About Fontes

Fontes is a database of online, open-access resources for original research on the history of Ukraine. The name Fontes refers to the Latin word for “sources,” as our project aims to connect students, researchers, and the public with freely available resources for researching Ukraine’s past, from the prehistoric era through the twenty-first century. 

Our project compiles different websites that host online, open-access primary sources on Ukraine’s history. Each website includes online collections that can be accessed digitally from anywhere in the world. They are all open-access, meaning that any internet user can access sources without a university or institutional affiliation. Each included collection features primary sources, including archival documents, books, periodicals, photographs, films, and more, for use in original research. 

You can find our sources on the “Browse Collections” page. Our database is searchable by text, or by tagged categories, eras, region, original material type, and more. For more search options, visit the “Advanced Search” page. 

We are always looking to add additional sources to our website. To inform us of a source to add to our collections, please fill out the Google form on the “Contact Us” page. Additionally, you can fill out this form to inform us of dead or broken links on our website. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, some servers are unstable and websites can go down for periods of time. If you are interested in finding archived versions of websites or helping to preserve Ukrainian heritage online, we recommend visiting the SUCHO project website. 

Fontes is supported by the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.

Team

Emma Friedlander. Researcher. PhD Candidate in History, Harvard University.
Olha Aleksic. Petro Jacyk Bibliographer for Ukrainian Collections, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.
Kostyantyn Bondarenko. IT Professional, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.
Serhii Plokhii. Director, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.
Tymish Holowinsky. Executive Director, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.
Yipeng Zhou. Website designer, REECA alumnus, Harvard University