ArcheoBiblioBase: Archives in Russia: B 8

Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voennyi arkhiv (RGVA)

[Russian State Military Archive]

Agency: Federal'noe arkhivnoe agentstvo Rossii (Rosarkhiv)
[Federal Archival Agency of Russia]

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Address: 125212, Moscow, ul. Admirala Makarova, 29
Telephone: (495) 159-80-91, 159-88-39; Fax: (495) 159-85-04, 159-80-91; RdngRm: 159-85-23
E-mail: rgvarchive@mtu-net.ru
Website: http://www.rusarchives.ru/federal/rgva/
Hours: M-Th 10:00-17:00; F 10:00-16:00 (Summer [2006]: July closed)
Director: Vladimir Nikolaevich Kuzelenkov (tel. 159-80-91 [also fax])
Deputy Director, for former TsKhIDK: Vladimir Ivanovich Korotaev (tel. 150-52-75)

Reading Room of former TsKhIDK (before 1992 - Special Archive - TsGOA):
Telephone: 156-66-64
Hours: M-Th 10:00-17:00; F 10:00-16:00 (Summer [2006]: July closed)
Head of the Reading Room: Natal'ia Vladimirovna Samsonova (tel. 156-66-64)

Previous Names

1958-VI.1992 - Tsentral'nyi gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Sovetskoi Armii (TsGASA)
[Central State Archive of the Soviet Army]
1941-1958 - Tsentral'nyi gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Krasnoi Armii (TsGAKA)
[Central State Archive of the Red Army]
1933-1941 - Tsentral'nyi arkhiv Krasnoi Armii (TsAKA)
[Central Archive of the Red Army]
1920-1933 - Arkhiv Krasnoi Armii (AKA)
[Archive of the Red Army]
-------------------------------------
1992-1999 - Tsentr khraneniia istoriko-dokumental'nykh kollektsii (TsKhIDK)
[Center for Preservation of Historico-Documentary Collections]
1946-VI.1992 - Tsentral'nyi gosudarstvennyi Osobyi arkhiv SSSR (TsGOA SSSR)
[Central State Special Archive of the USSR]
1939-1945 - Arkhiv Glavnogo upravleniia po delam voennoplennykh i internirovannykh MVD SSSR (Arkhiv GUPVI)
[Archive of the Main Administration for Affairs of Prisoners of War and Internees]

About RGVA

First established in 1920 under the name of the Archive of the Red Army (Arkhiv Krasnoi Armii), and later the Central State Archive of the Red Army (TsGAKA), the archive was in 1956 renamed the Central State Archive of the Soviet Army (TsGASA). It received its current name in 1992. RGVA retains records of the Soviet armed forces and internal special troops from the years of the Civil War through the interwar period (1918-1940), together with related fonds of personal papers. Along with the records of the highest, central organs of military administration of the RKKA and the General Staff are those of the political command of the Red Army, military and political sections and administrations of different military districts, fronts, armies, and divisions in the course of various military engagements, local organs for military administration, as well as records of the military intelligence service (GRU), and military educational institutions.

With the 1999 Rosarkhiv reorganization, the former Special Archive for trophy foreign records--TsGOA, renamed in 1992 the Center for the Preservation of Historico-Documentary Collections (Tsentr khraneniia istoriko-dokumental'nykh kollektsii--TsKhIDK) was abolished as a separate archive, and its holdings are now part of RGVA.

In July 1992, the formerly top-secret Central State Special Archive (TsGOA SSSR) was reorganized and renamed TsKhIDK. The so-called Special Archive (Osobyi arkhiv) was officially established in March 1946 to house the archival materials of foreign origin from many European countries that were captured by Soviet Army at the end of World War II in Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia and brought back to Moscow. The 870 fonds of captured records (as of 2000), comprise official records of the Third Reich and personal papers of many Nazi leaders and prominent public figures of the Nazi movement; records of the high state agencies of other European countries, which had earlier been captured by Nazi authorities; records of many non-govermental organizations, agencies, and individuals throughout Europe, including those of Jewish and Masonic groups, socialist parties and labor associations, newspapers and publishing houses, student organizations, and business firms; and collections of unique documentary materials of private and family origin.

Later the archive also acquired records of Soviet agencies dealing with prisoners of war and displaced persons under the NKVD-MVD, namely voluminous complex of records of agencies subordinated to the Main Administration for Affairs of Prisoners of War and Internees (GUPVI, 1939-1960), including records of individual POW camps, which contain personal files on individual foreign prisoners and documentation on the burial of prisoners who died in the USSR.

The archive of the Grand Duchy of Lichtenstein was returned in 1997, the British wartime records were returned in 1998. As of 2002 almost all of the fonds of French and Belgian provenance have been restituted. As of May 2003, the last fonds of Dutch provenance were returned to the Netherlands.

