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Tal'́s handwritten memoirs, recorded in 88 notebooks, recount his life experiences and explore in detail the following subjects: the life of the Imperial family and the role of Rasputin; high society and cultural life in St. Petersburg at the turn of the century; social life and customs in the Russian provinces during the 19th century; the Aleksandrovskiĭ Lycʹee; military education and the Hussar Regiment; the February and October Revolutions; and the Russian emigration, first in Yugoslavia and, after World War II, in France. The narrative, although predominantly second-hand, is frequently interspersed with personal reminiscences and the recollections of family members, friends and colleagues. Georgiĭ Tal ́stresses the eyewitness aspect of these accounts, stating that he recorded much of the information the time it occurred. However, his repeated use of verbatim dialogue gives the memoirs a tone of historical fiction.

Papers of General Georgiĭ E. Berkhman that consist of correspondence, subject files, maps and printed materials. Most of the collection concerns the Sarykamysh campaign against Turkey in late 1914, including telegrams, orders, reports, maps and books. There is also Berkhman's official service record, a brief memoir by his wife Elena Vasilévna, clippings, and copies of Tbilisi newspapers from January 1919.

Memoirs of Tanutrov and his wife, I︠A︡dviga Iosipovna Tanutrova. Tanutrova's memoirs"Na polśkoĭ zemle" (63 p. handwritten) describe her early life in Poland. Tanutrov's memoirs"Ot Tiflisa do Parizha" (348 p. typed) discuss his growing up in the Dagestan Region, his military training in Tbilisi and his career during World War I and the Civil War. The manuscript includes historical material relating to nineteenth-century military events in the Caucasus. The related materials consist of an essay by V.N. Speranskiĭ about Tanutrova's literary work and a clipping of an article she wrote for "Russkai︠a︡ mysl"́ in 1956"V osazhdennii Varshave.".

The memoirs "Moe postuplenie i 7-letnee prebyvanie v Voronezhskom Velikogo Kniazia Mikhaila Pavlovicha kadetskon korpuse" concern his military education.

The collection primarily consists of unpublished manuscripts by Shavelśkiĭ. There are also letters from Shavelśkiĭ to his daughter (Marii︠a︡ Novit︠s︡kai︠a︡), several photographs of Shavelśkiĭ, clippings and miscellaneous printed items. Shavelśkiĭ's manuscripts include his memoirs (1920) which describe church affairs in Russia, World War I, the Imperial family and the 1917 Revolution; "Nabroski s natury" (1947), a series of brief essays and stories; "Pokhod protiv Rasputina" (n.d.); "Russkai︠a︡ t︠s︡erkov ́pred revoli︠u︡t︠s︡ieĭ" (1937); and "V dobrovolćheskoĭ armii" (1943), which describes Shavelśkiĭ's service as an army chaplain. Other manuscripts include brief sketches of Shavelśkiĭ by Feodor Bokach and N.N. Glubokovskiĭ.

Manuscripts of, and historical documents collected by, Georgiĭ M. Kiselevskiĭ. Kiselevskiĭ's brief typed memoirs discuss his youth, service in the Imperial Ministry of Communications before World War I, and life as an emigre in Europe and Latin America. His diary from 1919-1920 covers the period when he served in the White Northwestern Army. Also included is a photograph and membership lists relating to emigre engineers' associations. Among the historical documents which Kiselevskiĭ collected are patents and edicts issued by the following Russian rulers: Alekseĭ Mikhaĭlovich (ruled 1645-76); Peter I (1682-1725); Catherine I (1725-27); Anna Ivanovna (1730-40); Ivan VI (1740-41); Catherine II (1762-96); and Alexander I (1801-25). Co-signers of certain of these documents are A.A. Arakcheev, V.V. Dolgorukiĭ, B.C. von Minikh, and A.D. Menshikov. Also included are over 50 miscellaneous receipts and other documents from the period 1732-1872. In addition there is a printed roll (stolbet︠s︡) depicting the order of march at Alexander I's funeral (1825).

The collection consists of manuscripts, documents, printed materials, and a photograph of Sadovskiĭ with his son and grandson. The manuscripts are memoiristic in nature and concern such topics as Sadovskiĭ's work in and near Vitebsk as part of Stolypin's land reform commission, the creation of a botanical garden in Vitebsk, Sadovskiĭ's imprisonment by the Cheka in 1919-1920, his emigration to Brazil and various antisemitic topics. The documents include Cheka affidavits regarding Sadovskiĭ's arrest, photostats of diplomas and emigration forms. There are two copies of a brochure Sadovskiĭ wrote about the Vitebsk Botanical Garden.

Correspondence, manuscripts, notes, and printed materials of Georgiĭ P. Benningsen, brother of E.P. Benningsen and, in the emigration, an associate of Vladimir Burt︠s︡ev. Much of the correspondence consists of letters to Georgiĭ Benningsen by Burt︠s︡ev (69 letters from the 1920s). Manuscripts include Benningsen's memoirs about Burt︠s︡ev, copies of Burt︠s︡ev's (apparently published) memoirs, and notes. Printed materials are chiefly clippings on various topics. There are also scattered issues of 1917 Russian newspapers ("Nash Vek," "Russkoe Slovo"), and an autographed copy of Burt︠s︡ev's 1919 edition of Griboedov's "Gore ot uma."

The memoirs of Grand Duke Romanov consist of a typescript and a photocopy, entitled "Vospominanii︠a︡: Semeĭnai︠a︡ Khronika, 1887-1919" (1,171 p.) and photographs for the memoirs. There are also related family materials, which are mostly excerpts from letters of his father, Konstantin Konstantinovich, and his grandfather, Konstantin Pavlovich. They are grouped by subject. The memoir covers the early years of Gavriĭl Konstantinovich's life, before he left Russia in 1918.

Popov's manuscript memoirs touch on his childhood and life in Siberia and Mongolia.