Slavic Archives  Tags: archives literature slavic russian  

So you have memorized the terminology, prepared your letters for access.  Now the serious problem of where are the archives you need and how are these all organized anyway.  I think one of the best summaries of the organization of materials in archives was compiled by Mark Steinberg.  You can find it in more detail on the library website at http://www.library.uiuc.edu/spx/webct/Archives/russarchives/russarchives2.htm#organization .  Basically, it gives you an overview of the types of archives and other institutions that might have archival materials you need.  I have copied some of the material from Professor Steinberg's pages here.   For more detail, please consult the library pages on the subject.

Central State (federative level) archives (under Rosarkhiv - the Russian Archival Service) - mostly in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Archives under other federal agencies

• Presidential (APRF)
• Foreign Policy (AVPRI, AVPRF)
• Security agencies (former Cheka, OGPU, NKVD, KGB), now TsA FSB, and SVR)
• Post-1941 Military (TsAMO)

Archives under other federal-level institutions

• Universities and academic institutions
• The Academy of Sciences and its institutes
• Film studios
• Theaters
• Artistic unions, etc.

City and Regional Archives - often very rich collections (including local archives for Moscow and St. Petersburg)

Archives now in other states (e.g. Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asian republics and Baltic states)

Libraries - often include excellent manuscript divisions in major libraries

Museums - often hold good manuscript, rare book, and photo collections

• City history museums
• Other historical museums
• Museums dedicated to individuals (e.g. Tolstoy or Mayakovsky or Dostoevsky)
• Ethnographic museums
• Art museums
• Theater museums
• Education museum (Makarenko)
• Factory museums
• even a Circus museum (St. Petersburg)