The Hoover Institution's Russian collections are among its most extensive and important. While the Russian Empire was swept away in 1917, the collections relating to it span the period from the mid-19th century through the 20th and into the 21st centuries, including the Russian Civil War and the activities of émigrés and exiles forced abroad as a result of Bolshevik rule. Among the subjects best covered are the First World War, 1917 revolution, Russian Civil War (mainly the anti-Bolshevik side) and emigration. The records of various Russian embassies, legations and missions abroad are significant for diplomatic history, as are the papers of Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov and diplomats Mikhail Girs, V.A. Maklakov and Nikolai Bazili. The papers of Grand Duchess Kseniia Aleksandrovna and Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna open up the world of the Romanov dynasty. Military history is also well represented in the papers of General N.N. Golovin, V.E. Flug, Dmitrii Shcherbachev and others. The Hoover Library is an excellent resource for Imperial government documents and both Imperial and émigré society
POSOL'STVO IN FRANCE RECORDS - Russian Provisional Government embassy, 1916–24
POSOL'STVO IN THE UNITED STATES RECORDS - Russian Imperial and Provisional Government embassy, 1897–1947
MISSIIA IN GREECE RECORDS - Russian Imperial and Provisional Government diplomatic mission, 1874–1925
MISSIIA IN NORWAY RECORDS - Russian Imperial and Provisional Government diplomatic mission, 1781–1924
LEGATSIIA IN SAXE-WEIMAR-EISENACH RECORDS - Russian legation, 1902–8
LEGATSIIA IN HESSE RECORDS - Russian legation, 1857–1913
LEGATSIIA IN WÜRTTEMBERG RECORDS - Russian legation, 1828–1904
KONSUL'STVO IN BRESLAU RECORDS - Russian consulate, 1860–1914
KONSUL'STVO IN LEIPZIG RECORDS - Russian consulate, 1830–1914
SERGEĬ DMITRIEVICH SAZONOV PAPERS - Russian minister of foreign affairs, 1910–16
MIKHAIL NIKOLAEVICH GIRS PAPERS - White Russian diplomat
V. A. MAKLAKOV PAPERS - Russian politician and diplomat; ambassador of the Provisional Government to France, 1917–24
NIKOLAĬ ALEKSANDROVICH BAZILI PAPERS - Russian imperial diplomat
GRAND DUCHESS KSENIIA ALEKSANDROVNA PAPERS - Daughter of Tsar Alexander III and sister of Nicholas II
EMPRESS MARIIA FEODOROVNA LETTERS - Consort of Alexander III
N. N. GOLOVIN PAPERS - General, Russian imperial army
V. E. FLUG WRITINGS - General, Russian imperial army
DMITRIĬ GRIGOREVICH SHCHERBACHEV PAPERS - General, Russian imperial army
HOLY TRINITY SEMINARY MICROFILM COLLECTION - Collections copied from the seminary's archives
MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN CULTURE MICROFILM COLLECTION - Collections copied from the museum's archives
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Despite the Iron Curtain’s dampening effect on collecting and preserving materials from the USSR, the Hoover Archives holds a number of significant collections relating to Soviet dissidents and defectors, such as Andrei Siniavskii and Aleksandr Ginzburg and Yuri Yarim-Agaev; while the NTS Samizdat collection is one of the most extensive such collections in the world. A series of joint microfilming and digitization projects from the early 1990s until today have expanded Hoover’s holdings on the Soviet state and Communist Party apparatus and on the workings of the KGB in the USSR and its national republics to enable researchers to study both sides of the equation. In addition, a number of collections deal with US-Soviet relations, including citizen diplomacy and friendship organizations that tried to defuse international tensions during the Cold War. For the Cold War itself – as a battleground of ideologies – the RFE/RL Broadcast and Corporate Records are an unparalleled resource.
