Ramsey Library Research Guides Contemporary Russia
	Political changes of enormous consequence have taken place in Russia since 1985. Since this is a complex, confusing, and fascinating period of history, finding primary and secondary sources of information is challenging. This guide focuses on materials available in Ramsey Library, and does not attempt to list all resources.

Search the WNCLN library catalog to find books and audiovisual materials held by the libraries of UNCA, Appalachian State University, and Western Carolina University. There are two ways to find books and media by subject: Subject searches and Words searches.

There are numerous subject headings in the library catalog under which information on Russia can be found. The lists here are not meant to be exhaustive, but to suggest starting points. For general works on the Russian Federation, the Commonwealth of Independent States, or the former Soviet Union use the following subject headings:

Russia (Federation)
Commonwealth of Independent States
Former Soviet Republics
Soviet Union

Each of these subject headings may be broken down into subheadings. For example:

Other related subject searches include:

Note that when dates are included in a subheading, the date used will often represent the earliest date covered by the book. So "1989- " indicates that a book covers the subject from 1989 on.

The subheading bibliography may be used with any subject heading. Look for books with substantial bibliographies to lead you to more resources. For other subject headings, consult Library of Congress Subject Headings, a four-volume thesaurus of headings used by most libraries.

For information on specific individuals, search for their names by subject or keyword. Note that some public figures, such as Gorbachev and Yeltsin were both the authors and subjects of books, so it might be useful to search by both author and subject. Personal names often include dates:

Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeevich, 1931-
Yeltsin, Boris Nikolayevich, 1931-

Use words searches to find books when you don't know the precise subject headings that describe your topic. Words searches retrieve records containing specified keywords in the title, subject, or notes fields. The library catalog supports truncation and the use of AND, OR, and parentheses (Searches with parentheses are sometimes called "nested Boolean searches"). It is optional to type AND between search words; the AND is implied. A search may be more understandable if you do include AND when using parentheses to group terms.

Search examples:

Use parentheses if both OR and AND 
are used in the same search

The "*" searches for any ending  
on a word

Reference Works

The Access guide to ethnic conflicts in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Washington, D.C. : Access, c1994. UNCA REFERENCE D1056 .A22 1994

The Blackwell encyclopedia of the Russian revolution. Rev. and updated. Oxford, OX, UK ; Cambridge, Mass., USA : Blackwell Reference, 1994. UNCA REFERENCE DK265 .B54

The Cambridge encyclopedia of Russia and the former Soviet Union. 2nd ed. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1994. UNCA REFERENCE DK14 .C35 1994

Channon, John. The Penguin historical atlas of Russia. London, England ; New York, NY : Viking, 1995. UNCA ATLAS G2111.S1 C4 1995b

Coplin, William D. and Michael K. O'Leary, eds. Political Risk Yearbook. Syracuse: Political Risk Services, 1993. See volume 7: Europe Outside the European Community. UNCA REFERENCE JA51.P65

Croucher, Murlin, ed. Slavic Studies: A Guide to Bibliographies, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks. 2 vols. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1993. Volume 2 includes the "Soviet Union," a term retained because most of the sources were published during its existence. This is a work of broad scope which may be useful for locating historical material, but it would be a confusing starting point for undergraduate papers. Includes many citations for Russian language sources. UNCA REFERENCE DJK27 .B1 S554 1993

DeConde, Alexander, ed. Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1978. UNCA REFERENCE JX1407.E53

Degenhardt, Henry W. Treaties and Alliances of the World. 3rd edition. Detroit: Gale Research, 1981. UNCA REFERENCE JX4005.T72

Europa Year Book. London: Europa Publications. UNCA REFERENCE JN1.E85

Fielding, John E. Dictionary of American Diplomatic History. 2nd ed. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989. UNCA REFERENCE E183.7 .F5 1989

Gilbert, Martin. Atlas of Russian history. 2nd ed. New York : Oxford University Press, 1993. UNCA ATLAS G2111.S1 G52 1993

Great dates in Russian and Soviet history. New York : Facts on File, c1994. UNCA REFERENCE DK36 .G74 1994

