This is a select bibliography of English language books (including translations) and journal articles about the Soviet Union during the Second World War, the period leading up to the war, and the immediate aftermath. For works on Stalinism and the history of the Soviet Union during the Stalin era, please see Bibliography of Stalinism and the Soviet Union. Book entries may have references to reviews published in English language academic journals or major newspapers when these could be considered helpful.
Additional bibliographies can be found in many of the book-length works listed below; see Further reading for several book and chapter length bibliographies. The External links section contains entries for publicly available select bibliographies from universities.
A limited number of English translations of significant primary sources are included along with references to larger archival collections.
Inclusion criteria
Works included are referenced in the notes or bibliographies of scholarly secondary sources or journals. Included works should either be published by an academic or widely distributed publisher, be authored by a notable subject matter expert as shown by scholarly reviews and have significant scholarly journal reviews about the work. To keep the bibliography length manageable, only items that clearly meet the criteria should be included.
Citation style
This bibliography uses APA style citations. Entries do not use templates. References to reviews and notes for entries do use citation templates. Where books which are only partially related to Soviet history are listed, the titles for chapters or sections should be indicated if possible, meaningful, and not excessive.
If a work has been translated into English, the translator should be included and a footnote with appropriate bibliographic information for the original language version should be included.
When listing works with titles or names published with alternative English spellings, the form used in the latest published version should be used and the version and relevant bibliographic information noted if it previously was published or reviewed under a different title.
These works focus on Soviet experiences and operations from the Soviet perspective; see also Bibliography of World War II.
This section contains works relating to war crimes and acts of genocide committed by or against the Soviets and events of the Holocaust committed on Soviet territory.
For works on the Holocaust in Ukraine, please see Bibliography of the Holocaust in Ukraine .
Works included here are specifically about the civilian and military aspects of the war years. For a broader scope, please see Bibliography of Stalinism and the Soviet Union .
A select list of notable historical fiction related to the Soviet Union during World War II. [a]
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A select list of notable primary sources related to the Soviet Union during World War II. [a]
A select list of notable films related to the Soviet Union during World War II. [a]
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: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)Many of the above works contain bibliographies. Included below are a selection of works with large bibliographies related to Russian history.