Today, The Bridge publishes a statement by Robert Porietis, a resident of the Latvian SSR, addressed to the highest Soviet leadership, it is dated November 1973. Porietis, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War and a worker, describes unlawful persecution by Soviet authorities: arrest for demanding compliance with Soviet laws, rehabilitation without compensation or punishment of those responsible, re-arrest on moonshining charges based on a fabricated case, and an illegal warrantless search conducted with force. This is an example of open protest against the Soviet justice system, the arbitrariness of local authorities, corruption, and citizens’ powerlessness before state officials. Robert Porietis sees the only solution to this problem as leaving the Soviet Union.

Two centuries as part of the Russian Empire, followed by half a century of Soviet occupation, are well reflected in Latvia’s archives. In recent years, they have systematically digitized their collections, making them available remotely. For researchers working outside of Riga, this means an opportunity to examine 19th-century parish registers, materials from the 1897 Russian Empire census, operational files of the Soviet secret police, and much more. This guide will be particularly useful for scholars researching Russification policies in the Livonia and Courland governorates, the Russian Civil War and emigration, World War II and the Soviet occupation, as well as the late-Soviet period

Field archival research is a specialized and often underappreciated form of scholarly endeavor that requires academic expertise, knowledge of institutional procedures, and the ability to establish personal connections. In this interview, we speak with a researcher from the Bridge Team who has spent six years working in Moscow’s largest archives and knows how this work operates from the inside: which collections are closing, which topics are becoming sensitive, and why experience and personal connections are becoming increasingly important for archival work in modern Russia.

The Czech archives preserve historically significant collections that are particularly valuable for research on Central and Eastern Europe, the Cold War, Soviet Union and Russia. Among the most important institutions are the National Archives, the Military Historical Archive, the Archives of the Academy of Sciences, the Security Services Archive, and the Slavonic Library, which functions as a specialized division of the National Library.

Debates about Russia’s “special path” and its historical trajectory remain highly relevant. Russian economist Dmitri Travin has recently attempted to address these and related questions a new edition of his Why Has Russia Fallen Behind? The Bridge has prepared a review of the book, which challenges common explanations of Russia’s “backwardness.” Travin weaves into a coherent picture such various factors as raids by nomadic tribes, the specifics of Russia’s economic development, Russians’ supposed “slave mentality” and comparisons between Russia and Europe.

Events of the 20th century are traditionally described through the lens of diplomacy, military campaigns and statistics. Behind this macrohistorical perspective lies another level of understanding: microhistory. The Bridge has compiled a selection of recently published books, based on letters, memoirs and diaries, that offer a fresh perspective on the 1917 revolutions and the Russian Civil War, as well as the Russian emigration, World War I and early-20th-century art. Microhistory can significantly improve our understanding of the past, revealing the diversity and contradictions of life strategies.

Countries with the richest and most renowned collections—Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia—have become increasingly inaccessible due to tougher legislation on archives and large-scale reclassification of documents (in Russia and Belarus), as well as the ongoing war and its severe consequences (in Ukraine). As a result, the search for alternative sources has become especially relevant. The Bridge has decided to present countries whose archival potential is equally impressive but less widely considered. Our first overview is devoted to Poland.

Military rule is often framed as a relic of the Cold War, yet recent events—from coups in Africa to the consolidation of power in Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro—suggest otherwise. In this article, we present a comprehensive, critical review of Grigory Golosov’s Military Regimes in the Modern World, examining how military regimes emerge, function, and decline across different regions and historical periods.

Archival affairs in Central Asia play a crucial role in preserving historical memory and advancing scholarly research, particularly in the post-Soviet space. In Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, archives not only store millions of documents but actively support academic inquiry through digitization, international cooperation, and targeted programs. As of 2025, both countries demonstrate significant progress in modernizing their archival systems, making them more accessible to researchers.

Archival materials from the Soviet Ministry of Cinematography and the Council of Ministers of the USSR provide a detailed view of how Soviet leadership shaped its policies regarding foreign film distribution and the portrayal of the country on screen in the post-war years. The late 1940s to early 1950s marked a period when ideological confrontation with the West increasingly influenced decisions related to cinema.

The Cold War’s invisible battles, waged by intelligence agencies, come to light through declassified records from Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine, detailing the KGB’s widespread surveillance, agent recruitment, and psychological warfare strategies.

The Bridge turns to one of the most popular and influential art forms—cinema—to trace how the myth of the leader was born on screen and how it can be interpreted today.

The cultural life of Soviet youth was shaped by a constant tension between state control and personal expression. Through discos, dorm gatherings, and underground music, a generation found subtle ways to carve out freedom — and today, archives across the former USSR offer a rare glimpse into this hidden world.

This article pays tribute to John Archibald Getty’s groundbreaking contributions to the study of the Stalinist era, highlighting the key archival collections he worked with and the institutional logic he uncovered behind Soviet governance and repression.

This catalog offers documents from Russian archives on elections at various levels in the USSR across its existence, as well as Soviet intelligence reports on Western elections.

In this interview from 1987, Soviet archival officials discuss the changes in archival policies during the late Soviet period, shedding light on the reasons and methods behind the classification of certain documents.

Russian archives have been and remain extremely important sources, and as such they garner interest from researchers from all over the world. In this overview, we will shed light on the current state of play with Russian archives.

In 2023, sociological studies conducted in Russia and Ukraine provided a unique opportunity to closely examine public views on the current situation.

Despite the enemy image being created, it is impossible to ignore the millions of Russians who oppose the conflict. The question of resources for victory and the future development of Ukraine leaves room for assessing the feasibility of interaction with "right," anti-war Russians.

The purpose of the study, which essentially represents the doctoral research of Vladislav Aksenov, is to discuss the transformation of various strains of patriotism during the period of acute political crisis in pre-revolutionary Russia.

On January 6, 2019, in the Church of St. George in Istanbul, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew signed the Tomos of autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), including it in the diptych of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. For Kyiv, this marked a new page in history, but for Moscow it was a blow, a “split of the Orthodox people,” which, according to the Russian church, only Russia has the right to rule.

The reaction of church organizations to the war in Ukraine had a significant impact on the religious and political situation in the country. The attack on Ukraine exacerbated the long-standing schism and conflict between the three Orthodox domains, in past and present operating on its territory.

This article delves into the complexities and controversies surrounding Ukraine's nuclear disarmament efforts, examining the historical context, political implications, and the lasting consequences of the Budapest Memorandum's failure.

Studies show that during the war and after the war, the frequency of crimes is increasing. And in a period that can be described as "unstable" – which may imply, for example, a weakening economy or a cold war – there is often a surge in proceedings and arrests on charges of espionage and other actions that undermine the security of the state.

On March 17, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Hague issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.

“Russian people” (Rus’kii, to be more precise) are Ukrainians, not Russians. And so either Ukraine or Russia must disappear.

During the last year of war, only one trend emerged in the Russian historical discourse: the state and the people with historical training who serve the state trying to squeeze out those few historians left in the country defending an objective approach toward Ukrainian history.

Official and independent narratives about the history of Rus and a ‘shared history’ with Ukraine

Toponymy represents an important part of the politics of memory and reflects how the state sees the nation-building process. The toponymy of the current war has shown that Ukraine is focusing on today's heroes and Russia on tattered visions of the past.

The 2020 Karabakh war was accompanied by hundreds of reports on decapitation of civilians, murdering of POWs, rape, and torture.

Did Pashinian rig the elections? Does the drastic difference between the polls and results bare any similarity with unpredicted victory of Donald Trump?