Access

During the last few years, almost all of the earlier closed fonds have been declassified, with the agreement of military authorities, although some documentation containing information of state and military secrets remain closed to researchers, such as intelligence records (GRU). Some records that were open to researchers during 1992 and early 1993 were withdrawn again pending declassification.

Almost all fonds of foreign provenance remaining in the former Special Archive (TsGOA/TsKhIDK), part of RGVA since March 1999, are open for research.

See Biulleten' rassekrechennykh dokumentov federal'nykh arkhivov i tsentrov khraneniia dokumentatsii (1999, 2002, 2004, vyp. 2, 4, 5) for an annotated list of fonds that have been declassified through 1998-2003.

Working Conditions

Readers may order only 5 files per day instead of the usual 10, which are usually delivered within two working days after they are ordered. Many files are being put on microfilm, which take two or three days to arrive in the reading room. Microfilmed files and paper files must be ordered on separate demands (trebovaniia). There is now a fee for use of a notebook computer (approximately $5) which must be paid at Sberbank. Receipt of a permanent pass (postoiannyi propusk) is also now limited to those using the archive "for a year".

The small reading room in the former TsKhIDK has limited space for researchers; hence advance reservations are often required. Since the March 1999 reorganization researchers using "trophy" fonds from former TsKhIDK continue to use the TsKhIDK reading room (ul. Vyborgskaia, 3). All fonds from TsKhIDK/TsGOA SSSR henceforth have the letter "K" added to their numbers. Researchers have the right to order 5 opisi and 10 files per day. Orders are delivered within 24 hours for files and the same day for opisi.

Recent Specialized Finding Aids

See the new directory Kratkii mezharkhivnyi spravochnik o mestakh khraneniia dokumentov po lichnomu sostavu, Vyp. 1 (2005) for personnel files in fonds held by RGVA in electronic version at the website “Arkhivy Rossii”: http://www.rusarchives.ru/guide/lich_sostav/rgva.shtml.

Published Microfilm Collections

For Holocaust-related materials see the finding aids for the microfilm copies collected by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, many of which are listed on the Museum's website at http://www.ushmm.org/.

"The Military Papers of Leon Trotsky, 1918–1925." Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Microfilm. 71 reels. "The Russian Archives."
See more details at: http://www.gale.com/servlet/ItemDetailServlet?region=9&imprint=745&titleCode=
PSM9&type=3&id=8004.

"The Papers of the White Army, 1918–1921." Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Microfilm. 71 reels. "The Russian Archives."
See more details at: http://www.gale.com/servlet/ItemDetailServlet?region=9&imprint=745&titleCode=
PSM9&type=3&id=173791.

"The Papers of the Red Army: Political and Internal Intelligence Reports, 1918–1938." Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Microfilm. 76 reels. "The Russian Archives."
See more details at: http://www.gale.com/servlet/ItemDetailServlet?region=9&imprint=745&titleCode=
PSM9&type=3&id=173790.

Fonds of the pre-March 1999 RGVA (former TsGASA)

Recent General Guides

Tsentral'nyi gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Sovetskoi Armii: Putevoditel'. Compiled by T. F. Kariaeva, N. D. Egorov, O. V. Brizitskaia, et al. Edited by T. F. Kariaeva, M. V. Stegantsev, and L. V. Dvoinykh. 2 vols. Minneapolis: East View Publications, 1991-1993. v, 421 p.; vi, 531 p. Also available in microfiche edition. [TsGASA/ RGVA] (Lib: DLC; MH; NNC)
ELECTRONIC VERSION: http://guides.rusarchives.ru/browse/GuidebookCard.html?id=120 (vol. 1); http://guides.rusarchives.ru/browse/GuidebookCard.html?id=121 (vol. 2).
A detailed guide with very extensive agency histories for individual fonds. The first volume covers central military records, while the second volume covers those of lower army units, and regional army commands throughout the former USSR. Because it was published abroad and sold only for hard currency ($110), few copies are available in Russian libraries. Does not cover some more recently declassified fonds.

Recent Specialized Finding Aids

[Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voennyi arkhiv.] Putevoditel' po fondam Beloi Armii. Compiled by N. V. Pul'chenko, N. D. Egorov, and L. M. Chizhova. Edited by N. D. Egorov and L. V. Dvoinykh. Moscow: Russkoe bibliograficheskoe obshchestvo; Izd. firma "Vostochnaia literatura" RAN, 1998. 526 p. "Academia ROSSICA," vol. 4. [Rosarkhiv; RGVA] (Lib: DLC; MH)
ELECTRONIC VERSION: http://guides.rusarchives.ru/browse/GuidebookCard.html?id=122.
Describes over 800 fonds of central commands and local units, as well as some personal papers and collections of documentation of the White Army during the Civil War (1917-1922), all of which were first opened for research in 1989. Includes materials brought to the USSR in 1946 from the Russian Foreign Historical Archive (RZIA) in Prague and other emigre sources acquired after World War II, as explained in the introduction, although the archival provenance of individual fonds is not indicated. Includes indexes of army units and personal names. See also the survey article by I. V. Uspenskii, "Dokumenty Beloi armii v fondakh RGVA," Otechestvennye arkhivy, 1998, no. 2, pp. 26-31, which surveys the materials covered by the new guide in historical context.

