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	HU OSA 300-8-3
Fonds 300:	Records of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Research Institute (RFE/RL RI)
Subfonds 8:	Publications Department
Series 3:	Background Reports

Date(s) 1956-1989

Extent and medium

286 Archival boxes, 36 linear meters
9 SDLT I, 0.31 linear meters

Scope and content

Background Reports (BRs) prepared for the use of the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty were written on an ad hoc, irregular basis and concern not only the eight countries to which RFE used to broadcast but also Albania, the German Democratic Republic, Yugoslavia, the nonruling communist parties of the West, East-West political relations, the Committee of Mutual Economic Assistance, East-West trade and finance, the Warsaw Pact, and general ideology.

In 1965 Target Area Research and Analysis was changed to East Europe Research and Analysis with no change in functions or responsibilities.

Until 1974 BRs were also written on the USSR, China, Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia, and the Sino-Soviet dispute. Background Reports are of three types:
a. Long studies that cover a single subject in some breadth and depth and attempt to provide perspective, context, framework, and synthesis.
b. Short papers of a purely or predominantly analytical nature.
c. Short papers that provide an immediate assessment and description of a sudden development or new information or the latest developments in a running story. These are written for same-day programming use.

Accruals Not expected

System of arrangement

• Arranged chronologically.

Language/scripts of material English

Finding aids

• HU OSA 300-8-2 Indices to the Background and Situation Reports, Communist Area Analysis Research Reports and Press Survey, 1956-1989
• Container list [3-5-4-5] {123 (114 on tape, 114 on DVD) of the 143 boxes scanned; Csaba} | Scanned [21-16-3-5] {done; Csaba} | Complete list of items as Scanned PDF and OCR Text [---] {imported by Sergey}
• Digitized reports as images in PDF and OCR'd text

Existence and location of copies

• http://www.osa.ceu.hu/library/rferl-publications.htm, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Publications

Related materials

• HU OSA 300-20-1 Subject Files, 1949-1994
• HU OSA 300-20-2 Subject Card Files, 1951-1992
• HU OSA 300-30-2 Old Code Subject Files I, 1951-1961
• HU OSA 300-10-2 Yugoslav Subject Files I, 1943-1994
• HU OSA 300-10-3 Yugoslav Subject Files II, 1951-1985
• HU OSA 300-30-3 Old Code Subject Files II, 1962-1966
• HU OSA 300-30-4 Old Code Subject Files III, 1967-1971
• HU OSA 300-30-5 Old Code Subject Files IV, 1967-1971
• HU OSA 300-30-6 Old Code Subject Files V, 1946-1975
• HU OSA 300-30-7 Old Code Subject Files VI, 1976-1991
• HU OSA 300-30-8 Old Code Subject Card Files, 1951-1993
• HU OSA 300-30-9 New Code Subject Files, 1964-1992
• HU OSA 300-30-11 Country Files I, 1967-1976
• HU OSA 300-30-12 Country Files II, 1977-1988
• HU OSA 300-30-14 Collection of Documents on 1968, 1968
• HU OSA 300-30-15 Collection of Documents Relating to the Czechoslovak Opposition and Protest Movement, 1972-1992
• HU OSA 300-80-1 Old Code Subject Files, 1953-1994
• HU OSA 300-60-1 Subject Files, 1946-1992
• HU OSA 300-60-3 Records Relating to Romanian Opposition and Protest Movement, 1977-1991
• HU OSA 300-40-1 Subject Files, 1949-1995
• HU OSA 300-40-2 Subject Files in English, 1951-1995
• HU OSA 300-80-2 New Code Subject Files, 1954-1994
• HU OSA 300-80-3 All-Union General Files, 1956-1994
• HU OSA 300-80-4 Commonwealth of Independent States Files, 1990-1994
• HU OSA 300-50-1 Old Code Subject Files, 1951-1993
• HU OSA 300-50-2 New Code Subject Files, 1953-1991
• HU OSA 300-10-1 Albanian Subject Files, 1962-1990

Archivist's Note

Background Reports were originally divided into a Country Series, a Foreign Relations Series, and a series solely devoted to the World Communist Movement and Miscellaneous (a series whose subject matter does not fit under the other categories), however in our finding aid all background reports are considered to be one series.

Date(s) of descriptions

Processed by Miklós Bányász and Tibor Szigeti, 2002. Described by Pavol Šalamon, 22 November 2002.
Online version updated 18 December 2008