Person:

Rakityanskaya, Anna

Video appeals to the president of Russia are a primary source of unprecedented richness for the study of various aspects of contemporary Russian life. Online videos are recorded by diverse groups and individuals in Russia as attempts to prompt President V.V. Putin to directly resolve specific social, economic, cultural, and environmental problems; and to express opinions on a variety of issues or to wish him well. The content of this material and its role as a historical source can be compared to epistolary archives and, specifically, letters to the authorities written by Soviet citizens. This paper describes an experimental project in collecting, preserving, and providing access to these videos.

The Russian Ephemera Collection (late 1980s-1990s) at Harvard Library is a monumental primary source collection for the study of the late Soviet and post-Soviet era. It was acquired in the 1990s along with the collection of Independent and Post-Soviet Press, but remained “hidden” until 2013-2014, when it was catalogued and digitized. Digitization played a role not only in the preservation but also in the discovery of the collection. The ephemera cover various subjects, ranging from purely political (elections, the 1991 coup d'état attempt, rallies, political parties and politicians, independence movements, ethnic conflict) to cultural, religious and business-related topics.