Archives of the Russian diaspora in the context of historical events

Abstract

The archives of the Russian diaspora, which were established abroad mainly between the two World wars and during the Cold War, reflect the most tragic periods of Russian and World history – the First and the Second World Wars, the Revolution and the Civil war in Russia. Created as a result of wars and revolutions, the archives of the Russian diaspora have become now the source for research of the history of these huge and ambiguously interpreted events. The archives of the Russian diaspora became part of a single archival heritage, organically incorporated into the global information space. At the present stage of development not only of historical research, but also of international relations, it has become necessary to eliminate the still remaining information gaps. This can be done only by the study of the archival documents: the memoirs of the participants of those events, preserved official records, the correspondence of individuals and institutions and organizations of various levels – governmental, diplomatic, international, public. Therefore, it is especially important for researchers under these circumstances to try to maintain the objectivity of research during the process of study of archival documents, which themselves were often created as a result of a hot political struggle and, some time, reflect diametrically opposed opinions of various political groups.