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Welcome to the Keston Archive and Library
 BOOKS
The library is currently estimated to hold 8,000 books. Sampling indicates
that languages of books are represented in the following proportions:
English 50%, Russian 32%, German 8%, French 2%, Polish 2%, Italian 2%,
other 4%. The library contains several hundred titles of eastern and
western church publications and most major works by western scholars in
Keston's area of specialisation.
An exceptional area of richness of the library is religion in Russia
including the collection of atheist and anti-religious books published in
the Soviet Union, Russian publications on Orthodox theology and
spirituality. While holdings on Russian and East European church history
since the Second World War form the core of the library there are also a
significant number of items in the area of religious persecution under
non-European communist regimes.
A computerised catalogue is in preparation.
PERIODICALS
The institute is currently holding more than 100 journal titles. They
include complete sets of Keston publications, including Religion in
Communist Lands since 1973 (Religion, State and Society from 1992),
Frontier since 1987.
 View Religion in Communist Lands Article list here
View Religion State and Society Article list here
View Frontier Article list here
View Keston News Service Archive here
SAMIZDAT DOCUMENTS
Kestons archive is renowned for its rich collection of samizdat, or
self-published, literature, a phenomenon which developed rapidly in the
mid-1960s and remained the intellectual mainstay of Soviet believers right
up to the collapse of communism. In our archives samizdat means anything
from handwritten scraps of paper, through the most primitive form of
cyclostyling, to typing with a number of decreasingly legible carbon copies
underneath, as even photocopiers in private hands were banned during the
communist period. It consists of more than 4,000 items including
correspondence, petitions, symposia and memoirs. They also include appeals
to the authorities against the closure of churches, petitions to free
prisoners of conscience and dossiers on their crimes, transcripts of court
proceedings against believers, spiritual testimonies and stories of
conversion, prayers and Bible commentaries, and whole volumes of church
history. Among the religious groups and individuals represented are
Adventists, Baptists, Jews, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics and Russian
Orthodox. A catalogue of samizdat documents can be consulted at the
institute. The catalogue includes English language summaries of the
documents and index entries for all persons mentioned. A select
bibliography of documents of religious samizdat in the archive has been
published in the journal, Religion in Communist Lands. The latter includes
listings of Czech, Polish and Romanian samizdat holdings.
OTHER DOCUMENTS
In addition, Kestons archive includes:
450 documents relating to religious policy have been obtained from Soviet
archives in the form of photocopies. These include documents from the
Archives of the KGB, the State Archives of Russia and regional archives of
the Council for Religious Affairs. Of special interest are documents
relating to the controversy of the confiscation of church valuables in 1922
and documents relating to the closure of churches during the 1960s.
Western and Eastern European press items, pamphlets and reports on
religious communities and church-state relations under communism. It is
arranged thematically by country, by subject, by religion and by
denomination. The main emphasis is on information relating to religious
belief and practice. Sources include newspapers from the Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe, Soviet and East European official religious press,
religious publications from East European �migr� sources, religious and
secular newspapers in English and other European languages, magazines and
newsletters from missionary societies, academic journals and religious news
agencies.
Records of Soviet citizens imprisoned for religious activity.
Information on current religious developments in Russia and Eastern Europe,
including texts of the 1997 Russian religious law and regional laws
restricting religious activity.
Thousands of photographs of believers, clergy, church buildings and
religious life in the Eastern bloc.
Video clips and Television Programs.
Kestons archive and library contain information of interest to theologians,
church historians, political scientists, sociologists, human rights
activists, observers monitoring the Helsinki Agreement (now the OSCE or
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) and private
researchers. Visitors are most welcome at the Institute - simply E-mail.
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