In the dynamic landscape of archival work across Eastern Europe, significant strides have been made towards digitization and preservation initiatives. This digest serves to highlight notable developments in Russia, Ukraine, and Latvia, showcasing the dedication of archival institutions towards commemorating historical events, expanding access to records, and embracing innovative approaches to archival practices.
RUSSIA On January 27, 2024, the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF/ГАРФ) prepared an internet publication titled
"We Defended Leningrad!" to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Leningrad from the blockade. It includes 120 documents and photographs from 9 funds. The majority of the documents are being published for the first time.
UKRAINE On January 29, 2024, at the premises of the State Archive Service of Ukraine, two more Ukrainian state archives signed agreements on cooperation with FamilySearch International. As known, in June 2020, the Ukrainian State Archive signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the State Archival Service of Ukraine and FamilySearch International (USA), aimed at digitizing genealogical documents and creating access to such documents. Since the signing of this memorandum, 22 Ukrainian state archives have joined this initiative.
Currently, the State Archive of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast plans to digitize metric books to the maximum extent, as well as funds containing genealogical information, such as party bodies' funds. The State Archive of Kherson Oblast has prepared 80 funds from the 1920s-1950s for mass digitization. These include funds of collective farms (колхозов), urban self-government bodies, as well as other institutions, organizations, and enterprises whose documents contain valuable genealogical and biographical information.
It is noteworthy that over the past five years, the pace of digitization of documents in Ukraine has increased almost 16 times, and compared to 2022, almost 2.5 times. In 2023, Ukrainian archivists, together with partners – Ukrainian and international institutions –, digitized more than 21 million pages.
"Earlier, we talked about the fact that at the existing pace, it would take a thousand years to digitize all Ukrainian archives. Now, in specific examples, such as the State Archive of Poltava Oblast, a sufficiently large regional archive can be completely digitized from the first to the last document within eight years," emphasized Anatoliy Khromov, the Chairman of the State Archival Service of Ukraine.
LATVIA The second issue of the Latvian National Archive journal
"Latvijas Arhīvi" for 2023 has been released. Significant for historians, this journal is dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Latvian State Archive of Cinematographic Documents. It contains articles in which archivists themselves discuss the history of the archive, the valuable documentary heritage, cooperation, and propaganda, as well as new trends in the archivist's work. The journal publishes research revealing the content of collections of documents accumulated in the Latvian State Archive of cinematographic and phonographic documents.