Terra sebv s acta mvsei sabesiensi s

Bibliometric Analysis in Historiographical Studies 

 

125

nomenclature of Russian academic specialties), the name of the host 

establishment, and the place and year the thesis was written (based on the 

release of the abstract) was gathered. This data formed the system of 

bibliometric indicators to be analysed. 

Due to the incomplete nature of the Russian State Library’s thesis 

collection in comparison with its collection of abstracts, the incompleteness of 

bibliographic descriptions of theses in comparison with descriptions of 

abstracts and, ultimately, the greater availability of abstracts compared to theses, 

it was considered more useful to apply bibliometric methodologies to abstracts 

than theses. Having studied the output data (which is the basis for bibliographic 

descriptions) of actual theses, it was found that the incidence of mismatches 

between output data and abstracts was very low (less than 0.5%) and such 

mismatches related exclusively to where the thesis was prepared (place of 

abstract release) and the date the document was released (year of 

completion/abstract release) - factors which were not essential to the analysis, 

since they have almost no effect on the results. 

 

Bibliometric analysis of theses on Russian emigration defended in 

Russia between 1980 and 2005 

A total of 903 thesis abstracts on the subject of Russian emigration, 

published in Russia between 1980 and 2005 were identified in the course of 

this study, and in-depth analysis was applied to the data they contained. In 

the years 1980-1991, i.e. during the time of the Soviet Union, only 85 theses 

were defended - 9.4% of the total number of identified works on the 

subject of Russian emigration written between 1980 and 2005. 

From these, the following tendencies in the study of emigration were 

identified. 

There was a significant increase in the intensity of academic studies in 

the 1990s - early 2000s. During this period, the number of theses defended 

on the subject of Russian emigration were: 1992 - 5 theses, 1993 - 12, 1994 - 

17, 1995 - 36, 1996 - 46, 1997 - 43, 1998 - 50, 1999 - 63, 2000 - 81, 2001 - 

89, 2002 - 88, 2003 - 88, 2004 - 93, and 2005 - 107. 

The involvement of humanitarian disciplines in emigration studies has 

also grown. The number of academic fields in which such research is being 

conducted (based on the number of disciplines seeing thesis defences on 

the topic) has grown from 6 academic branches in the 1980-1991 period to 

13 between 1992 and 2005. 

There has been a significant increase in the number of specialties 

within which immigration studies are carried out. In 1980, theses were 

found in 5 different specialties, in 1981 - 6, 1982 - 6, 1983 - 6, 1984 - 7, 

1985 - 5, 1986 - 7, 1987 - 2, 1988 - 6, 1989 - 1, 1990 - 4, 1991 - 7, 1992 - 3, 

1993 - 6, 1994 - 11, 1995 - 19, 1996 - 19, 1997 - 17, 1998 - 15, 1999 - 24, 

www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html   /   www.cimec.ro

---

A. A. Pronin 

 

126

2000 - 20, 2001 - 20, 2002 - 23, 2003 - 27, 2004 - 27 and 2005 - 26. As can 

be seen, the number of specialities was 5.4 times greater in 2003 and 2004 

than 1980, increasing from 5 to 27. The same list of academic specialties 

which saw theses defended between 1994 and 2005 included 62 specific 

areas, compared to 23 specific areas presented in the 1980-1993 period. 

Across the whole study period of 1980-2005, a total of 66 

items

 were 

represented. 

The range of cities and establishments where defences took place also 

widened: in 1980-1989, 9 cities hosted thesis defences, in 1990-1999 the 

number was 33, and by 2000 to 2005 the number had grown to 55 cities. 

Considered from the Soviet/post-Soviet split, from 1992 to 2005 59 cities 

hosted thesis defences, compared to 9 cities in the 1980-1991 period.  

Regarding individual establishments, between 1980 and 1989 thesis 

defences were held in 24 establishments, from 1990 to 1999 - 70, and from 

2000 to 2005 - 137. (When counting, the identity of renamed establishments 

was, where possible, established.) Comparing the two periods 1980-1991 

and 1992-2005, it was noted that the former period saw defences held in 26 

establishments and the latter in 152 establishments. In total, thesis defences 

related to the topic of Russian emigration took place in 158 establishments 

located in 59 cities in Russian territory between 1980 and 2005. 

Among all theses identified from the period 1980-2005, PhD 

submissions numbered 104 out of 903 (11.5%) while MPhil theses 

represented 799 out of 903 (88.5%). 

The two most important research centres - in terms of both the 

number of theses on emigration subjects and the breadth of coverage across 

various branches of academia - were, by a large margin, Moscow and St 

Petersburg. This can be explained by the ease of direct access, in these two 

largest Russian cities, to an important resource base: they are home to the 

main and largest library archives. They are also the location of thesis 

councils for most academic disciplines. In Moscow, during the period under 

consideration, 432 theses were successfully defended on the topic of 

Russian emigration - 47.8% of the total (903 defences). St Petersburg 

(Leningrad) hosted 103 defences (11.4%) and Rostov-on-Don saw 34 

defences (3.8%). In Tomsk, 25 defences were held (2.8%) (Tomsk retained 

its fourth place throughout the 1990s and 2000s), while Ekaterinburg 

(Sverdlovsk) hosted 24 defences (2.7%). In other cities 1 to 17 defences 

were held. 

In Moscow all areas of academia in which the study of Russian 

emigration and Russian expatriate communities takes place are represented. 

The undisputed lead institution in terms of the number of defences and 

range of academic branches in which they were carried out in the years 

www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html   /   www.cimec.ro

---