Title page of the 3rd ed. (in Russian), 1st vol.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Russian: Большая Советская Энциклопедия, or БСЭ; transliterated Bolshaya Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya) is one of the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedias in Russian, issued by the Soviet Encyclopedia state publisher. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (783x1026, 76 KB) Описание/Description ru:Титульный лист первого тома третьего издания «Большой Советской Энциклопедии» (1969-1978) en:Title page of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd ed. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (783x1026, 76 KB) Описание/Description ru:Титульный лист первого тома третьего издания «Большой Советской Энциклопедии» (1969-1978) en:Title page of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd ed. ... Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon, 1902 An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia, also (rarely) encyclopædia,[1] is a comprehensive written compendium that contains information on all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge. ...

There were three editions. The first edition of 65 volumes (65,000 entries, plus a supplementary volume about the Soviet Union) 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. Volume 24 is in two books, one of them being a full-sized book about the USSR)--all with about 21 million words (Kister 365), and the chief editor being Alexander Prokhorov (since 1969). Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov (March 12, 1891–January 25, 1951) was a Soviet physicist, the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences from July 1945 until his death, and the brother of Nikolai Vavilov. ... Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov (Russian: Александр Михайлович Прохоров) (July 11, 1916 – January 8, 2002) was an Australian-Russian physicist. ...

Following the fall of police chief Lavrenti Beria in 1953 in the wake of Stalin's death, subscribers to the second edition were sent a new article on the Bering Strait, being instructed to cut out and destroy the article on Beria and to paste in the new article. Lavrenty Beria Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria (Russian: Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия) (29 March 1899 - 23 December 1953), Soviet politician and police chief, is remembered chiefly as the executor of Joseph Stalins Great Purge of the 1930s, although in fact he presided only over the closing stages of the Purge. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... Satellite photo of the Bering Strait Nautical chart of the Bering Strait The Bering Strait is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, the eastmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, the westernmost point of the American continent, approximately 85 km (58 mi) in width, with a...

The third edition was translated into English, beginning in 1973. Each volume was translated separately, requiring use of the index to locate specific items. An index is a detailed list, usually arranged alphabetically, of the specific information in a book publication or multimedia collection. ...

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.

Other Soviet Encylopedias

Українська радянська енциклопедія

Беларуская савецкая энцыклапедыя

Ўзбек совет энциклопедияси

Қазақ совет энциклопедиясы

Lietuviškoji tarybinė enciklopedija

Енчиклопедия советикэ молдовеняскэ

Latvijas padomju enciklopēdija

Кыргыз Совет Энциклопедиясы

Түркмен совет энциклопедиясы

Eesti Nõukogude entsüklopeedia

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
• Kister, Kenneth. Kister's Best Encyclopedias. 2nd ed. (1994)

External links

• The GSE with all pictures and articles on Rubricon
• Great Russian Encyclopedia online, Russian language