The collection contains reports prepared for and by a variety of Soviet and Ukrainian government agencies, such as the KGB, documenting and detailing the most important developments in the wake of the explosion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) on April 26, 1986 in the Ukrainian city of Pripyat. It also provides internal reports and investigations on the various causes of the disaster, including the problems with the design of the NPP, and the extent of the Soviet and Ukrainian government knowledge on many of the shortcomings that made the Chernobyl meltdown not only possible but in a sense inevitable.

The Chernobyl Newspapers Collection comprises three previously unavailable local newspapers published in the Chernobyl area in the years before and after the nuclear disaster. The collection gives researchers unique access to important lesser-known primary sources from the era. The two newspapers "Prapor peremohy" (1981-1988) and "Trybuna pratsi" (1981-1990), published in Ukrainian within or in the immediate vicinity of the exclusion zone, provide the opportunity to explore the larger socio-cultural and historical context of the regions affected by the Chernobyl disaster. "Tribuna Energetika" (1979-1990), published in Russian under the aegis of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, provides insight into the everyday life of the power plant and the city of Pripyat.

The database comprises numerous important periodicals published since 1997 in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. It includes journals as well as neswpapers which are mostly in Russian and cover various issues of domestic and international importance.

East View is the largest provider of authoritative information on Russia and the former Soviet Union. The Universal Databases portal provides access to the archives of various newspapers and journals, as well as to a comprehensive collection of election related material to date. Representing a vast repository of primary source material from both presidential and parliamentary elections the databases are a one of a kind first stop for policy analysts and observers of electoral politics in the countries of the CIS. The Social Movements, Elections, Ephemera series offers the most comprehensive collection of election related material to date from the countries of the former Soviet Union. The databases are representing materials - including unique election ephemera that include party programs as well as propaganda material - for policy analysts and observers of electoral politics in the countries of the CIS.