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Carleton College

Subject Research Guides

Russian Language, Literature, and Culture

Note: To search this page for resources that are in the Russian Language, use the Find function in your web browser (Control+F on a PC, Apple+F on a Mac) and search for Russian Language Resource.

In This Guide:

Getting Help:

Language

Reference Works

Use these sources at the beginning of your research to get an overview of a topic or to identify synonyms or related terms that will apply to your topic. Later, return to these sources to clarify concepts or define new vocabulary. These sources also include bibliographical references that may prove helpful.

All of these sources are located in the Reference Collection, and this is only the beginning! Search Bridge or browse the reference shelves to find more.

  • Slovar sovremennogo russkogo literaturnogo iazyka: v 20 tomakh
    Ref PG 2625 .S59 1991
    A six volume Russian dictionary.
  • Oxford Russian Dictionary
    Ref PG 2640 .W5 1997
    The newest Russian-English / English-Russian dictionary in the collection.
  • Using Russian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage
    Ref PG 2361 .O37 1996
    A book of advanced vocabulary and grammar, verbal etiquette, and word formation for advanced students of Russian.

Scholarly Articles

  • MLA International Bibliography (1963-present)
    The premier database for literary and cultural studies; provides citations to articles dealing with literature, literary criticism, folklore, language, and linguistics. You can limit your search to works written in Russian, if you wish. [Russian Language Resource]
    To find articles in Russian:
    1. Type "Russian" into one of the search boxes and select "Language, LA=" from the dropdown box that normally says "Anywhere."
    2. Search in English (for subject terms) and Russian (for titles and other citation information).
  • Novyĭ mir
    Main Periodicals (1966-present) [Russian Language Resource]

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Art and Literature

Reference Works

Use these sources at the beginning of your research to get an overview of a topic or to identify synonyms or related terms that will apply to your topic. Later, return to these sources to clarify concepts or define new vocabulary. These sources also include bibliographical references that may prove helpful. All of these sources are located in the Reference Collection, and this is only the beginning! Search Bridge or browse the reference shelves to find more.

  • The Cambridge History of Russian Literature
    Ref PG 2951. C36 1989
    A narrative survey of Russian literature from the medieval period to 1980, with an extensive bibliography appended.
  • Dictionary of Russian Women Writers
    Ref PG 2997 .D53 1994
    Short biographical sketches and bibliographies.
  • Reference Guide to Russian Literature
    Ref PG 2940 .R43 1998
    Provides introductory essays on periods of Russian literature, articles on individual authors and their works, and extensive bibliographies for further reading.

Scholarly Articles

Look here for tips on finding full text articles.

  • MLA International Bibliography (1963-present)
    The premier database for literary and cultural studies; provides citations to articles dealing with literature, literary criticism, folklore, language, and linguistics. You can limit your search to works written in Russian, if you wish. [Russian Language Resource]
    To find articles in Russian:
    1. Type "Russian" into one of the search boxes and select "Language, LA=" from the dropdown box that normally says "Anywhere."
    2. Search in English (for subject terms) and Russian (for titles and other citation information).
  • Humanities International Complete
    Includes literary studies, art and art history, and Russian/Slavic studies. All articles will be in English.
  • Web of Knowledge
    Not only can you look for citations of books and articles on your topic, but you can also do a "Cited Reference Search" to find out how many people have cited a particular work or author and what the citing sources are, as well as what citations are contained in a particular work. [Russian Language Resource]
    To find articles in Russian:
    1. Change the dropdown to the right of a search box to "Language" and select "Russian."
    2. Enter Search terms in Russian.

Magazines and Journals to Browse

Web Sites

  • REESWeb
    The Russian and East European virtual library; supports simultaneous searching of Web sites relevant to Russian literary, cultural, political, and historical studies.

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History and Culture

Reference Works

Use these sources at the beginning of your research to get an overview of a topic or to identify synonyms or related terms that will apply to your topic. Later, return to these sources to clarify concepts or define new vocabulary. These sources also include bibliographical references that may prove helpful. All of these sources are located in the Reference Collection, and this is only the beginning! Search Bridge or browse the reference shelves to find more.

  • Historical Dictionary of Russia
    Ref DK36 .R39 1998
    Brief articles about important people, places and events in Russian history.
  • Mir russkoi kultury: entsiklopedicheskii spravochnik
    Ref DK32 .M629 1999
    A one volume encyclopedia of Russian culture. [Russian Language Resource]

Scholarly Articles

Look here for tips on finding full text articles.

  • Historical Abstracts (1954-present)
    Covers world history from 1450-present; provides citations to articles dealing with all aspects of history, including cultural and literary history. You may limit your search to works written in Russian if you wish. [Russian Language Resource]
    To find articles in Russian:
    1. Select "Russian" from the "Language" option box near the bottom right-hand corner of the main search page.
    2. Enter search terms in Russian or English.
  • Sociological Abstracts
    An excellent source for sociological articles in many languages. [Russian Language Resource]
    To find articles in Russian:
    1. Type "Russian" into one of the search boxes and select "Language, LA=" from the dropdown box that normally says "Anywhere."
    2. Search in English (for subject terms) and Russian (for titles and other citation information).
  • Humanities International Complete
    Includes cultural studies and Russian studies. All articles will be in English.
  • American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies (1957-1994)
    Ref DR10 .A65 / Main General DR10 .A65
    A bibliography of North American scholarship on Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet Union; includes journal articles, research reports, books, book reviews, and dissertations.
  • Web of Knowledge (1990-present)
    Not only can you look for citations of books and articles on your topic, but you can also do a "Cited Reference Search" to find out how many people have cited a particular work or author and what the citing sources are, as well as what citations are contained in a particular work. [Russian Language Resource]
    To find articles in Russian:
    1. Change the dropdown to the right of a search box to "Language" and select "Russian."
    2. Enter Search terms in Russian.

