Historical sources
In MSU’s History Faculty’s virtual library
(All texts are in Russian or in Old Russian)
Russian History
The Legal Code of 1649 (Sobornoe Ulozhenie)
(The Code of Law. It was accepted by the Zemskii council in 1649, composing of 967 articles examining many key questions of state life, about the Tsar’s court, about Boyars, about noble and church land ownership, military service, court, and about political and criminal offences etc.)
Grigory Kotoshikhin. About Russia under the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich
(An account of different aspects of life in the State of Moscow, composed by a Russian Posolski Prikaz (Foreign Office) official emigrating, on the order of a Swedish noble in 1665 (foreign policy registry). One of the most important sources for the history of Moscow in the 17th century.)
The Charter to the Nobility
(Tsarist decree of 1785, regulating the rights and obligations of the noble class in the Russian social hierarchy.)
The Charter to the Towns
M.M.Speransky. General plan for the code of state laws.
N.M. Karamzin. Notes On Old and Modern Russia...
(Composed by the historian N.M.Karamzin and presented to emperor Alexander I in 1811. The most far-seeing views of a part of the conservative opposition, not satisfied by the course of the liberal reforms imposed by Alexander I and the actions of M.M.Speranskii were expressed in this work.)
The Manifest of 19 February 1861
(A manifest, bringing about the emancipation of peasants from serfdom. Providing for fundamental changes of the social-economic face of the entire country, the peasant reform became one of the most important events in the history of 19th century Russia.)
The fundamental regulations for peasants, emancipated from bondage
(The law on the Peasant reform 1861, regulating details of emancipation.)
N.G.Chernyshevsky. To the peasants of nobility...
(The most famous work from a series of radical-democratic printed critiques on the methods of carrying out emancipation. The proclamation was addressed to peasants, attempting, in accessible language, to explain, that the reform carried an extortionate character and did not better the life of peasants.)
S.G.Nechaev. Catechism of a revolutionary
(The first account presented in Russian history on how to be a professional revolutionary. Written by the organiser of the illegal student organisation «People’s Reprisal.» (1868-1869).)
Program of the «Land and Liberty». 1878 ã.
(The program of the first all-Russian centralised revolutionary organisation.)
P.N.Tkachev. Terrorism as the only means
for the moral and social revival of Russia.
(A sermon of wide-ranging terrorist activists, necessary for the revolutionary overthrow of the governmental construction.)
The Central Committee of RCP(b)-VCP(b) Resolutions on the Culture Policy:
On the Party Policy in the Field of belles lettres. 1925.
On the Reorientation of Literare Organisations. 1932 ã.
On the journals "Zvezda" and "Leningrad". 1946.
On the Drama Theatres Repertoire and the Measures on its Correction. 1946.
On the movie "The Great Life". 1946.
On the opera "The Great Friendship" by V.Muradely. 1948.
Manifest of 17 October 1905
(A manifest about the granting to the population basic civil rights. It was promulgated under the influence of a surge of revolutionary activities in 1905.)
The fundamental laws of the State. 23 April 1906.
(Legal acts in the development of the conditions of the Manifest of 17 October)
Documents on the abdication of emperor Nicholas II
and the forming of a Provisional Government. 2-3 March 1917.
Constitution of the RSFSR 1918.
Constitution of the USSR 1924.
Constitution of the USSR 1936.
Constitution of the USSR 1977.
Work on scanned texts is carried out in the process of educational practice for students of the faculty of history.
Texts were prepared by employee of the laboratory for the historical information science T.Y.Valetov.
Winword 6.0/95 versions
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to historical sources texts in another electronic collections