Fonds of the former Special Archive
(TsGOA, 1992-March 1999--TsKhIDK)

Recent General Guides

Regarding the history, holdings, and restitution issues associated with the holdings from TsGOA, see the bibliography of publications on displaced cultural treasures by Patricia Kennedy Grimsted now available electronically, many entries with electronic texts or links to the published texts--http://www.iisg.nl/archives-and-restitution/bibliography.php.

Guides and Lists of Fonds

Ukazatel' fondov inostrannogo proiskhozhdeniia i Glavnogo upravleniia po delam voennoplennykh i internirovannykh NKVD-MVD SSSR Rossiiskogo gosudarstvennogo voennogo arkhiva. Compiled by V. I. Korotaev, A. P. Naganov, et al. Edited by V. P. Kozlov, V. N. Kuzelenkov. Moscow, 2001. 331 p. [Rosarkhiv; RGVA] (Lib: DLC; MH)
ELECTRONIC VERSION: http://guides.rusarchives.ru/browse/GuidebookCard.html?id=123.
This long-awaited publication, provides an abbreviated but incomplete listing of foreign "trophy" fonds held by the former Special Archive (TsGOA)—-with foreign-language names for most of their creating agencies. However, it does not list many fonds of questionable provenance and others currently under further processing. A separate section provides an abbreviated list of fonds (with no data as to quantify of files) already returned to their country of provenance. The directory, listing fonds in numerical order, lacks annotations and indication of the source of acquisition, and is difficult to use without rubric structure and with no indexing of foreign-language names of individuals and institutions in the original language. Since it was completed, more fonds have been returned to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, but those are not indicated. For many fonds above number 500, researchers are accordingly advised to compare the coverage in the Aly-Heim guide, which provides at least brief annotations for many fonds, and the country-oriented coverage in more specialized finding aids listed below. An updated, more comprehensive, annotated guide with appropriate Western-language names and indexing, is still badly needed for the RGVA holdings of the former Special Archive (TsGOA SSSR/TsKhIDK).

Aly, Gotz, and Heim, Susanne. Das Zentrale Staatsarchiv in Moskau ("Sonderarchiv"): Rekonstruktion und Bestandsverzeichnis verschollen geglaubten Schriftguts aus der NS-Zeit. Dusseldorf: Hans-Bockler-Stiftung, 1992. 58 p. (Lib: DLC; MH)
A brief list of predominantly German-language fonds (starting with fond no. 500) in former TsKhIDK under eight major headings. Provides fond numbers, number of opisi, number of units in each, and the creating agency. Provides helpful, brief annotations for some of the larger or more important fonds, and a brief introduction. Published without the approval of the archive, this guide accordingly contains some errors and shortcomings, but for the materials covered, is often more helpful than the new 2001 list of fonds. The guide does not cover the French and Polish holdings, but indicates fonds that were earlier returned to East Germany or moved to other archives.

Browder, George C. "Captured German and Other Nations' Documents in the Osoby (Special) Archive, Moscow." Central European History 24, no. 4 (1992), pp. 424-45;
-- "Update on the Captured Documents in the Former Osobyi Archive, Moscow." Central European History 26, no. 3 (1993), pp. 335-42. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH)
A short introduction to the archive and its holdings (exclusive of the French holdings), with an English-language list of fond names for fond numbers 500 to 1524, translated from the Russian-language Book of Fonds. The 1993 supplement updates the coverage with some corrections, based on a 1992 visit by the author.

Mikrofil'my dokumentov Bel'gii, Niderlandov, Liuksemburga v Rossiiskom gosudarstvennom voennom arkhive: Kratkii spravochnik. Compiled by T.A. Vasil’eva and N.A. Khorina. Edited by V.N. Kuzelenkov. Moscow, 2004. 55 p. [Rosarkhiv; RGVA]
ELECTRONIC VERSION: http://guides.rusarchives.ru/browse/GuidebookCard.html?id=124.
Provides brief annotations of microfilms retained in RGVA for selected fonds of Belgian, Dutch, and Luxembourg provenance the originals of which have been returned to their countries of origin.

History and Surveys

Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy. Russia's "Trophy" Archives--Still Prisoners of World War II? Budapest: Open Society Archive, Central European University, 2002.
ELECTRONIC VERSION: http://www.osa.ceu.hu/publications/index.shtml.
Variant (earlier) edition: Issued as a "Working Paper" by the National Council for East European and Eurasian Research, Washington, DC. Updated from a lecture at the Summer University, 17 July 2001.

Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy. "Twice Plundered or Twice Saved? Identifying Russia's 'Trophy' Archives and the Loot of the Reichssicherherheitshauptamt." Holocaust and Genocide Studies 15, no. 2 (2001), pp. 191-244. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).
UPDATED RUSSIAN VERSION: "Dvazhdy zakhvachennye ili 'dvazhdy spasennye'? Rozysk rossiiskikh 'trofeinykh' arkhivov i dobycha Glavnogo upravleniia imperskoi bezopasnosti." In Sotsial'naia istoriia. Ezhegodnik 2004, pp. 401-455. Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2005.

Recent Specialized Finding Aids

Fonds of Austrian Provenance

Karner, Stefan and Jagschitz, Gerhard. "Beuteakten aus Osterreich": Der Osterreichbestand im russischen "Sonderarchiv" Moskau. Edited by Sabine Elisabeth Gollmann. Graz, Vienna: Selbsverlag des Ludwig Boltzmann-Instituts fur Kriegsfolgen-Forschung, 1996. "Veroffentlichungen des Ludwig Boltzmann-Instituts fur Kriegsfolgen-Forschung," vol. 2. (Lib: DLC; MH)
A systematic well-annotated guide to fonds of Austrian provenance and the Austrian documentation in a number of consolidated collections. Describes documentation in 102 different fonds, with 34,063 file units, totaling an estimated 3,406,300 documents.
Trentmann, Frank. "New Sources on an Old Family: the Rothschild Papers at the Special Archive, Moscow and a Letter from Metternich." Financial History Review 2, no. 1 (April 1995), pp. 73-79. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH)
A short description of the Rothschild papers from the Austrian branch of the family then held by the former Special Archive (TsKhIDK, fond 637K). Provides an outline of opis' 1 (373 files) with predominantly nineteenth-century materials including banking and property records, family correspondence and some materials relating to art collections, and of the smaller Austrian-related opis' 2 (46 files, 1883-1939). The materials were turned over to the Rothschild Archive (London) in November 2001. Those relating to the French branch of the family (fond 58K, with 1,500 files) are not described, but most of them were returned to Paris (in 1994 and 2000) and are now also held in London.
Hulsmann, Jorg Guodo. "Ludwig von Mises Institute: Index to Lost Papers." ELECTRONIC ED.: http://www.mises.org/lostindx.asp
An annotated English-language translation of the inventory of the fond of personal papers of Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973), the leader of the Austrian school of liberal economics, held in RGVA, fond 623K (196 files), which were seized by the Nazi SD in Vienna in 1938. Includes a list of photocopies held in the Mises Institue in Auburn GA.

Rukopisi i arkhivnye dokumenty Evreiskoi obshchiny goroda Veny v rossiiskikh sobraniiakh: Katalog/Manuscripts and Archival Documents of the Vienna Jewish Community held in Russian Collections: Catalogue. Compiled by K. Akinsha, K. A. Dmitrieva, M. V. Volkova, T. A. Vasil’eva, et al. Preface by Ekaterina Genieva. Moscow: "Rudomino," 2006. 230 p. [VGBIL; RGB; Rosarkhiv; RGVA; The Research Project on Art and Archives, Inc. (USA)] Proekt "Obretennoe nasledie"/ Project "Heritage Revealed."

Fonds of Belgian Provenance (returned to Belgium)

Steenhaut, Wouter, Dirk Martin, J. Gotovitch and Michel Vermote. "Mission to Moscow. Belgische socialistische archiven in Rusland." AMSAB Tijdingen n.s. 16: extra issue (Summer 1992). (Lib: MH)
A special issue of the journal of the Belgian Archive and Museum of the Socialist-Labor Movement (AMSAB) devoted to an illustrated account of its own and other captured Belgian collections recently identified in Moscow. Covers holdings in RTsKhIDNI (now RGASPI--B-12) as well as those in former TsKhIDK (now RGVA) returned to Belgium in May 2002.

Fondy bel'giiskogo proiskhozhdeniia: Annotirovannyi ukazatel'. Compiled by A. S. Namazova and T. A. Vasil'eva. Edited by M. M. Mukhamedzhanov. Moscow, 1995. 26 p. [Rosarkhiv; TsKhIDK; In-t vseobshchei istorii RAN]
A short annotated list of captured records of Belgian provenance held in former TsKhIDK covering 35 fonds (20,154 units). Most of the originals were returned to Belgium in May 2002.

Dutch edition (expanded): Fondsen van Belgische Herkomst: Verklarende Index. Edited by H. De Conninck, P. Creve, M. Vermote, and M. M. Mukhamedzhanov. Translated by E. Saelmaekers. Ghent: AMSAB, 1997. 20 p. Flemish version edited by Michel Vermote, Piet Creve, Hendrik De Coninck. [AMSAB; TsKhIDK]
Microfilms of all of the materials described have been prepared and are now held at AMSAB in Ghent, and the originals were returned to Belgium in May 2002.

