The Presidential Library: New acquisitions timed to the 67th anniversary of the Great Victory

In honor of the 67th anniversary of Victory, the Presidential Library has added to its “The Memory of the Great Victory” collection new documents – digital copies of books from the Natural Sciences Library under the Russian Academy of Sciences, private collections, the National Library of Republic of Karelia, the Tula Regional Universal Scientific Library, the D. I. Mendeleev Regional Scientific Library of Tyumen and the Sakhalin Regional Universal Scientific Library.

“Authority and Society On the Eve and During the Great Patriotic War” section  

The section includes the documents revealing the activity of the Soviet state to strengthen the front and rear, life and work of the population at the home front, as well as propaganda materials.

The description of areas of development of oil-refining industry, new methods of production of unleaded motor fuel in the war time is given in Ya. T. Eidus’ Liquid Fuel and War (Moscow, Leningrad, 1943).

Scientific life and public education during the war have been reflected in the report by G. F. Alexandrov The Great Patriotic War and Social Science delivered at the general meeting of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR on May 4, 1942 (Baku, 1942), in the program of the Scientific session of the Azerbaijan Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR devoted to the 15^th anniversary of the heroic Read Army (Baku, 1943), in methodological workbooks for secondary school teachers of the Kazakh SSR “Teaching of history in the conditions of the Great Patriotic War”: [in 2 parts] (Alma-Ata, 1942). Part 1. (History of the USSR), Part 2. (New History) and for schools of the Uzbek SSR “Teaching of history in the conditions of the Great Patriotic War” (Tashkent, 1942). Issue 1. (Ancient History), Issue 2. (History of Middle Ages), Issue 4. (History of the USSR).

The policy of the Soviet state regarding children in war-time conditions and various aspects of child protection, including legal ones, are dealt with in the book by G. M. Sverdlov, War and Legal Protection of Children in the USSR (Tashkent, 1943). State secrets, the need for their strict keeping and punishment for the disclosure are described in the brochure of N. D. Durmanov, State and Military Secrets (Moscow, 1942). The manual of S. Ya. Rosenblit, Inquiry in the Red Army (Moscow, 1942), reveals the basis of investigation of cases of crimes committed by military personnel, rights and obligations of the investigator, the method of investigation of crimes, as well as sample documents drawn up by the investigator during the initial inquiry.

Propaganda materials are presented mostly by the first war years’ pamphlets whose main task was to reveal anti-human essence of Hitler's fascism and stir up patriotic feelings of Soviet people.

I. P. Trainin’s Nazi Party, Its "Ideology" and Mechanism (Tashkent, 1942) tells about the National Socialist Party of Germany as the ideological center of fascism.

The position of the states which had come under German occupation, the state of their economies, legal and social status of the population is considered in European Peoples under the Yoke of Fascism (Moscow, Leningrad, 1941).

Economic policy of fascism in Germany and in the occupied territories is analyzed in the What Had Promised and What Had Given German Fascism to Workers by M. N. Smith (Moscow, 1941).

Essay on the policy of the German authorities in the field of science, education, culture, literature and art is presented in the I. I. Zil'berfarb’s Fascism is the Enemy of Culture (Moscow, Leningrad, 1941).

National and racial chauvinism of Hitler and his henchmen is sharply criticized in the Nazi Anti-Semitism by V. V. Struve (Moscow, Leningrad, 1942).

M. Gorky in the Fight against Fascist Barbarism collection (Moscow, 1941) includes excerpts from the articles by Maxim Gorky, which appeared in the national press in 1930-1936s. They contain the rejection of the great proletarian writer of ideology and activities of German fascism, and beckon to the fight against it.

The collection Yasnaya Polyana, (Moscow, 1942), compiled by S. A. Tolstaya-Esenina, contains articles and documents about the history of the museum-estate of Leo Tolstoy Yasnaya Polyana, evidences of invasion of Nazi occupants into the estate.

The Heroic Caucasus (Baku, 1943) reveals the statements of the chroniclers and historians of different countries and eras about the courage and valor of the Caucasian peoples, which is intended to awaken the fighting spirit and patriotism of the inhabitants of the Soviet Caucasian republics that had joined to the entire Soviet people to fight against Nazi Germany.