ARCHIVES OF THE SOVIET COMMUNIST PARTY AND SOVIET STATE MICROFILM - Copies of documents from three major Russian archives
NARODNO-TRUDOVOĬ SOIUZ SAMIZDAT COLLECTION - Russian émigré organization
SOVIET AND POST-SOVIET INDEPENDENT PRESS COLLECTION - Serial issues, 1986–2006
LIETUVOS SSR VALSTYBĖS SAUGUMO KOMITETAS SELECTED RECORDS - Lithuanian KGB records
EESTI NSV RIIKLIKU JULGEOLEKU KOMITEE RECORDS - Estonian KGB records
SAK'ART'VELOS SSR SAKHELMTSIPO UŠIŠROEBIS KOMITETI RECORDS - Georgian KGB records
ALEKSANDR IL'ICH GINZBURG PAPERS - Soviet writer and dissident
RFE/RL BROADCAST RECORDS - US radio broadcasting organization
RFE/RL CORPORATE RECORDS - US radio broadcasting organization
A. SINIAVSKIĬ PAPERS - Soviet literary critic and dissident
BORIS ANDREEVICH GRUSHIN PAPERS - Soviet sociologist and pollster
VITALIĬ LEONIDOVICH KATAEV PAPERS - Soviet defense industry official
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Building on its strong traditions of collecting in this region, the Hoover Institution continues to grow its collections on the Russian Federation, which focus on the emergence of this new state out of the former USSR, its political, economic life and the social change that accompanies its appearance and development. For the emergence of civil society, researchers would do well to look at the many and varied collections dealing with the independent trade union movement. The Joan Beecher Eichrodt collection is important for the study of the Chechen conflict and its role in forming many policies in the Russian Federation, while the Levinskaia-Lesman collection documents the rise of nationalist movements, and the Demokraticheskaia Rossiia records illustrate the development of Russia’s leading democratic party from its formation in the late Soviet period through the first presidential election in the Russian Federation and beyond.
JOAN BEECHER EICHRODT COLLECTION - Voice of America correspondent
LEVINSKAIA-LESMAN COLLECTION - Research fellows in St. Petersburg
DEMOKRATICHESKAIA ROSSIIA RECORDS - Russian political organization
I.V. SIMONOV COLLECTION - Russian election materials, 1994–2013
CENTER FOR CITIZEN INITIATIVES RECORDS - US organization promoting person-to-person contact between Americans and Russians
KARA-KYS DONGIKOVNA ARAKCHAA PAPERS - Russian Duma member, 1993–1995
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The Hoover Institution’s holdings on Armenia, while not extensive by volume, are historically significant, spanning that country’s history from the early 20th century through the 21st. The collections relating to Armenia during the period of the First World War and Paris Peace Conference are particularly important, including the United States Military Mission to Armenia photographs (1919) and the John Shishmanian papers. The Vahan Emin collection is important for the study of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and Armenians in the USSR, and more current materials are to be found in the Armenian Subject collection.
MILITARY MISSION TO ARMENIA PHOTOGRAPHS - US military officers in Armenia, 1919
JOHN AMAR SHISHMANIAN PAPERS - Captain, French Foreign Legion, during World War I
VAHAN EMIN COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
ARMENIAN SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE (1919–1920), US TERRITORIAL SECTION - Organization created to prepare background information for the US delegation to the Paris Peace Conference
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Hoover’s holdings on Azerbaijan span the entire 20th century. An unpublished history of the region during the Russian Civil War, with particular reference to the Baku petroleum industry, can be found in the Wilber E. Post and Maurice Wertheim collection. For the period of the Second World War, the A. Bannam collection contains a treaty between the autonomous government of Azerbaijan and the commander of the Tabriz garrison (12 December 1945). The Azerbaijani Subject collection and Irene Lasota papers contain materials on Azerbaijani politics and elections since 1990, and the Vahan Emin collection is important for the study of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
WILBER E. POST AND MAURICE WERTHEIM HISTORY - Relates to the Russian Civil War in the Caucasus
A. BANAM COLLECTION - Treaty, 1945
AZERBAIJANI SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
IRENA LASOTA PAPERS - Polish dissident; subsequently émigré in the United States; president and co-director, Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe
VAHAN EMIN COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
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The Belarusian collections of the Hoover Institution are strong on two periods: for the post-WWII period the Byelorussian Central Council Memorandum and Belorussian Liberation Front publications cover the activities of émigré political organizations. The Nat͡syi͡anal'na-demakratychnai͡a partyi͡a belarusi records, Belorusskiĭ kongress demokraticheskikh profsoi͡uzov records, Ab'i͡adnanai͡a hramadzi͡anskai͡a partyi͡a belarusi issuances, Belarusian Subject collection and other papers cover the emergence of Belarus as an independent country and the development of politics and civil society.
BYELORUSSIAN CENTRAL COUNCIL MEMORANDUM - Belarusian nationalist émigré organization, New York
BELORUSSIAN LIBERATION FRONT PUBLICATIONS - Anticommunist and nationalist émigré group, London
NAT͡SYI͡ANAL'NA-DEMAKRATYCHNAI͡A PARTYI͡A BELARUSI RECORDS - Belarusian political party
BELORUSSKIĬ KONGRESS DEMOKRATICHESKIKH PROFSOI͡UZOV RECORDS - Belarusian independent trade union federation
AB'I͡ADNANAI͡A HRAMADZI͡ANSKAI͡A PARTYI͡A BELARUSI ISSUANCES - Belarusian political party
BELARUSIAN SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
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The Hoover Institution’s holdings on Georgia, both as an independent state and as a national republic of the USSR, are particularly rich. The N.A. Lakoba papers, David Diasamidze papers, Aleksandr Tkhilaishvili photographic collection and Sak'art'velos SSR sakhelmtsipo ušišroebis komiteti records are significant resources for the Soviet period. The Dimitri Shalikashvili writings are significant for the study of the Georgian Legion during the Second World War and Georgian émigré activities. For the post-1991 period of independence, documents on the political and social developments in Georgia may be found in the Georgian subject collection, Georgian pictorial collection, G. Chigogidze photographs and Eduard Shevardnadze radio interview transcripts.
