About the collection

Harvard Library’s seminal collection of late Soviet and post-Soviet independent press includes over 2000 newspaper titles published from the late 1980s to late 1990s in the former Soviet Union and its successor states, including Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, etc.

The era of Perestroika (1985-1991) marked the final years of the Soviet Union and freedom of information was introduced by the policy of openness and transparency (Glasnost). This resulted in an unprecedented growth of independent publishing throughout the country, where previously the press had been tightly controlled by the communist-ruled state. The trend continued even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and new newspapers continued to emerge in the 1990s. Many of them were short-lived, but taken together, these publications represent an immense testimony to the value of freedom of the press and give a perfect snapshot of the intellectual life in the Soviet Union and its successor states in that period.

The bulk of the newspapers are in Russian, but they also include many titles in various other languages of the former Soviet Union as well as a few titles in English and Greek. The content varies widely from politics, nationalism, and business to culture, religion and leisure.

The collection includes two series:

Independent and post-Soviet press collection (IPSP, 1429 titles):

  • on paper;
  • titles emerging from 1985 through 1999;
  • organized geographically;
  • use in Widener Reading Room
  • usually housed in storage boxes with several other titles; check “For availability see” link to access the requestable record.

Nezavisimaia pechaʹt SSSR (Independent press of the USSR) (NPSSSR, 580 titles):

  • on microfiche;
  • titles emerging from 1985 through 1992;
  • organized by political group;
  • use in Microforms Reading Room (Lamont Library).

200+ titles from both series overlap and are available both on paper and microfiche.

Please visit the tab for each series in this guide for details on holdings and access links.