Some of the sources in the biographical section on Politics could apply to History as well, so be sure to check there too. Also keep in mind that encyclopedias can be excellent sources of biographical information. For history the general Russian scholarly encyclopedias and some subject encyclopedias such as MERSH, Morskoi entsiklopedicheskii slovar' and Voennaia entsiklopediia may be helpful as well.

N.B. This section includes mostly biographical dictionaries or sets that are not covered in the Russian biographical archive. Those few that are both in the RBA and included here are of particular signifance and are noted as such. Resources for Russian biography are extremely rich and the Biographical Archive doesn't even scratch the surface, so be sure to use this set as a starting point only.

Istoriki Rossii. Kto est' kto v izuchenii otechestvennoi istorii: Biobibliograficheskii slovar'.
A.A. Chernobaev. Saratov: Izd. "Letopis", 1997.
UIUC Call Number:  Russian Reference 947.0072 C423i

With biographies of almost 800 contemporary Russian historians and archaeologists, this source presents its material very clearly. Each entry gives basic biographical data including educational and career history as well as a bibliography of works by the individual and, if they exist, about the individual. Each entry also contains the historian's particular fields of interest. The entries are arranged alphabetically by surname. Follow the link for the entry on Boris Sergeevich Abalikhin.

Kto byl kto v Velikoi Otechestvennoi voine. Liudi. Sobytiia. Fakty. Kratkii spravochnik.
O.A. Rzheshevskii, ed. Moskva: Respublika, 1995.
UIUC Call Number:  Russian Reference 940.53470922 K949

Although this volume is much too small to contain biographies of all the Russian participants of World War II, it does have entries for over 1400 people who were political workers, commanders of ground forces and the navy, commanders and organizers of various partisan groups, people who attained the status of Heroes of the Soviet Union more than once(!), innovators of military technology as well as leading scienctific and cultural figures who either served in the war or wrote about the war. The entries provide basic biographical data, but focus mainly on an individual's activity during the war years. The first half of the book contains the biographies, whereas the second half contains a chronology of events beginning June 22, 1941 when the Nazis began their invasion of the Soviet Union. See the entry at the right for Viktor Maksimovich Golubev, who as a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union!

Kto rukovodil NKVD 1934-1941. Spravochnik.
N.V. Petrov, K.V. Skorkin. Moskva: Zven'ia, 1999.
UIUC Call Number:  Russian Reference 363.2830947 P4494

A fascinating reference book to be sure. This dictionary contains biographies and photos of the upper echelon of employees of the notorious secret police organization, the NKVD, and its regional organs, which perpetrated actions of mass terror against the Soviet populace. Many of the employees included in this volume were themselves arrested and/or shot at some point. The beginning of the book provides a history of the NKVD, a chart of its various departments and a list of the leaders of those departments. The body of the book comprises the biographical dictionary with entries in alphabetical order by surname. Besides basic biographical information, the entries include career data with very specific dates for service in the various sections of the secret police organization, ranks, medals, dates of death, and if applicable, dates of arrest, execution and rehabilitation. See the entry above on Solomon Arkad'evich Bak.

Russian America: A biographical dictionary.
Richard A. Pierce. Kingston, Ontario: Limestone Press, 1990.
UIUC Call Number:  Russian Reference 979.8020922 P611r

This English-language dictionary contains short biographical entries for 675 individuals, Russians, Americans, Native Americans, and others, who were invovled in the development of Alaska before 1867. The entries for very famous figures such as Catherine the Great give basic historical significance and then focus on that figure's relevance for the development of Alaska. Traders, merchants, royalty, politicians, Aleuts, and sailors are only some of the kinds of people featured in this source. Some portraits are included, but unfortunately no bibliographical references. See the entry below for Osip Larionov.

Portrety istorikov. Vremia i sud'by.
Moskva-Ierusalim: Universitetskaia kniga, 2000.
UIUC Call Number:  Russian Reference 947.00922 P838 v.1-2

This two volume set has long articles on the life and work of Russian historians. Historians from the Russian Academy of Sciences and various Russian universities and institutes collaborated to produce the entries which typically are 10 pages in length with a portrait and bibliographical references for works by and about the historian. The first volume covers Russian historians who specialized in the study of Russian history and the second volume covers those who studied world history. There is an index of names to enhance access to the texts.

Istoriki i kraevedy Moskvy. Nekropol'. Biobibliograficheskii spravochnik.
Moskva: Mosgorarkhiv, 1996
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 907.202 Is7

Scholars who specialized in the study of Moscow or "moskvovedy" are the subject of this biographical dictionary. The articles provide biographical sketches of 191 moskvovedy who lived from the eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth. Entries, usually one page in length, are arranged alphabetically by surname and include birth and death dates if known, educational information, career highlights and bibliographic references. Several indexes enhance the text: one for names and one for burial places of the 191 individuals. See the entry on the left for the church historian A.I. Pshenichnikov.

