1917

In the year of the 100th anniversary of the revolution, the Presidential Library presents a special collection dedicated to the main events of 1917: from a stirring up of the labor movement at the beginning of the year and the February Revolution to the elections into the Constituent Assembly that took place after the October Revolution. The sources are composed in 23 arranged in chronological order sections. The principle of “from general to particular,” allowing reviewing the issues in consecutive order and in more detail, lies at the very core of their arrangement.

The collection composition is diverse. It was based on archival materials. The collection includes both laws and regulations of the period of the revolution, as well as the records of state and public institutions, enterprises and organizations. Among the archival materials, it is also necessary to point out at the array of photographs and printed press (selected editions and newspaper clippings). In addition, the memoirs, diaries and letters of witnesses to the revolution, documentary literature (works of contemporaries based on documents and on personal memories), scientific research works (Soviet and recent periods) and other scientific publications (volumes of collected documents and materials, collected articles, reference sources, and published lectures). Visual materials, complementing a scenario of revolutionary events, consist of the postcards, photographs, maps, plans, flyers, posters and newsreels. Altogether, materials are grouped in the appropriate subsections: research and memories, archival materials, printed press, illustrations, which facilitates familiarization with a range of problems.

Apart from covering the events of the revolutionary year most fully and comprehensively, a use of materials of a different nature allows reviewing them as objectively as possible. The archival materials and research works counterbalance sources of personal origin and documentary literature, asking for critical examination.

The materials for current collection courtesy of the state archives (the State Archives of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Historical Archive, the Russian State Archive of Cinema and Photo Documents, the Central State Archive of Cinema and Photo Documents of St. Petersburg), the central and regional libraries (the Russian State Library, the Russian National Library, the State Public Political Library, the State Public Historical Library, the Central Naval Library, the Belgorod State Universal Scientific Library and the Penza Regional Library), of higher educational institutions, scientific centers and museums (Tomsk State University, the Russian Institute of Art History, the Russian Geographical Society, the “Communication of Times” Cultural and Historical Foundation, Children’s Museum of Greeting Card, the “Peterhof” State National Park and Museum, and the “Faberge” Museum).