About the Collection

About the Collection

In acordance with Paragraph № 4 "k" of the List of instructions for the implementation of the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on January 15, 2020 № Pr-113, the Federal Archival Agency with the participation of archival services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation will organize the preparation of a set of digitized archival documents, film and photo materials dedicated to the Second World War.

Based on information resources of the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library of the Administrative Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation, electronic copies of archival documents which spotlight the history, course and results of the Second World War will be placing on the Internet for a number of years.

Identification and digitization of documents are carried out on the basis of domestic, captured and foreign archival funds.

  • 2024

    On May 12, 2024, marking the 80th anniversary of the completion of the Crimean offensive operation and the complete liberation of Sevastopol and the Crimean Peninsula from the Nazi invaders, the collection "World War II in archival documents" is complemented by digitized archival documents of the Federal Archives of Russia: the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, the Russian State Archive of Economics, the Russian State Archive of Film and Photog Documents reflecting the events on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula in the period from the end of 1942 to November 1944.

    On May 3, 2024, the Collection "World War II in Archival documents" was replenished with more than 40 photographic documents and manuscripts from the collections of the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI) and the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF) of the key period of the Great Patriotic War (from November 19, 1942 to November 7, 1944).

    April 5, 2024 the “World War II in Archival Documents” Collection has been entered with more than 250 documents from the key period of the Great Patriotic War November 19, 1942 – November 7, 1944 from the collections of the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GA RF), the Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents (RGAKFD) and the FSB of Russia.

    On March 20, 2024, photo and audio documents from the period November 19, 1942 – November 7, 1944 entered the Collection “World War II in Archival Documents” available on the Presidential Library's portal. 

    On February 22, 2024, on the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day, the Collection World War II in Archival Documents, available on the Presidential Library's portal, includes over 280 documents on the counter-offensive of Soviet troops at Stalingrad, offensive operations in the North Caucasus and Donbass.

    On February 9, 2024, 80 documents from the Russian State Archive of Economics (RGEA) and 15 thematic collections of documents from the Russian State Archive in Samara (RGA in Samara), relating to the period from November 19, 1942 to November 7, 1944, entered the Collection “World War II in Archival Documents” presented on the Presidential Library's portal. 

    On January 18, 2024, on the day of the 81st anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad, the Collection “World War II in Archival Documents” which is available on the Presidential Library’s portal includes more than 250 documents about the defence of Leningrad in 1942–1944. The materials came from federal archives (RGASPI, GA RF, RGALI, RGANI, RGVA, RGAKFD, RGAFD) and departmental archives of the Ministry of Defence, FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. Today one has an opportunity to view them from anywhere in the world.

  • 2023

    January 31, 2023 Documents on the defence of Stalingrad and the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops entered the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials “World War II in archival documents” available on the Presidential Library’s portal.

    March 14, 2023 Over 500 documents from the holdings of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation entered the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials “World War II in archival documents”.

    April 21, 2023 Over 350 documents from the holdings of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation dedicated to the preparation and conduct of the Lyuban, Vyazma, Barvenkovo-Lozovaya, Kharkov, North Caucasus, Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad, Rzhev-Sychyovka, Sinyavino operations of the Red Army against the Nazi invaders in the first half of 1942 entered the Collection “World War II in archival documents” available on the Presidential Library’s portal.

  • 2022

    June 1, 2022 There are presented the first 500 resolutions of the USSR State Defence Committee (GKO USSR) for the period from July 1 to August 16, 1941 which are stored in the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI).

    July 1, 2022 Decrees and orders of the State Defenсe Committee of the USSR № 501-1000 for the period from August 16 to December 7, 1941 from the RGASPI collections entered the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials dedicated to World War II available on the Presidential Library’s portal.

    August 11, 2022 The Collection of documents was replenished with a thousand resolutions and orders of the USSR State Defence Committee № 1001-2000 for the period from December 8, 1941 to July 7, 1942 (over 13.7 thousand digitized pages of documents).

    August 25, 2022 The final part of the documents of the GKO USSR № 2001-2527 for the period from July 7 to November 19, 1942 entered the Collection. Thus, the Collection currently contains all the resolutions and orders of the GKO USSR № 1-2527 (with additional materials) for the initial period of the Great Patriotic War from June 22, 1941 to November 19, 1942, the original copies of which are permanently stored in the Russian Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI).

    September 2, 2022 The Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials “World War II in archival documents” was updated with documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation on the initial period of the Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1941 – November 19, 1942) – about 300 documents and over 1,200 electronic images.

    September 15, 2022 The Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials “World War II in archival documents” available on the Presidential Library’s portal was entered with the documents from the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI) on the initial period of the Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1941 – November 19, 1942).

    September 22, 2022 Documents from the Russia State Archives of Economics (RGAE) entered the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials “World War II in archival documents” available on the Presidential Library’s portal.

    September 29, 2022 Wartime audio recordings of 1941–1942 from the Russian State Archive of Phonodocuments (RGAFD) entered the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials dedicated to World War II and available on the Presidential Library’s portal.

    October 7, 2022 Resolutions and decrees of the Moscow and Leningrad City Committees of the CPSU(b) on the most important issues of the organization of defence and mobilization, the transformation of urban life to a military way, evacuation of the population and enterprises, food supply, especially in the autumn of 1941, when the enemy was approaching the capital, and the ring around Leningrad was shrinking, entered the Collection.

    October 13, 2022 Documents from the archives of Republic of Belarus entered the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials dedicated to the Great Patriotic War and available on the Presidential Library’s portal.

    October 20, 2022 Over 137 documents and photographs from the holdings of the Russian State Military Archive (RGVA) entered the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials dedicated to World War II.

    October 28, 2022 Photographs and newsreel fragments from the holdings of the Russian State Film and Photo Archive (RGAKFD) entered the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials dedicated to World War II and available on the Presidential Library’s portal.

    November 10, 2022 Over 160 documents from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation of the Historical and Documentary Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia are available in the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials dedicated to World War II.

    November 18, 2022 Documents from the Central Archive of the FSB of Russia and the Central Border Archive of the FSB of Russia for the period from June 22, 1941 to November 19, 1942 are featured in the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials dedicated to World War II.

    December 6, 2022 Over 100 documents from the Archive of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation entered the Collection “World War II in archival documents” available on the Presidential Library’s portal.

    December 28, 2022 Over 450 documents from the Russian Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) for the period from June 22, 1941 to November 19, 1942 entered the Collection of Digitized Archival Documents, Film and Photo Materials “World War II in archival documents”.

  • 2021

    September 3, 2021 more than 3.5 thousand digitized archival documents, film and photo materials starting September 1, 1939 - June 22, 1941 provided from 8 federal archives (Russian State Military Archives, Russian State Archives of Social and Political History, Russian State Archives of Contemporary History, State Archives of the Russian Federation, Russian State Archives of Economy, Russian State Archives of Film and Photo Documents, Russian State Naval Archives, Russian State Archives in Samara), institutional archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Federal Security Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, as well as state archives of Belarus) entered the Collection.

  • 2020

    In the year of the 75th anniversary of the Victory, online access to the first part of the documentary complex dedicated to the history of the Second World War (January 1933 - August 31, 1939) has been opened. The materials disclose, in particular, the policy of appeasing Germany from the moment the Nazis came to power until the German attack on Poland.