Register of the Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov collection
Finding aid prepared by Hoover Institution Library and Archives Staff
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2019
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Stanford University
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Title: Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov collection
Date (inclusive): 1919-2006
Collection Number: 2007C20
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In various languages
Physical Description:
60 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box
(26.0 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Photocopies of, transcripts of, transcripts of extracts from, and summaries of, official internal documents of the Communist
International. Includes copies of documents from records of various national Communist parties; sound recordings of interviews
with associated individuals; and notes and printed matter relating to the Communist International.
Creator:
Communist International
source:
Firsov, F. I. (Fridrikh Igorevich)
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2007.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library
& Archives.
Biographical Note
Russian archivist and historian Fridrikh I. Firsov is a former Comintern specialist at the Central Party Archive, former
department manager of the Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Most Recent History in Moscow, and
writer. He is best known for writing
Secret Cables of the Comintern,
The Secret World of American Communism,
34 goda v Institute marksizma-leninizma : Vospominaniia istorika,
Kommunisty protiv fashizma i voiny: k 40-letiiiu VII kongressa Kominterna , as well as many articles on the history of the Communist International.
Scope and Content of Collection
"Archive of Fridrikh Firsov sprang up as a result of more than 40 years' research work. The core of this work has always been
study of the History of the Communist International (Comintern). The main part of archive is extracts and copies of the documents
from the Russian State Archive of the Social-Political History (RGASP). They include materials of the inventory from Executive
Committee of the Comintern. Also, the archive includes the documents from KGB archive (criminal records of the repressed political
immigrants), materials from the Party Archives from Bulgaria and Democratic Republic of Germany. Constituent part of the private
archive is typewritten and printed articles of various authors, translated materials, copies of extracts from various books,
and reference sources. Every group of documents from the archives has its own reference enclosure.
The archive also includes the tape-recorded interviews with veterans of Comintern, interviews and presentations of Firsov,
and working diaries.
Furthermore, we have to recognize the copies of cipher gram of Comintern, known under name of Mask-material. These documents
were kindly presented to F. Firsov by Dr. John Haynes."
Source: "List of Materials in the Archive of Fridrikh Firsov," by F. Firsov and N. Soolkin, October 20, 2006. See Box 1.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Audiotapes
Communism
Firsov, F. I. (Fridrikh Igorevich)
Inventories
1920-2006
Scope and Contents
Listings of the collection contents created by Firsov.
box 1
Books and articles on the Comintern and communist movement
1920-2003
box 1
Inventory of the materials in the archive
2006
box 1
Sound recordings
1986-1993
Archive Indexes
2006
Scope and Contents
Guides provide record group level descriptions for archival holdings.
Archival Materials
1922-2006
Pseudonyms and abbreviation of the names and titles
Copies of Ciphergram of Comintern (Mask-Material)
1934-1937
Scope and Contents
Secret coded telegraphs exchanged between Communist Party leaders around the world and their overseers at the Communist International
(Comintern) headquarters in Moscow.
box 37
HW 17 Government Code and Cypher School: Decrypts of Communist International (Comintern) messages
1933-1937
Moscow-Amsterdam
1934-1936
Moscow-Copenhagen
1934-1936
Moscow-Stockholm
1935-1936
box 38
Moscow-New York
1935-1936
box 61
Biulleten' IV Kongressa Kommunisticheskogo Internatsionala, nos. 1, 3-5, 7-15, 18-20, 22-23, 30, 32
1922
box 61
Kommunisticheskii Internatsional, nos. 1 (1919), 15 (1920), 1 (1924)
Sound Recordings
1988-1993
Scope and Contents
Compact audio cassettes
box 49
Firsov interviews
1988-1993
Scope and Contents
Sound recordings of interviews, relating to aspects of the history of the Comintern.
box 49
Evgenii Shir, Iurii Koval'chuk, I. Ol"shevskii, and Marina Ktevskaia
1988
Scope and Contents
Sound recordings of speeches and conversations.