| Name | Description | Timeline | Search functions/ special notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cold War: global perspectives on East-West tensions, 1945-1991 | A database of translated sources and reports on conflicts between 1945-1991. Contains information and sources from the communist bloc, translated by the CIA. | 1945-1991 | One can search for information on this database in several ways; 1. Use the suggested searches, where key themes/ events about the Cold War are listed, 2. Using the traditional simple search, 3. Using the advanced search (separate tab on the top left hand of page), which can filter by keywords (and/or) and date. The suggested search topics is a great way to jumpstart your search if you are not sure where to begin. |
| Propaganda and the Chinese Press | A database of articles from major Chinese newspapers between 1946 to 1996, translated by the CIA. | 1946-1996 | Like the previous database, you can use the 1. Suggested searches (key themes), 2. Traditional simple search, or 3. Advanced search. |
| Pravda archive, 1959-1996 (Translated into English) | A database of materials published by Pravda (the former official state media of the Soviet Communist party) between 1959-1996. Translated by the Central Intelligence Agency. | 1959-1996 | You can use the 1. Suggested searches (key themes), 2. Traditional simple search, or 3. Advanced search. |
| Socialism on film the Cold War and international propaganda. | Compilation of films from the communist states including USSR, Eastern Europe, China, Vietnam, and Cuba. Lives, politics, economy and culture of these states are revealed through these films. | From the time of the Russian Revolution to the 1980s. | Search by accessing all films (click on “films”), and streamlining them based on themes, with an option to further filter by type (i.e advertisement, interview) and date. Alternatively, search by location (click on “map), or timeline (“chronology”). |
| Russian Poster Collection, 1919 - 1989 | A selection of posters from USSR from the end of WWI to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Copyrights of posters are vested with Duke University Library. | 1919-1989 | To search effectively, conduct search via series (four series based on different time frames,) or year. |
| 中國當代政治運動史數拠庫 Database of Chinese Great Leap forward and Great famine, 1958-1962 中國大躍進-大飢荒數拠庫, 1958-1962 = | Database of many declassified Chinese documents from sources like Chinese Communist Party, Xinhua News Agency and various government arms. | 1958-1962 | Database is in Mandarin, but with an option to navigate in English (button on top left corner.) The site already organises its sources into different categories (i.e subject/date/author). To access sources, click on desired category and the plus sign beside the “Chinese Great Leap Forward” label. Note that for several categories e.g Author and Full-text, you will not be able to search in English (only Chinese characters yield results). |
Other useful links:
- Library of Congress’ research guide on the Space Race during the Cold War. Contains links to several online databases with digitised primary documents.
- Both Mount St. Mary’s University and Concordian International School have library guides with online links and other databases for material (both primary and secondary sources) on the Cold War.