Open research questions in Soviet and Russian History

What the literature leaves open

• In conclusion, it only remains to be said that the "Samara period" in the life and work of Bukeikhan, the future founder and leader of the Alash Autonomy, ended with the February Revolution, which led to his appointment as Commissar of the Provisional Government in the Turgay region in March 1917.

  From colonial to national narrative: Alikhan Bokeikhan’s views on the Kazakh past and present (1889–1910) · 2026 · DOI

• However, there is still no consensus on the reasons for the sharp ideological confrontation between the two major representatives of Bolshevism in the 1920s, Trotsky and Bukharin, who both paid great attention to the destructive phenomena in party and state building, as well as the economic policies of the post-revolutionary period, and the serious challenges faced by the young Soviet state.

  Nikolay Bukharin: a Retrospective Look at the Internal Party Discussions (on the Example of “How Not to Write the History of October”) · 2026 · DOI

• The terminology of patrilineal kinship is insufficient to study a power distribution and gender history of Muscovite Russia, to which historians, philologists, and anthropologists pay increasing attention.

  Is it a Clan? Marriage Policy and Rivalry of Noble Families in Russia in the 16th — 17th Centuries · 2026 · DOI

• This article examines one of the key and insufficiently studied tools of Soviet cultural diplomacy during the Cold War period – the participation of the USSR in the activities of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) at the turn of the 1950s — 1960s.

  The International Association of Democratic Lawyers as an Instrument of Soviet Cultural Diplomacy at the Turn of the 1950s — 1960s · 2026 · DOI

• The article addresses the insufficiently studied issue of disagreements between Soviet republics regarding key matters of jurisdictional delimitation during the formation of the USSR in 1921–1923.

  Disagreements between Soviet Republics during Formation of USSR in Documents of RSFSR Plenipotentiary Representation in Warsaw · 2026 · DOI

• Within the study of practices of social selfidentification, the ways in which historical narratives about the origins and history of particular social groups were constructed remain insufficiently examined.

  Historical Narrative as an Instrument of Social Self-Identification: The Image of Leonardo da Vinci in the Ideological Discourse and Strategies of the Soviet Intelligentsia (1929–1941) · 2026 · DOI

• These proved were insufficient, in part due to the challenging budgetary situation of the Russian Empire (in the first half of the 19th century, the budget of the Russian Empire was deficit-ridden).

  State Measures to Stabilize the Financial Situation of Judges in the Pre-Reform Period in Russia · 2026 · DOI

• Also, official diplomatic relations between the Russian SFSR and the Republic of China have not yet been established.

  Chinese Aid to the Starving in Russia in 1921–1923: Organization, Delivery and Distribution · 2026 · DOI

• Little is known in the literature about the activities of these administrators, and their bribery is mostly unsubstantiated.

  Town Governors of the Beginning of the Catherine Era: The Case of the Gorokhovetsky Governor Semyon Ivanovich Lebedev · 2025 · DOI

• Many archival documents have not been previously published or have been only partially studied; nevertheless, they shed light on understudied pages of national history.

  The Use of Labor of Immigrants from the People's Republic of China, Including Ethnic Chinese, in the Development of Virgin and Fallow Lands of Northern Kazakhstan · 2025 · DOI

• This article focuses on the hitherto understudied topic of Soviet state policy on paper distribution, using the example of Nikita Khrushchev's attempts to modernise the industry.

  Paper Hierarchies: Distribution of Technological Resources for Soviet Paper Production in the 1950s — 1960s · 2025 · DOI

• The purpose of the article is to generate interest among researchers in this unique and insufficiently studied documentary source, from which one can receive a great deal of information about the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the personnel of the department, the history of Russian diplomacy and international relations in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries.

  “Yearbook of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” as a Source on the History of Russian Diplomacy · 2025 · DOI

• The importance of popular exhibition culture in shaping perceptions of power and foreign policy in pre-revolutionary Russia remains understudied in modern historiography.

  Fat Children, 22 Beauties and Chancellor Caprivi: Exhibitions of Curiosities and Foreign Policy in St. Petersburg in the Winter of 1896—1897 · 2025 · DOI

• It is emphasized that the “housing question” remains a socially significant issue, and attempts to address it during the Soviet era warrant further investigation to draw lessons from the past.

  Housing Issues in Tyumen during Late 1970s to Early 1980s: Social Conditions, Expectations, and Reality · 2025 · DOI

• While ethnic quotas remain a cornerstone of power distribution in Kabardino-Balkaria (KBR), their historical evolution and impact on political stability — particularly in the post-Soviet period — remain understudied.

  “Lebanese Protocol”: Ethnic Quota Systems in KabardinoBalkaria’s Power-Sharing Arrangements (1950s-2020s) · 2025 · DOI

• Future research should examine municipal-level implementation and the influence of socioeconomic factors on decision-making processes.

