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Michigan State University

Russian and East European Resources at MSU: A Basic Guide for Research: Reference Sources

This guide gives a basic outline of some of the best resources to use at MSU when doing research on Russia, Eastern Europe, or the former Soviet Union.

Reference Books

Oxford Language Dictionaries Online
Great resource for language dictionaries, including Russian.

Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History
DK14 .M6 Reference, 1 East.
The gold standard in reference books on Russian History. Excellent entries signed by scholars that usually conclude with a bibliography of readings on each topic. A must-use resource for Russian History.

The Encyclopedia of Russian History.  4 vol.  ed. James Millar, 2004. An excellent, though less comprehensive encyclopedia than the MERSH (above).  Entries tend to be broader and more thematic than the MERSH.  Easy to use online version.

Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe: From the Congress of Vienna to the Fall of Communism
DJK6 .E53 2000 Reference 1 East
Covers Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania; 1814-1989. 

Gale Literature Resource Center
Literature Resource Center provides direct access to biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from all ages and literary disciplines in a single Internet-searchable service. Its resources cover more than 90,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers, with additional in-depth coverage of 2,500 of the most-studied authors.

Reference Guide to Russian Literature
PG2940. R43 Reference 1East
Arranged by author's name, and within each section are descriptions of the major works of that author with plot summaries of some of the most important pieces. This guide will list what translations were published in English; particularly useful for short story authors.

Subject Guide