Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Russian: Большая Советская Энциклопедия, БСЭ, Bolshaya Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya) is the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedia in Russian, issued by the Soviet Encyclopedia state publisher.
There were three editions. The first edition of 65 volumes (65,000 entries, plus a supplementary volume about the USSR) was published during 1926–1947, the chief editor being Otto Schmidt (until 1941). The second edition of 50 volumes (100,000 entries, plus a supplementary volume) was published in 1950–1958; chief editors: Sergei Vavilov (until 1951) and Boris Vvedenski (until 1969); two index volumes to this edition were published in 1960. The third edition of 1969–1978 contains 30 volumes (100,000 entries, plus an index volume issued in 1981; also, volume 24 is in two books, one of them being a full-sized book about the USSR), with about 50 million words, the chief editor being Alexander Prokhorov (since 1969).
The third edition was translated into English, beginning in 1973. Each volume was translated separately, requiring use of the index to locate specific items.
In 1957–1990 each year the Yearbook of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia was released, with up to date articles about the Soviet Union and all countries of the world.
The first online edition, an exact replica of text and graphics of the third (so-called Red) edition, was published by Rubricon.ru in 2000.
Bibliography
- Great Soviet encyclopedia, ed. A. M. Prokhorov (New York: Macmillan, London: Collier Macmillan ,1974–1983) 31 volumes, three volumes of indexes. Translation of third Russian edition of Bol'shaya sovetskaya entsiklopediya