Istoriki-Slavisty SSSR. Biobibliograficheskii slovar'-spravochnik.
Moskva: Nauka, 1981.
UIUC Call Number: Slavic Reference 016.94007202 Is7

This biographical dictionary contains brief articles about Soviet scholars who specialize in the post-1917 history of non-Russian Slavs. It also includes non-Soviet scholars who were active in the Soviet Union in the 1920's through the 1940's. Entries are arranged alphabetically by surname and contain brief educational and career data for each scholar as well as citations for the scholar's major works. There are indexes of names and institutions. For scholars who specialize in pre-revolutionary Slavic history see Slavianovedenie v dorevoliutsionnoi Rossii. Biobibliograficheskii slovar'. See the sample entry to the right on B. T. Gorianov.

Istoricheskii slovar' rossiiskikh masonov XXVIII-XX vekov.
Platonov, O.A. Moskva: ARINA, 1996.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 016.36610947 P697i

Based on archival documents that were unavailable to researchers until 1991, this dictionary offers unique coverage of members of the secretive masonic organization. The book is divided into 3 parts: 18th century up to the reign of Nicholas II, the reign of Nicholas II up to World War II, and 1945-1996. Within each section the entries are arranged alphabetically by surname. Entries are brief with full name, career designation and information about the each individual's masonic membership. Use the abbreviation keys to clarify the masonic terms and sources. See the entry to the left for engineer and Duma member, Nikolai Nekrasov.

Gosudarstvennye deiateli Rossiiskoi Imperii. Glavy vysshikh i tsentral'nykh uchrezhdenii 1802-1917. Biobibliograficheskii spravochnik.
Shilov, D.N. Sankt-Peterburg: Dmitrii Bulanin, 2001.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947.0099 Sh62g

Based on materials located in 9 different Russian archives, this biographical dictionary has 281 entries for prerevolutionary government officials. Entries are typically several pages in length and include biographical data, a section on a figure's service career, a section for honors, a statement of the figure's cultural and societal activity, a list of works by the person, and a bibliography of printed and archival materials. The bibliographical and archival references are extensive. The references are divided into several sections such as memoir sources, encyclopedic sources, genealogical materials, etc. Much of the material in this volume has never been published before. Appendices include a chronological listing of all the directors of the various ministries from 1802-1917, a genealogical index showing family relationships of the officials included, and a bibliography.

Biograficheskii spravochnik vysshikh chinov Dobrovol'cheskoi armii i Vooruzhennykh Sil Iuga Rossii. (Materialy k istorii Belogo dvizheniia).
Rutych, N. Moskva: Regnum-Rossiiskii arkhiv, 1997.
UIUC Call Number: Russian Reference 947.08410092 R939b

Compiled by a noted Russian emigre historian who used a variety of archival sources, this recent biographical dictionary aims to acquaint the user with Russian military officers who fought against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. Many of the men whose biographies are included in this source perished during the war or died in emigration. A typical entry includes full name, dates of birth and death, rank, as well as a brief biographical sketch which highlights the career and, in particular, the individual's participation in the White movement. Often the place of death and burial is also provided. Some of the entries have bibliographical references. See the entry below for Vasilii Petrovich Petrov.

NdR, la Noblesse de Russie; éléments pour servir à la reconstitution des registres généalogiques de la noblesse, d'après les actes et documents disponibles complétés grâce au concours dévoué des nobles russes.
Ikonnikov, Nicolas F. Paris: Bibliothèque slave, 1957-1966. 2nd edition. 26 vols.
UIUC Call Number: Main Stacks 929.77 Ik7n 1957 v.1-26

Although this source is not that easy to use, it nevertheless offers a wealth of biographical and genealogical information about the Russian nobility from the earliest times to the twentieth century. The first twenty volumes present the families in alphabetical order with volume 21 as an index with additions and corrections. The next five volumes present additional families, but the entire alphabet is covered in each volume. On the title page of each volume are listed the families covered in that volume. At the beginning of some family sections Ikonnikov provides a brief overview of the family's history. At the end of each family section is an index of first names for the family with numerical indications for the entries in which the names appear. The members of the families are listed chronologically with the earliest ancestors coming first. Each generation/filiation is designated by a Roman numeral with each person assigned an Arabic numeral. Different branches of the family are presented after the main branch and are indicated by capitol letters A, B, C, etc. Be prepared to read French for the descriptions of the family members and to recognize French transliteration of Russian names such as Pouchkine for Pushkin and Youri for Iurii. The entries usually give the dates of life for the person, any titles or military ranks, and sometimes more information if the person was a notable figure. Bibliographic sources for the information appears in abbreviated form in parentheses in each entry with the list of sources printed at the beginning of the first volume and in volume 21. Spouses who married into a particular family are listed below their spouse and indented a little. References to spouses' families that also have warranted their own genealogies in Ikonnikov are indicated with the following notation: for a member of the Khroustchov family (NdR K ° C.13). NdR stands for Noblesse de Russie, K means in the volume with surnames beginning in K, family branch C, personal entry 13. See the entry below for the founding fathers of the Meshcherskii family. Note the column on the right that shows the father's entry number.

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