Web Sites

  • REESWeb
    The Russian and East European virtual library; supports simultaneous searching of Web sites relevant to Russian literary, cultural, political, and historical studies.

Magazines and Journals to Browse

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Government, Politics, and News

Reference Works

Use these sources at the beginning of your research to get an overview of a topic or to identify synonyms or related terms that will apply to your topic. Later, return to these sources to clarify concepts or define new vocabulary. These sources also include bibliographical references that may prove helpful. All of these sources are located in the Reference Collection, and this is only the beginning! Search Bridge or browse the reference shelves to find more.

  • Europa World Year Book
    Ref JN1 .E85
    The article on Russia provides a survey of recent Russian politics, a statistical survey with population, industry, and finance data, and a directory to major political parties, governmental agencies, and media agencies.
  • The Newly Independent States of Eurasia: Handbook of Former Soviet Republics
    Ref DK17 .B34 1997
    Provides brief introductions to new eastern European and central Asian states, as well as Russia and its internal republics.

Newspaper & Popular Articles

Look here for tips on finding full text articles.

  • Lexis Nexis Academic
    Includes thousands of newspapers from around the world.
  • Natsionalnaia sluzhba novostei (National News Service)
    A Web site linking to current news briefs and reviews of national and regional news sources. It also includes the National Electronic Library, an electronic archive of Russian media. Available only in Russian.
  • Web of Knowledge
    Not only can you look for citations of books and articles on your topic, but you can also do a "Cited Reference Search" to find out how many people have cited a particular work or author and what the citing sources are, as well as what citations are contained in a particular work. [Russian Language Resource]
    To find articles in Russian:
    1. Change the dropdown to the right of a search box to "Language" and select "Russian."
    2. Enter Search terms in Russian.
  • CRL (Center for Research Libraries) Foreign Newspaper Search
    We are able to request microfilm sets from CRL. If you find something you want to see, simply fill out an interlibrary loan request. [Russian Language Resource]
    To find articles in Russian:
    1. Select a language from the "Language" drop-down box.
    2. Select "Newspapers" from the "Collection" drop-down box.
    3. Enter your search terms (in Roman characters) and click "Search."

Web Sites

  • REESWeb
    The Russian and East European virtual library; supports simultaneous searching of Web sites relevant to Russian literary, cultural, political, and historical studies.

Magazines, Newspapers, and Journals to Browse

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Searching the Web in Russian

  • Yandex
    A Russian search engine and Web subject directory;to search in English, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the English link.
  • Aport
    A Russian search engine, searchable in Russian only.

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Finding Books

You can find books several ways. For example you can find books:

  • By searching Bridge (our online catalog) or WorldCat (a gathering of many library catalogs from around the nation and the world).
    • Note: If you are looking for a Russian Language Resources, you can use this search form to search for only that part of our collection that is in Russian.
    • When you find a book that looks helpful, scroll down the page and look at the "subjects." You can start to collect these standardized subject headings and do searches for other books that are about the same topic. Remember to enter these into a subject search using exactly the same words as you found in your original record. (For more information on subjects, see Subject Headings below.)
  • By finding citations to books in reference works or other books you've looked at, journal articles you've read, or even your text books from class. Bibliographies are your friends!
  • By browsing the shelves next to books that have been helpful. Our call numbers put books near each other if they are about the same thing, so if you find one really good book look at the ones near it.

Relevant Library of Congress Call Numbers

This is only a partial list of the call numbers pertaining to English literature. For a complete listing, go to the Library of Congress Classification Outline, provided by the Cataloging Policy and Support Office of the Library of Congress.

  • DJK1-77: History of Eastern Europe (General)
  • DK1-949.5: History of Russia, Soviet Union & Former Russian Republics
  • PG2001-2806: Russian Language
  • PG2900-3190: History & Criticism of Russian Literature
  • PG3199-3299: Collections of Russian Literature
  • PG3300-3490: Individual Authors & Works (by period)

Subject Headings

Library of Congress Subject Headings are the words and phrases that you will use to do a Subject search in Bridge (as opposed to a keyword search, where you may use any words you like).

Because subject headings are created according to a specific formula, and because it is unlikely that you will be able to guess what phrases this formula will generate, it is often helpful to do a Keyword search on your topic, and, once you find an appropriate source, examine the subjects (usually found in the middle of the page as you scroll down). You may then conduct a subject search by clicking on the linked subject heading in Bridge. Keeping a list of the phrases you find in the subject headings can help you form more and more complex and effective searches as your research progresses.

  • Search "Russian Literature" to browse a list of relevant subject headings, such as:
    • Russian Literature -- 18th Century -- History And Criticism
    • Russian literature -- Russia (Federation) -- Tarusa
  • Note that many Library of Congress subject headings relevant to Russian literature do not begin with "Russian literature."
    • Gogol, Nikolai Vasilevich, 1809-1852 -- Criticism And Interpretation
    • Popular culture -- Soviet Union -- History
    • Russian drama -- History and Criticism

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Going Abroad? Doing Qualitative Research?

Check out this book as you plan your research. Or, after you've done your research, use this book to help you determine how to use your information effectively.

  • Designing Qualitative Research
    REF H62 .M277 2006
    There is a particularly helpful table (Table 4.1) on page 133 that summarizes the strengths and uses of different kinds of data collection methods.

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This Research Guide By:

  • Iris Jastram's trading card, 2007-2009
    Iris M. Jastram
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