Russian Federal Archives

[Mike Cleven]

At 12:01 AM 2/2/99 -0800, David Lewis wrote:
>listmembers- I have done a little research and these cut & paste items
>turned up. There is also a book with info on all of the archives of Russia.

The whole thing looks like a treasure trove; I think we're most likely to
find the Russian America Company stuff in the Central State Archives, by
the look of the descriptions given.  I don't know enough Alaskan history to
know if the Russian Navy ever had a presence in Alaska - but I don't think
so; ships were the possessions and under the administration of the RAC, so
far as I know.  Still, they list scientific expeditions, which hopefully
there may have been some of.......the Russian Far East archives maybe
extend into Alaska.  I guess I'll start searching......

Thanks David!

>
>Archives in Russia
>http://www.iisg.nl/~abb/
>
>In 1992, the Central State Archive of Early Acts (TsGADA
>                      SSSR) was renamed Russian State Archive of Early Acts
>                      (RGADA). RGADA retains documents dating from the
>                      eleventh through the beginning of the twentieth
century,
>                      consisting of the records of central and regional
>agencies of
>                      the Russian Empire and its precedessor states up to
>the time
>                      of the administrative reforms of the late eighteenth
>and early
>                      nineteenth centuries (with the exception of the
>records of the
>                      Admiralty, Foreign, and Military Collegiia). RGADA
>also holds
>                      the fonds of central land-survey agencies ofRussia
>from the
>                      eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries;
>records of
>                      monasteries and other religious institutions;
>personal papers
>                      of state and public figures, men of science and art;
>archives of
>                      major landowners and gentry families; collections of
>historical
>                      documents and manuscript books; and collections of
>Russian
>                      and foreign incunabula, early printed and rare books
>dating
>                      from the fifteenth through the nineteenth centuries.
>
>                      Access:
>                      All of the archival holdings are open to researchers.
>
>
>Military Archives
>
>RGVIA, as most recently renamed in 1992 (earlier TsGVIA),
>                      serves as the centralized archive for military
>records of the
>                      Russian Empire, consolidating the holdings from various
>                      prerevolutionary Russian military archives and other
>                      repositories throughout the former Soviet Union. RGVIA
>                      retains documentation produced from the activities of
>highest,
>                      central, and local military administration and
>military agencies
>                      of the Russian Empire from the end of the seventeenth
>century
>                      until March of 1918.
>
>Russian Archive of the Navy
>
>The earlier precedessor of the archive was established in
>                      1724 attached to the State Admiralty Collegium for the
>                      collection and preservation of the records of the
>collegium, its
>                      expeditions and offices.
>                      RAVMF houses the complete records of the Russian and
the
>                      Soviet Navies from the eighteenth century through 1940.
>                      These include fonds of central administrative
>institutions,
>                      commands of fleets and flotillas, naval educational
>                      establishments and scientific and research
>institutions,naval
>                      ports, shipbuilding and other navy yards,
>hydrographic and
>                      scientific expeditions, as well as personal papers of
>eminent
>                      navigators and naval commanders and records of
>individual
>                      ships.
>
>Russian Archive of the Far East
>
>RGIADV was founded as a separate central state archive in
>                      1943 in Tomsk to retain records for the Kharbovsk and
>                      Primor'e krai and the Amur, Kamchatka, Sakhalin, and
>Chitin
>                      oblasts, predominantly covering the period from the
>                      mid-nineteenth century through 1940.
>                      Since the opening of Vladivostok in 1991, the archive
>has
>                      been in the process of transfer there.
>
>