This index to the Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between Russia and the Soviet Union and Other States, 1910-1929, collection provides the dates each reel covers. Government Information MAY NOT hold all of these reels. The record in the library catalog describes the extent of our holdings. For help, or to make an appointment to view a reel, email rad@colorado.edu
On the 20 rolls of this microfilm publication are reproduced the records from the decimal file of the Department of State, 1910-29, that concern political relations between Russia (and the Soviet Union) and certain other states. They are mostly instructions to and despatches from our diplomatic and consular officials in Russia before 1917 and in other states from 1917 to 1929. Press clippings and commentaries are attached to many of the despatches. Also included in these records are notes between the Department of State and foreign diplomatic representatives in the United States, memoranda prepared by officials of the Department, and correspondence with officials of other Government departments, with Members of the United States Congress, and with private firms and individuals. The Lists of Documents or "purport sheets" reproduced on Roll 1 give brief abstracts of the documents reproduced in this microcopy and serve as a finding aid to the documents themselves. The arrangement of the entries on these lists corresponds to the arrangement of the documents in the file.
Since 1910 the central files of the Department of State have been grouped and arranged according to a decimal system of subject classification. This decimal file initially consisted of nine primary classes numbered 0 through 8, each covering a broad subject area. Under Class 7, Political Relations of States, the documents are arranged according to the countries concerned. Each country has been assigned a two-digit number. File numbers are assigned to the documents in the following manner: the class number, a country number, a decimal point, and another country number. Thus the file number for political relations (Class 7) between Russia (61) and Germany (62) would be 761. 62. Where two country numbers are used in a single file number, the lower number is the controlling one and precedes the decimal point; the number that follows the decimal point must be higher. Most of the documents reproduced on this microcopy concern relations between Russia and those countries assigned a number higher than 61. Documents on relations between Russia and a country having a number lower than 61 would be among the records for the other country; for example, those on relations between Russia (61) and Mexico (12) would be filed under 712. 61. Documents relating to Russian relations with other states in general, however, are filed under 761. 00 and are included in this microcopy.
When one or more digits follow the second country number, they represent a specific subject. This number may, in turn, be followed by a slant mark (/). The numbers that follow the slant mark are assigned to individual documents as they are accumulated on a specific subject. For example, a decimal file number taken from a document reproduced in this microcopy is 761.672/6. The digit 2 following the country number for Turkey (67) indicates that the subject is the negotiation of a treaty of commerce and navigation between Russia and Turkey, and the number following the slant mark indicates that this is the sixth paper received on this subtopic.
The documents under one subject classification are generally in chronological order, coinciding with the document number assigned (which follows the slant mark). There are instances, however, when a document file number was not assigned until a date considerably later than the one on which the document was received.
Cross-reference sheets that refer to related records under other subject classifications in the decimal file have been reproduced as they occur and appropriate cross-reference notations appear in the Lists of Documents. Other cross-reference notations are to documents in the "numerical file," a system used for the central files of the Department of State for the period 1906-10. This numerical system of assigning consecutive numbers to subject case files was replaced by the decimal system of subject classification in 1910.
Before filming the records a search was made by the National Archives and the Department of State for missing documents. The checkmarks that appear by most entries in the left-hand column of the Lists of Documents indicate that the papers are in the file. The absence of checkmarks denotes that the documents were not found; it is believed that they were not among the records when they were received from the Department.
This file contains communications received from and classified by foreign governments and Federal agencies other than the Department of State. Those documents that have not been declassified are not available as part of this microcopy. The National Archives and Records Service does not have authority to make reproductions of such documents available to searchers.
More than two-thirds of the records reproduced on this microcopy concern efforts made after 1917 by the Soviet Government to expand its influence in the Near East and the Far East, to gain the recognition of countries in these areas and in Europe, and to negotiate treaties of arbitration, of alliance, and of amity, commerce, and navigation. Many documents contain information on Soviet activities in Germany, the development of Soviet-German relations, and the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo on April 7, 1922. Under this treaty both Russia and Germany reestablished full diplomatic relations on the basis of equality and mutually renounced all claims arising from nationalization of property and for war indemnities. Also included is extensive information on the reaction to the treaty in Germany and throughout the world.
Other records reflect Soviet interest in the Balkans and the Middle East and contain information on Soviet-Turkish relations, negotiations by Turkish nationalists with the Soviet Government, Soviet influence in Turkey, and conventions defining the Russo-Turkish border; on Soviet-Rumanian relations, the tension and disputes between these two nations from 1920 to 1923, Bolshevik activity in Bessarabia, rupture of the Vienna Conference between Russia and Rumania in 1924, frontier disturbances in areas along the Dniester River, and the signing of the Litvinov Protocol; and on Soviet-Persian relations that include boundary questions and Bolshevik activities in Persia such as distribution of money, politico-economic matters, and pressure on minority groups.
The records concerning Sino-Soviet relations contain information on Russian and Japanese interests in Mongolia and Manchuria; the activities of A. A. Joffe as the Soviet representative in China; use of propaganda by the Soviet Mission in Peking; the views of Dr. Sun Yat-sen on socialism and on relations with the Soviet Union; the severance of relations with the Soviets by the Chinese Nationalists in 1927 and the subsequent long dispute, especially concerning the Chinese Eastern Railway. Also included are documents on attempts by Germany at mediation and on consultation between the United States and other governments concerning notes to be sent to Russia and China.
Information on the establishment of relations after 1917 between the Soviet Government and other states in general is contained on Rolls 2 to 4 of this microcopy. These records also contain information concerning the speeches, writing, and foreign policy statements of Trotsky, Litvinov, Molotov, Chicherin, Zinoviev, and others.
This microcopy does not include the records for Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Lithuania, the Ukraine, Poland, and Transcaucasia, former provinces of Russia, during the period of their independence after World War I.
A table of contents, indicating the document number range and the subjects covered by the documents in this microfilm publication, appears after the information on related record groups given below.
The spreadsheet attached below contains a reel-by-reel description of the complete collection.