Guides: Russian & East European Studies: News

General News Sources

EurasiaNet
Daily news and analytic service covering Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as developments in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia that bear on this region. Features include Today's Wires, which consolidates numerous stories from various outside sources and grouped by them by nation; Eurasia Insight, Environment, and Business & Economics, etc. Also offers book reviews, interviews, human rights articles, election watch, and a discussion forum.

Factiva This link opens in a new window
Limited to 5 concurrent users.
Provides worldwide full-text coverage of local and regional newspapers, trade publications, business newswires, media transcripts, news photos, business-rich websites, investment analyst reports, market research reports, country and regional profiles, company profiles, and historical market data.
Integrum Profi This link opens in a new window
Click on "Enter (no registration)" to access database.
Search and access Russian Mass Media (SMI) including transcripts, news sources, social media, and blogs.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Varies by publication.
Provides access to the full text of thousands of national and international magazines, newspapers, wire services, TV and radio broadcast transcripts, web publications, and blogs. Search by General, News, Legal, Business, or People.
Russian Central Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Universal Database of Russian Central Newspapers (UDB-COM) contains around 40 actively publishing Russian central newspapers and weekly magazines, covering the entire spectrum of domestic news, as well as the currents of Russia’s economic and cultural life. Most items are published in either Russian or English.

Newspapers

Integrum Profi This link opens in a new window
Click on "Enter (no registration)" to access database. A searchable database providing a wide variety of current information about Russia, the CIS, and the Baltic states. Includes full text of central and regional newspapers and journals, full text legal databases, and a variety of business and statistical resources and dictionaries. The search interface is available in both English and Russian with queries and results available in Cyrillic or transliterated Roman script.
Online Databases of Russian/NIS Publications This link opens in a new window
Provides cross-searching of several databases: various historical media archives (Argumenty i Fakty, Izvestiia, Krokodil, Literaturnaia Gazeta, Moscow News, Post-Perestroika Newspapers, Pravda, Societskoe Zdravookhranenie, Voennaia Mysl'); Current Digest of the [Soviet and] Post-Soviet Press; CIS & Baltic Periodicals; Russian Central Newspapers; Social Sciences & Humanities [periodicals]; individual titles (Far Eastern Affairs, International Affairs, Social Sciences, Voprosy Literatury); 2010 Presidential Election in Belarus, and Russian/NIS Newswires. Most sources are in Russian or English.
Periodicals of Central Asia and the Caucasus This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Central Asia and Caucasus (UDB-CAC) includes a number of authoritative periodicals published in the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union. The sources are mostly in Russian and English and cover various issues of domestic and international importance. Many titles have an archive going back to 2000.
Periodicals of the Baltics, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of newspapers from the Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus (UDB-EUR) includes important periodicals published in these newly independent states which used to be part of the Soviet Union. The sources are in mostly in Russian and English, and they cover various issues of domestic and international importance.
Russian/NIS Newswires This link opens in a new window
This database includes several outstanding sources to follow the day-to-day developments in Russia and CIS. Sources are usually in either Russian or English.
Russian Central Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Universal Database of Russian Central Newspapers (UDB-COM) contains around 40 actively publishing Russian central newspapers and weekly magazines, covering the entire spectrum of domestic news, as well as the currents of Russia’s economic and cultural life. Most items are published in either Russian or English.

Russian Newspapers at the Library of Congress

English Translations of News

Current Digest of the Russian Press This link opens in a new window
Also includes The Current Digest of the Soviet Press (1949-1991) and The Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press (1992-2010). Provides weekly translations of articles from over 60 newspapers and magazines, such as Pravda and Izvestiia. Includes a quarterly index.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1941 - 1996 This link opens in a new window
Includes full-text translations of foreign radio and television broadcasts as well as selected foreign news, periodical articles and government statements
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Electronic Index This link opens in a new window
Index to FBIS reports from 1941 to 1996. Lauinger's Government Documents department has the full text on microfiche of items listed in this database from 1941 through the mid-1990s. Full text is also available for 1974 to 1996 from FBIS Reports Online. For 1994 to the present, see the World News Connection database.
World News Connection This link opens in a new window
Contains information derived from full-text and summaries of newspaper articles, conference proceedings, television and radio broadcasts, periodicals, and non-classified technical reports. Coverage runs from 1995 to December 31, 2013.