Horak, Stephan M. Russia, the USSR, and Eastern Europe: A Bibliographic Guide to English Language Publications, 1981-1985. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1987. While this bibliography stops short of Gorbachev's rise to power, it may be useful for identifying works that contain background information. UNCA REFERENCE DJK9 .B1 H543 1987

Hunter, Brian, ed. The Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year ... New York: St. Martin's Press. UNCA REFERENCE JA51.S7

Johnston, Robert H. Soviet foreign policy, 1918-1945 : a guide to research and research materials. Wilmington, Del. : Scholarly Resources, c1991. UNCA REFERENCE DK266.B1 J64 1991

Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History. Gulf Breeze, FL: Academic International Press, 1976-1993. Basic set of 46 volumes was completed in 1987. Supplement, volumes 47-55, was completed in 1993. Continued by title below. UNCA REFERENCE DK36.M55

The Modern encyclopedia of Russian, Soviet and Eurasian history. Gulf Breeze, Fl. : Academic International Press, 1994- NOTE: Continues volume numbering of The Modern encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet history with vol. 56. UNCA REFERENCE DK36 .M55

Plano, Jack and Roy Olton. The International Relations Dictionary. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 1982. UNCA REFERENCE JX1226.P55

Polmar, Norman. Chronology of the Cold War at sea, 1945-1991. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute, 1998. UNCA REFERENCE D842.3 .C48 1998 

Raymond, Boris. Historical dictionary of Russia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998. UNCA REFERENCE  DK36 .R39 1998

Russia & Eurasia documents annual. Gulf Breeze, FL : Academic International Press, c1994- Annual. 1992- Each volume has also a distinctive title: v. 1. The Russian federation -- v. 2. Central Eurasian states. UNCA REFERENCE DK285.5 .U87 1992

Shavit, David. United States relations with Russia and the Soviet Union : a historical dictionary. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1993. UNCA REFERENCE E183.8.R9 S487 1993

Statistical handbook of social and economic indicators for the former Soviet Union. Compiled by the CIS Committee for Statistics, International Center for Human Values Moscow. New York : Norman Ross Pub., c1996.
UNCA REFERENCE HA1444 .C66 1996.

The Times atlas of European history. New York : HarperCollinsPublishers, c1994. See sections on: 1949 Cold War Europe -- 1993 The collapse of communism. UNCA REFERENCE G1797.21.S1 T5 1994

Treaties in Force. Washington: U.S. Department of State, 1993. Annual. See "Treaty Actions" section in U.S. Department of State Dispatch (listed below with Government Publications) for current information. FED DOCS S 9.14:993

White, Stephen, ed. Political Encyclopedia of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Chicago: St. James Press, 1990. Covers developments to 31 March 1990. Includes a "Chronological Table 1945-1990." UNCA REFERENCE JN96 .A127 P64 1990

Wilson, Andrew and Nina Bachkatov. Russia and the Commonwealth A to Z. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. UNCA REFERENCE DK286 .W5513 1992

Zemtsov, Ilya. Encyclopedia of Soviet Life. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1991. REF JA64 .R8 Z44 1991

Biden, Joseph R . Meeting the challenges of a post-Cold War world : NATO enlargement and U.S.-Russia relations : a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. Washington, D. C. : G.P.O., 1997. UNCA FED MICRO Y 4.F 76/2:S.PRT.105-26

Brusstar, James H. Russia's peacetime battlefield : presidential versus General Staff military reform. Washington, DC [?]: National Defense University, Institute for National Strategic Studies, [1998]. UNCA FED DOC D 5.417:144 http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS496

Kingkade, Ward. Population trends : Russia. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, 1997. UNCA FED DOC C 3.205/9:96-2/CORR

Rogov, S. M. Building the NATO-Russia relationship. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University, Institute for National Strategic Studies, 1996. UNCA FED DOC D 5.417:76

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Autonomous areas in Russia. Washington, D.C : Central Intelligence Agency, 1996. UNCA FED DOC PREX 3.10/4:R 92/11

United States. Congress. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. "Belarus, back in the U.S.S.R.?": hearing before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, One Hundred Sixth Congress, first session, April 27, 1999. Washington : U.S. :G.P.O, 1999

