Other Religions
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ANCIENT
RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY
Slovar
slavianskoi mifologii.
E.A. Grushko and Iu.M Medvedev.
Nizhnii Novgorod: Russkii kupetz, 1995. 367 pp.
UIUC Call Number: Slavic
Stacks 398.204918 G927s
Some of the content of this dictionary
is not religious, but the work does include ancient gods. It is on ancient belief,
including Baba-Yaga, various animals and giants. The articles are short and do
not contain citations, but there is a 33-item bibliography at the end.
Russkii
demonologicheskii slovar.
T.A. Novichkova,
redaktor. Sankt Peterburg: Peterburgskii pisatel, 1995. 639 pp.
UIUC Call
Number: Russian Reference 133.42 N858r
Although
this dictionary does not confine itself to ancient religious belief, its religious
content is mostly of a mythological nature. Topics range from the Antichrist to
Baba-Yaga to vampires. For concepts related to the Bible, such as the Antichrist,
the dictionary tells where they appear in the Bible. Articles range from 1 paragraph
to 58 pages. Abbreviated citations are included within articles, and full citations
appear in a list of abbreviations at the end. There is an index of all names with
see references.
GENERAL
CHRISTIANITY
Khristianstvo:
entsiklopedicheskii slovar'.
Averintsev, S. S. (glavnyi redaktor). Moskva: Bolshaia Rossiiskaia entsiklopediia,
1995. 3 v.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 204 K528
Due to the scarcity of reliable sources
of religious information available in the Soviet Union, the compilers
decided to reprint pertinent articles from Russian, scholarly prerevolutionary
encyclopedias to make some information available immediately until they
can compile a new, scholarly religious encyclopedia which will be years
in the making. This encyclopedia was put together using articles from
Brokhaus' Entsiklopedicheskii
slovar', Novyi
entsiklopedicheskii slovar', and Pravoslavnaia
bogoslovskaia entsiklopediia. It covers all branches of Christianity
and includes topics such as liturgy, hagiography, Bible, and history.
Some articles on people list their works at the end; other articles
occasionally include bibliographies. Articles are signed by the scholars
who wrote them. There is a long bibliography at the end organized by
topic, in addition to other supplementary materials. The work includes
a list of periodicals in Russian, calendars, and a list of saints.
Christianity
in the Soviet Union: an annotated bibliography and list of articles
-- works in English.
William C. Fletcher. Los Angeles, CA: Research Institute on Communist
Strategy and Propaganda, 1963. 86 leaves.
UIUC Call Number: Undergraduate Stacks 016.2747F63c
This bibliography deals with all branches of Christianity in the Soviet Union
from 1917 to 1962. Most of the works cited are from the West, although some are
Soviet. Books and pamphlets are listed separately from articles, and only the
former are annotated. The annotations are editorialized with comments such as
"dismal" or "interesting." Polemics are a separate topic from
informative works. A list of publications cited is included at the end.
JUDAISM
Jews are the one religious group that seems to be fairly well covered during the
Soviet era. Due to the international attention and the large number of émigrés,
several bibliographies were published in English about Soviet Jews. Scholars should
be aware, however, that much of the writing on Jews is not religious and focuses
on Jews as an ethnic group. For some reason, many of the bibliographies on Jews
cover narrow time ranges. They are listed here in chronological order by period
covered, and together they cover the whole Soviet period.
Encyclopedias
Evreiskaia entsiklopediia: svod znanii o evreistve i
ego kulture v proshlom i nastoiashchem.
Sankt
Peterburg: Obshchestva Dlia Nauchnykh Evreiskikh Izdanii i Izd-vo Brokgauz-Efron,
1906. 16 v.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 296.03 Ev72
Taking as their starting point articles
from Funk and Wagnall's Jewish Encyclopedia, the editors of this work
supplemented the encyclopedia with articles on the history of Jews in
Russia, Lithuania, and Poland. This 16-volume set covers biblical and
historical figures, religious philosphy, Talmud, history, songs, and
holidays. Secular rulers of Eastern European countries are also included.
Articles have bibliographies, but the citations are mostly in German.
There is a list of abbreviations at the beginning of the first volume.
Volume 16 contains a detailed index to all of the other volumes. The
following link will
show you an entry on the month of Tishrei.
Kratkaia
evreiskaia entsiklopediia.
Itzkhak Oren, Mikhael
Zand. Ierusalim: Keter, 1976. 7 v.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference
296.03 K865
This is not as complete
as the previous encyclopedia but could be useful because it is more recent. It
includes biblical figures, many geographical locations (describing the Jewish
population there), prayers, and organizations. Many entries are Hebrew words transliterated
into Russian, followed by Hebrew spelling and Russian translation. The articles
don't have bibliographies.
Bibliographies
Sistematicheskii
ukazatel' literatury ob evreiakh na russkom iazykie sovremeni vvedeniia
grazhdanskago shrifta, 1708 po dekabr' 1889 gg.
Cambridge: Original research partners, 1973. 568 pp.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.95693 Si84
This reprint of a 1893 bibliography covers books and articles on a wide range
of subjects. There is a section on religion, and the section on internal life
includes a part on the rabbinate. Other subjects include history, ethnography,
economic situation, and the state's relation to Jews. The table of contents includes
many other countries, both European and Asian, but is mainly on Russia. There
is an index of authors and subjects but unfortunately no list of abbreviations.
Russian publications on Jews
and Judaism in the Soviet Union, 1917-1967: a bibliography.
