As the war in Ukraine is now in its third year of current military conflict (excluding the takeover of Crimea), it becomes vital for us to provide resources to our students related to the actual war and its progress. For this reason, I wanted to focus on two different platforms that currently offer updates from the field as it evolves on the ground. I hope that the readers of these maps will find them helpful to make their own assessment of the current state of affairs. The first resource is the Deepstate map.
The interface is pretty intuitive, and the map can be displayed in both English and Ukrainian legends. Below is the screenshot that shows the map as of 11:05 am PST on August 25, 2025.
The deepstate live has several different partners that sponsor the project. One of them is Brave1.
Also, there is a blog that is associated with DeepState Live, which can be accessed here.
The second source is hosted by the Institute for the Study of War, which can be accessed here. The resource provides an assessment of the Russian offensive in Ukraine with a cutoff date of August 24, 2025.
The library has set up a trial of a bibliographic database on Russian Imperial Era periodicals, which will run through the end of this month. The trial can be accessed here:
Upon accessing the database, one will see the landing page. A login button will be in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Please click on it, as no password is required. You will be able to test the database and assess its utility.
Please reach out to your Slavic Studies Librarian with your valuable feedback.
Russian Imperial Era Periodicals: a Bibliography and Reference Guide (ImPressDB) is a comprehensive research database of periodicals and serials from the time of the Russian Empire, published between 1702 and 1917. It includes publications from within the Russian Empire, across its diverse linguistic and cultural regions, and from some territories under its influence, including the Austrian Empire (Austria-Hungary), Germany, and other countries. The database also covers periodicals published by the empire’s diaspora in various parts of the world, including those by émigrés, political exiles, and immigrant communities, offering a broad, transnational perspective on the era’s printed media.
At UC Berkeley Library, with the leadership and guidance from the library’s current acting AUL for Associate University Librarian for Digital Initiatives and Information Technology, Lynne Grigsby, we are excited to report the completion of the Russian Women Writers Collection’s digitization. The collection’s analog items can be searched here.
My predecessor, Dr. Allan Urbanic, was instrumental in helping us with the description of the project, which is as follows, “Russian Women Writers Collection
This project has been created in cooperation with the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg. In recent years, scholarship has focused on women’s contributions to the history of Russian literature. It has also been discovered that many of these writers were poorly represented in American libraries’ collections. The project first concentrated on filling in the corpus of women writers at the beginning of the 19th century. As the project moved forward, the works of Russian women authors of the later 19th century and the 20th century have been added.”
Terms governing use and reproduction
Researchers may freely and openly use the UC Berkeley Library’s digitized public domain materials. However, U.S. copyright law may protect some materials in our online collections (Title 17, U.S.C.). Use or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use (Title 17, U.S.C. § 107) requires permission from the copyright owners. The use or reproduction of some materials may also be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, privacy and publicity rights, or trademark law. Responsibility for determining rights status and permissibility of any use or reproduction rests exclusively with the researcher. Please see our permissions policies to learn more or make inquiries (https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies).
Source Russian Women Writers
One can look at the usage data of the item called Di͡evochka Lida razskaz dli͡a di͡eteĭ as shown below,
UC Berkeley Library has set up a trial of Brill’s Muslim in Russia Online Database. The database trial will continue until February 1, 2025. You can access the trial here.
This collection examines the varied Russian Muslim population during the period of 1861-1918. It includes works by and about Muslims, highlighting the significance of this heritage as the history and spirituality of Muslims in Russia are being reexamined. A word of caution: Most of the periodicals in this database have been digitized from microfilms; thus, digitization quality is problematic. The OCR seems unchecked and automated “dirty,” so one has to look at the images.
Title: V mīri͡e musulʹmanstva:ezhenedelʹnai͡a, literaturnai͡a, politicheskai͡a i obshchestvennai͡a gazeta. Date: 1911 Date in Source: [1911-1912]
Here are the key points about this database are highlighted below:
Role in Russian State: Muslims played a crucial role in the creation of the multinational Russian state, completed with the annexation of Central Asia in the 1860s. By 1897, Muslims made up almost 11% of Imperial Russia’s population (14 million).
Russian State Policy: Russian policy towards Muslims varied. Initially, there was forced Russification and Christianization. From Ekaterina II onwards, the policy shifted towards legitimizing Muslims. Under Alexander III, discrimination against non-Christians, including Muslims, increased.
Early 20th Century: The early 1900s saw a rise in Muslim nationalism, fueled by religious reformism and liberal ideas. The First Russian Revolution (1905-1907) led to significant political changes, including creating the State Duma and civil freedoms.
Union of Muslims of Russia: Formed in 1905-1906, this organization became the most powerful political body for Muslims until 1917, with branches across various regions.