Lust, Jacques, Evert Marechal, Wouter Steenhaut, and Michel Vermote. Een zoektocht naar Archieven: van NISG naar AMSAB. Ghent: Amsab, 1997.

Vermote, Michel. "Archiefervaringen in Moskou: niets is mogelijk, alles kan". Bibliotheek- & Archiefgids 76, no. 6 (2000), pp. 3-11.

Vermote, Michel. "Back from Nowhere. The Restitution of Looted Belgian Collections (1991-2001)". Paper for the Seminar "Russia, Archives and Restitution", International Institute of Social History. Amsterdam, 2002: http://www.iisg.nl/archives-and-restitution/vermote.pdf.

Vermote, Michel. "Vozvrashchenie niotkuda. Restitutsiia pokhishchennykh bel'giiskikh kollektsii"/ "Das Privatrecht und Fragen der Restitution von Kunstschatzen". In Trudnaia sud'ba kul'turnykh tsennostei: Materialy mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii "Chastnoe pravo i problemy restitutsii peremeshchennykh kul'turnykh tsennostei", Moskva, 27 i 28 maia 2002 g./ Das schwierige Schicksal von Kulturgutern: Materialien der internationalen Konferenz "Privatrecht und Probleme der Restitution von kriegsbedingt verbrachten Kulturgutern", Moskau, 27. und 28.Mai 2003 (Moscow: Rudomino/Berlin: BWV-Berliner Wissenschafts Verlag, 2002), pp. 147-54 (Russian), and pp. 155-61 (German).

Vermote, Michel. "War Trophies in Prospect: The Fate of the Looted Collections from Belgium". In Karta Evropy: Sbornik materialov mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii "Kul’turnaia karta Evropy: sud’ba peremeshchennykh kul’turnykh tsennostei v tret’em tysiacheletii", Moskva, VGBIL, 10-11 aprelia 2000 goda/ Mapping Europe: Materials of the International Conference "Mapping Europe: Fate of Looted Cultural Valuables in the Third Millenium", Moscow, VGBIL, 10-11 April 2000 (Moscow: "Rudomino", 2002), pp. 148-58 (Russian), pp. 328-37 (English).
ELECTRONIC ED.: Russian: http://www.libfl.ru/restitution/conf/vermot-rus.html; English: http://www.libfl.ru/restitution/conf/vermot.html.

Fonds of Czech Provenance

Sedlakova, Monika. "Studijni pobyt v Moskve 2002." Archivni casopis, 53, no. 1 (2003), p. 26–29.

Fonds of Dutch Provenance (returned to the Netherland)

Ketelaar, Eric. "Nederlandse archieven in Moskou: Winterslaap ten einde," Archievenblad 105/6 (August 2001), pp. 36-39. (Lib: DLC; MH)
Lists the fonds of provenance in the Netherlands and describes some of the problems involved in their restitution. As of the May 2003, the final group of the 33 fonds claimed were transferred to the Netherlands.

Bosch, Mineke. "Over het jatten van schatten. Mijn bezoek aan het Osoby Archiv te Moskou". Lover 30, no. 2 (2003), pp. 25-28.
ELECTRONIC ED.: http://www.iiav.nl/nl/lover/artikelen/artikelen_schatten.html.

Haan, Francisca de. "A 'Truly International' Archive for the Women’s Movement (IAV, now IIAV): From its Foundation in Amsterdam in 1935 to the Return of its Looted Archives in 2003". Journal of Women's History 16, no. 4 (2004), pp. 148-72.
ELECTRONIC ED. (pdf): http://www.iiav.nl/nl/databases/schatten/moskou/
moskou_artikel.pdf#search=%22Truly%20International%20Archive%20
for%20the%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Movement%20%22
or http://www.iiav.nl/scripts/wwwopac.exe?&DATABASE=sitemap&%250=643.

Kwaadgras, Evert. "'A Great Waste of Time and Energy': The Seizure and Scrutiny of Masonic Documents During and After World War II". In Karta Evropy: Sbornik materialov mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii "Kul’turnaia karta Evropy: sud’ba peremeshchennykh kul’turnykh tsennostei v tret’em tysiacheletii", Moskva, VGBIL, 10-11 aprelia 2000 goda/ Mapping Europe: Materials of the International Conference "Mapping Europe: Fate of Looted Cultural Valuables in the Third Millenium", Moscow, VGBIL, 10-11 April 2000 (Moscow: "Rudomino", 2002), pp. 123-27 (Russian) and pp. 306-309 (English).
ELECTRONIC ED.: http://www.libfl.ru/restitution/conf/kwaadgras_e.html (English); http://www.libfl.ru/restitution/conf/kwaadgras_r.html (Russian).

Fonds of French Provenance (most returned to France)

Regarding fonds returned to France, see the webiste of the French Archives Nationales: "Les archives restituees par la Russie"— http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/cac/fr/index.html.

