World War II in archival documents (collection of digitized archival documents, film and photo materials)

On January 23, 2025 the collection of digitized archival documents, film, and photographic materials titled World War II in Archival Documents, which was posted on the Presidential Library's portal, has been expanded with more than 200 new documents covering key events from the Great Patriotic War between November 7, 1944 and January 27, 1945.

These documents describe the large-scale offensive operations of the Red Army in Hungary and East Prussia during this time period, as recorded in documents from the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of Russia. These documents include directives from the Supreme Soviet Command's headquarters and operational reports from the General Staff of the Soviet Army.

The new arrivals also include fragments from the documentary Winter and Spring of 1945 about the German offensive operation in the Ardennes and the start of the Vistula-Oder offensive by the Red Army. The exhibition also includes photographs that depict episodes of the liberation of Warsaw and Krakow.

The documents of the Soviet intelligence services are represented by secret messages (ciphered telegrams) received from agents of the Soviet intelligence abroad - from London, Washington and Bucharest. One of these documents is a memorandum from the Deputy People's Commissar for State Security of the USSR, B. Z. Kobulov, to the State Defense Committee of the USSR regarding the health of Adolf Hitler, the role of Heinrich Himmler in the domestic policy of the Third Reich, and the military and political plans of Nazi Germany, dated January 13, 1945.

The documents of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) mainly consist of resolutions of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and documents from the personal file of J. Stalin. These include personal messages from J. Stalin to the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, regarding the conclusion of the tripartite Anglo-Franco-Soviet Pact on December 7, 1944; joint policies regarding Yugoslavia on December 12, 1944; and the recognition of the Provisional National Government of Poland in Lublin by the Soviet Union on January 3, 1945, among other documents.

Documents from the archives of the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation are of particular interest: cipher telegrams from V.M. Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, to F.T. Gusev, the USSR ambassador to Great Britain, and A.A. Gromyko, the USSR ambassador to the United States, containing the texts of messages from Stalin to Winston Churchill and F. Roosevelt in January 1945. Additionally, there is a plan of action from the Soviet Foreign Ministry related to preparations for the Yalta Conference between the leaders of the Allied powers.

The Collection also contains decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, stored in the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GA RF), regarding the awarding of orders and medals of the USSR to officers, sergeants, and enlisted personnel of the Red Army, as well as senior command staff members of the armed forces of Great Britain and the United States, and officers of the French military unit "Normandy", including the awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Documents from the collections of the Russian State Archive of Economics (RGAE) reflect the activities of Soviet economic and planning authorities to rebuild industry and infrastructure in the regions of the RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Karelo-Finnish SSR, Lithuanian SSR, Moldavian SSR, and Estonian SSR after they were liberated from occupation. Additionally, important documents related to the development of weapons and aircraft construction are presented, including orders from the USSR People's Commissariat of the Aviation Industry regarding the creation of prototype launch devices for T. Chelomeya's catapult cannon to launch objects weighing 2.2-2.5 tons, dated December 9, 1944. There is also information about conducting factory tests on the experimental aircraft BI designed by T. Bolkhovitinov, dated December 12, 1944, and the release of Yak-3 aircraft equipped with VK-105PF engines and armed with three 20-caliber Berezin cannons at Plant No 292 of Narkomaviaprom, dated December 30th, 1944; the repor "On the Construction of a Jet Aircraft by T. Yakovlev" is also presented. Additionally, there are reports from various departmental research institutes related to military developments such as the construction of military roads in swampy areas, improvements to military uniforms, and methods for treating frostbite (based on materials from the Russian Academy of Defence in Samara).

!!! Please note that the materials presented in the project contain shocking details and descriptions of atrocities and abuse of civilians; The photograph shows mass graves and the exhumation of remains. In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, these visual materials are prohibited for viewing by children under 16 years of age, as well as by persons suffering from nervous and mental illnesses.

Archival documents of the Collection World War II in Archival Documents are available from anywhere in the world thanks to the Presidential Library’s portal. Especially for the foreign audience, the titles and annotations to the documents as well as the texts of the accompanying articles are also available in English.

In addition to digitized archival documents the Collection contains a list of the main Internet projects, databases, other thematic online documents, virtual tours of the history of World War II, developed by government agencies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and various organizations.

Executive institution: Federal Archival Agency (Rosarkhiv)

Operator: Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library of the Administrative Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation

Participants:

Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation (AVP RF)

Russian State Military Archives (RGVA)

Russian State Archive of the Navy (RGAVMF)

Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI)

State Archives of the Russian Federation (GA RF)

Russian State Archives of Contemporary History (RGANI)

Russian State Archives of Film and Photo Documents (RGAKFD)

Russian State Archives of Economy (RGAE)

Russian State Archives in Samara (RGA in Samara)

Central Archives of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (CA MO RF)

Foreign Intelligence Service Archives of the Russian Federation (Archive of SVR)

Central Archive of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (CA FSB)

German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv)

National Archives of the Republic of Belarus (NARB)

Belarusian State Archives of Film and Photo Documents (BGAKFFD)

Belarusian State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art (BGAMLI)