Introducing A New Soviet History Publication

Abstract

Those familiar with historical scholarship in the Soviet Union undoubtedly would agree that the imprimatur of a prestigious Soviet publishing house is no guarantee of a volume's scholarly merits. In turn, the seasoned researcher who ventures beyond the confines of Moscow and Leningrad may indeed find an occasional interesting book or article emanating from lesser known university or territorial presses. This is especially true during the past decade as the history departments of more reputable provincial Soviet universities (Gor'kii, Voronezh', Kuibyshev, Tomsk, Irkutsk) have begun publishing interinstitutional sborniki (collections of articles). Designed to replace the wide variety of irregular provincial publications appearing earlier under such titles as Uchenye zapiski and Trudy, the new collections seem better organized and coordinated than their predecessors, even if they still bear the patent signs of youth.