Coeure, Sophie. La memoire spoliee. Les archives des Francais butin de guerre nazi puis sovietique (de 1940 a nos jours). Paris: Editions Payot-Rivages, 2007.
An incisive, well-researched and well-written study of the plunder, wartime fate and restitution of French archives in a broad intellectual context. Considerably expanded from the author’s 2003 article. Includes a list of the French archives returned from Moscow and an extensive bibliography of related literature.

Coeure, Sophie, and Frederic Monier. "De l’ombre a la lumiere: Les archives francaises de retour de Moscow (1940–2002)." Archives "secretes", secrets d’archives? Historiens et archivists face aux archives sensibles, ed. Sebastien Laurent (Paris: CNRS Editions, 2003), pp. 133–48 + Bibliography (pp. 277-79).
A well-researched overview of the French archives returned with reference to other available descriptions and finding aids, but now updated in Coeure’s 2007 book (see above).

Coeure, Sophie, Frederic Monier, and Gerard Naud. "Le retour de Russie des archives francaises. Le cas du fond de la Surete". Vingtieme siecle 45 (Jan.-Mar. 1995), pp. 133-39.

Inventaire des archives de la Guerre. Supplement de la serie N (1872-1940). 4 vols. (with index). Comp. Claire Sibille in collaboration with Francois Cuinier, Claude Ponnou and Alain Guena. Vincennes: Service historique de l’Armee de terre, 1997; Ministere de la defense, Etat-major de l’Armee de terre, Service historique.

Sibille, Claire. "Les Archives du ministere de la Guerre recuperees de Russie." Gazette des Archives, 1997, no. 176, pp. 64-77.
Devaus, Dominique. "Les Archives de la direction de la Surete rapatriees de Russie." Ibid., pp. 78-86. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH)
Describes the French military archives, including the military intelligence (Dieuxieme Bureau) and the records of the French security service (Surete Generale) and police records that had been captured first by the Nazis in 1940 and then by Soviet authorities after World War II and restituted to France (December 1993-May 1994). Microfilms of some of the materials remain in RGVA.

Sibille, Claire. "Les archives du 2e Bureau SR-SCR recuperees de Russie". In L’Exploitation du renseignement en Europe et aux Etats-Unis des annees 1930 aux annees 1960, ed. O. Forcade, G.-H. Soutou (Paris: Economica, 2001; Institut de strategie comparee), pp. 27-47.

Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres, Archives et Patrimoine. "Spoliations 1940-45. Restitution des fonds spolies par les Nazis (1940-1945): les 'fonds russes'".
ELECTRONIC ED.: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/ministere_817/archives-patrimoine_3512/
dossiers-cours_11553/spoliations-1940-45_11554/fonds-russes_22558.html.

"Les archives restituees par la Russie".
ELECTRONIC ED.: http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/cac/fr/index.html.

Oursou, Dmitri. "Les archives de l’histoire coloniale francaise en Russie". Revue francaise d’histoire d’outre-mer 80, no. 300 (1993), pp. 457-65.
A brief survey of archival sources relating to the French colonial empire in several archives of Moscow and St. Peterserg, including "trophy" fonds of French prevenance in TsKhIDK. Including the Ministere francais des Colonies (fond 2), Ligue des droits de li’homme (fond 9), and the personal papers of Emile Chautemps (fond 59) and Georges Mandel (fond 216).

Cingal, Gregory, and Sonia Combe (eds.). Retour de Moscou: Les archives de la Ligue des droits de l’homme, 1898-1940. Preface by Michel Tubiana. Paris: La Decouverte/BDIC, 2004. Collection "Recherches".
Fonds of German Provenance

See more details in the Aly and Heim guide above.
Jena, Kai von. "Die Ruckfuhrung deutscher Akten aus Russland—eine unerledigte Aufgabe", in Archiv und Geschichte: Festschrift fur Friedrich P. Kahlenberg, edited by Klaus Oldenhage, Hermann Schreyer, and Wolfram Werner. Dusseldorf, Droste Verlag: 2000, pp. 391-420.

Jena, Kai von, and Lenz, Wilhelm. "Die deutschen Bestande im Sonderarchiv in Moskau." Der Archivar 45, Heft 3 (1992), pp. 457-67. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH)
A list with the present fond number and number of archival units for the extensive holdings of German origin, those of Austrian origin, and holdings identified from other countries, including some from Finland, Norway, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Greece, and France. Major subdivisions under German and Austrian records separate out sections for government records (predominantly Nazi records), religious groups (including records of religious societies and organizations, churches, Jewish agencies, and Free Masons), business records, records of editorial offices other social and political organizations, documentary collections, and personal papers.

Panwitz, Sebastian. "Sonderarchiv": http://www.sonderarchiv.de.
Includes separate webpages for literature and a list of fonds (nos. 500-1528), predominantly German and Austrian, some with helpful annotations.

