Research Guides: Russian & East European Studies: Digital Collections & Primary Sources

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

What are Primary Sources?

Primary sources are raw materials of historical research - they are the documents or artifacts closest to the topic of investigation. Often they are created during the time period which is being studied (correspondence, diaries, newspapers, government documents, art) but they can also be produced later by eyewitnesses or participants (memoirs, oral histories). You may find primary sources in their original format (usually in an archive) or reproduced in a variety of ways: books, microfilm, digital, etc.

What are Secondary Sources?

Secondary sources are more critical analysis of events, movements, battles, etc. They are created by a person or persons who has/have the necessary distance in time and involvement from the event, movement, battle, etc. to write a less personal account. Secondary sources build upon and interpret primary sources, as well as secondary sources created by others. Thus, secondary sources are second-hand accounts because their creators are one-position removed from first-hand accounts.

Primary Sources by Type

Central and Eastern European Library (CEEOL)
Provides access to both OA and "pay per download" of articles, e-books, and grey literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences. You can register for an Open Access CEEOL account in which you will only see free materials.
Stalin Digital Archive
"The SDA is a result of collaboration between the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI) and Yale University Press (YUP) to create an electronic database of finding aids, to digitize documents and images, and to publish in different forms and media materials from the recently declassified Stalin archive in the holdings of RGASPI. "
The Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System Online (HPSSS)
The HPSSS 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."

Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window
The most comprehensive collection available of significant primary documents central to US foreign and military policy. The Digital National Security Archive contains the most comprehensive set of declassified government documents available. The resource now includes 42 collections consisting of over 103,000 indexed documents, with more than 719,000 total pages.
Abbreviation: digital-nsa
Vendor: ProQuest
Coverage: 1945–Current
Subjects: History, International Affairs, Political Science
Type: Encyclopedias & Dictionaries, Government Publications, Historical / Primary Sources, Indexes / Catalogs

Daily report. Soviet Union. Index
FSU STROZIER LIBRARY Micromaterials -- PrEx7.10: FBIS-SOV/ Index/
Coverage: 1977-1986

Congressional Publications (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Congressional Publications provides a comprehensive view of congressional action and the behind-the-scenes activity involved in crafting U.S. legislation. It includes the Congressional Research Digital Collection (CRDC), Committee Prints and CRS Reports (1824–Present), Statutes at Large (1789–present), and the Serial Set (1789–1969), and Hearings (1824-1979, 1980-2003). Includes the Federal Register & Political News. Note that not all hearings have full-text transcripts.
Tutorials:
ProQuest Congressional Publications LibGuide

Abbreviation: conguni
Vendor: ProQuest
Coverage: 1789–Current
Subjects: History, Law, Political Science, Public Administration and Policy, Public Safety and Security
Type: Government Publications
U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
U.S. Declassified Documents Online's greatest value lies in the wealth of facts and insights that it provides in connection with the political, economic, and social conditions of the United States and other countries. Materials as diverse as State Department political analyses, White House confidential file materials, National Security Council policy statements, CIA intelligence memoranda, and much more offer unique insights into the inner workings of the US government and world events in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

A significant resource for researchers in almost every discipline, this collection makes it possible for researchers to easily and quickly access and review selected previously classified government documents online.
U.S. Declassified Documents Online provides users with:
- actual documents that were used to develop and implement domestic and foreign policies
- provides the “real” story behind events and crises
- encourages critical reevaluation of previously published memoirs and other subjective writings
U.S. Declassified Documents Online enables users to examine documents originating from sources including:
- Atomic Energy Commission
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Department of Defense
- Department of Justice
- Department of State
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- National Security Council
- Presedential Libraries
- White House
- Other executive agencies
Materials available for review include:
- Cabinet meeting minutes
- CIA intelligence studies and reports
- Correspondence
- Diary entries
- FBI surveillance and intelligence correspondence and memoranda
- Full texts of letters, instructions, and cables sent and received by U.S. diplomatic personnel
- Joint Chiefs papers
- National Security Council policy statements
- Presidential conferences
- State Department political analyses
- Technical studies
- Trade treaties, studies and analyses
- U.S. briefing materials for meetings with foreign heads of state and government officials
- White House Confidential File materials
- And much more
Abbreviation: declassdoc
Vendor: Gale
Coverage: 1941–1997
Subjects: African-American Studies, Economics, History, International Affairs, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Law, Middle Eastern Studies, Political Science, Public Administration and Policy, Public Safety and Security
Type: Government Publications, Historical / Primary Sources, Images, Standards

Documents and Texts

In addition to the sources below, please see also:

The "News" Box in the Articles Tab of this LibGuide, as well as the Newspapers LibGuide

The US State Department and Intelligence Agencies Reports Tab of the International Studies LibGuide. US and Foreign Government Departments and Agencies, including the US State Department, have produced rich documentation on other countries. Use the drop down menus to browse lists of collection by type (for example, Confidential US State Department Central Files). The International Studies LibGuide also lists many other important collections and portals to international documentation.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service daily reports. Soviet Union (Foreign Broadcast Information Service)

STROZIER LIBRARY Micromaterials PREX7.10:FBIS-SOV/Index Accompanied by Microfiche in PREX7.10: FBIS-SOV

Foreign Broadcast Information Service daily reports. Soviet Union (Foreign Broadcast Information Service)

STROZIER LIBRARY Micromaterials PREX7.10:FBIS-EEU/Index Accompanied by Microfiche in PREX7.10: FBIS-EEU

Foreign Broadcast Information Service daily reports. Eurasia (Foreign Broadcast Information Service)

STROZIER LIBRARY Micromaterials PREX7.10:FBIS-SOV/Index Accompanied by Microfiche in PREX7.10:FBIS-SOV