Centre for Russian Studies' Database is meant to be used as a reliable source of information on different issues linked directly to developments in Russia. Information in this database is organised along four main axes, although you will also find in it information on other issues (elections, ethnic groups, economy, military issues and collection of Russian links - to see more information on content click 'Database: Content' link to the left). The four main axes are :
  • political actors (individual and collective)
  • institutions
  • administrative units (information on 89 federal subjects of the RF)
  • chronology of current events

As a general rule there are two ways of retrieving information from the database. You can use either search engines provided by database’s operators or simply ‘click’ with the left mouse button on blue and/or underlined parts of text on our internet pages. The database is very user friendly, and in order to use it you need not be a data expert. You have, nontheless, to follow some rules to use this database in the most efficient way.

Finding information in database

If you use search engines provided by the operator, please specify where and how you want to search our database. On all pages with search engines you will find some fields that you have to define as valid for the search you make. These fields are defined as ‘toggle buttons’ - you have to click on the ‘circle’ next to the option you want to use in order to validate it as a ‘search default’. Then you have to write a ‘search string’ that you want to search our database for - a word or a name in the field next to ‘search string’ (in Norwegian ‘søkeord’). After writing this ‘search string’, you have to ‘click’ on the ‘start search’ (start søk) button and wait until the result of your search appears on your screen. In some cases you are not expected to write your search string yourself, but you have to choose one of the categories listed in the combo box provided by the database operator. You choose your category by clicking on the arrow pointing down in the field you normally use to write your search string in, and by choosing one of the categories from the list proposed by your database operator. Then you click on the ‘start search’ (start søk) button and wait until the result of your search appears on the screen.

Another way to find the information you need is to use the ‘list all’ option proposed by the database operator. After clicking on this option you will see a list of relevant records on your screen, and you can choose the one you are interested in by simply clicking on the blue and/or underlined part of the text on your screen.

You can also use this method to get additional information on persons, parties, ethnic groups, regions or categories (here you have to click not on the blue part of the text, but on the grey ‘button’ with text on it), linked directly to the events described in our chronology of events - you have to ‘click’ on the blue links to the respective categories which you will find under the main text. When you list ‘chronology of events’ you will also find three buttons on the bottom of yours screen (+10, +30, +60) - these buttons can be used to see more records on your screen. This is also a practical way to go back to the ‘chronology of events’ in order to find older records.