N. A. LAKOBA PAPERS - Soviet communist leader
T.G. STEPANOV-MAMALADZE WRITINGS - Aide to Eduard Shevardnadze, Soviet foreign minister and subsequently president of Georgia
DAVID DURSUNOVICH DIASAMIDZE PAPERS - Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, Adzhar Autonomous Republic, 1969–89
ALEKSANDR DURSUNOVICH TKHILAISHVILI PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION - Photographs of Soviet officials in the Adzhar Autonomous Republic
SAK'ART'VELOS SSR SAKHELMTSIPO UŠIŠROEBIS KOMITETI RECORDS - Georgian branch of the Soviet secret police organization Komitet gosudarstvennoĭ bezopasnosti (KGB)
EDUARD AMVROSIEVICH SHEVARDNADZE RADIO INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS - Soviet foreign minister, 1985–91; president of Georgia, 1995–2003
GEORGIAN PICTORIAL COLLECTION - Miscellaneous photographs
G. CHIGOGIDZE PHOTOGRAPHS - Georgian photographer
GEORGIAN SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
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The Hoover Institution’s holdings on Kazakhstan are strongest for the post-1991 independence period, although there are mentions of the region during the Russian Civil War and Second World War in the V. Klemm writings and several collections relating to Poles deported to Kazakhstan. Among the significant collections are the Kazakh subject collection, the RFE/RL Broadcast and Corporate records, and the Enid Schreibman papers.
V. KLEMM WRITINGS - White Russian political leader during the Russian Civil War
KAZAKH SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
RFE/RL BROADCAST RECORDS - US radio broadcasting organization operating Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty
RFE/RL CORPORATE RECORDS - US radio broadcasting organization operating Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty
ENID SCHREIBMAN PAPERS - Director, Center for Safe Energy
SOVIET AND POST-SOVIET INDEPENDENT PUBLICATIONS COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
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The Hoover Institution’s holdings on Kyrgyzstan are strongest for the post-1991 independence period, although there are mentions of the region in the aftermath of the Russian revolution in the V. Klemm writings and other collections relating to the Russian Civil War ac. Among the significant collections documenting more contemporary issues in Kyrgyzstan are the Kyrgyz subject collection and the RFE/RL Broadcast and Corporate records.
V. KLEMM WRITINGS - White Russian political leader during the Russian Civil War
KYRGYZ SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
RFE/RL BROADCAST RECORDS - US radio broadcasting organization operating Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty
RFE/RL CORPORATE RECORDS - US radio broadcasting organization operating Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty
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Hoover’s earliest holdings on Moldavia go back to the Congress of Paris (1856): the miscellaneous records of the Congress refer to the reorganization of Wallachia and Moldavia following the Crimean War. The Alexander Krupenskii papers and V.A. Maklakov papers are rich and important resources for the history of the region during the Russian Civil War, 1917-1920, including the issues of Romanian intervention and possible independence of Bessarabia. Contemporary issues, including materials related to Pridnestrov’e, can be found in the Moldavian subject collection and Igor Mikhailov collection.
CONGRESS OF PARIS MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS - Commission established by the Congress of Paris of 1856
ALEKSANDR NIKOLAEVICH KRUPENSKIĬ PAPERS - Marshal of Bessarabian nobility; president, Bessarabian Provincial Zemstvo; Bessarabian delegate to the Paris Peace Conference, 1919–20
V. A. MAKLAKOV PAPERS - Russian politician and diplomat; ambassador of the Provisional Government to France, 1917–24
MOLDAVIAN SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
IGOR' ALEKSEEVICH MIKHAĬLOV COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials related to Pridnestrov’e
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Most of the Hoover Archives’ holdings on Mongolia concern the years 1920-1921, when Baron Roman Ungern-Shternberg attempted to use the country as a base from which to combat Bolshevism. The Hoover Library and Archives also holds minutes and protocols of the assemblies of the Mongolian Peoples’ Party and Mongolian People’s Republic in the 1920s and 1930s, reports from an American visitor to Mongolia in the 1930s on political and economic conditions there, as well as issuances of the Mongolian Social Democratic Party from 1990.
