The Keston Digital Archive contains materials documenting religious persecution under Communist and other totalitarian regimes, primarily during the Soviet period. Amassed and held by the Keston Institute in Oxford, the collection was donated to the Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society at Baylor University in 2007.


Baylor’s Keston Center houses the world’s most extensive collection of samizdat (underground dissident publications) relating to religious liberty and persecution. The Keston Library and Archives contains Keston News Service reports, clippings, pamphlets, manuscripts, and court documents as well as 4,500 photographs, 17 works of art, 738 audio-visuals, 69 propaganda posters, rare items and more. A library of about 8,000 books and nearly 900 periodicals accompany the 1,400 linear feet of archives.


The materials represent at least 33 languages and 30 religious denominations, including Baptists, Adventists, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals, Orthodox, Catholics, and Seventh Day Adventists. The scope covers not only the former Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries but nations as diverse as Angola, Afghanistan, Cuba, China, Vietnam, and Mozambique.


The Keston Digital Collection encompasses a variety of selections from across the Keston Library and Archives, including samizdat, photographs, posters, Keston News Service reports, and other audio-visual material.

 

 

User Notes :

User Notes :

Using This Resource In Your Research?

For access to high-resolution images for the purposes of scholarly research, please email digitalcollectionsinfo@baylor.edu.

Items in this collection may not be reproduced for commercial use without prior written consent from Baylor University, Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society, Waco, Texas. Please email digitalcollectionsinfo@baylor.edu to make such a request.

 

Restricted Items

Items may have restricted access due to copyright reasons. Items with the following message - "You may need to log in to continue. Access the full asset and its details" - are restriced to public view. For research related access please email digitalcollectionsinfo@baylor.edu.

 

Activity Note

This collection is considered an active collection. Items will be added periodically as they are acquired by Baylor University and processed through the Digitization and Digital Collection Preservation Services group.

 

Historical Context Note

The Baylor University Libraries strive to make our digital collection resources available and useful to our faculty, staff, students, alumni, researchers, and the general public. Through our Web sites, the Libraries offer broad public access to a wide range of information, including historical materials that may contain offensive language or negative stereotypes. Such materials must be viewed in the context of the relevant time period. Baylor University does not endorse the views expressed in such materials.

 

Comments, Questions, or Concerns?

Please email digitalcollectionsinfo@baylor.edu with any comments, questions, or concerns about this collection. Please include the URL to the specific page or item when emailing.