Slavic Reference Service

09/01/2026

The SRS would like to share the following exciting opportunity for independent scholars or those who have part-time affiliation with a university:

Call for Nominations: Mary Zirin Prize of the Association for Women in Slavic Studies (AWSS)
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 20, 2026

The Association for Women in Slavic Studies (AWSS) is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the Mary Zirin Prize in recognition of an independent scholar in the field of Slavic Studies. The award of $500 is named for Mary Zirin, the founder of Women East-West.

Working as an independent scholar, Zirin produced and encouraged fundamental works in Slavic/East European Women’s Studies and has been instrumental in the development of the AWSS. The Prize aims to recognize the achievements of independent scholars and to encourage their continued scholarship and service in the fields of Slavic or Central and Eastern European Women’s Studies.

The Zirin Prize is open to scholars of any gender in Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies. We particularly encourage applications from those whose scholarship or service focuses on women’s or gender studies.

The Committee encourages the nomination of candidates from all career stages. For the purpose of this award, an independent scholar is defined as a scholar who is not employed at an institution of higher learning, or who is employed at a university or college but is not eligible to compete for institutional support for research (for example, those teaching under short-term contracts or working in administrative posts).

We welcome nominations from Central and Eastern Europe and from Eurasia. Nominations must include: (1) a nomination letter, no more than two pages long, double-spaced; (2) the nominee’s updated curriculum vitae; (3) a sample publication (e.g., article or book chapter). The nomination letter should describe the scholar’s contribution to the field, as well as work in progress.

Please direct all inquiries and nomination materials to the Zirin Prize Committee Chair: Dr. Aleksandra Jakubczak, [email protected]

Committee:
Dr. Aleksandra Jakubczak
Dr. Svitlana Biedarieva
Dr. Ileana Nachescu

Deadline: Nominations (including self-nominations) will be accepted until September 20, 2026

08/31/2026

Welcome back to another Monday Source Spotlight!

This week, our very own Danielle Hix is highlighting the microfilm collection "Yugoslavia: Peoples, States and Society." WorldCat record: https://uiuclib.on.worldcat.org/oclc/35566359.

"The IAS Library at UIUC has extensive holdings related to the geographical area comprising the former Yugoslavia. This collection is a particular gem, containing 109 reels of microfilm of content that spans from the medieval period to the early 1960s, with particular emphasis on history and culture. The collection's publications represent a wide spectrum of viewpoints and discussions on ethnic questions, providing unique and vital material. It is a wonderful source for Balkan studies and would be of use to any scholars interested in the region!"

What sources have you been using lately? Share and tag us in the comments!

08/24/2026

Source Spotlight Monday! Every week, the SRS will be sharing a unique source from our collection.

This week, Kit Condill is highlighting:

Bibliografik kos'tergich = Bibliograficheskii ukazatel' pechatnykh knig, stateĭ i proizvedeniĭ na krymskotatrskom iazyke: 1618-1944 gg. WorldCat record: https://search.worldcat.org/title/745598784.

"During my 21 years in REEES Collections and Services at the University of Illinois Library, I have come across so many outstanding bibliographies on different subjects, formats, and languages. This source is a good example of that diversity. It is a first attempt at chronicling publications in the Crimean Tatar language over a 326-year period. Divided into two sections (books and articles and other works), there are well over 4,000 references in this bibliography! A gold mine for Crimean Tatar Studies students and scholars!"

What sources do you rely on? Share and tag us in the comments!

08/06/2026

Reference Shelf Spotlight 🥁

Picture Description: Our SRS Reference Specialist, Olga Makarova, is holding 1963 Medit︠s︡inskai︠a︡ periodicheskai︠a︡ pechatʹ Rossii i SSSR (1792-1962) from the preeminent IASL reference collection.

Why would anyone want it? Because it gives a comprehensive overview of medical periodicals published in Russia from 1792 to 1962, and contains valuable information about the title changes, editors, publication dates, and the scope of major journals.🔍️

07/31/2026

🌐 Digital resource spotlight: Малые языки Сибири: Наше Культурное Наследие (Minor Languages of Siberia: Our Cultural Heritage)

The project's goal was to create a multimedia internet resource presenting materials on the minor languages of the Middle Yenisei and Middle and Upper Taz basins – Selkup, Ket and Evenki.

Their website features the following materials: sociolonguistic data, voiced dictionaries, annotated texts of various genres, language-learning games, documentaries about the languages and their speakers, photographs.

👉️ Learn more about the project: https://siberian-lang.iling-ran.ru/ru
👉️ View the video interviews: https://www.youtube.com/-lang/featured

Видеоархив проекта https://siberian-lang.minlang.site (новый сайт) http://siberian-lang.srcc.msu.ru (старый сайт) Записи на эвенкийском, кетском и селькупском языках ======================================================...

07/27/2026

Meet our Summer Research Lab scholar, Daria Sadova, who has been working with the Khvoshchinskaya Sisters Collection. 📖

To learn more about the collection, use this link: https://khvoshchinskie.web.illinois.edu/

Many thanks to the project team: Olga Makarova (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Liza Senatorova (Columbia University), Anna Berman (University of Cambridge), Hilde Hoogenboom (Arizona State University), and Daria Semenova (Vilnius University)

07/17/2026

Meet one of our Summer Research Lab scholars! 📚️

We warmly congratulate Dr. Curtis L. Richardson on publishing a book chapter, titled "Violence and the Family: The Foundations of a New Domesticity and National Identity in Imperial Russia."

To view his publication, check out the link in the comments. 👇️

07/13/2026

Digital Resource Spotlight: Electronic Library of St. Petersburg State Theatre Library

http://lib.sptl.spb.ru/ru/nodes/1-razdely

This electronic library features materials on the performing arts, including archival documents and letters from theatre figures, dramatic publications, arts periodicals, and original sketches by theatre artists.

07/09/2026

Digital resource spotlight: Ukrainian Association for Research in Women’s History

https://www.womenhistory.org.ua/en/

The Ukrainian Association for Research in Women’s History (UARWH) is an academic community of Ukrainian historians who dedicate a significant part of their scholarly work and educational activities to researching and/or teaching women’s and gender history. The Association's main areas of activity include: conducting research, teaching courses, organizing educational events, and more.

УАДЖІ є колективним членом Міжнародної федерації дослідників жіночої історії (International Federation for Research in Women’s History) та репрезентує

07/09/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Alexandr Osipian on publishing his article “Deindustrialization and its political and social implications: decline of the left-wing parties in Ukraine and secessionist insurgency in Donbas."

Parts of Dr. Osipian's work were presented at last year's Dmytro Shtohryn International Ukrainian Studies Conference.

Stay tuned for this year's conference details in the upcoming weeks. To learn more about the conference, visit our website: https://uconference.web.illinois.edu/