Recent events
Workshop on using Archives & Libraries
The BASES Postgraduate Workshop on "Using Archives and Libraries to Research Histories of Eastern Europe and Eurasia" was held on 6th July 2023, from 14:00 to 16:00 (BST). This online event aimed to provide valuable insights to postgraduate students and early career researchers interested in archival research in the Eastern European and Eurasian regions. The workshop covered a range of topics, from the basics of archival research to navigating the complex political landscape and bureaucratic challenges. Keynote speakers from the British Library and the Bridge Network shared their expertise, and attendees had the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions led by experienced academics with regional expertise. This workshop provided a valuable platform for participants to enhance their research skills in the context of Eastern Europe and Eurasia.
The slides from the event are available here.
For a list of useful contacts, click here.
Using Archives & Libraries in the Former Soviet Union
This guide contains essential information on some of the main archives and specialist library collections in the former Soviet Union. The information is correct as of 2013 for many of the institutions listed (other entries were correct as of 2010), and has been compiled by researchers who have recently worked in these institutions. However, the reader should bear in mind that procedures and opening hours can change with little notice or anything approaching logic.
We have included basic information for each institution such as website addresses, contact numbers and locations; we have also included more personal "insider" information, such as how to order documents and fill in forms, and where to have lunch. Issues peculiar (in both senses) to each archive are also covered at length to help you get to grips with each archive's idiosyncrasies.
There follows information on using archives and libraries: useful vocabulary and information about how former Soviet archives are organised. We have also included a sample letter, which you may wish to use when you register, and finally, notes on applying for a visa to study in Russia.
Samantha Sherry, Jonathan Waterlow, and Andy Willimott
(Editors)
Information on Archives
Russian Archives Online offers information on most Russian archives
Researching Russian Roots has a list of Russian archives with addresses and telephone numbers as well as links to sites of archives
Архивы России is the official website Федеральной архивной службы России (Росархива) при поддержке Института "Открытое общество" ("Фонд Сороса") и Министерства Российской Федерации по делам печати, телерадиовещания и средств массовых коммуникаций
Handbook: M.J.Berry & M.J.Ilic, Using Russian Archives: An Informal Guide for Beginners , Univ. of Birmingham.
Slovo
An interdisciplinary journal of Russian, Eurasian and East European affairs published by postgraduates of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies
anthropology - economics - film - geography - history - international studies - linguistics - literature - media - music - politics – sociology
Contributions, including research articles, book and film reviews, and review articles are welcome from all research students and academics. Submissions to the Board of Editors may be sent via e-mail attachment or on disk in Microsoft Word format (version 6.0 or lower). In addition to such electronic media submissions, we ask that contributors submit two hard copies of all articles and reviews, and a 100-word abstract for all articles. Contributors must adhere to the style sheet which can be found on the website.
All manuscripts are refereed and undergo a review process. Contributions submitted must not be under consideration by other publications at the time of submission. The editors reserve the right to make any changes thought to be necessary or appropriate to typescripts accepted for publication. A duplicate should be retained by the author. No disks or hard copies shall be returned. The length for consideration of an article is 6,000 to 8,000 words (including footnotes), and 600 to 700 words for a review.
If you have any queries about becoming a contributor for Slovo please do not hesitate to get in touch with us and we will be happy to assist.
Slovo (School of Slavonic and East European Studies)
University College London
16 Taviton Street
London
WC1H 0BW
List of resources for Postgraduate/Early Career Researchers
Please note that this list was last updated 13 May 2019
Postgrads
Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies offer a range of scholarships, including a Dissertation Grant for Graduate Students to ‘support doctoral dissertation research and write-up in any field of Baltic Studies’.
Arts and Humanities Research Council provides a range of studentships and support grants, student must apply through their university.
Economic History Society award bursaries and grants for undergraduate and PhD students to assist with projects that focus on any area of economic and or social history.
Economic Social Research Council provides PhD studentships for proposals in economic and social history, area studies, and politics and international relations. Students must apply through their university.