Intellectual and National Identity: Early 20th century saw more Muslim intellectuals and interest in national identity, heritage, and traditions.
1917 Revolutions: Muslim nationalist movements grew during the February and October Revolutions of 1917. Post-1917, Bolshevik policies negatively impacted Muslims’ religious freedoms.
Muslim Press: Until 1905-1907, Muslim issues were poorly reported. The 1905 revolution led to a surge in Muslim publications. These periodicals covered a range of ideological perspectives and helped address Muslim problems.
Unique Publications: Publications from 1861-1918 provide insights into Muslim life in the Russian Empire and their leaders’ perspectives. These works are valuable for understanding Muslims’ historical and spiritual heritage in Russia.
Please save the date on your calendars for an exciting upcoming conversation-book talk (On Savage Shores : How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe) for our community of UC Berkeley Library and affiliated staff and librarians. Date: February 6, 2024 Day: Thursday, Time: 12-1 pm (Pacific Time) 8 pm-9 pm UK Time
Free and Open to All with prior registration. If you need special assistance or accommodation, please contact Dr. Liladhar R Pendse, the event organizer.
About the Webinar: In this webinar, Professor Caroline Dodds Pennock(She/her) will discuss her book, On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe. This book challenges the traditional Eurocentric view of the Age of Discovery by focusing on the Indigenous Americans who crossed the Atlantic to Europe after 1492. For centuries, history has taught that global history began when the “Old World” met the “New World” with Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. However, Caroline Dodds Pennock’s research reveals that, for many Indigenous people—Aztecs, Maya, Totonacs, Inuit, and others—Europe was the “New World.”
Collaged pages of Codex Mendoza. The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, believed to have been created around the year 1541.These individuals, including enslaved people, diplomats, explorers, servants, and traders, saw Europe as a land of both wonder and cruelty, filled with vast wealth inequality, and strange customs. Their experiences, marked by abduction, cultural clashes, and loss, have been largely excluded from mainstream historical narratives. This book tells the untold stories of the Indigenous Americans who traveled to Europe, such as the Brazilian king who met Henry VIII, the Aztecs at the court of Charles V, or the Inuit displayed in London pubs. Pennock uses their stories and European accounts to reveal how these Indigenous people, though marginalized, left a lasting impact on European culture and society.
About the author
Professor Caroline Dodds Pennock (She/her) has been at the University of Sheffield since 2010, where they are known as one of the few British historians specializing in Aztec studies. Their current research, however, has expanded to include Indigenous histories in a global context, with a particular focus on the Atlantic world. Dr. Caroline Dodds Pennock recently published On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe, which tells the stories of Indigenous Americans who traveled to Europe in the sixteenth century. These accounts, often involving abduction, loss, and cultural appropriation, have largely been overlooked in mainstream history.
Professor Caroline Dodds Pennock, University of Sheffield. Image Credit: University of Sheffield
Dodds Pennock, Caroline. On Savage Shores : How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe / Caroline Dodds Pennock. First American edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2023.
The UC Berkeley Library has started a trial of Piatidnevka Digital Archive. The trial will end on December 5, 2024. Please provide your feedback to your Librarian for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies at Lpendse at berkeley dot edu
The Piatidnevka Digital Archive is a valuable resource for researchers studying early Soviet history, particularly between 1929 and 1931. Published six times a month, this journal documents the Soviet Union’s brief experiment with a five-day workweek. The archive provides insight into the Soviet goal of replacing traditional societal norms with innovative approaches. It contains a wealth of visual and textual materials, including photographs, articles, editorials, and commentaries that offer firsthand perspectives on this significant period.
The UC Berkeley Library has initiated a thirty-day trial of British Intelligence on Russia in Central Asia, c. 1865–1949’s database. The trial ends on November 17, 2024
The database contains the following primary sources according to the self-description below, ”
Michell’s Russian Abstracts
During the 1870s and 1880s, the India Office Political and Secret Department considered the Russian and Central Asian question so vital that it employed an interpreter, Robert Michell, whose task was to review and translate Russian printed reports and extracts from Russian newspapers and other publications. Newspapers and journals regularly monitored included the Moscow Gazette, Turkestan Gazette, Journal de St Petersbourg, Russian Invalid, St Petersburg Gazette, Golos, Turkestan Gazette, and Novoye Vremia.
Section Michell’s Russian Abstracts and Memories, 1872-1883 Year 1879 Institution London: War Office, Intelligence Division
Political and Secret Memoranda
At about the same time, as a result of the increasing quantity of intelligence now being regularly received, the India Office Political and Secret Department began to produce printed memoranda in order to provide ministers with easily digestible précis of the information they needed to formulate policy. For officials in India and London, processing information from the frontiers and providing background papers for successive incoming governments and their ministers became an almost full-time occupation. The Memoranda was arranged and numbered by contemporary India Office officials in an alphanumeric sequence that reflected the geographical subject area. Memoranda relating to Central Asia, which included items reflecting the great political debate and guessing game over the nature of Russian intentions in the region, were usually put away in series “C”.