U.S. Congress. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Russia's election : what does it mean? : hearing before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, One Hundred Fourth Congress, second session, July 10, 1996. Washington : U.S. :G.P.O, 1996. UNCA FED MICRO Y 4.SE 2:104-2-14

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Science. U.S.-Russian cooperation in human spaceflight, parts I-V : hearings before the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, second session, September 18, 1997, and May 6, June 24, August 5, and October 7, 1998. Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 1998 {1999]. UNCA FED DOCS  Y 4.SCI 2:105/79

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Science. The status of Russian participation in the International Space Station program : hearing before the Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, first session, February 12, 1997. Washington : U.S. : G.P.O., 1997. UNCA FED DOC Y 4.SCI 2:105/2

U.S. Department of State. American Foreign Policy, Current Documents. Washington: U.S. Department of State, 1962- Annual. Major public foreign policy messages and Congressional testimony. UNCA FED DOCS S 1.71/2:19-

U.S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. Daily Report. Central Eurasia. 1992- Continues Daily Report. Soviet Union. FBIS monitors foreign broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals and government statements. Translations are published in the Daily Report series. "Table of Contents" microfiches for a given year are filed just ahead of the microfiche for that year. UNCA FED MICRO (Federal Documents Microfiche) PREX 7.10:FBIS-SOV-

U.S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. FBIS Report. Central Eurasia. Irregular. Continues FBIS Report. Soviet Union. Republic Affairs; also continues FBIS Report. Soviet Union. Political Affairs. UNCA FED MICRO PREX 7.13:FBIS-USR-

U.S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. JPRS Report. Central Eurasia. International Affairs. JPRS reports provide translations of economic, political, scientific and technical literature from newspapers, journals, and scholarly sources from all areas of the world. Continues JPRS Report. Soviet Union. International Affairs. Continued by FBIS Report. Central Eurasia. Russia. UNCA FED MICRO PREX 7.13:JPRS-UIA-

Remember that several months may pass before current news and articles appear in an index. Therefore, browsing current issues of periodicals which monitor current affairs in Russia may be necessary. Watch for useful lists of references at the end of most scholarly articles. Some recommended titles are:

Europe-Asia Studies. (formerly Soviet Studies) UNCA PERIODICAL DK 266.A2 S75
Independent Newspaper from Russia. UNCA PERIODICAL DK 1 .I5
Slavic Review. UNCA PERIODICAL D 337.A1 A5
Soviet and Post-Soviet Review. UNCA PERIODICAL DK 266 .A2 S753
Soviet Union/Union Sovietique. UNCA PERIODICAL DK 1 .S69 (Ceased) Bound 1982-1991

In addition to these tightly focused journals, several others often include pertinent articles on Russia and Eastern Europe:

Diplomatic History. UNCA PERIODICAL E183.7 .D48
Foreign Affairs. UNCA PERIODICAL D 410.F6
Foreign Policy Bulletin. UNCA PERIODICAL JX 232 .F68

A commercial publication that complements information in the U.S. Department of State Dispatch (below). The Dispatch and the Foreign Policy Bulletin taken together continue the documentary history of U.S. Foreign Relations formerly served by the defunct Department of State Bulletin.

International Affairs. UNCA PERIODICAL D 839 .I465
International History Review. UNCA PERIODICAL D1 .I52
Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs. UNCA PERIODICAL D 839 .O68
U.S. Department of State Dispatch. Weekly. v. 1- 1990-

Continues the Department of State Bulletin (1939-1989, Microfilm 1977-89. See Periodicals Holdings List for detailed holdings). Very current source of foreign relations information. Also has a "treaty actions" section every four to six weeks. Backfiles on microfilm. Indexed in P.A.I.S. (INDEX AREA JX 234 .A1 U7)

World Politics. UNCA PERIODICAL D 839 .W57

Articles on recent events in the Russian Federation, biographical sketches of the key players in world events, and bibliographies may also be found in more general periodicals, such as news magazines, history journals, etc. The following periodical indexes will help you locate articles:

These databases are available on the Web from any UNCA Internet address. UNCA users with a valid ID card may use the WNCLN proxy server to connect from off-campus. Go to Ramsey Library's Electronic Resources for more information.

FirstSearch Index
From the FirstSearch databases, select:

WorldCat
The Mother of all Online Catalogs. Over 36 million catalog records for books and audiovisual materials from 17,000 libraries. If a book has been published on any subject, there is likely to be a record for it in WorldCat.