Historical Newspapers and Publications

Argumenty i Fakty Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
An archive dating from 1983 forward of what was once the largest circulation newspaper in the world. Today, the newspaper is a popular weekly writing on all subjects in plain language.
Imperial Russian Newspapers This link opens in a new window
33 newspaper titles spanning 1831 to 1916 from Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and other Russian cities. An open access collection provided through the Center for Research Libraries.
International Affairs Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
A RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF WORLD POLITICS, DIPLOMACY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
A Russian journal of world politics, diplomacy, and international relations, the Journal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (International Affairs) offers analysis of foreign policy and international security issues. Published in English by East View Information Service and runs from 1955-2011.
Izvestiia Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Among the longest-running Russian newspapers, Izvestiia was founded in March 1917 and during the Soviet period was the official organ of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Remarkable for its serious and balanced treatment of subject matter, Izvestiia has traditionally been a popular news source within intellectual and academic circles.
Krokodil Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Krokodil (1922 -2008) was a satirical magazine published in the Soviet Union and Russia which lampooned religion, alcoholism, foreign political figures and events. During the height of the Cold War, cartoons criticizing Uncle Sam, Pentagon, Western colonialism and German militarism were common in its pages. Each issue is browsable in full-page views, and full-text searchable tags identify individuals and organizations within the artwork. Users can search for people and organizations wherever they are represented in caricatures and drawings as well as text.
Literaturnaia Gazeta Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Established on April 22, 1929 with the support of the "father of Soviet literature," writer Maxim Gorky, Literaturnaia gazeta is a landmark publication in Russia's cultural heritage. With its focus on literary and intellectual life, Literaturnaia gazeta allowed Soviet Russia’s preeminent authors, poets, and cultural figures a particular podium for commentary, affording perhaps fewer restrictions than might be possible in other publications. Content runs from 1929-2014.
Moscow News Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Moscow News (published 1930-2014) was the oldest English-language newspaper in Russia. From a mouthpiece of the Communist party to an influential advocate for social and political change, the pages of Moscow News reflect the shifting ideological, political, social and economic currents that have swept through the Soviet Union and Russia in the last century. The Moscow News Digital Archive offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title, and features full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and searchable text, and is cross-searchable with numerous other East View digital resources.
The Digital Archive contains all obtainable published issues (1930-2014, approx. 60,000 pages), including issues of the newspaper’s short-lived sister publication Moscow Daily News (1932-1938). Because this archive is sourced from a variety of collections in both the U.S. and Russia, some select issues may be missing.
Post-Perestroika Newspapers This link opens in a new window
The Post-Perestroika Newspapers collection traces the evolution of post-Soviet Russia, with coverage beginning in the mid 1980s and extending well into the twenty-first century. Established soon before or soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the newspapers in this collection document the changes taking place in Russia, some with breathtaking speed, all the while embracing innovative journalistic methods and standards that were a far cry from the journalism of the Soviet period. These newspapers, some of which had a relatively short lifespan, nevertheless provide important and critical insight into the events and personalities that defined post-Soviet Russian politics and history.
Pravda Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
This database includes the Pravda archive from its launch in 1912 through 2009. Pravda was the official voice of Soviet communism and the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1918 and 1991.
Sovetskoe Zdravookhranenie Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Established in 1942 by the Ministry of Health of the USSR, the journal Sovetskoe Zdravookhranenie (Soviet Healthcare) was Soviet Union’s premier scientific public health journal covering issues related to public health, social hygiene, health policy, and health education. This open access archive runs from 1942-1992.
Voennaia Mysl' Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Voennaia Mysl’(translated into English as "Military Thought" and published continuously in various formats and titles from 1918-Present) is generally regarded as the most authoritative military-theoretical journal in the USSR and subsequently post-Soviet Russia. Established in 1918, a year after the October Revolution, as Voennoe Delo, it underwent several name changes before the editors of the journal settled with its present name Voennaia Mysl’ in 1937.
The whole collection consists of 1087 issues, covers 99 years (1918-2018) with 13,025 searchable articles.
Published under the auspices of Ministry of Defense, this Russian language publication has, thoroughout its long history, attracted military strategists and theoreticians from the top echelons of the Soviet and Russian military, having become the topmost vehicle for the articulation of various Soviet and Russian military doctrines. With the beginning of the Cold War access to Voennaia Mysl’ became severely restricted with the covers carrying the classification stamp “For Generals, Admirals, and Officers Only.” The journal would remain classified until 1989. Due to the classified nature of the journal it became nearly impossible to find, thus achieving somewhat of a legendary status among Western scholars, military analysts, and experts on Soviet military strategy. Largely through the efforts of East View in 1990 the journal again became accessible to scholars and analysts in the West and particularly in the United States.
Warsaw Pact Journal Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
The Warsaw Pact Journal (Informatsionnyi sbornik) digital archive, spanning from 1970 to 1990, contains the complete run of the journal, comprising all 40 issues and over 1,000 articles.
The Warsaw Pact Journal Digital Archive (spanning 1970-1990) is a unique resource for historians and students of the Cold War. Coalition strategy and operations are the main subject of this highly secret and Soviet-led military-theoretical journal known colloquially as “ShOVS” – the Information Herald of the Staff of the Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact Member-States (Informatsionnyi sbornik ShOVS Varshavskogo Dogovora). Throughout its existence this publication played a major role in coordinating military doctrine, strategy and operational art among the Warsaw Pact members. During this time, it was virtually the only publication in which officers from all Pact countries actively contributed their analyses and essays. Of special interest to researchers and military historians is the history of military planning and operations, particularly in a coalition setting, since it provides important insights into the military culture and education of these countries.