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ArcheoBiblioBase: Archives in Russia: B-13

Last update of repository: 3 December 2020

Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi arkhiv noveishei istorii (RGANI)


Access & Facilities

Access
A very large percentage of the files in RGANI are still classified, although the declassification procedure has been progressing. Many others are not open because they have not been processed.
        See Biulleten' rassekrechennykh dokumentov federal'nykh arkhivov [i tsentrov khraneniia dokumentatsii] (Moscow, 1998–) for an annotated list of files and some individual documents that have been declassified through 1997–2010. See also the database of the declassified files and documents of federal state archives on the website “Arkhivy Rossii”: http://unsecret.rusarchives.ru/.
        Access to most of the archival internal reference system is closed.

Working conditions
The archive has a large reading room with microform readers, since researchers are normally required to use microform copies of many of the files. Access to the archive itself remains difficult because of special security for the high government building in which RGANI is located. Access to the reading room is possible only after an advance telephone appointment with the head of the reading room; a minimum of two days is often now required for foreigners to obtain admission to the building. Readers' passes are no longer provided, but names of current researchers are kept in a special list at the security check point at the building entrance. Current security measures prohibit the use of personal computers in the reading room.
        Researchers complain about the slowness of the declassification process and the fact that they cannot search documents themselves and hence the need to pay thematic search fees.
        Researchers are permitted to order 10 files per day. Orders are usually delivered in two days.
        For more details see British guide: Russian & Ukrainian Archives Guide available electronically: https://research.reading.ac.uk/archiv....

Copy facilities
A limited number of xerographic copies can be ordered. Prices for Russian citizens are unusually high, and foreigners are required to pay an even higher rate in rubles. Faster (1–3 days) service for limited copies is available for a 40% supplemental charge. Prices are considerably higher for orders exceeding 300 copies, which is the usual restricted number of copies permitted per year. An additional license fee is charged for publication rights for commercial use.

Reference facilities
Electronic version of the annotated list of fonds available on the RGANI website: http://xn--80afqtm.xn--p1ai/spisok-fo....
        Researchers have access to opisi and summary registers for some fonds, many of which are available in the reading room. Normally access is not possible to the still-classified extensive card catalogues that provide detailed name and subject references to protocols of CPSU meetings and hence constitute the core reference system for the major records of the CPSU CC Secretariat (fond 4). There are additional card catalogues for fonds 5 and 6. An electronic catalogue was established for fond 4 (in 1981) and fond 5 (in 1985), and subsequent document-level data were available on line; but these facilities are also not available to researchers.

Library facilities
The small reference collection (over 5,000 vols.) housed in the reading room is available to researchers.


ABB ArcheoBiblioBase Archeo Biblio Base Patricia Kennedy Grimsted