Excerpt from Guide to Materials for American History in Russian Archives

Permission to Use the Archives. A foreigner desiring to use the Official archives must secure authorization from the Russian Ministry Of Foreign Affairs through the representative Of his country residing in Petrograd. Each application is considered on its own merits, and although permission is usually granted to persons Of approved scholarship, it should not be assumed as a matter Of course. It may take some time before the application is acted upon and it would therefore be unwise to set out for Russia until there is definite assurance that access to the archives will be given. This permission is only for the Archive Of the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs at Petrograd. If, in addition, the scholar wishes to examine material on his subject found in other places the director of the above mentioned archive will arrange this.

TO help the authorities in Russia, the applicant should state clearly and definitely the subject and period he wishes to investigate, the object in view, and when he plans to arrive. The application should be accompanied by credentials from men and institutions Of learning as to the character and standing Of the applicant.

Facilities for Study. When the scholar has arrived on the field he will find the archivists very willing to co-operate with him. On the whole there is little red tape. Unfortunately the physical facilities are not everywhere adequate. The primary purpose Of the government archives is to preserve the documents for Official use. Scientific investigation is a secondary matter, especially so far as foreigners are concerned, for not many Of them come. It is therefore not surprising that no special arrangements are provided. In some cases there is no room for an extra table, and only by crowding is an additional place made.

Time. The greatest drawback, however, is not the want of Space, for the Officers of the archive will Often inconvenience themselves to accommodate the stranger, but the lack Of time. Church and civil holidays follow each other in rapid succession, and make many days unavailable. Moreover, the archives are Open only for a few hours each day, never more than five, usually from 11 a. M. To 4 p. M., and sometimes only two, I p. M. To 3 p. M. This is the winter schedule. In summer it is worse, for then the Officers go away on their vacations and the hours Of work are reduced. The result is a peculiar situation: in the winter time the hours are longer, but there is little daylight; in summer the hours are short, though daylight lasts long. Were it not for the numerous holidays during the spring months that season would be the best for investigation.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.