Ingenta
Current index to over 18,000 journals. Search by keyword, author's name, or journal title. Searching is free; ordering faxed articles is not free. Periodical holdings information for UNCA, WCU, and ASU is displayed for records, so you can see if a title locally available in the Western North Carolina Library Network.

Historical Abstracts
This database from ABC-Clio indexes periodicals covering most historical subjects outside the United States and Canada. Coverage of journals extends from 1956. For coverage of U.S and Canadian topics, see the companion database America: History and Life.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index
A standard database of information about people both living and deceased, covering a number of publications. Contains over 12 million citations.

America: History and Life
Another ABC-Clio database covering historical topics of the United States and Canada. Coverage begins with articles published in 1964.

All printed indexes are in the Index Area near the Reference Collection on the main floor.

Bibliographic Index. UNCA PERIODICAL AI .Z5
Biography Index. UNCA PERIODICAL PER AI .B2
New York Times Index. UNCA PERIODICAL AI .N4
Social Sciences Index. UNCA PERIODICAL AI .G63

Conversations with Gorbachev. Princeton: Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1995. UNCA VIDEO CASS DK 290.3 .G67 C65 1995

Red Empire. [Van Nuys, CA]: Vestron Video, 1992. UNCA VIDEO CASS DK 266 .R43

Russia's Time of Troubles. Wash., D.C.: Center for Defense Information, 1994. UNCA VIDEO CASS HC 340.12 .R875 1994.

Second Russian Revolution. Northbrook, IL: Coronet Film & Video, 1991. UNCA VIDEO CASS DK 288 .S43

There are many excellent books on contemporary Russian history and the former Soviet Union in the General Collection. Browsing in the DK subject classification is a good way to get an overview of what is available. (Of course, you do not want to limit yourself to the DK's!)

Black, J. L. Canada in the Soviet mirror : ideology and perception in Soviet foreign affairs, 1917-1991. Ottawa : Carleton University Press, 1998.
UNCA GEN DK266.45 B53 1998

Consuming Russia : popular culture, sex, and society since Gorbachev. Edited by Adele Marie Barker. Durham [N.C.] : Duke University Press, c1999. UNCA GENERAL DK510.762 .C66 1999 

Devlin, Judith. Slavophiles and commissars : enemies of democracy in modern Russia. New York : St. Martin's Press, 1999. UNCA GENERAL DK510.763 .D486 1999

Ethnicity and nationalism in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic states.  Edited by Christopher Williams, Thanasis D. Sfikas. Aldershot, England ; Brookfield, Vt., USA : Ashgate, 1999. UNCA GENERAL  DK33 .E836 1999

Gaidar, Yegor. Days of defeat and victory. Seattle : University of Washington Press, 1999.  UNCA GENERAL DK510.766.G35 A3 1999 

Gorbachev, Mikhail. Gorbachev--on my country and the world. New York : Columbia University Press, 2000. UNCA GENERAL  DK49 .G6713 2000

Hollander, Paul. Political will and personal belief : the decline and fall of Soviet communism. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. UNCA GENERAL DK266 .H477 1999

Matveeva, Anna. The North Caucasus : Russia's fragile borderland. London : Royal Institute of International Affairs, Russia and Eurasia Programme, 1999. UNCA GENERAL DK511.C2 M289 1999

Olcott, Martha Brill. Getting it wrong : regional cooperation and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Washington, DC : Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1999. UNCA GENERAL DK293 .O43 1999

Reinterpreting Russia. edited by Geoffrey Hosking and Robert Service. London: Arnold, 1999. UNCA GENERAL DK40 .R45 1999

Re-viewing the Cold War : domestic factors and foreign policy in the East-West confrontation.  Edited by Patrick M. Morgan and Keith L. Nelson ; foreword by Georgi Arbatov. Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2000. UNCA GENERAL DK266.45 .R48 2000

Shae, Denis J.B. Russia in the modern world : a new geography. Oxford ; Malden, Mass. : Blackwell, 1999. UNCA GENERAL DK510.28 .S49 1999