Wegner, Bernd. "Deutsche Aktenbestande im Moskauer Zentralen Staatsarchiv: Ein Erfahrungsbericht." Vierteljahreshefte fur Zeitgeschichte 40, no. 2 (1992), pp. 311-19. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH)
A survey of predominantly German-related holdings in the former Special Archive with helpful annotations characterizing some of the most important fonds.
Form, Wolfgang; and Poljan [Polian], Pavel. "Das Zentrum fur die Aufbewahrung historisch-dokumentarischer Sammlungen in Moskau--ein Erfahrungsbericht." Informationen aus der Forschung [Bundesinstitut fur ostwissenschaftliche und internationale Studien], 20 October 1992, no. 7, pp. 1-8.
A brief report on a research visit to TsKhIDK in 1992. Includes a helpful survey of the records of the Reich Secret Police Headquarters (Reichssicherheitshauptamt) (fond 500K).

Records of the Third Reich

Boberach, Heinz. Inventar archivalischer Quellen des NS Staates: Die Uberlieferung von Behorden und Einrichtungen des Reichs, der Lander und der NSDAP, Part 2: Regionale Behorden und wissenschaftliche Hochschulen fur die funf ostdeutschen Lander, die ehemaligen preussischen Ostprovinzen und eingegliederte Gebiete in Polen, Еsterreich und der Tshechischen Republik mit Nachtragen zu Teil 1. Compiled by O. Sladek, W. Weisslede, and G. Weber. Edited by H. Boberach. Munich: K. G. Saur, 1995. 396 p. "Texte und Materialen zur Zeitgeschichte," vol. 3/2. [Institut fur Zeitgeschichte] (Lib: DLC; IU; MH)
An annotated survey of records of the Nazi regime throughout Germany and Eastern Europe, which includes references to many of the fonds or parts of fonds held in the former Special Archive. The inventory thus serves to correlate many of the Nazi records in the former Special Archive with those held elsewhere, although annotations in many cases are exceedingly brief and incomplete for for the Special Archive holdings. The first volume (Munich, 1991; "Texte und Materialien zur Zeitgeschichte," vol. 3/1) does not include any Russian holdings, but describes the contingent parts of record groups (fonds) held in other repositories in Germany, including those captured by the Western Allies and subsequently restituted to West Germany.

Fleming, Gerald. "The Auschwitz Archives in Moscow." Jewish Quarterly, Autumn 1991, no. 143, pp. 9-12. (Lib: DLC; MH)
A short popularized account of the author's visit and findings among the archival remains from the Auschwitz (Pol. Oswiecim) concentration camp during World War II, now held by the former Special Archive. These materials were the subject of a BBC documentary for which the author served as a consultant.
Knigi smerti Osventsima: Deti Belorussii, Rossii, Ukrainy, pogibshie v Osventsime v 1942-1943 gg.: (Po knigam registratsii smerti uznikov Osventsima). Compiled by T. A. Vasil'eva, L. I. Kudriavtseva, A. P. Naganov, and B. B. Levakov. Moscow, 1995. [Rosarkhiv; TsKhIDK]
A name index prepared from the Auschwitz (Pol. Oswiecim) deathbooks on the basis of a database in the former Special Archive. Note that these records do not include those who perished in the gas chambers, whose identities were not recorded.

Fonds of Polish Provenance

Archiwalia polskiej proweniencii terytorialnej przechowywane w Panstwowym Archiwum Federacji Rosyjskiej i Rosyjskim Panstwowym Archiwum Wojskowym (Archiwalia wladz rosyjskich 1813-1918, archiwalia niemieckie z ziemzachodnich i polnocnych Polski do 1945, archiwalia Senatu WM Gadanska1920-1939). Edited by Wladyslaw Stepniak. Warsaw: Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwow Panstwowych, 2000. 144 p. (Lib: MH) Also listed under B-1.
Part II, compiled by Ewa Rosowska, provides annotated descriptions of the fonds of captured records from the interwar Republic of Poland and the Gdansk (Ger. Danzig) region in the former Special Archive that are now part of RGVA (pp. 107-44).

Indeks repressirovannykh. Warsaw: "KARTA," 1995–. 15 vyp. published through 2005. [RGVA; NIPTs "Memorial"] (Lib: MH) Text in Polish, preface in Polish and Russian.
Individual issues provide an alphabetical index to documentation relating to Polish citizens repressed in the USSR with indication of archival locations. See the brief announcement at —-http://www.rusarchives.ru/federal/rgva/repression.shtml

Katalog rukopisei i arkhivnykh materialov iz Evreiskoi teologicheskoi seminarii goroda Breslau v rossiiskikh khranilishchakh/ Catalogue of Manuscripts and Archival Materials of Juedisch-Theologisches Seminar in Breslau held in Russian Depositories. Compiled by K. A. Dmitrieva, M. V. Volkova, T. A. Vasil’eva, et al. Preface by Ekaterina Genieva. Moscow: "Rudomino," 2003. 72 p. [Ministerstvo kul’tury RF; VGBIL; RGB; Rosarkhiv; RGVA; The Research Project on Art and Archives, Inc. (USA)] Proekt "Obretennoe nasledie"/ Project "Heritage Revealed."

