1. New York Public Library Collection of Russian and Ukrainian Posters, 1917-1921
Citation: Collection of Russian and Ukrainian posters, 1917-1921. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2017, from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/collection-of-russian-and-ukrainian-posters-1917-1921
This digitized collection offers high quality digital images of over one hundred early Soviet posters, one of the largest collections outside of Russia. Among the posters you can find work by world-renowned artists including Vladimir Mayakovsky, Viktor Denisov, and Dmitrii Orlov. The posters depict various styles of art which fell out of favor under Stalin. This collection provides a valuable glimpse into the work of the Russian avant garde at the height of its popularity.
2. New York Public Library Collection of Russia and Eastern Europe in Rare Photographs, 1860-1945
Citation: Russia and Eastern Europe in Rare Photographs, 1860- 1945. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2017, from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/russia-and-eastern-europe-in-rare-photographs-1860-1945
This collection of over four thousand digital images contains photographs and albums spanning eighty five years of Russian history. To navigate through the enormous collection, users can toggle between filters which allow them to define their results. Filters that will be particularly helpful to researchers looking for images from the revolutionary period include "revolutionaries," "working class," or "parades and processions." Aside from topical filters, there are also filters by name, place, genre, and type. Users can also filter by date, for example "from 1917-1917" for photographs exclusive to the revolutionary year.
3. Yale University Lillian Goldman Law Library Collection of Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States 1918 Russia Vol. I - The Bolshevik "Coup d'Etat" November 7, 1917
Link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/ch5menu.asp
Citation: Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States 1918 Russia Vol. I - The Bolshevik “Coup d’Etat” November 7, 1917. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2017, from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/ch5menu.asp
This small collection of transcribed telegrams documents messages sent from foreign diplomats stationed in St. Petersburg at the time of the Bolshevik revolution in October, 1917.
4. Harvard University Project on the Soviet Socialist System Online
Link: http://hcl.harvard.edu/collections/hpsss/index.html
Citation: The Harvard Project on the Soviet Social System Online. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2017, from http://hcl.harvard.edu/collections/hpsss/index.html
The Harvard Project on the Soviet Socialist System Online provides digitized transcripts of over seven hundred interviews with Soviet refugees. Interviews are divided into "A and B Schedule" interviews; the "A Schedule" designation indicates personal stories and "B Schedule" indicates specialized interviews on one of eight themes: economics, family, government, stratification, nationalities, the German occupation during World War II, partisan movements, and professions. All interview transcripts are text-searchable and the site offers a search engine to find relevant interviews.
5. Shishkina-Iavein Digital Collection
Permalink: http://id.lib.harvard.edu/aleph/013606912/catalog
Finding Aid: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:fun00004
Citation: Shishkina-Iavein, P. N. (2016). Poliksena Shishkina-Iavein digital collection, 1901-1917. Fung Library, Harvard University.
The Shishkina-Iavein Digital Collection is a completely digitized, open access collection of photographs, postcards, clippings, and other materials from the personal papers of Poliksena Nesterovna Shishkina (1875-1947), a prominent women’s rights activist who played a pivotal role in gaining equal suffrage for women in 1917. The collection contains over 140 digital images which users can find through the finding aid.
6. Alexander Palace Time Machine Online
Link: http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/
Citation: Atchison, B. (2017). Alexander Palace Time Machine - Romanov and Russian History. Retrieved May 31, 2017, from http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/
Although not an academic resource, this website is a formidable repository of translated transcriptions of primary source documents concerning the Romanov family and their experience during the Russian revolution. The site not only contains excerpts from diaries and letters of members of the Tsar's family, but also provides documents concerning the assassination of the imperial family, the items which were removed and sold from the imperial palaces, eyewitness accounts, and much more.
7. Marxist.org's Collected Writings of Leon Trotsky
Link: https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/index.htm
Citation: The Collected Writings of Leon Trotsky: Trotsky Internet Archive. (2016, December 21). Retrieved May 31, 2017, from https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/index.htm
Though the site does not offer the complete writings of Trotsky, Marxists.org provides translated transcriptions of many of Trotsky's seminal works. Trotsky's writings are organized chronologically and users can jump to sections of time using the navigation at the top of the page.
8. Marxist.org's Collected Writings of Vladimir Lenin
Link: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/date/1917.htm
Citation: Lenin Works Archive. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2017, from https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/index.htm
This site provides digital access to forty five volumes of Lenin's works produced in his lifetime. Users can browse the works by date or by title.
If you're considering doing more advanced research in-country, check out these two resources for finding primary source material in Russian archives:
9. ArcheoBiblioBase
Link: http://www.iisg.nl/abb/#archives
Citation: ArcheoBiblioBase: Archives in Russia. (2016, April). Retrieved May 3, 2017, from http://www.iisg.nl/abb/#archives
ArcheoBiblioBase is an open-access directory to Russia’s archives provided by the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam and which builds off the work of Patricia Kennedy Grimstead’s book, Archives of Russia: A Directory and Bibliographic Guide to Holdings in Moscow and St. Petersburg Volumes 1 and 2 ( 2000). The directory includes federal, regional, local, and municipal archives as well as non-state repositories such as academic institutions, libraries, and museums. The directory provides up-to-date contact information, as well as information on access to collections.
10. Russian Archives Database
Link: http://guides.rusarchives.ru/browse/browse.html?enc=eng
Citation: Russian Archives Database. (2012). Retrieved May 3, 2017, from http://guides.rusarchives.ru/browse/browse.html?enc=eng
The Russian Archives Database is an online guide in both Russian and English that provides access to over 135 reference guides to federal and regional archives. Think of it as a database of finding aids that help you locate archival materials across Russia. You can browse the guides or conduct advanced searches of text within the guides (since they have all been treated for optimal character recognition).