This collection is located on-site.
This collection has no restrictions.
The collection includes typed and handwritten manuscripts, charts, and related materials on life in the Soviet Union which were commissioned by the Research Program on the USSR between 1950 and 1955. Some of these manuscripts were published by the RP-USSR; the majority of these publications are included in the collection as well. The authors of these works were émigré Soviet intellectuals living in the United States and Europe. As such, the majority of the materials are in Russian, with some English materials (often translated from Russian), and a few items in Ukrainian and German.
Series I is composed of manuscripts and associated materials on a broad range of topics related to the Soviet Union and the Soviet sphere of influence. Manuscripts within Subseries I.1: Economics address topics including natural resources, agriculture, forestry, industrial and urban development, and Soviet economic policy and administration. Subseries I.2: Social and political sciences is the largest group of materials in the collection. It contains manuscripts on the history of the Russian Empire, the USSR, and regional ethnic minority groups, from the seventeenth century through World War II and the immediate post-war period. It also contains manuscripts on Soviet foreign and domestic policy, including the structure and functions of the Communist Party, military, and secret police. Finally, it includes materials on Soviet society, including education, religion and the suppression thereof, and other distinctive aspects of Soviet culture. Conversely, Subseries I.3: Science is the smallest group of materials in the collection. It includes nineteen manuscripts on the process of conducting research in various scientific fields in the Soviet Union. Subseries I.4: The arts addresses Soviet literature, linguistics, and press freedom; theatre; music; film; and architecture. There are both original literary manuscripts and scholarly manuscripts addressing other works of literature in this subseries.
The Research Program on the USSR published two sets of manuscripts, selected from among the approximately 400 manuscripts commissioned by the program. These were the so-called "Mimeographed Series" of article-length manuscripts (Subseries II.1) and a smaller series of book-length works (Subseries II.2). The titles of these publications were translated into English regardless of the language of the text, which was usually Russian. The collection does not include all of the original manuscripts published by the RP-USSR. It is also lacking several printed items from the Mimeographed Series: numbers 5, 6, 11, and 19.
This collection is intellectually arranged in two series and several subseries. Series I is intellectually arranged into subseries following the arrangement of materials in the subject guide provided in the original finding aid. It is physically arranged in alphabetical order by the author's last name. Series II is physically and intellectually arranged according to the publication number assigned to the work by the Research Program on the USSR at the time it was issued.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located on-site.
This collection has no restrictions.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Research Program on the USSR Manuscripts; Box and Folder (if known); Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.
Philip E. Mosely Collection: Papers of Philip E. Mosely, director of the Research Project on the USSR. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Manuscripts: Source of acquisition--Research Program on the USSR. Method of acquisition--Transfer; Date of acquisition--1955.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Manuscripts Accessioned 1955.
Manuscripts Processed 12/--/80.
The Research Program on the USSR operated at Columbia University from 1950 to 1955. The program commissioned manuscripts by exiled Soviet intellectuals on various aspects of the history and development of the USSR. Its aim was to produce primary sources about life in the Soviet Union while also offering financial support to émigrés.
The Research Program was sponsored by the East European Fund, Inc., a subsidiary of the Ford Foundation. It was directed by Philip E. Mosely (1905-1972), a former diplomat, East European Fund board member, professor at Columbia University's Russian Institute, and cofounder of the Bakhmeteff Archive. Alexander Dallin (1924-2000) and Robert Slusser (1916-1997) served as Associate Directors of the RP-USSR. Many of the scholars commissioned to write reports were affiliated with the International Rescue Committee's International Library and Research Center in Munich, Germany.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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