Benjamin Pinkus. Jerusalem: Society for research on Jewish communities,
1970. 113 pp.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 325.25693P65r
The introduction to this bibliography gives a historical overview of Jews in the
Soviet Union. The table of contents is in English and divides into 9 subjects.
Most citations are for books, including 52 bibliographies. There is an index of
authors and titles of anonymous works.
Jews
in the Soviet Union: an annotated bibliography.
Louise R. Fluk. New York: American-Jewish Committee, Institute of Human
Relations, 1975. 44 pp.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.301451 F67j
This bibliography includes books, journal articles, journals, and pamphlets from
1967-1974, mostly published in the U.S. Topics includes Soviet defense of the
situation of Jews, personal accounts, emigration. Citations are divided by format
and are alphabetical by title within section. Fluk gives short annotations and
an index with authors, proper names, and a few subjects.
Source book on Soviet Jewry: an annotated
bibliography.
Sylvia Orenstein. New York: American-Jewish Committee, 1981. 116p.
UIUC
Call Number: Slavic Stacks 016.947004924 Or14s
Almost all the works cited in this bibliography are in English and many were published
in the U.S. The small section on 1917-1970 includes many autobiographies. The
following, larger section on 1970-1981 mixes bibliography, collected works, and
fiction. Topics include life in Soviet Union, government policy, and resettlement.
Annotations are brief but clear. There is an index of subject, title, and author
mixed together.
ISLAM
Although Islam is the second largest religion in the former Soviet Union1,
little has been written on Islam that focuses on its practice in Russia or the
Soviet Union. Rubakin's Sredi Knig
has a section on Islam that mostly consists of works in translation and lives
of Mohammed. The Academy of Sciences bibliography
on religion includes a section on Islam as well. At least half of the entries
are about Islam in Central Asia, and a few are about Russia. Steeves' encyclopedia,
The modern encyclopedia of religions in Russia
and Eurasia, looks like it could be useful after the appropriate volume
is published. There are some books in the UIUC library under the following subject
headings:
Islam-Russia(Federation)-History (6 titles)
Muslims-Russia(Federation)-History (4 titles)
Islam-Soviet Union (16 titles)
Muslims-Soviet Union (14 titles)
Islam:
slovar' ateista.
Moskva: Izdatel'stvo politicheskoi literatury, 1988.
252 pp.
UIUC Call Number: Main Stacks 297.03 Is4
Of
the same series as Pravoslavie: slovar' ateista, this work is also intended
as propaganda. Although it does not describe itself as focusing on the USSR, it
does address Soviet organizations and acts related to religion. Several writers
and political figures from Soviet republics are also included. The entry for Aina
Sultanova is shown on the right. The dictionary also covers Islam more generally,
explaining moral, religious, and Biblical topics. Articles are short and include
cross-references. There is a list of abbreviations at the end, but no bibliography.
Islam
na territoritorii byvshei Rossiiskoi imperii: entsiklopedicheskii slovar.
S.M. Prozorov, otvetstvennyi redaktor. Moskva: Izdatelskaia firma "Vostochnaia
literatura" RAN, 1998-
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 297.03
Is43 v.1
This rather incomplete encyclopedia
dictionary is the first in a set that is intended to be several volumes.
Rather than organizing the set alphabetically, each volume will include
the whole range of the alphabet. Eventually all the volumes will be
combined into one, making the dictionary into only one run-through of
the alphabet. The current volume has 87 entries on Muslim scholars,
mosques, geographic places, and history. Many entries are Arabic words
in Cyrillic, with translations in parenthesis. Coverage is unpredictable,
for example Bashkortostan is included but not Tatarstan. Articles have
bibliographies. The many indices are unfortunately a little confusing.
The index of geographic names and of ethnic groups tells what entries
mention them each name, but does not give page numbers for those entries.
Other indices are names, religious institutions, essays mentioned, terms,
subjects. There is also a list of abbreviations. See an entry on Karavan-Sarai
on this page.
Muslims
of the Soviet Empire: A Guide.
A. Bennigsen and S.E. Wimbush. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press,
1986. 294 pp.
UIUC Call Number: History Stacks 947.00882971 B439m
This work is well organized and provides information on all Muslim peoples in
what was then the USSR. The first section has chapters on the history of Islam
in the Soviet lands from 600 to 1928 and deals with demographics and religious
practice in general. The second section is arranged by ethnic group, covering
peoples from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and European Russia. For each group,
the authors give data on demographics, assimilation, religious practice and organizations.
The time span covered is narrow, as the authors are mainly concerned with their
own time period. A bibliography at the end lists works in Islam in general, Islam
in the USSR and Central Asia, and specific groups of people. Most citations are
from the 1970s and 1980s, but a few are older. There is also an index and short
glossary. The beginning of the bibliography is shown below.
Index
Islamicus.
East Grimstead, West Sussex, UK: Bowker-Sauer, 1994-
UIUC Call Number: Main Reference 016.915 In2q1 (on index tables)
This index is a continuation of Quarterly
Index Islamicus, and together the indexes cover the years 1665 to the
present. They include works in European languages on Islam and the lives
of Muslims, including books, articles and book chapters. The list of
periodicals indexed includes a few Russian titles, and issues since
1993 have a subject index with many citations under "Russia."
Since 1993, the index is published yearly in a single volume, which
has name and subject indexes.
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1. Prozorov,
S.M. Islam na territorii byvshei Rossiiskoi imperii.
