOURCES

Russia on the Net - "The original Russian Web directory." Browse the web in Russian or English

Russia on the Web - A gateway to many sites on Russia generally. Categories include Information & News; History, Religion; Society & Politics; Education; and Sites in Russia.

List.ru - Russian-language web browser

Russian and East European Studies Web - a directory of web pages covering all aspects of Russian and East European life

Russian Embassy - The Russian Embassy provides much general information on Russia, as well as guidelines for travel to the Russian Federation. In addition, press releases and Embassy contact information can be found at this site

Russian Law and Legislation Website -

Royal Institute of International Affairs - Based in London

Harvard University's Caspian Studies Program

World Factbook - A CIA publication with lengthy country profiles.

 

Statistical Sites

Statistical Yearbook/Annuaire Statistique - from the United Nations

1951 - 1989 in Ref. Storage HA12.5.U63

1990 - 2002 in Ref. HA12.5.U63

Current edition available online from the United Nations

Monthly bulletin of statistics - from the United Nations

Most recent month available from Current Periodicals section (shelved in alphabetical order)

Also available online from the United Nations

World Economic and Social Survey - from the United Nations. Main Stacks HC59.U374
United Nations Statistics Division
World Development Indicators - From the World Bank. Provides comparative economic statistics from around the world.
 

III. PERIODICALS

Databases for Political Science Research:

Academic Search Complete - search for popular and scholarly articles in a variety of disciplines

Masterfile Premier - a general interest database containing mostly popular articles

EconLit - search for mostly scholarly articles in economics.

 

MLA Bibliography - articles on literature and language--a good source for literary criticism.

New York Times - Historical - from its inception in 1851 through 2001.

Historical Abstracts - (1958+) covers articles written about world history from 1450 to the present. It includes abstracts for many of the articles.

Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies: Eureka on the Web - Indexes materials in the social sciences and humanities published in the CIS and Eastern Europe. Not translated.

SocINDEX - articles covering sociology.

International Political Science Abstracts - Produced by the International Political Science Association. Covers the world's leading journals in political science.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts 1975 - June 2006 - journal articles in political science, international relations, law, and public administration and policy. Some full text.

Locating Journals:

At Wittenberg:

Search for a journal title in Journals the Library Has to locate electronic sources or print copies

 

At other Ohio academic libraries:

OhioLINK (Note: you cannot usually order periodicals through OhioLINK, but you can drive to a nearby OhioLINK school to make a copy)

 

Use Interlibrary Loan instead to request a copy of an article from another library.

Locating journals can be tricky, difficult, and generally exasperating. If you run into trouble, a reference librarian will be glad to assist you.

 

Periodicals, Newspapers, and News Services

Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty Newsline

News from all over the former Soviet Union, in the form of news clips, magazine articles, reports, and real audio. This site also includes demographic and other basic information on the countries served by RFE and RL.

EurasiaNet

Based in New York, "EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The web site also offers additional features, including newsmaker interviews and book reviews."

World News Connection

Formerly FBIS (Foreign Broadcast Information Service), which covers all areas of the world. Before August 1996, use FBIS: Central Eurasia (January 1992 - July 1996) or FBIS Soviet Union (January 1985-December 1991). Indexes for this are in the Older Index section of Reference; text is on microfiche.

Lexis-Nexis

20 years of full-text general, governmental & industrial news.

Librarian's tip: Go to Guided News Search (the default search). Select News Transcripts as step one and Official Kremlin Intl News Broadcast as step two. Then enter your subject search term(s) as usual, you will get good primary sources.

News and Newspapers Online

Maintained by the library at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, this site lists online newspapers from around the world. Has many full-text articles.

CNN

News headlines and stories from the Cable News Network. Includes a fairly extensive archive of older stories.

Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press

Witt owns 1992 to date online or in the Thomas Library periodicals collection.

Current Digest of the Soviet Press

Witt owns print copies 1962-1992. Shelved alphabetically in Thomas Library periodicals collection.

Izvestia

 

Pravda

Moscow News

Witt keeps print copies of current 30 days. Kept with current newspapers.

Problems of Communism

Witt owns print copies from 1962-1992. Kept in periodicals.

Problems of Post-Communism

Witt owns print copies from 1996-present. Current volume shelved in Current Periodicals.

Facts on File

Published weekly (1951-2010) Shelved at Ref. D410.F3, Facts on File is issued weekly with news reprints that summarize the weeks events. The articles are usually substantial and relevant; frequently more useful than what you'll find in more popular weekly news media (Time, Newsweek, etc.)

 

Criteria for Website Evaluation

Other websites may be useful, but be sure to evaluate them carefully and ask your professors or a librarian if you have any questions!

 

IV. RECOMMENDED BY RCEP FACULTY

Russia's Wrong Direction: What the US Can and Should Do -

Gulag: Soviet Forced Labor Camps and the Struggle for Freedom

Online exhibit resulting from a partnership among the Gulag Museum, the National Park Service, and the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. This exhibit tells the story of gulags through both primary documents and short essays. (Scout Report)

Russian Embassy in Washington DC

Besides travel information, includes information about Russian government and culture, as well as news from Russia.

The Eurasia Foundation

"The Eurasia Foundation is a non-profit organization supported by the United States Agency for International Development. Incorporated in 1992, the Eurasia Foundation has made over $335 million in grants to countries in the region, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, and Georgia. In general, the Foundation works within three broad mandate areas, including private enterprise development, public administration and policy and civil society. Visitors...may browse by geographical region, or by looking within the "Publications" area. This area contains annual reports, news briefs, and feature reports, which include recent titles such as "Opening the Georgian Military" and "Promoting the Non-Profit Sector in the Pamirs". (Scout Report [KMG] )

V. CITING YOUR SOURCES:

American Political Science Association (APSA) Style Sheet

-- or find a print copy of the APSA Style Manual at Ref. JA86.A52 2006.

VI. HELP

To ask a quick question or to schedule a research consultation, contact Kristen Peters. Or contact the reference desk by phone or email.

 

Originally compiled by Regina Entorf Updated July 2013 by Kristen Peters