The article presents the analysis of a new collective monograph “History of Documents in Russia in Personalities and Destinies”, which is concerned with the development history of national personal documents of official origin The publication was prepared by joint efforts of experts in records management, state and administrative law from both Ulyanovsk State University and the Institute for History and Archives of the Russian State University for the Humanities. The authors recreated the historical outline of the national documents development basing on the sources found in the capital and regional archives of the Ulyanovsk Region. The book features the analysis of the archival sources on the basis of which the lives of the people from various classes of the Russian Empire, citizens of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation are revealed. The information presented in the monograph is hardly known and it contributes significantly to the research in the history of documents in Russia. The scientific publication outlined the prospects for future research in the field of records management. Published to mark the 100 th anniversary of the Archival Service of the Ulyanovsk Region, the monograph became an important contribution to studies of the history, records management and archival science, jurisprudence, genealogy, civil law and deserves attention of the general public. The article analyzes the contents of the monograph. The originality of the compositional structure chosen by the authors, as well as the high educational and scientific value of the book are emphasized.