Political and Secret Files on Soviet Central Asia
Although Anglo-Russian rivalry officially ended with the Convention of 1907, Russian ascendancy in Central Asia continued to interest the British imperial administrations. The two powers confronted each other again after the First World War and the Russian Revolution. With the creation of Soviet Socialist Republics in the period between the two World Wars, the British rulers of India were increasingly concerned with infiltrating Indian politics of communist and nationalist agents and ideas. During this period, a new generation of British military and political intelligence officers, spies, and adventurers made courageous, sometimes unofficial, journeys into the Central Asian republics and beyond into Sinkiang. A British Indian agent was stationed at Kashgar in 1893, but 1911 the post was upgraded to Consulate-General. Kashgar became the listening post and source of regular intelligence briefings, political diaries, and trade reports.
Provenance and Archival Background
The archives of the India Office Political and Secret Department (and Military Department) form part of the Oriental and India Office Collections (OIOC) now within the Asia, Pacific, and Africa Collections at the British Library. The Political and Secret Department papers and printed material have now been catalogued under the OIOC reference L/PS. Military Department papers are located under the reference L/MIL.
Navigating Identity, Belonging, and Citizenship: A Conversation with Professor Canizales
In this webinar, Stephanie L. Canizales, Ph.D., will discuss her new book, Sin Padres, Ni Papeles, which explores the complex experiences of unaccompanied young migrants from Central America and Mexico in the United States. Canizales illuminates the long history of this migration and how young migrants find meaning and demonstrate resilience in the face of significant adversity.
Assistant Professor
Sociology Department
UC Berkeley
Faculty Director
Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative
Accessibility accommodations
If you require an accommodation to fully participate in this event, please contact Liladhar Pendse at lpendse at berkeley.edu or 510-768-7610 at least 7-10 days in advance of the event. Organizer: Dr. Liladhar R. Pendse
Available in an alternate format
To request an accessible version of this document, please contact the Library Communications Office at librarycommunications@berkeley.edu.
Navigating Identity, Belonging, and Citizenship: A Conversation with Professor Canizales
The page of all the issues for 1927 of Ilustrirovannaia Rossiia Journal.
About the journal:
Illiustrirovannaia Rossiia was a literary and illustrated weekly magazine published in Paris from 1924 to 1939. The journal was aimed mainly at the growing community of Russian immigrants who had left Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution. Thus, Illiustrirovannaia Rossiia offers a unique fund of linguistic and visual representations, providing an indispensable insight into Russian cultural life in exile.
The Illiustrirovannaia Rossiia Digital Archive offers this influential journal’s exhaustive and meticulously digitized collection. This archive is an indispensable research resource with 748 issues and over 21,000 pages.
Key features include:
Comprehensive page-level digitization
Faithful reproduction of original graphics
Enhanced search capabilities
Seamless cross-searching with East View’s extensive digital portfolio
The Library is currently trialing Brill’s Cuban Culture and Cultural Relations, Part IV: Music until October 14, 2024. The database can be accessed here.
This primary source collection documents the history of music in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a special focus on Revolutionary Cuba. It explores the role of music in society and covers festivals, performances, trends, and persons (musicians, composers, producers, etc.). The collection is scanned from the so-called “vertical archive” at Casa de las Américas in Havana, Cuba (source: Brill)
Title: Abelardo Barroso. 1968 Localidad: Cuba Resumen: Entrevista al sonero cubano. Publicada en Bohemia. Coleccion: Colección Archivo Vertical
Así canta y dice Puerto Rico. 1982
Please use ez proxy or VPN if you are accessing the resource from an off-campus location. Please provide your feedback to your Librarian of the Caribbean and Latin American Studies at Lpendse (at) berkeley (dot) edu
![Title: V mīri͡e musulʹmanstva:ezhenedelʹnai͡a, literaturnai͡a, politicheskai͡a i obshchestvennai͡a gazeta.<br />Date: 1911<br />
Date in Source: [1911-1912]](https://update.lib.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-2025-01-08-105604.jpg)
![A Collage of pages of Codex Mendoza. The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, believed to have been created around the year 1541.[1] It contains a history of both the Aztec rulers and their conquests as well as a description of the daily life of pre-conquest Aztec society. The codex is written using traditional Aztec pictograms with a translation and explanation of the text provided in Spanish. It is named after Don Antonio de Mendoza (1495-1552), the viceroy of New Spain, who supervised its creation and who was a leading patron of native artists.](https://update.lib.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/imgonline-com-ua-twotoone-Ddaw07KdHVpPXVF-scaled.jpg)
