Post-Soviet Archives: Organization, Access, and Declassification

摘要

This monograph describes the structures, access, and declassification proceduresfor Soviet-era civil and military archives located in Moscow. Although there are numerous holdings within former Soviet territory housing materials dated between 1917 and 1991, only those associated with the top leadership bodies (the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) Politburo, Secretariat, and Central Committee); the diplomatic, security, and intelligence services (the NKVD, KGB, and GRU); and the former Soviet military are examined in this paper. The author gathered most of the information for this document through interviews with Russian archive officials during a visit to Moscow between May 23 and May 31, 1992. The information cutoff is October 1992. This monograph is a part of the ongoing RAND project on World War II, the early Cold War, and Korean War POW-MIA issues. Research for this paper was sponsored by the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and undertaken within the International Security and Defense Strategy Program of RAND's National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff. The monograph is expected to be of interest to officials and specialists seeking information on the organization of the post-Soviet archives.