''Referativny Zhurnal'' (or ''Referativnyi Zhurnal'') (russian: "Реферати́вный журна́л", lit. ''Review Journal'') are the first two words of the titles of over a hundred different abstracting magazines (journals). They were mostly published (mostly monthly) by

VINITI VINITI (russian: ВИНИТИ; All-Russian Institute for Scientific and Technical Information; russian: Всероссийский институт научной и технической информации former All-Union Institute for Scient ...

(All-Russian Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

located in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

). During the Soviet period it was named the "All-Union Institute ... of the USSR Academy ..." which used the same acronym:

. They started out with just a few titles in 1952. In 2015 there were 28 different titles with 224 issues in total each year. There are also summary volumes at the end of the year. In 2015 the fields covered by the internet versions are: *

Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

and

computer technology Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

Space science Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

Biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

Biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

Geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

Informatics Informatics is the study of computational systems, especially those for data storage and retrieval. According to ACM ''Europe and'' ''Informatics Europe'', informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which ...

Publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

Metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

Mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...

Civil defense Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...

Environmental science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...

Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Electronic technology The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification a ...

and energetics

Introduction

The Referativnyi Zhuranli = Реферативные журналы (plural) = реферативный журнал (singular)= РЖ = RZh are a set of abstracting journals the first of which were initiated in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1952. They were abstracts of mostly magazine (journal) or conference articles, but books and patents were also included as well as unpublished "deposited" articles. The articles they abstracted included 66 different languages from 130 different countries of the world. The name of each abstracting journal, (which were published once every month (some every 2 months) begins with "Referativny Zhurnal" (Реферативный журнал). For example: Referativny Zhurnal Zhezhnodoroznyi Transport = "реферативный журнал, железнодорожный транспорт" = Abstracts of Railway Transportation, consisted of 5 parts: Railroad operation; locomotive and car construction; technical operation of rolling stock and traction of trains; railway construction, track and track maintenance; automation, remote control, and signalling on railroads. One could subscribe to just one of these 5 parts separately, or subscribe to all 5 parts bound together as a "сводный том" = "combined volume". there are over 24 different "combined volumes" plus 41 more titles consisting of only one part (not combined into a combined volume) with a total of 235 parts altogether, issued monthly (or bi-monthly). The meaning of the term "Referativny Zhurnal" may mean abstracting journals in general, including pre-Soviet and non-Russian ones. (se
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
and not just the ones created by

. Today in the 2010s most access to this information is via CD or the Internet (paid access) and the print copies are not used much anymore and are very expensive. The electronic database is known as

VINITI Database RAS VINITI Database RAS is a database provided by the All-Russian Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (VINITI). The database is devoted to scientific publications. It is described as a large abstracting database. In general, it is index ...

. Starting in 2005,

offers an electronic version of the ''Referativny Zhurnal''. Back issues are also available on CD, going back to 1997.

Circulation and Content Declines after the Soviet Collapse

Until the 1980s the RZh (РЖ) project was well funded but as the 1980s progressed (prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991) the situation started to deteriorate and some articles that should have been abstracted were not due to lack of staff (and money to hire them). After the collapse of the

the subscription prices rapidly increased, along with a decrease in subscriptions. For example, the "Physics" issue (РЖ «Физика») went from 1300 subscribers at the end of the 1980s to 30-40 subscribers in 2010. This situation was typical for other titles as well. During this interval, the number of articles abstracted fell from 1.4 million per year to .75 million. Considering that the number of articles published worldwide per year in 2010 is alleged to be roughly twice the number for the late 1980s it implies over a 4-fold decrease in the coverage of articles by the RZh (РЖ)Реферативный журнал ВИНИТИ РАН и проблемы информационного обеспечения российской науки
(Referativnyi Zhurnal VINITI RAN and problems of providing information to Russian science) by В.Г. Шамаев. Fragments of this Internet article published in: «Вестник РАН», 2011, № 5. However it was also available on CD and online."РЕФЕРАТИВНЫЕ ЖУРНАЛЫ: ПРОШЛОЕ И НАСТОЯЩЕЕ"
"Referativnye Zhurnaly (the Abstract Journals): Past and Present". by Ирина Аркадьевна ПАВЛОВА (Irina Arkad'evna Pavlov) (authors title: зав. сектором справочно-информационных технологий отделения ГПНТБ (Government Public Scientific and Technical Library), СО (Siberian section), РАН (Russian Academy of Science), Новосибирск =

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

. Published in сборнике: Новые электронные технологии в информационном обслуживании ученых и специалистов Сибирского отделения Российской академии наук: материалы науч.-практ. семинара (г. Красноярск, 1-5 июля 2013 г.) / ФГБУН ГПНТБ СО РАН, ФГБУН Красноярский научный центр СО РАН; Ред. кол.: Е.Б.Артемьева (отв. ред.), Е.А.Базылева (отв. ред.), В.А.Дубовенко, Л.П.Павлова, О.А.Рогозникова, И.Г.Юдина. - Новосибирск: ГПНТБ СО РАН, 2014. - pp. 45-49: ил., табл. A survey in Siberia in 2010 found about 25% preferred the printed version to the electronic ones, while 15% were neutral (60% favored electronic). In Siberia, the use of the electronic data base decreased by almost 50% between 2007-9 and 2011-2.

Similar publications in the West

The ''Referativny Zhurnal'', notably the ''Mathematics'' series, was created as a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

counterpart to Western scientific publications, such as: *''

Mathematical Reviews ''Mathematical Reviews'' is a journal published by the American Mathematical Society (AMS) that contains brief synopses, and in some cases evaluations, of many articles in mathematics, statistics, and theoretical computer science. The AMS also pu ...

'' *

Zentralblatt MATH zbMATH Open, formerly Zentralblatt MATH, is a major reviewing service providing reviews and abstracts for articles in pure and applied mathematics, produced by the Berlin office of FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructur ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Referativnyi Zhurnal'' website

VINITI
Science and technology in the Soviet Union Magazines established in 1952 Multidisciplinary scientific journals Online databases Review journals ru:Всероссийский институт научной и технической информации РАН#Реферативный журнал

Introduction

Circulation and Content Declines after the Soviet Collapse

Similar publications in the West

See also

References

External links