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Between 1989 and 2002 Norman Ross (Figure 1) published tens of thousands of microfilms and microfiches, created in Russia and Eastern Europe for his company, Norman Ross Publishing. He also published 33 reference books, Over the course of 25 visits to Russia, as well as on frequent trips to Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, Ross developed microfilm and book projects with national libraries and local academic institutions and organized the local filming of major current newspapers. In these endeavors he was assisted by local representatives, a multi-lingual in-house staff in New York, and guidance from Edward Kasinec, the late Robert T. Whittaker, and others. This was the most rewarding segment of owning his own publishing company, which began in 1972 and continues nearly 50 years later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the process of tracking down an obscure yet politically and culturally significant Russian theater review, “Seans chernoi magiina Taganke” by N. Potapov, published inPravda, the official organ of the Soviet Communist Party from 1918 to 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 thePravda Digital Archiveand similar databases (e.g.,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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]