The Estophilius Scholarship provides grants for ‘international final bachelor year students, master students, PhD students and post-doctorate researchers from universities abroad while staying in Estonia for conducting research or collecting material about Estonia’.
German Historical Institute (DHI) in Moscow awards up to three-month scholarships for doctoral students who are researching German or Russian / Ukrainian / Belarusian history or the history of the other post-Soviet countries as part of their doctoral project. They also offer a Short-Stay Stipend for Research in the Russian Military Archives.
Harley Fellowship in the History of Cartography provides grants ‘to promote the use of the great wealth of cartographic material available in London and other parts of the United Kingdom’.
Helen Wallis Fellowship at the British Library for work that will ‘help promote the use of the British Library's cartographic collections in historical investigation’.
Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe - Institute of the Leibniz Association in Marburg offers fellowships for ‘short-term, intensive research stay (up to one month) in the collections’.
Royal Historical Society provides a range of different grants, including for archival research and conference attendance.
«SEFER» Center International Grant for Research on History and Culture of Russian Jewry in Different Historical Periods ‘awards grants to support research projects in multiple disciplines on Russian Jewry’.
Social History Society provides grants to attend academic/career events
ECRs
Aleksandri Institute Visiting Fellows Programme ‘provides an opportunity for highly qualified scholars in Russian and Eastern European studies to visit the Aleksanteri Institute and the University of Helsinki for a period of one to three months’.
Archimedes Grants offers grants to researchers and academic staff from outside of Estonia and ‘can be used for research, teaching, collaboration with colleagues etc.’ in Estonia.
Arts and Humanities Research Council offer a research grant scheme for ECRs which covers the full economic cost of research.
Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies offer a range of scholarships, including a Research Grant for Emerging Scholars.
The ASEEES website has an extensive list of funding opportunities, although mainly for US citizens.
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship
Centre for Advanced Study Sofia offers various funding streams for postdocs and ECRs.
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University offers an annual postdoc position.
Economic History Society offers Carnevali Small Research Grants for up to £5000 to cover small-scale research initiatives or pilots that are intended to form the basis for a publication, or the foundation for applications for more substantial funding grants.
Economic & Social Research Council
Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellowships at the European University Institute, Florence
European Research Council Starting Grants
German Historical Institute (DHI) in Moscow awards up to three-month scholarships for doctoral students who are researching German or Russian / Ukrainian / Belarusian history or the history of the other post-Soviet countries. They also offer a one-year Annual research scholarship for doctoral or habilitation projects.
Harley Fellowship in the History of Cartography for researchers ‘to promote the use of the great wealth of cartographic material available in London and other parts of the United Kingdom’.
Harriman Institute of Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies at Columbia University in New York offers a postdocs. They also offer a separate postdoc in Ukrainian Studies.
Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe - Institute of the Leibniz Association in Marburg offers fellowships for ‘short-term, intensive research stay (up to one month) in the collections’.
HSE St Petersburg Center for Historical Research Post-doctoral Fellowships offers a postdoc in Russian imperial history.
HSE International Center for the History and Sociology of World War II and Its Consequences invites applications for postdoctoral research positions in the history of World War II.
Institute for Advanced Study at the Central European University ‘offers residential fellowships to highly accomplished senior and promising young scholars seeking to spend 6-10 months in an interdisciplinary intellectual community of their peers while pursuing their own research’.
IHR School of Advanced Study at the University of London offers a range of fellowships for ECRs.
Imre Kertész Kolleg Jena ‘offers fellowships to scholars of Central and Eastern Europe who focus on the twentieth century in history and related disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, literary studies or political science’.
IRES Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Uppsala University offers one-month fellowships.
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellowships
New College Europe Institute for Advance Study in Bucharest offers a range of scholarships and ‘targets early career Romanian and international researchers/academics working in the fields of humanities, social studies, law, and economics.’
UCIS Postdoctoral Fellowships in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Pittsburg (advertised annually).
CEELBAS Language Repository
CEELBAS Language Repository: A new digital repository of teaching and self-study resources to support language training for research. Flyer