The Voprosy Istorii Digital Archive offers a complete, digitized run of Russia’s most authoritative historical journal and its predecessor titles, documenting the evolution of historical scholarship in Russia and the Soviet Union from 1926 to the present. Voprosy Istorii (Issues of History) has long served as a central platform for academic discourse on Russian and world history.
The digital archive includes over 950 issues and more than 28,000 articles, beginning with Istorik-Marksist (1926–1941), continuing through the overlapping publications Bor’ba klassov (1931–1936) and Istoricheskii zhurnal (1937–1945), and extending into the postwar and contemporary eras under the title Voprosy Istorii (since 1945). The result is a vast and uninterrupted historical record, reflecting nearly a century of intellectual thought, political transition, and methodological change.
Recognized for its scholarly rigor and objectivity, Voprosy Istorii has featured contributions from leading historians across Russia and around the world. The journal’s scope is notably broad, encompassing Russian, Soviet, and global history, while maintaining a high theoretical standard and an unbiased approach to complex historical processes. It is especially valued for publishing materials that were long inaccessible, including archival documents previously held under strict embargo. These materials appear in the journal’s long-running section "Political Archive of the 20th Century," alongside in-depth interpretive essays in "Historical Commentary," profiles of major figures in "Historical Portraits," and autobiographical reflections from renowned scholars in "Historians Reflecting on Their Times."
This digital archive allows scholars to trace the shifting contours of historical scholarship through decades of political upheaval and ideological debate. As Professor James D. White of the University of Glasgow notes, "Voprosy istorii offers the greatest riches" for scholars of Russian and Soviet history, particularly for those researching the revolutionary period and the development of the Soviet system.
East View’s digital edition presents the archive with full page-level digitization, preserving the original layout and graphical content of each issue. The intuitive bilingual interface (Russian/English) and full-text search functionality make this invaluable body of work accessible to researchers worldwide.
This publication includes access to East View’s English Reader, an AI-powered translation tool that provides full-text English translations of the entire archive. English Reader is available as an optional add-on and can be enabled upon request. These translations are intended for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for certified translation. No warranty is made regarding the accuracy or reliability of the translations. For citation and scholarly use, please refer to the original language text. Questions? Contact [email protected].