Primary sources are original documents and objects created at the time being studied, such as diaries, newspaper accounts, letters, governmental records, or drawings. Any record that documents a past event can be considered a primary source.
You can find primary sources in libraries, museums, and archives, including McGill's Rare Books and Special Collections Library (located on the 4th floor of the McLennan Library building). You can also find digitized primary sources online in library databases, such as those linked below, as well as in digitized collections, such as McGill's Digital Exhibitions & Collections.
This guide focuses on sources related to Russian and Soviet history available either originally in English or as an English translation. Some Russian sources are also included further down. For Russian literature, see the Russian Literature & Languages Subject Guide.
Finally, for more English-language sources, see the extensive guide Primary Sources for the Study of Soviet History created by Terry Martin for Harvard University. Items that are not available at the McGill Library can be requested through ILL.
These are examples of some of the reprinted primary sources available in English to McGill Library users. To find more, try searching the catalogue including the keyword "sources", for example: Soviet Union History Sources. Using the filters on the lefthand side, you can limit your results to English only, eBooks/physical books, etc.
A Documentary History of Communism in Russia by 
Everyday Jewish Life in Imperial Russia by 
Soviet Culture and Power by 
The Voice of the People: Letters from the Soviet Village, 1918-1932 by 
Dressed for a Dance in the Snow by 
The Leningrad Blockade, 1941-1944 by 
Writing the Siege of Leningrad by 
Dimitrov and Stalin, 1934-1943 by 
The 1956 Hungarian Revolution: A History in Documents by 
Gulag Voices by 
The KGB File of Andrei Sakharov by 
Perestroika in the Soviet Republics by 
Against the Grain: An Autobiography by 
The Struggle for Russia by 
Midnight Diaries by 
Days of Defeat and Victory by 
A Dirty War by 
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This collection of Foreign Office files explores the history of Persia (Iran), Central Asia and Afghanistan from the decline of the Silk Road in the first half of the nineteenth century to the establishment of Soviet rule over parts of the region in the early 1920s. It encompasses the era of “The Great Game” - a political and diplomatic confrontation between the Russian and British Empires for influence, territory and trade across a vast region, from the Black Sea in the west to the Pamir Mountains in the east.
Comprised of correspondence, intelligence reports, agents’ diaries, minutes, maps, newspaper excerpts and other materials from the FO 65, FO 106, FO 371 and FO 539 series, this resource forms one of the greatest existing sets of historical documents relating to this region, offering insights not only into the impact of Great Power politics on the region, but also the region’s peoples, cultures and societies.
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This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new windowFor more comprehensive listings of original language primary sources, see the Russian Literature & Languages Subject Guide.
Directory and bibliographic guide to the Archives of Russia : Moscow and St. Petersburg.
This link opens in a new windowDirectory and bibliographic guide to the Archives of Russia : Moscow and St. Petersburg.
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