SERGEĬ LAVROV HOLOGRAPH: SOBYTIIA V MONGOLIĬ-KHALKHIE, 1920–1921 GODAKH - Major, Russian Imperial Army
N. N. KNIAZEV TYPESCRIPT: THE LEGENDARY BARON - Relates to Baron Roman Ungern-Shternberg
GOLUBEV HISTORY - Relates to White Russian military activities in Mongolia
N. M. RIABUKHIN TYPESCRIPT: THE STORY OF BARON UNGERN-SHTERNBERG - Russian military surgeon
BARON ROMAN FEDOOVICH UNGERN-SHTERNBERG MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS - White Russian military leader
BORIS N. VOLKOV PAPERS - White Russian agent in Mongolia, 1918–20
VELIKIĬ KHURALDAN TYPESCRIPT: NEW MONGOLIA, OR, THE PROTOCOLS OF THE FIRST GREAT ASSEMBLY OF THE MONGOLIAN PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC - English translation
MONGOL ARDYN KHUV'SGALT NAM CONGRESS TYPESCRIPT : THE THIRD ASSEMBLY OF THE MONGOLIAN PEOPLE'S PARTY - English translation
ROBERT SMITH REPORTS - US visitor to Manchuria and Mongolia
MONGOLYN SOTSIAL-DEMOKRAT NAM ISSUANCES - Mongolian social democratic political party
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The Hoover Institution’s holdings on Turkmenistan are strongest for the post-1991 independence period, although there are mentions of the region in the aftermath of the Russian revolution in the V. Klemm writings and other collections relating to the Russian Civil War. Among the significant collections documenting more contemporary issues in Turkmenistan are the Paul B. Henze papers and the RFE/RL Broadcast and Corporate records.
V. KLEMM WRITINGS - White Russian political leader during the Russian Civil War
PAUL B. HENZE PAPERS - Member of the US National Security Council and Central Intelligence Agency staff
RFE/RL BROADCAST RECORDS - Sound recordings, scripts, and other materials from the US radio broadcasting organization
RFE/RL CORPORATE RECORDS - US radio broadcasting organization
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The Hoover Institution’s Ukrainian holdings cover its emergence and development as an independent state since 1991, as well as earlier periods when it was a national republic of the USSR and a region divided between the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Numerous collections relating to the Russian Civil War, especially the Vrangel’ collection, describe the political situation in Southern Russia, the Crimea, Odessa and throughout much of the geographic area of the contemporary Ukraine in 1917-1921. The papers of Lev Dobriansky are an extraordinary resource for understanding the role of Ukrainian émigrés in formulating anti-communist policy. For the period of independence, researchers will find much of value in the Taras Kuzio and Kost’ Bondarenko papers, as well as the Ukrainian subject collection, with its rich holdings of political ephemera, party publications and election campaign materials from the 1980s to the present.
VRANGEL’ COLLECTION - Commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Southern Russia and Russian Army
LEV E. DOBRIANSKY PAPERS - Ukrainian American economist
TARAS KUZIO PAPERS - Director, Ukrainian Press Agency and Ukrainian Peace Committee
K. BONDARENKO PAPERS - Ukrainian political consultant and activist
SONJA SCHMID INTERVIEWS - Related to the Chernobyl nuclear accident, 1986
IVAN PETRUSHEVICH PAPERS - Ukrainian journalist
UKRAINIAN PICTORIAL COLLECTION - Various photographs, 1989–2004
UKRAINIAN SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
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The Hoover Institution’s holdings on Kyrgyzstan are strongest for the post-1991 independence period, although there are mentions of the region in the aftermath of the Russian revolution in the V. Klemm writings and other collections relating to the Russian Civil War. Among the significant collections documenting more contemporary issues in Uzbekistan are the Paul B. Henze papers and the RFE/RL Broadcast and Corporate records.
V. KLEMM WRITINGS - White Russian political leader during the Russian Civil War
PAUL B. HENZE PAPERS - Member of the US National Security Council and Central Intelligence Agency staff
RFE/RL BROADCAST RECORDS - Sound recordings, scripts, and other materials from the US radio broadcasting organization
RFE/RL CORPORATE RECORDS - US radio broadcasting organization
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While Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Pridnestrov’e are recognized by the Russian Federation and a handful of other countries (in March 2014 Tuvalu created an international incident when it rescinded its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia), most of the rest of the members of the United Nations do not recognize them. The Hoover Institution, however, recognizes the need to study such emergent or partially acknowledged states by collecting materials on their appearance, activities and development as part of its mission of documenting war, revolution and peace. Researchers are directed to the Igor Mikhailov papers, Abkhaz, Georgian and Moldavian subject collections.
IGOR' ALEKSEEVICH MIKHAĬLOV COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials on Pridnestrov’e and Abkhazia
ABKHAZ SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
GEORGIAN SUBJECT COLLECTION - Miscellaneous materials
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