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Why I went to the Russian Archives

When I read a paper or book, the first things I look at are footnotes and references. It is the same reason you look at the back of the bag to see what the ingredients are when you buy snacks or processed foods. If the thesis is cooking, it is natural to want to know what was used as the main ingredient. This is because a dish using freshly harvested ingredients cannot be compared to a dish made with ingredients that have already been served on the table.

It was B. V. Ananich, who was my doctoral course advisor, who trained me to learn these common sense truth. The professor inherited the genealogy of empirical history in St. Petersburg, which was faithful to the archive rather than official history specialized in historical theory. Thanks to that, I was able to spend a dreamlike time, intoxicated with the scent of archives, during the chaotic period after the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

Professor Ananichi was not in Russia, which I returned to after completing my degree. He passed away in 2015. However, during my one-year dispatch to Russia in 2022, the professor gave me the strength to focus on the archive even in the chaos of the Ukraine war and blockade. There was no hassle of having to line up early in the morning to get a seat in the archives and no fuss from tourists due to the war. Every day I went to the archives as I went to school in Moscow and Petersburg.    

Overview of the Russian Archives

Russia has an area of about 17 million km2, 170 times that of Korea, and is a federal state composed of 160 ethnic groups. The vitality that sustains such a vast territory and empire with various races is transparent document management. Russia, through its imperial experience, was well aware that the power to lead a huge, multi-ethnic state comes from accurate records. This is because the Excalibur, which will suppress word-changing and fake news, is a reliable document. In the case of the Russian State Naval Archives(RGAVMF) in St. Petersburg, this is the reason why materials from 1696, when the Russian Imperial Navy was founded, have been preserved.

Therefore, there are currently about 2,600 federal and provincial archives in Russia. Russian archives are essential for those who study Russia in depth. As with other tools, it is essential to know how to use them. Provincial archives are scattered throughout Russia, but most of the major archives are in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The archives have a guidebook for the materials in the collection, so you can do research in advance, and a database is built so that you can search by keyword on the homepage. In the case of the Russian Historical Archives(RGIA) in St. Petersburg, guidebooks produced during the Soviet period are installed as PDF files, so it is convenient for users to understand the characteristics and quantity of the materials.

Our daily life, which begins with a smartphone alarm, is preserved in real time as Internet search records and surveillance camera(CCTV) images. But while digital recording is convenient, it cannot beat analog. In the distant future, a subsequent generation of historians may ask me while searching for the archives I have scanned and digitally collected. Why did you go to the archives every day in Russia, where foreigners were evacuated because of the war in Ukraine? I will answer that question: Just as the smell of a person lasts as long as memories, it is because the body odors of loved ones were there.

The archives contain not only narratives from 100 years ago. In the handwriting engraved with ink, the trembling of emotions at the time of recording and the concerns of the producer can be read together. When you open a bundle of documents containing handwritten manuscripts, there are not only reports and letters. The scent of old paper allows us to get a glimpse of the emotions hidden between the lines. I look forward to the opportunity to guide you to the Russian Archives.