Received today a short answer from the publisher: "there are no such plans to translate it into English".
If needed, I can start to carefully read the books. But what would I have to pay attention to?
They say that these volumes are for historians and non-specialist audiences but there are no references in the books. I couldn't find any citations of ancient historians as well. They have chronology and an extensive list of recommended literature (with many English books) as an appendix and they can be easily translated and posted here if needed. I can also translate the table of contents so that you know what exactly the books deal with.
Or I can just look up for certain periods/events and post dates/summaries here.
My perception might be completely off but my understanding in reading about the "joint study history books" which is part of this project - is that entries are well annotated? It may be, they are using a format in this literature that we are not accustomed to in Western publications, especially if - "a mixed commission for studies" is involved?
A joint work of this magnitude is generally submitted to the International and Area Studies Library. This is a reference to one depository -
Guides to Sources on Russian History and Historiography
Guides to Sources on Russian History and Historiography – International and Area Studies Library – U of I Library
Bibliography of Bibliographies and Historiographical Bibliographies
Bibliografiia russkoi bibliografii po istorii SSSR. Annotirovannyi perechen bibliograficheskikh ukazateli izdannykh do 1917.
This is a superbly annotated guide to bibliographies on Russian history published up to 1917. This project was a joint effort of the
State Historical Library (Moscow) and the
Russian National Library (Petersburg):
State Historical Library (Moscow) compiled the section on the history of the SSSR; the
Russian National Library (Petersburg) wrote the sections on general history. Along with historical bibliographies, this bibliography includes bibliographies of publications of societies and organizations, indices of historical journals, and lists of works by Russian historians.
Individual entries for historians often include biographical materials as well as bibliography. The volume concludes with an author/title and a general name index. This guide is the best place to start a search for bibliographies on any historical subject before 1917.
Istoriia SSSR. Annotirovannyi perechen russkikh bibliografii izdannykh do 1965 g
This is a continuation of the work listed above, compiled in a joint effort by the
Russian State Library (Moscow) and the
State Historical Library (Moscow).
Each item is described in detailed annotations. Materials included are monographs, articles in books and periodicals, and journal indexes, and are divided into four sections: I. General Works; II. Bibliographies on the history of the USSR up to 1861; III. History of the USSR from 1861-1917; IV History of the USSR during the socialist period and the construction of communism. The volume includes bibliographies of historiography, of memoir literature, of individuals, and of histories of various republics of the USSR (Ukraine, Central Asia, etc.) The lengthy section devoted to biobibliographical works perhaps deserves special attention as it lists bibliographies of works by Russian/Soviet historians and works about them. Since entries are well annotated, the scholar will have a clear picture of the scope of each work cited as can be seen in the entries below reproduced from p. 164 of the bibliography.
Istoriia istoricheskoi nauki v SSSR. Dooktiabrskii period. Bibliografiia.
This bibliography covers the historiography of Russia up to 1917. Citations are to books, articles in journals,
sborniki, newspapers, and dissertations published up to 1963. All kinds of historical study are included, although Church history is covered very selectively. The bibliography itself is divided into three parts: General works, Literature on the work of historical societies and groups, and Literature on individual historians.
Entries provide full bibliographic information but are not annotated. However, the compilers frequently supply information on the topic, society or individual that is the subject of the section. So, for example, in the section on the
Russkoe arkheologichesko obshchestvo there is basic information on the founding of the society.
The bibliography covers historians who emigrated, but works published in emigration are not included. The compilers used numerous collections for their citations, including GPIB, the Lenin Library, and the Saltykov-Shchedrin Library. Other citations were taken from the massive bibliographies of
Mezhov and
Lambin. Entries are not annotated, but the contents for some sborniki and multi-volume works are listed. The work concludes with a cumulative name/title index.
Istoriia istoricheskoi nauki v SSSR. Sovetskii period. Oktiabr’ 1917-1967. Bibliografiia.
This is a continuation of the bibliography listed above, covering historiography from 1917 to 1967. It was compiled by GPIB in cooperation with the various institutes of history of the Academy of Sciences and regional affiliates. An enormous number of sources were consulted for the compilation of this bibliography, including the collections of the GPIB, the Lenin Library, and the Saltykov-Shchedrin Library, as well as bibliographic publications such as the INION historical bulletins. Most of the items cited are in Russian, but some citations are to works in languages of the other republics of the USSR.
The volume is divided into two parts. Part one covers general topics. Each chapter of the bibliography is devoted to some area of historiography, from the historiography of world history to the historiography of the history of feudal Russia. The second part is devoted to the activities of scholarly organizations and historical societies. Here can be found information on the publications and history of individual institutions.
An index of authors, editors, compilers, and titles of sborniki and periodicals provides easy access to individual works.
Bibliografiia bibliografii na sovremennom etape. Sbornik statei i bibliograficheskikh materialov.
This book contains a series of bibliographical essays on the history of bibliography in Russia. The most useful section for historians is the chapter, “Novye ukazateli, issledovaniia i obzory bibliographicheskikh posobii i spravochnykh izdanii, opublikovanye v 1987-1993 gg.” Many of these bibliographies are historical in nature, and this publication currently serves to cover the most recent years of Russian bibliographies. While the volume has a brief table of contents, there are no indices.
Historical Bibliographies, Catalogs, and Guides to Research
General’nyi alfavitnyi katalog knig na russkom iazyke (1725-1998)
This scanned copy of the card catalog of the Russian National Library is an invaluable tool for anyone planning a trip to St. Petersburg or trying to verify a specific title. It does require a bit of patience. As with the scanned catalogs of the
Jagiellonian University Library or the
Czech National Library, access is by “main entry,” i.e. cards are filed by author or corporate author. There is no subject access. In order to search this catalog , the user will enter a term on the search screen. The result returned will be a list of possible entry points for the catalog, rather like the tabs on index cards. Selecting one of these will position the user in a range of cards. The user must select the cards, by number and essentially “browse” the cards. Below is a sample entry from the catalog.
(Additional information and illustrations at link above)
