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	HU OSA 300-80-9
Fonds 300:	Records of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Research Institute
Subfonds 80:	Soviet Red Archives
Series 9:	Kraus Biographical Files

Date(s) 1958-1994

Extent and medium 788 Archival boxes, 99 linear meters

Archival history

Kraus' Biographical Files are named after their creator Herwig Kraus who was working on the project for more than 30 years (during certain periods with support of several people).
The purpose of the project was to collect information on a wide range of people from the Soviet Union whose names were mentioned in the Soviet press, paying special attention to their positions inside the Soviet hierarchy.
During the last decade of the Zastoi (Stagnation) period, the Kraus' Biographical files was considered a very important source of information.

Scope and content

Up to the beginning of the 1980s, the predominant format in the Kraus Biographical Files were slips of paper with several lines of typed information (name of a person, position, source). The files also include clippings from the Russian and Western press, news agency releases, copies of articles written by and about the people mentioned. During the 1980s and 1990s, clippings predominated.

The records contain information on persons and their positions in the Soviet (later Russian) social and political hieracrhy. Working from names appearing in the Soviet (later Russian) publications Kraus assembled information not only on the top level persons in the state, but also on directors of regional industry, medium level military personnel, and the like.

The strength of the Kraus Biographical Files was the wide range of persons included.

Accruals Not expected

System of arrangement

• Arranged alphabetically in the Russian alphabet and thereunder chronologically.

Language/scripts of material Russian

Finding aids

• 788 containers

Publication note

The composition of leading organs of the CPSU (1952-1976): CPSU CC Politburo and Secretariat members, CPSU CC full and candidat members, CPSU Central Audity Commission members. Supplement to the Radio Liberty Research Bulletin / Compiled by Herwig Kraus. [Munich : Radio Liberty], 1976. (Other edition was published in 1982).

The Soviet biographical archive, 1954-1985, Washington: Chadwyck-Healey, [1986?]. - Microfiche.The microffiche publication contains copies of similar biographical files for the earlier period which otherwise are not avalilable.

All these publications are available at the Open Society Archives.

Date(s) of descriptions

Processed by Jennie Levine, Irida Tase and Olga Zaslavskaya, 1996 and 1997; revised by Natasha Zanegina, 2001; revised by Pavol Šalamon, 18 December 2002, revised by Pavol Šalamon, 26 June, 2003.
Online version updated 6 January 2012