In his quest for historical legitimation, President Vladimir Putin has focused on the late imperial period. It was when the empire was ruled by an assertive monarch who successfully managed to modernize a vast realm, while suppressing domestic dissent and keeping Western rivals at bay. From that period Putin seems to have found his historical role model: Tsar Alexander III.

This collection documents the Russian entrance into World War I and culminates in reporting on the Revolution in Russia in 1917 and 1918. The documents consist primarily of correspondence between the British Foreign Office, various British missions and consulates in the Russian Empire and the Tsarist government and later the Provisional Government. Documents from 1918 detail Ukraine peace negotiations which were separate from Russian/Bolshevik peace terms.

Coverage from 1917 to 1923 on topics including Russian history, military history (especially World War I), and European history. A US document from 1918 reveals diplomats discussing whether to recognize the independence of Ukraine, and also Finland, as countries.

Collection of US State Department Central Classified Files contains a wide range of materials from US diplomats, including general insights on the period from 1918 to 1933 when the only relations maintained between the US and the USSR were commercial. A 1921 letter from the Ukrainian Diplomatic Mission to the US Secretary of State discusses issues of representation in government and trade relationship with the US.

Politics, diplomacy and everyday life in the German-occupied countries. Topics include the repercussions of the German invasion of Russia. Refugees of the war are also mentioned. A 1943 directive explains the agricultural importance of Ukraine to Hitler, and describes what developments Germany hoped to make there.

The Alger Hiss Papers document US politics and policy as they related to the war, post-war planning undertaken by the State Department in 1943, and the founding of the United Nations. Documents from 1945 reveal Russian world politics, including the question of whether Argentina, Ukraine, and Byelorussia should get seats at the table.

Reports, studies, and surveys on topics of interest to the US Department of State. A 1944 report estimates how many Russian workers were deported to work in Axis Europe. A 1947 study summarizes the nature and extent of nationalistic trends manifesting in disaffection and Anti-Soviet activity in Ukraine, along with Ukrainian Nationalist Organizations.

Coverage from 1893 to 1949, presenting the historical conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States, and the world events that served to influence the relations between the two world powers. A 1940 telegram in which the USSR asks for the return of Bessarabia, which Romania “took by force” in 1918, and asks for northern Bukovina too. Bessarabia is “populated chiefly by Ukrainians.”

Contains transcribed recollections of 24 key players in the Cold War, assisting scholars in understanding the motivations for conflict and conciliation. Read the 1997 interview of Valentin Berezhkov, who was translator for Joseph Stalin during wartime conferences, or former CIA director Robert Gates who describes propaganda shared with people in Ukraine.

Pamphlets from 1901 to 1969, pertaining to communism, socialism, Marxism or Leninism, and class struggle. A sizeable part of the collection originates from Soviet Russia after WWII. Speeches from Joseph Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov and other Soviet policy-makers are included. A 1939 pamphlet called “The National Question Solved” describes ethnic groups found in the USSR and praises the Soviet system for advances made.

After the War in Europe ended, many Displaced Persons could not or would not return to their homelands. The collection covers the politics and administration of the post-war refugee crisis in Europe as well as the day-to-day struggle of the refugees themselves. Included is a 1949 UN report entitled “A Study of Statelessness.”

Documents from the Central Files of the General Records of the Department of State reveal the Communist takeover of the country and society. A 1946 editorial by Walter Dushnyck describes unrest in an “independent” Ukraine which is being led by Russian politicians. He concludes, “A 1948 Foreign Service article suggests that economic concerns and control of natural resources motivates political districting.”

Complete files of the UK Political Warfare Executive from its instigation in 1941 to closure in 1946. Russian radio addresses and press propaganda are documented (in English) and analyzed, including mentions of liberating Ukraine from the Germans.

Covering 1987 to 1992, this robust collection provides an in-depth analysis of the events leading up to the dissolution of the USSR. Subject files cover the matter of international recognition of Ukraine, and documents “complex issues” in establishing Ukraine independent from Russia in 1991.

Covering 2003-2009, the collection analyzes the weapons, efforts to control, and proliferation, covering research on global efforts to halt proliferation and reduce the threat. Documents illuminate the psychology of WMD terrorism and trace the origins and development of international efforts to reduce WMDs. Putin recently claimed that the US is working on WMDs in Ukraine. Academic reports reveal older tensions regarding US plans to deploy Anti-Ballistic Missiles in Eastern Europe, and Putin’s response to actions of NATO.

Covering 2001-2009, documents from the US National Archives assembles research studies that analyze the goals and strategies of global terrorism. US and Russia have worked together to counter terrorism. Showing the importance of Ukraine on the global stage, a 2006 Strategic Studies Institute paper asks whether Ukraine can “complete military transformation and join the US-led war on terrorism.”