Propaganda through the literary form is reflected in the collection of works, Hitler Must Fall: Poems and Prose of Anti-Fascist Writers (Moscow, Leningrad, 1941).

Branch of the Exhibition "The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against Nazi Fascism" (Kazan, 1942) is a description of the exhibition, organized by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the People's Commissariat of Education of Tatarstan, which includes news in pictures, photographic posters, reproducing the vivid scenes of war, as well as painted posters, revealing images of regular army troops and guerrillas.

The life and work of people in the rear, in particular, the railway workers, workers of the mining industry and agriculture, is covered by the following books: V. N. Obraztsov, Rail Transport in the Great Patriotic War (Moscow, 1943), K. V. Ostrovityanov, Kazakhstan's Collective Farms Struggling to Strengthen the Defense of the USSR (Alma-Ata, 1943), N. M. Janowski-Maksimov, Experience of Stakhanovite Miners from Leninogorsk (Alma-Ata, 1943).

“Allies of World War II” section

Two editions have been added to this section.

War and the National Question in Europe by I. D. Levin (Tashkent, 1943) exposes the Hitler national policies aimed at splitting and enslavement of the peoples of Europe, and describes the creation of the alliance of democratic countries aimed at fighting the invaders and the "new order" of Hitler.

F. I. Notovitch’s From First to the Second World War (Tashkent, 1943) is a brief outline of international relations in the aftermath of World War I, including the early years of World War II; it shows the first steps in creating the anti-Hitler bloc.

“Power of the Russian Arms” section

To this section have been added materials on the training of new recruits soldiers mobilized in Union republics: military bilingual terminological dictionaries: Russian-Tajik Military Dictionary (Stalinabad, 1942), containing about 4000 words and terms of the major areas of military affairs and the Russian-Kazakh Military Dictionary (Alma-Ata, 1942), as well as a manual for conducting intelligence work: V. I. Pryanishnikov To Help a Scout (Moscow, Leningrad, 1941) from the series "Red Navy Sailor’s Library."

“Defenders of the Fatherland: Living and Fallen”

The section has been enriched by a digital copy of the Commendation of Marshal of the Soviet Union G. K. Zhukov to Sergeant V. A. Shumilov "For Honest Service to the Motherland" (1946), as well as by books about war heroes - representatives of different regions of the Soviet Union.

Description of the merits of Kopytovs-Rozadorskys-Padorins-Svetlakovs-Koshkins family, including during the Great Patriotic War, their role in the history of the Navy is reflected in the book of Yu. S. Rozadorskiy Vyatka Dynasty in the History of the Motherland and the Navy: Vice Admiral N. V. Kopytov, His Ancestors and Descendants (Vyatka, 2007).

Gold Stars of Vyatka Land by N. M. Ivanov and Yu. S. Rozadorskiy (St. Petersburg, 2010) provides data about the heroes of the Soviet Union and Russian Federation, holders of the Order of Glory of 3 classes who had been born, lived, worked or studied in the Vyatka Province (Kirov Krai, Kirov Region) as well as historical information about the awards and medals.

The following books from the series "Martial Exploits of the Sons of Armenia", ed. Acad. I. A. Orbeli, are devoted to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War from Armenia: N. Zaryan. Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain N. G. Stepanyan (Yerevan, 1943), G. Stepanian. Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant S. M. Oganyan (Yerevan, 1943). In his essay, The Armenian Braves (Yerevan, 1943), A. Ganalanyan tells of the centuries-old glory of Armenian service men, which was continued by a feat of an ordinary fighter, sapper from Karabakh, Mesrop Gazaryan, who died October 2, 1942 in one of the battles of the Great Patriotic War.

“War at the Pages of Regional and Front Press” section

The military periodicals holdings have been considerably enriched.

New digital copies of newspapers of various military formations of the Northern front have been added to the Front Press section.

The Regional Press now includes a new region - the Far East, represented by the Sakhalin Oblast ("Soviet Sakhalin" paper).

The range of regional newspapers of Tula and Tyumen regions has also expanded significantly.

The overall increase in newspaper fund amounted to more than 10 thousand items.

The collection will continue to grow.