"«Сеанс черной магии» на Таганке”: ["'Seans chernoi magii' na Taganke":] The Hunt for Master and Margarita in the Pravda Digital Archive

Abstract

This article describes the process of tracking down an obscure yet politically and culturally significant Russian theater review, “«Сеанс черной магии» на Таганке” by N. Potapov, published in Pravda, the official organ of the Soviet Communist Party from 1918-1991. What at first appeared to be a routine reference question turned into a journey full of twists and turns, a “quest” for the “missing review.” The purpose of this article is threefold: to highlight some of the challenges that librarians and researchers face when working with Russian, East European, and Eurasian materials; to inform researchers about the capabilities and limitations of the Pravda Digital Archive and similar databases (i.e.., Izvestiia Digital Archive, Literaturnaia Gazeta Digital Archive) produced by East View Information Services; and to encourage discussion about the preservation of and long-term access to research materials from the region.