  “Lebanese Protocol”: Ethnic Quota Systems in KabardinoBalkaria’s Power-Sharing Arrangements (1950s-2020s) · 2025 · DOI

• It is noted that prior to 1890, forestry administrations had not been established in Transbaikalia, and there were no specialized institutions managing forest resources, leading to uneven exploitation of forest resources and impacting the subsistence systems of Old Believer communities.

  Forest Management Practices in Economic Activities of Old Believer Semeyskys of Transbaikalia in Second Half of 19th Century · 2025 · DOI

• This aspect of the Decembrist movement remains largely understudied in the historiography.

  Decembrists Exonerated by Investigative Commission: Lieutenant Colonel I. A. Arsenyev · 2025 · DOI

• Notably, smaller and medium-sized nobility dominated ownership patterns in districts such as Yadrinsky, Tsivilsky, Sviyazhsky, and Tetyushsky — areas characterized by highly productive soils — while large-scale landed gentry were relatively scarce.

  Transformation of Noble Estates in Southwestern Region of Kazan Province during Post-Reform Period · 2026 · DOI

• China’s assistance to Soviet citizens during this period is poorly studied, and information about it in the scientific literature is either fragmentary or erroneous.

  Chinese Aid to the Starving in Russia in 1921–1923: Organization, Delivery and Distribution · 2026 · DOI

• This article explores the reasons why the oprichnina was scarcely reflected in national narrative sources from the time of Ivan the Terrible.

  Oprichnina without Justifications or Explanations: Why was there no Pro-oprichnina Narrative? · 2025 · DOI

• Roosevelt and constitutes an important yet understudied source for the history of Soviet–American relations and Soviet interpretations of U.

  “A Great President”: Alexander A. Troyanovsky’s Unpublished Biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt · 2026 · DOI

• The research highlights a significant gap in understanding how trade and entrepreneurship contributed to peasants' adaptation to new socio-economic conditions resulting from comprehensive collectivization policies.

  Trade and Entrepreneurship as Forms of Adaptation to Collectivization in Russian South during 1930s · 2026 · DOI

• The research draws upon a corpus of understudied sources — specifically, publications from factory newspapers issued throughout 1942 — cross-referenced with archival documents reflecting the actual state of affairs on the shop floor.

  Role of Factory Newspapers in Organizing Labor Activity at Besieged Leningrad Enterprises (1942) · 2026 · DOI

• It continues a series of articles about understudied and overlooked participants of the Decembrist movement.

  Decembrists Exonerated by Investigative Commission: Sublieutenant A. M. Golitsyn · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Soviet and Russian History

• Children born during The Siege of Leningrad in 1942 · The Journal of Pediatrics · 1947 · 284 citations
• Soviet Federalism and Ethnic Mobilization · World Politics · 1991 · 229 citations
• The Sources of Soviet Conduct · Foreign Affairs · 1947 · 223 citations
• Nationhood and the national question in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Eurasia: An institutionalist account · Theory and Society · 1994 · 199 citations
• Unraveling the Threads of History: Soviet–Era Monuments and Post–Soviet National Identity in Moscow · Annals of the Association of American Geographers · 2002 · 198 citations
• Causes of the Russian mortality crisis: Evidence and interpretations · World Development · 1998 · 146 citations
• Soviet Neotraditionalism: The political corruption of a Leninist regime · Soviet Studies · 1983 · 138 citations
• Soviet Hegemony of Form: Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More · Comparative Studies in Society and History · 2003 · 137 citations
• The Origins of Soviet Ethnic Cleansing · The Journal of Modern History · 1998 · 119 citations
• Social Conflicts as Pillars of Democratic Market Society · Political Theory · 1994 · 119 citations

Most recent work

• A Historical and Comparative Study of Azerbaijani–German Scientific, Pedagogical, and Literary–Cultural Relations (19th–Early 20th Centuries): Education, Language, and Intellectual Exchange in the Caucasus · Science Education and Innovations in the Context of Modern Problems · 2026
• From Tsarist Russia to the Kolyma Republic: Gender, Colonialism, and the Making of a Female Anthropologist in Dina Brodskaia’s Siberian Travel Accounts · The Russian Review · 2026
• Yet another Russian invasion? Echoes of 1917–20 in Russia’s war on Ukraine · Canadian Slavonic Papers · 2026
• Poverty: Everyday Life of Women and Family Values in Conditions of Deportation: Polish Mothers in Kazakhstan (1930s and 1940s) · Studia Historiae Oeconomicae · 2026
• Grazhdanskaia voina v Rossii: osmyslenie skvoz’ stoletie · Revolutionary Russia · 2026
• M.G. Safargaliev as a continuer of Tatar historical thought in the Soviet period · Golden Horde Review · 2026
• Lev Karsavin and the Russian-speaking community in interwar Lithuania · Studies in East European Thought · 2026
• Revisiting Soviet Partisan Warfare: Historiographical Challenges and New Perspectives · The Journal of Slavic Military Studies · 2026
• Proletarians in Care: Laboring Animals and Plants · Space and Culture · 2026
• Introduction: Power and Social Hierarchies in the North Caucasus: Perceptions and Challenges · Problems of Post-Communism · 2026

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