Shevtsova, Lilia. Yeltsin's Russia : myths and reality. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1999. UNCA GENERAL DK510.763 .S495 1999

Szporluk, Roman. Russia, Ukraine, and the breakup of the Soviet Union.  Stanford, Calif. : Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 2000. UNCA GENERAL  DK67.5.U38 S98 2000

Ukraine : the search for a national identity. Edited by Sharon L. Wolchik and Volodymyr Zviglyanich. Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000. UNCA GENERAL DK508.846 .U377 2000

Wilson, Andrew. The Ukrainians : unexpected nation. New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, 2000. UNCA GENERAL  DK508.45 .W55 2000

Other Selected Titles

Central Asia and the Caucasus after the Soviet Union : domestic and international dynamics. Gainesville : University Press of Florida, c1994. UNCA GENERAL DK859.5 .C454 1994

The emergence of Russian foreign policy. Edited by Leon Aron and Kenneth M. Jensen. Washington, D.C. : United States Institute of Peace, 1994. UNCA GENERAL DK510.764 .E46 1994

LaFeber, Walter. America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945-1992. 7th ed. New York : McGraw-Hill, c1993. UNCA GENERAL E183.8.S65 L34 1993

The legacy of history in Russia and the new states of Eurasia. Editor, S. Frederick Starr. Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c1994. UNCA GENERAL DK293 .N37 1994

Lynch, Allen. Gorbachev's International Outlook: Intellectual Origins and Political Consequences. New York: Institute for East-West Security Studies; Boulder, CO: Distr. by Westview Press, 1989. UNCA GENERAL DK 289 .L96 1989

The making of foreign policy in Russia and the new states of Eurasia. Editors, Adeed Dawisha and Karen Dawisha. Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c1995. The international politics of Eurasia ; v. 4. UNCA 2-HOUR RESERVE POLS 373

Pravda, Alex, ed. Yearbook of Soviet Foreign Relations. 1991 edition. London: I.B. Tauris, 1991. Covers events of 1990 clearly and in great detail. UNCA GENERAL DK 289 .Y43 1991

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: [President]. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1958- . Annual volumes include public messages and statements of the President. Titles and call numbers vary with Presidents. UNCA GENERAL J80 .A283

Russia and America : from rivalry to reconciliation. Edited by George Ginsburgs, Alvin Z. Rubinstein, and Oles M. Smolansky. Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c1993. UNCA GENERAL E183.8.R9 R88 1993

Russia and the Third World in the post-Soviet era. Mohiaddin Mesbahi. Gainesville, FL : University Press of Florida, c1994. UNCA GENERAL D888.R8 R87 1994

Russia in search of its future. Edited by Amin Saikal and William Maley. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1995. UNCA GENERAL DK510.52 .R87 1995

Russia--a return to imperialism? Uri Ra'anan and Kate Martin, editors. New York : St. Martin's Press, 1996. UNCA GENERAL DK510.764 .R85 1996

Russian foreign policy since 1990. Edited by Peter Shearman. Boulder : Westview Press, 1995. UNCA GENERAL DK510.764 .R87 1995

Zickel, Raymond E., ed. Soviet Union: A Country Study. 2d edition. Washington: Federal Rearch Division, Library of Congress; GPO, 1991. Comprehensive compendium of information on all aspects of Soviet society. Invaluable for concise background information. Includes statistics, maps, documents, commentary, and a long bibliography. UNCA GENERAL DK 17 .S6396

Russian History Metasite
A critically-annotated guide to Russian history and area studies. Organized in a six-part arrangement:  indexes, bibliography, collaborations, primary sources, secondary sources, and tendentious pages. Includes an "about this site" section that functions as a gateway to the other sections.

REESWeb : Russian and East European Studies Internet Resources
This site is part of the World Wide Web Virtual Library, Government and Public Affairs Resources section, sponsored and maintained by the University Center for Russian and East European Studies of the University of Pittsburgh. This page contains references related to Russian & Soviet, East European interests, General REES programs and resources, Community, Volunteer, Charitable, and Relief Efforts, and resources on Environmental Issues. World Wide Web http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/reesweb/

New thinking in arms control: Soviet initiatives under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev 1984-91
This site offers full text documents from the SIPRI collection of documentation from the former Soviet Union and other countries

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