Russian Archives Online

www.russianarchives.com

Russian Archives Online is a collection of Russian and Soviet-related archives and other sources of film footage, photographs, illustrations, and audio, along with supporting documents and text. Here is an overview of what can be found on the RAO Web site:

• THE ARCHIVES provides in-depth background information on the Russian archives and other collections available on RAO.
• CATALOGUES is where you can find searchable databases or page collections for many of the RAO archives. Note that the image catalogues are continually growing with entries added monthly.
• THE GALLERY is an ever-changing display space highlighting archival materials available from the RAO archives. All past exhibits are archived and are accessible from the menu at the bottom of The Gallery page.

The RAO Web site is located at www.russianarchives.com, and is also available as a part of the Red Files Web site on PBS Online at www.pbs.org/redfiles. Archives represented by Abamedia through RAO include:

• The Russian State Film and Photo Archive at Krasnogorsk (RGAKFD)
• The Russian State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documents (RGANTD) - the "Space Archive"
• The Russian Information Agency Novosti
• Tretyakov Gallery
• The Russian State Museum of Oriental Art
• The Baikal Museum of the Irkutsk Scientific Center

Abamedia is pleased to announce that discussions with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have resulted in a formal agreement concerning mutual cooperation in the creation of an international online audio-visual database. In addition, the Central European University Archives, an affiliate of George Soros' Open Society Archives, have commenced funding the completion of the Russian and English cataloguing projects at the Krasnogorsk Archive.

History

Russian Archives Online was initially envisioned as the ultimate digital library of Russian culture, an online gateway to Russian images, including the Krasnogorsk Archive. On March 6, 1998, Abamedia and Internews Network held a planning conference at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, to discuss aspects of the project with academic advisors and potential funders. Major topics included: information resource needs of academic and research user communities, specific databank availability, and obstacles to information/data exchange and collaboration. The primary interest of academics attending the conference was in the area of availability of visual materials on the history of Russia, and the major recommendation from the conference was that emphasis should be on image archives, with text available through linkages to other projects. This was in line with the AMP/Abamedia review of commercial aspects of online commerce through image licensing, which will eventually allow the project to be self-supporting.

home . russian archives online . television . motion pictures . about the company

search . legal notices . copyright 2002 Abamedia