Fonds Relating to Jewish History and Culture

Dokumenty po istorii i kul'ture evreev v arkhivakh Moskvy: Putevoditel'/ Jewish Documentary Sources in Moscow Archives: Guide. Comp. M. S. Kupovetskii, E. V. Starostin and Marek Web (Veb). Moscow, 1997; IAI RGGU; YIVO; Project Judaica.
See especially pp. 265-81 and 411-12 for coverage of fonds in TsKhIDK (now part of RGVA), most of which are covered in the 2005 guide.
Dokumenty po istorii i kul'ture evreev v trofeinykh kollektsiiakh Rossiiskogo gosudarstvennogo voennogo arkhiva. Compiled and edited by V. N. Kuzelenkov, M. S. Kupovetskii, David E. Fishman. Moscow, 2005. 211 p. [Rosarkhiv; RGGU; RGVA; Jewish Theological Seminary of America; YIVO Institute for Jewish Research] (Lib: DLC; MH) Publication of Project Judaica. Added title page and introduction in English.
Unfortunately, the text was not carefully proofread before publication. Not updated with respect to restitution transfers to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in 2000-2003. Nor do they include references to microfilms retained for some of those files now available in RGVA in Moscow. Survey annotations lack reference to prewar descriptions available for some of the collections.
Mayorek, Yoram. "Guide to Jewish Archives in Moscow: The Jewish Holdings of the Center for Preservation of Historico-Documentary Collections (former "Special Archive") in Moscow" (1999).
ELECTRONIC ED.: http://www.research.co.il/moscow.html.
The web page has not been updated since the archive was absorbed by RGVA in June 1999 and many of the French, Belgian, and Dutch fonds listed have been returned, but it provides helpful annotations for several Jewish-related fonds in Moscow. See also Mayorek’s initial report: "Arkhiyon meyuhad beyoter", Ha'aretz, 30 Oct. 1992, p. B6 (in Hebrew).
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum USHMM. Website listing and English-language finding aids for Holocaust-related microfilms from the former Special Archive: http://www.ushmm.org/.

Masonic Fonds

Die deutschen und osterreichischen Freimaurerbestande im Deutschen Sonderarchiv in Moskau (heute Aufbewahrungszentrum der historisch-dokumentarischen Kollektionen). Edited by Helmut Reinalter. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2002. "Schriftenreihe der Internationalen Forschungsstelle, Demokratische Bewegungen in Mitteleuropa 1770-1850," vol. 35.
A translation of the Russian finding aids (opisi) for fond 1412, the extensive general collection of Masonic files from various European countries, predominantly Germany and Austria, but also including many others.
Arnaud, Bernadette. "Les archives volees des francs-macons. Pillees par les nazis, recuperees par les Sovietiques". Sciences et avenir, Feb. 2003, pp. 38-59.
Beaurepaire, Pierre-Yves. L'Espace des francs-macons. Une sociabilite europeenne au 18 siecle. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2003; Collection "Histoire".
Includes many references to Masonic materials from Russian archives, with a separate section "Les archives 'russes' du Grand Orient de France", pp. 93-97, and an appended inventory of the first 150 files from fond 113, the main fond of the Grand Orient.
Mollier, Pierre. "Paris-Berlin-Moscou: Les archives retrouvees". L’Histoire, no. 256 (July-Aug. 2001), pp. 78-81.
See also the subsequent section, Grimsted (interview by Pierre Mollier), "Les prises de guerre de l’Armee rouge: Temoignage de Patricia Kennedy Grimsted", ibid., pp. 84-85.
Mollier, Pierre. "Le voile leve sur les archives 'secretes' de la Franc-maconnerie". In Archives "secretes", secrets d’Archives? Historiens et archivistes face aux archives sensibles, ed. Sebastien Laurent (Paris: CNRS Editions, 2003), pp. 124-32.
Mollier, Pierre (ed.). "Tresors de la Bibliotheque du Grand Orient de France". Renaissance Traditionnelle, special issue no. 131-132 (July-Oct. 2002).
The volume includes an important introductory article by Pierre Mollier, "Histoire des archives et la Bibliotheque du Grand Orient de France", pp. 153-67; and several publications of important groups of documents from the Grand Orient files received from Moscow (especially fond 113).
Porset, Charles. "27,000 dossiers geles a Moscou". Humanisme: Revue des Francs-Macons du Grand Orient de France, no. 232-233 (Mar. 1997), pp. 157-63.